Floating Gardenia Blossoms


 A while back I posted on floating Passionflowers in bowls, to be used a an exciting centerpiece or accent in the home.  Here's a variation of that idea, this time with Gardenias!  There are plenty of other flowers to choose from if you want a bright and exotic look, but the beauty of gardenias lie not in their appearance but in their spicy fragrance, sure to perfume a whole room. 

I chose a porcelain bowl with an Asian blue and white motif to recall their original habitat in China.  The white interior allows the subtleties of the blossom to really stand out and invite a closer look, so any white bowl you have will do the trick.

The great part of floating flower in bowls is that you're bringing the most exciting parts of your garden indoors so you can enjoy them throughout the day!  The water also acts like a vase and keeps the flowers from drying up, but unlike a vase, you don't need to sacrifice a whole stem of your plant.


Feel free to be creative with your decoration, and make sure you place it where you and visitors can see it easily and catch its exotic fragrance upon passing by.

Gardening Negativity

There are so many signs of life in the garden, and yet there are always things to be down about if you insist upon being mopey.  The King Sago to the left is putting out a new flush of growth, but I can't help but dread the cycad scale insects that tend to plague them in late summer around here.
Its easy to get discouraged when your plants aren't doing too hot and that being said, I could easily be discouraged right about now.  My "Ice Cream" banana isn't doing well, my neoregelia "Hannibal Lector" finally rotted away after all the prolonged cold, and I'm experiencing my first ever insect infestation in the "Rainforest Garden".


Plague
I've battled scale insects, spider mites and mealybugs on my apartment balcony, but the wonderful lizards and treefrogs have always kept the bugs in check at my mom's place until now.  Apart from the aforementioned cycad scale, I suppose I've always been lucky!   
This little ornately patterned insect (pictured) and its brethren are to blame for the wholesale destruction of nearly all of the morning glories I planted last month, and they're just now starting to feast on my butterfly weed and canna edulis!  These pretty flowers might not even exist when I get back to my mom's in a week.


I know that the monarch caterpillars will devour them soon anyway, but that's not the point!

Banana Problems
If the bugs weren't enough, my ice cream banana is looking pretty pale on the newest leaf.  Its a symptom I've seen before in my badly sited bananas planted in wet soil, and all of those eventually died.  After doing my research it seems that its likely due to dry conditions, which would also explain last year's failed bananas too, except then the waterlogged roots were too soggy and rotting to give the plant any water.

Rotted Bromeliad
My beloved Neoregelia "Hannibal Lector" had been looking bad since winter, and by tugging on the central leaves today I confirmed that it was dead.
This was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak, especially since last year at the Kanapaha Spring Festival I foolishly paid $20 for it, only to find it for much less at two other vendors.  If I'm going to waste that much money, the least the plant could do is live for me.
You can imagine my surprise when I then pulled the rotted plant out of the ground and found a brand new pup coming out from the base!
Come to think of it, there were so many more plants recovering than dying anyways, like my monstera deliciosa.


 Or my Cat palm...

 Or my peace lilies...

More To Life...
I guess there are always so many more things to find happiness in, be it in life or the garden.  Though we gardeners tend to let our hobby be our refuge and a source of joy, even gardening is not safe from our inherent pessimism.  Those morning glories were from cheap little seed packets and only planted to live one season anyways.  When all the baby treefrogs and lizards come out of the woodwork, now they'll have something to sustain them to maturity.
The banana's pale leaf got me to learn something new, and I laid down some composting coffee grounds around it to enrich the alkaline builders soil and add some moisture retention.  After I left, it rained on the parched plant and the weather outside my studio window is telling me that it will be quenched more.

Gardeners do not have a natural skill or knack for helping plants live, we just have the patience and faith to visualize the fruits of our labor.  When I talk to people about gardening, most of them tell me that they tried it but had a "black thumb" and simply gave up.  Usually they were growing something that anyone would have a hard time growing around here, like lavender or fuchsias, or something high maintenance like roses that's inappropriate for their lifestyle or budget anyway.  Those "black thumbs" are often a little relieved when I tell them that I wouldn't be able to keep foxgloves alive either!  Every time a plant dies on you, remember to do two things.  Find out why it died so it doesn't happen again, and compost it for another plant, one that's not so ungrateful for the twenty dollars you paid and all your hard work.
The alocasias below started from bulbs in my parent's garage that were left there for years.  I planted them two years ago and this is what I see today:


Maybe they'll get to be this big someday...

