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Sunday, August 16, 2026

My first Plumeria from Jim Little Plumerias on Oahu is in bloom!

I brought back three cuttings from my visit to Hawaii in April and one of them is flowering. JL Hawaiian Rose &  JL Juicy Juice are still working on building strong roots, but my Jim Little Metallica Plumeria is well on its way! I already needed to repot it and it has a very healthy inflorescence! 

Jim Little Metallica

August 6


August 8

August 10

August 11

August 15




Inca Gold


Jungle Music Melody 

August 8

Variegated Plumeria Maya

August 6





















Saturday, August 15, 2026

Have you ever seen THIS hardy hibiscus before?

 One of my favorite cold hardy hibiscus is also my tallest! It's called Hibiscus"Raspberry Rose" and gets surprisingly HUGE. It's is a dieback perennial (unlike the non-native Rose of Sharon which has a tree form), but seems to get more than 6 feet tall with ease! 

The flowers have really unusual divided petals that give it a different look than most hibiscus. Apparently it's a cross between the Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) and something else, but your guess is as good as mine. It has MUCH larger leaves than a hibiscus coccineus, but the flowers do have a similar shape. 

The blooms start in August and keep on going until Frost so it's definitely a later bloomer, but worth it! 

Here's a timeline: 

Aug 8



Aug 10


August 13










Saturday, August 8, 2026

August Garden Update: Giant Cucuzza fruit, banana plants could flower soon, and update on the rest!



Yummy cucuzza - 


Variegated Plumeria Maya


Musa nono pink


Colocasia White Lava


Ensete Maurelli with some ornamental sweet potato


Madagascar Palm with Queen Palm, Yucca rostrata, and my 2 chamadorea microspadix in the corner


Another view with my windmill palm and bismarkia


Lemons, Bananas, and the snow queen hibiscus


Cycads on the driveway and you can also see my yucca recurvifola "mellow yellow"


More citrus fun my kumquat and Meyer lemon is here with my potted biagos blush fig


Another view. My pink cordyline also in view here


Tetrapanex looking good


Wide view with the mule and pygmy palm


A sea of color with the rudbeckia


Ensete maurelli and farfugium got massive!




Variegated alocasia


Musa sikkimensis 


Pond view! Maybe I'll get blooms on the white crinum lily next year


The gang is all here!


Ficus tineke is happy 


Panama hat palm (Carludovica palmata), not an actual palm. It got too cold last year but recovered after no signs of life all winter inside the house


My medinilla myriantha


Sanchezia speciosa, known as the zebra plant


The bananas



Croton mango finally got yellow new leaves this year instead of green


Colocasia mojito!




 

Sunday, July 26, 2026

My new plants from California!

I traveled to San Diego and stuffed a few fun and unusual plants in my suitcase to bring home! 

From left to right: 

Agave Ovatifolia, Plumeria Pink Jenny, Blue Australian Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii), Chamaedorea glaucifolia, Butia paraguayensis (Dwarf yatay palm), Hybrid Cycad (Cycas revoluta x debaoensis), Sabal rosei, Arenga engleri, Cycas debaoensis, Butia × Jubaea


Jungle Music Palms and Cycads was EPIC ... Phil and Rodrigo were so knowledgeable. I grew up visiting the website so visiting in person was just epic! 







A stop to Home Depot




Coffee with mom at Terra Bella Nursery