Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)

Gardenia in Bloom 2011

 I have always loved gardenias because they look so elegant and smell like I am dancing a waltz.  Gardenias can be a little tricky to keep flourishing in your yard.  I've tried them a few times.  This is my third effort and so far, my most successful.  I have been able to keep this one alive for 4 years so far.  Gardenias need bright light, high humidity, and well drained soil with a pH between 5.0 and 6.5.  Normally, I would not bother with the pH, these can be really tough plants to keep going.  I water these sweethearts to keep them going and I am not fond of watering.  I believe in xeriscaping whenever possible.  This is also one of my plants I never forget to feed fertilizer every spring.  

Scraggly Gardenia - 2012

Gardenia in Bud 2012

I used to have 3 gardenia plants, then about 3 years ago I was down to one gardenia. Things are looking a bit iffy now.  My last gardenia plant is terribly, terribly sad.  I trimmed it way back hoping it will begin to fill in.  It does appear to be filling in.  Thank goodness. I have a few photos to show you today so you can see what's going on here.  Before we go any further.  We'll go over what's right and what's not right in the world of gardenia's on the sunny side of Susan.  I'm still researching the growth I see below and what I need to do to fix it.  I see good growth and I also saw no air plants or Spanish moss growing on the gardenia this year!  This was TERRIFIC to see.  Last year I spent many days picking air plants off and moss of the gardenia and checking it daily.  I learned from my tree guy that when pruning the gardenia that it is absolutely necessary to trim it flush with the joint.  If you trim it and leave any nubs at the joint, it gives the Spanish moss and air plants a little "seat" to rest on and take hold on your plant.  I am a much more careful pruner now.

Gardenia Filling In - 3/17/2012

Growth on the stems of Gardenia - 3/17/2012

Bromeliads

When I moved into this house almost 11 years ago, the owner left me 2 plants that I'm sure she hated.  Plants she thought were ugly.  One of those was a bromeliad.  You know the kind, has a flower once in its lifetime and that's it.  Each year the parent plants have pups and that one plant is now a bunch of plants.  If you are familiar with these plants, you know that after the parent plant flowers, it has baby plants grow off of the base of it.  When the babies or pups as they are called, have grown large enough, the parent plant will die off, leaving behind several new plants in its place.  The new plants will produce flowers when they are mature and produce pups of their own, repeating the cycle. An example of a well-known bromeliad is a pineapple.  It's also a big surprise to people to find out that Spanish Moss is a member of the bromeliad family.  Spanish Moss is not a moss.   

Today, I took a peek on the lanai after work to see what work I needed to do this weekend and guess what I found in the corner?  You got it!  Several pots of bromeliads were hiding in deep dark corner.  One of them is in desperate need of getting a new home.  The current quarters are very cramped and the parent plant is still attached to the pups.  When the pups are about 1/3 the size of the parent they are safe to be detached from the parent and will survive on their own.  The usual soil mix I use is soil and peat moss mix. I keep them moist but not soaking wet.  

Tree covered by Spanish Moss

Tillandsia utriculata

For the past two years, my Bottle Brush tree has been home to a special bromeliad that is an endangered species.  A large air plant that is native to southern Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean, the Mexican Boll Weevil and over-harvesting are what have put this plant in jeopardy.  It takes approximately 7 years for this plant to flower, but after it does, it will die.  So, to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to the showy display because I know that it will be gone.  It is the largest of all of the air plants in the United States.  I feel like winds of luck blew my way and dropped the plant into my tree.  This bromeliad does not have pups.  So, I'm hoping that somehow it, reproduces and I get more and this is not the end.  Air plants are everywhere in Florida.  If you want to try your hand with these, they are very easy to care for.  No soil needed and simple misting with a spray bottle or hose (if you keep them outside) is all that's needed.  If you keep in a sunny window during the winter months, they should survive just fine even in the cold zones.  They will send up stems with a single flower on each stem in the spring.  I've had 2 little teeny Tillandsias (air plants) for almost 11 years and they are still alive and kicking.  
Good sources of info on Bromeliads:
http://www.bsi.org/brom_info/what.html
http://www.bromeliads.info/
http://www.bromeliad.com/
http://fcbs.org/