This neoregelia spectabilis was left out in winter, looked pretty badly, and is now flowering like nothing happened.

Optimism is best found in all the details, right there with God

$50 Gift Card Giveaway!

MODERN TROPICAL LIFESTYLE GIVEAWAY!

CSN Stores is collaborating with The Rainforest Garden for a $50 gift card giveaway!  You can use it towards LED lighting to light up your garden, cooking utensils, you name it!


All you have to do is leave a comment to this post to enter, and I'll randomly pick the winner on May 31st, Memorial Day.  If you become a follower of my blog or make a link to this site or contest, I will enter you twice!


A PLANT GIVEAWAY TOO!

I'm about to make things a bit more interesting though by introducing a contest of my own, in which you will pick one product from any of CSN's stores that you feel embodies the "Modern Tropical Lifestyle" theme.  This could include pillows with bright modern prints, modern and sleek teak dining sets, oven mitts, or possibly some garden lighting or water features.  Bright, Exuberant and maybe a little retro are all good qualities to look for.
Copy and paste a link to the product in your comment, explain your decision, and I will pick my favorites for a post on "Modern Tropical Living".  My favorite entry will receive a goody like an aechmea "blue cones" offset or a hidden ginger rhizome!

There are lots of stores in which to make your choices, but here are some starters.  cookware.com, allmodern.com, alloutdoordining.com and everyfountain.comHere's a whole list of all the stores.

I'm really excited to give back to you guys after you've supported me so much!  The Rainforest Garden has grown so much in just several months and I have you to thank!

The 5 Best Cold Hardy Bromeliads

Even though there's a multitude of frost tolerant bromeliads to choose from, the internet is somewhat lacking with information on the matter.  Here are my top picks based on personal experience, numerous resources and anecdotal information.  Included are bromeliads that can take freezing conditions to 20 degrees, but it is best to protect them just in case and see what works for you since there are always exceptions within each species.


Aechmea
The genus Aechmea includes the greatest amount of cold hardy species, such as the popular "Matchstick Bromeliads", Aechmea Gamosepala and Aechmea Cylindrata, which get my picks for time proven toughness.  "Blue Cones" is pictured to the left, which is a hybrid of cylindrata.  
These two and their hybrids are quite similar, but the majority of them feature clumping and low growing rosettes of foliage with a blue and pink flower spike with bracts resembling matchsticks.  Other tough ones are A. apocalyptica, A. recurvata, A. winkleri, A. calyculata, A. caudata, A kertesziae, A. distichantha and A. Nudicaulis, though there are many more.
They can be grown in well draining soil as an accent, groundcover or focal point, but its in the trees as epiphytes that they really look impressive.  I recommend placing offsets in palm trees like windmills and letting them form clumps at eye level. 

Billbergia
There are a multitude of cold hardy Billbergia Hybrids with drastically different flowers and forms.  Many of the toughest ones color nicely in sun, often with pink spotted foliage!  Billbergia Nutans, or Queens Tears have soft and wavy green leaves that drape down nicely, especially when planted as an epiphyte.  Still others, like Billbergia Pyramidalis 'Striata' or 'kyoto' have variegated foliage with yellow stripes or white margins, respectively.
You can usually identify Billbergias by their slender form and short lived but magnificent flowers.  Pyramidalis Hybrids are borderline for me in 9a, so make sure to give them protection.


Dyckia
These are succulent terrestrials with amazing spiky, tightly clustered rosettes.  Though there are other cold hardy terrestrials like Puya and Bromelia, Dyckia get my pick for the average home gardener for their tightly clumping nature and smaller size.  Many like "Cherry Coke" and "Red Planet" have deep burgundy leaves, while others are green, bronze or jet black.  The contrasting white spines look menacing yet very ornate, and actually point forward and backward!  To the left is a shot of "cherry coke" flowering at the UNF campus.

Neoregelia
Grown mostly for their architectural foliage, Neoregelias have an astounding variety of hybrids to choose from, with many of the leathery ones suitable for colder winters.  Neoregelia Spectabilis is a common passalong plant with pink "fingernails at the tips of the leaves, and is quite hardy in sun or frost.  Neoregelias will sustain damage in the coldest winters, but they usually recover quickly.  There is a clump of Neoregelia "Betty Head" growing in an old oak tree despite the recent cold winters.  It took a big hit this year, but this was with no protection.  My recommendation for those with hard frosts is to plant them in protected places.  If you want them in trees, plant stoloniferous types at the tree's base and let them climb!

Vriesea
When the freezes hit my local garden centers and nurseries, it was interesting to note that while the guzmanias burned to a crisp, the vrieseas got off almost scot free.  Although the mother plants died, all of the pups were unharmed even though these individuals were of amazonian origin.  If you're feeling a little less brave, try some of these exceptional species from Southeastern Brazil!  Vriesea Philippo Coburgii, V. Vagans, V. Lubbersii, V. Corcovadensis and V. Flammea are all great choices if you get frost.  My philippo coburgii was left out in the open and only received a little leaf damage!  To the left is a Vriecantarea "Inferno", which is an intergeneric hybrid between Vriesea and Alcantarea.  This very large hybrid is also reportedly very hardy.

(Though "the best" is definitely open for debate, I've spent the last several years researching through books, the internet, publications, anecdotal evidence and from personal experience.  If you have any pertinent info be it a disagreement or a shared success, leave a comment or let me know.)

Here's a link to a post I did on cold hardy Billbergias

A Dew Covered Morning

Neoregelia "Tequila" in front of Nandina "Firepower"

The Rainforest Garden was cool and moist yesterday, and dew remained spattered on the leaves late into the morning.  I decided to break out the good camera this time, since there seems to be more and more to photograph lately, and you guys are probably growing weary of my crappy cell phone camera by now anyway. 

Vriesea Phillipo-Coburgii

Neoregelia "Red Bands"

Alocasia "California"

alocasia macrorrhiza emerging even bigger than last year!

A dry stream bed created by some flooding rains we had recently.


The paurotis palm in the photo above came back rater nicely even though the spears pulled out.  You can see the brown cut edges where they rotted!
 
 Yellow Anise
 
The "Willies Gold" Ti plant 
  
 

Aechmea Cylindrata "Blue Cone"


My mystery bromeliads from "Tropical World" nursery have finally bloomed!  I knew that they were in the ortgeisea alliance by looking at the leaves, but know I can finally say with certainty that these are a cultivar of aechmea cylindrata called blue cone.  The flower clusters are denser than the species and have a typical matchstick color scheme of neon blue and pink.


Though a couple sources online say to avoid full sun, I actually found it at the nursery doing quite well in a sunny spot.  To keep the bright coloring and tight rosettes I planted it in a sunny spot near the front door, where it greets visitors with its electrifying inflorescences. 
Aechmea cylindrata is similar to aechmea gamosepela and is very cold hardy as far as bromeliads go.  For those of you who lost some tropicals this winter, try using either of these two aechmeas as tough groundcovers or as epiphytes!  Even after they bloom, the bracts stay in color for months, much like heliconias.


A couple of other posts on aechmea cylindrata and gamosepala

Aechmea gamosepala or cylindrata bloom
My bromeliad garden is oblivious to the cold

5 ways to fight cold damage

After this winter I learned a lot about overwintering tropicals.  The most important one was that it usually isn't the hard freeze that kills plants but rather the constant cold temperatures, dry winds, drought and disease making a bad situation worse.  Here are some more tips that go beyond the obvious protection measures. 



1. Pay Attention to the Watering Needs
Although succulents and bromeliads like to be kept on the dry side,  many plants are left without water when they need it most.  When plant's cells are ruptured by frost, water evaporates from the damaged leaves quickly which means that you have to keep them hydrated enough to heal.  Here in Florida its rather dry in winter too, so plants that would otherwise survive a freeze are often forgotten and die of drought.  You don't need to overdo it, just make sure you don't forgo watering entirely during winter and spring!

2.  Sanitize!
Plants are much more susceptible to rotting in cold weather, so thoroughly clean your pruning shears between plants when taking care of the cold damage.  I even found cold hardy palms that suffered from rot transferred after pruning rotting tender palms.  Even if there's no visible cold damage, try spraying a fungicide around the crowns of your palms.