Azaleas

Azaleas beneath Bottle Brush Tree

Azalea beneath Lugustrum

A few days ago, we talked about planting azaleas under some plant for dappled sunlight in the very hot climates to protect them from burning.  We also discussed why putting them beneath a Bottle Brush was not such a good idea.  Then, today I was walking my dog and I see someone has come up with this bright idea.  I decided to snap a photo for you to see what it looks like.  The passerby isn't sure what the show is, the azaleas at the base or beautiful bottle brush blooms.  What a shame to waste these showy blooms.  I saw directly across the street from this a properly planted azalea and thought you might like to see that as well.   The lugustrum azaleas are better protected and overall healthier; not to mention the show is clearly not upstaged.  Remember that when you plant your gardens, a bit of time spent planning can make a whole world of difference and save you a lot of grief later.  Think about how the color scheme goes together, when the blooms show their best display and how will that affect the plants around it (Art).  This is all in addition to the sunlight and soil type (Science).  So you see gardening is part art and part science, just like cooking and everything else that's really fun and gives something good in return.  :D 
This brings me to another area of garden art.  I told you I was stuck on this patio for now and that kept me in containers.  This is good in some ways because it lets me be artistic with my plantings.  I can play creatively with how I plant and each year is different from the year before.  Did you ever notice how we seem to fall into that trap of planting the same thing the same way as we did the year before in the same place or nearly the same place or the nearly the same way?  Breaking out of this pattern of sameness is good for us because it lets us express ourselves and have some fun with our plantings.  Plant your strawberries in a pocket planter and tomatoes so they are vertical and hang upside down.  This makes them so much easier to harvest as well.  Plant your potatoes in a plastic bag!  I searched a few of these out for you and looked for what I believed are real bargains and purchased myself.  However, I do not spend more than an hour or so looking.  If you are more dedicated, I suggest that you keep looking and use these to get a good head-start. 

French Lavender
Eeeeee!  I'm so excited! My French Provence Lavender arrived today.  I ordered 4 plants in 4 inch pots.  This delivery was the fastest post I think I ever got and it came in a box marked perishable filled with those little Styrofoam peanuts.  The pots had tape over the soil to keep it moist.  These plants, though not flowering yet, are extra fragrant and as soon as I cut the tape and opened the flaps, the aroma wafted out and wriggled its way up to my nose and tickled my senses.  I can't wait until the weekend comes and I have the time to plant them.  I'll have to search Google and see if they'll be safe from the deer or if I'll have to make room in the cramped quarters on the lanai for them.   For people that know me well, they are probably laughing about now because they realize this is the 4th time I'm trying to grow lavender in Florida.  Every time before it has died on me.  This time I did a little more research and chose to search for the species that suited the zone I now live in.  When I lived in zone 5, it did so well, I couldn't kill it. 

Avocado - February 23, 2012

Avocado Grown by Seed
Have you ever grown a potato in a glass of water?  How about an avocado?  As a grandma to two 3-year old grandsons and a brand new grandson, I've been helping the older ones learn the love of playing in the dirt and growing things.  You saw what happened when we planted bean seeds.  It took two tries but that is how we learn.  We also ate an avocado and then washed the seed that was left after we finished enjoying the fruit.  After that, we stuck three toothpicks into the seed at equal distances around the center to help balance it and hold it on the rim of a plastic cup.  We balanced it on the rim of the cup and then filled the cup with water to cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the seed.  We kept changing the water to keep it from getting murky and rotten.  Some days it looked like it evaporated and we just added a bit more water to keep it covering about 1/3 of the seed.  After awhile, roots began to form.  When the root system looked fairly strong and the toothpicks caved in, we planted the avocado seed in soil.  It's been about 6 months now and we're starting to get some woody covering beginning to form on the stem.  In other words, we are getting a tree beginning to form!! 