3.  Temporary Mulch.
Although all you need is a light covering of mulch ordinarily, in winter it doesn't hurt to mound up some mulch at the base of your more tender shrubs and perennials in the coldest weather, spreading it back out afterward.  This prevents subsequent disease by providing air circulation.  Light and fluffy pine straw works wonders on smaller perrenials, and even kept christmas cactus, prayer plant and rubber ficus going through the winter.  You can even stuff the crown of your bromeliads, tree ferns or philodendrons on the coldest nights!

4.  Pick Root Hardy Plants
Gingers, and elephant ears are the easiest solution since they naturally store their energy in enlarged fleshy rhizomes, practically leaping back out of the ground in early spring!  There is a huge selection of unusual choices, but my picks are crinums, blood lily, alpinias, alocasias and plain old lily of the nile.  Many of these will actually retain foliage in winter, but their huge and cold tolerant tubers will give you peace of mind.

5.  Plant Densely
I know that all the books tell you to give plants plenty of room, but if you're experimenting with tropicals I've found its best to pack them in nice and snug.  This gives a lot more frost protection, and also keeps the cold winds from drying out the foliage.
For example, my shell gingers (alpinia zerumbet "variegated) were younger plants spread out with space between them.  After this winter all that was left above ground were several stalks that remained protected by the taller ones.  Just a few miles away is a shopping center that retained shell gingers up to 6 feet tall, all because the more mature specimens were tightly packed.  Only the tallest stalks were damaged!


Here is my list of how everything did, updated today!

Hardiness List and Damage Report

Germinating Heliconia Seeds


 I finally acquired some heliconia schiedeana seeds from Whatcom Seed Company and was very impressed with the great service!  They not only shipped them out right away, but also included a great little guide for germinating heliconia seeds, along with padded seed packets complete with a photo of the plant!  (The third photo on the instructions is what I ordered)
Many of you in the tropics have access to heliconia seeds, so why not give it a shot?  
Due to the hard seed coats, I'm here to say that heliconias are notoriously difficult to grow from seed, requiring hardcore scarification (that sounds worse than it is), long soaks in tepid water and a wait ranging from a month to a year!  I have already succeeded in germinating seeds of ensete ventricosum and canna edulis, so I figured that it wouldn't be a stretch to sprout something in the same family...
Here's a summary of what the instructional packet and other sources online recommend for a successful heliconia sprout:


How to Germinate Heliconia Seeds

(These instructions apply to many other seeds with a hard coating, and I sprouted coral beans, sea grape and various sea beans using variations of this technique.)

1.  Scarify the seed coating
By sanding away the seed coat, you're letting water reach the embryo faster, shortening your wait.  You can use sandpaper or a nail file, but make sure you don't sand all the way through the coat or you risk damaging the embryo.

2.  Soak in tepid water
Immerse the seeds in hot water for a few days, replacing the water periodically.  This not only speeds up the process by softening the seed coating, but also helps to sanitize the seed and reduces potential problems.

3.  Plant in sanitized sphagnum moss
I ordered mine with the seeds!  You can use bags, trays or individual containers, but be sure to cover your container with plastic to keep it moist and sterile.  The medium should be moist but not soggy.  It supposedly helps if the white tip is pointing up, and providing a warm and dark environment is ideal.  I'm planting mine in a tupperware container, putting it in my shelf on my shady balcony and covering it with a small towel to help moderate the temperature. 

4.  Keep an eye on them
Just keep checking to make sure that everything's going okay.  If you see a little mold you can either replace some of the medium or sprinkle dry sphagnum on top.  When seeds germinate, transplant them to clean potting soil and watch them grow!

Heliconia Schiedeana is the most cold tolerant of the genus, and will unfurl huge upright paddlelike leaves up to 10 feet tall, eventually bearing a spiraling inflorescence with red bracts and yellow flowers.  I've seen it growing at the Jacksonville Zoo, so I know it can at least tolerate our winters.  It will only flower on stems over a year old, but after a milder winter in zone 9a I'll probably get to see a bloom or two, though the foliage is impressive enough on its own!

"I survived the freezes of '09 and '10!"

Growing tropicals where its not so tropical is the whole point of this blog, so allow me to share some plants that have defeated the odds by surviving not one, but two record breaking winters in a row!
I don't care what anyone tells you about "playing it safe" by growing plants in your zone, nature has a way of surprising you by its (perhaps not so surprising) will to live.  Today I'll show you some neat recovery photos but first, here are some shots from the courtyard garden featuring plants that are a bit more cold tolerant and only look tropical.

Almost tropical...
This Japanese birds nest fern is not only cold hardy, but huge and drop dead gorgeous!  I left "Lady Gaga" in her container to better emulate her natural habit as an epiphyte, and she seems to appreciate it!  This is truly one of the most tropical looking plants you can get without having to worry about frost.

So this is the clump of aechmeas I got a couple months ago, and its starting to bloom!  Maybe then I'll find out what type of aechmea in the (mostly cold hardy) ortgeisea alliance it could be.  Its a little late for it to be a gamosepala, so maybe a blumenavii?  I can't wait to find out!

Overwintered outdoors through numerous hard freezes...
Paurotis Palm -  Earlier in the year I pulled the spears out of all of the paurotis palm trunks, which led me to believe that they were dead.  Nope!  The same trunks are now pushing out multiple fronds in a frenzy.  Native, freeze tolerant and flood tolerant, Everglades palm is just about my favorite palm tree.

Monstera Deliciosa -  Here are some new leaves on the monstera deliciosa!  Apparently I'll have this one in the garden for years to come, since its taken two very cold winters and flooding last summer.  I expect to see the characteristic "swiss cheese" leaves in a month or so at the rate its going.

Neoregelia Pauciflora -  I moved my neoregelia pauciflora to the base of the live oak so that they'll grow up the trunk.  If you look closely, both rosettes are shooting out long stolons already, even though they haven't flowered yet.  I did cover these in winter, but they showed absolutely no damage so I figure they're at least worth a shot.  Neoregelia pauciflora is so prolific that they should recover from another black winter in no time.  To the left and right are super spiky quesnelia arvensis.  (A little late to bloom this year...)

Leather Fern -  Leather fern is a familiar sight to those in South Florida, but here in Jacksonville mine was knocked back by frost.  I think its slowness to recover can be blamed on how dry the last couple months have been.  In the rainy season this specimen will be underwater and loving it!

Ficus Decora -  Even ficus decora, or rubber plant is coming back from the roots!  This really makes me want to try strangler fig, if only I could find one for sale. 

False Cardamom Ginger -  My false cardamom was knocked back a bit by frost, but that's it, as you can see in the photo above.  If I could recommend one groundcover for a tropical look, this would be it.  Actually, if I could pick one foliage plant, flood tolerant plant, or perennial, this would also be it.  Alpinia Nutans, or false cardamom ginger is a low growing relative to all those variegated shell gingers you see everywhere.  It smells like cinnamon when you crush the leaves, is frost tolerant as gingers get, clumps densely and has these wonderful glossy leaves.  They only rarely bloom, but the lush and glossy green leaves are perfect just the way they are.

Look to the left in the photo above and you can get an idea of how tall it got for me last year! Just to the right of that is the more familiar variegated shell ginger, and in the back corner is that monstera deliciosa before the frost clipped it back.

There are other tropicals that made it of course, and this is only a small sampling of the many I risked it with.  A couple of plants didn't make it, but the way I see it, I only used the money that most gardeners spend on annuals.  At least tropicals have a chance of making it through to next year, so zone 9 gardeners, why not be adventurous and plant that ficus outside in a shady spot instead of tossing it in the trash?

The Balcony Garden and a New Bromeliad!


It was really hot today, but its always nice on my shady balcony!  Today I swept and removed the old leaves from my buggy ti plant, relieving it of spider mites and mealybugs.  I washed it with a light solution of soapy water but I had to remove the old leaves since the axils were loaded with critters. I tucked it in with the other plants for now until it gets bushier.


The big plant to the right is my beloved fiddle leaf fig, or ficus lyrata. It tolerates just about anything but is really responding well to the heat, humidity, and my increased waterings to correspond with the season.  Wait, what's that bromeliad below it?


That's right, Neoregelia "Tequila" is a new addition to my garden and will be getting a sunny spot in the front yard so everyone can see it!  I found it at Home Depot of all places, and not only did I find a pup and a flower bud on this brom, but spotted a huge treefrog as well!  He stuck onto my shoulder as I continued to shop, and I let him go before I left.
Here's one more picture from my balcony, a blooming rhipsalis!  I'm not crazy about the overall sparse and spiny look of this one, but the chains of flowers will be pretty cool when it gets bigger.  I'll also be sure to eat the resulting berries and plant the seeds after it blooms!