Azalea President Arcilla - Feb 23, 2012

Immature Azalea seed pods

The azaleas have gone to seed.  I'm ready for them.  I looked it so I know what to do and I've gotten my supplies together.  I'm also going to try an experiment with it at the same time.  Let's talk a little about azaleas first.  Azaleas are slow growers from the rhododendron family that prefer acidic soil.  This is why they get a special fertilizer made just for them and their friends.  There are over 10,000 kinds of azaleas so it's important to label your  seeds to the kind of azalea you have.  I always try to save the store tags when I buy my plants.  I wonder if I'm distantly related to Minnie Pearl?  Originally cultivated by monks, this ancient plant is the national flower of Nepal and do well in zones 5 to 9.  They can still be grown in the outlying zones if you protect them from the extreme heat and cold by keep them in containers and bring them inside when necessary to protect them.  Use your common sense as always.  Hot, full sun will bleach out the vivid colors and can even burn the leaves if you are in a very hot  zone.  In those hot zones, you might want to consider dappled sunlight beneath a red oak tree.  There's no sense putting it beneath a bottle brush tree where they'd be competing with each other for a passerby's attention.  So back to the seed thing.   You know it's been on my mind if you've been reading my posts.  Everything I've read tells me the seeds are kept in pods.  The pods not so easy to find.  I took a couple photos to show you what they look like at both the immature and mature stages. 

Mature Azalea seed pod

The mature pod comes out easily while the immature pod must be pinched out.  I collected all of the the mature pods and some of the immature seed pods for an experiment to see if they would mature off of the plant.   The mature seed pods will be kept in a clear, plastic container and the immature pods in an envelope so the air can circulate and they won't become fuzzy and rotten (like Josh's bean seeds).         
Below you can see the final results of my labors.

Completed Azalea Seed Project

Collected Azalea Seeds

Let's talk a little bit about orchids.  I am one of those crazy orchid ladies.  I have these orchids all over the lanai (screened in patio).  I ordered a bunch of little teeny baby ones last year and they came wrapped in newspaper.  

Budding Phalenopsis & problem orchid

Cymbidium with buds - $25 special

Cattleyas

2 Vandas & Cattleya (center)

 I also have a $25 special from the grocery store that's over 4 feet tall - my Cymbidium.   The crazy Phalenopsis that I got with the wrinkled leaves that was so unhealthy and just won't die but keeps on blooming from the same 2 stems is nuttier than a fruitcake - compliments of Lowes.  I keep looking for these stems to die off and new stems to grow but that just never happens.  My problem orchid is a problem because I lost the label a long time ago and I can't remember what it is and my grandsons and cat pulled it out of the planting medium more than once or twice and I just finally pulled it out of everyone's reach.  
I wanted to close today's post with something new and exciting.  A few days ago I posted your plant zone but it was for your cold zone.  I have now found another zonal map for heat zones.  This is brand new and cool and tells you how many days your area has over 86 degrees Fahrenheit.  Zone 1 has less than 1 while Zone 12 has more than 210 days over 86 degrees.  In addition, the link will bring you to not only the map, but American Gardener. 

http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm

Planting Seeds, exploring the yard & deer problem
It was a beautiful day for working outside and I feel every bit of in in every aching bone and muscle I have.  The mysterious sprouts that I couldn't remember when I spotted them on Thursday, I remembered today. How?  It just hit me that I put the Chinese Lilies in that particular pot.  This is what I have to look forward to in the coming months:

Chinese Lily

Josh's beans shocked me when I saw them this morning.  The success was absolutely amazing!  I'm not sure what to do with all these terrific looking seedlings.  I don't have the heart to just dump them.  I planted 9 of the seedlings today (2 of the ones that made it past Josh's fuzzy stuff and 7 redos).  

Bean Seedlings planted February 25, 2012

I also did some direct sowing today - basil, parsley, and chives.  Some people read the seed packet, measure between rows and how deep they plant and do a wonderful job.  I am not that kind of gardener.  I still manage to get my plants to grow in my garden for me.  ;)  As I think about this, I compare it to the cook who uses a cookbook and a cook who cooks from memory or taste.  So let's take a look at how I planted those seeds today since we KNOW I did not even look at the back of those seed packets. 

First, I used the hand rake to get rid of all of the old roots and stuff out as well as any new weeds that may have started to grow inside.   Then, I sprinkled some Osmocote on top.  Osmocote is my all around fertilizer used for almost everything except palm trees, fruit, and acidic soil loving flowers.  How much?  Oh about that much.  Look  at the photo.  Like I'm cooking, about that much is often my measurement given when asked. Until I'm finished using my current supply of this fertilizer, I'll continue using it.  When it's gone, I'll be looking for one that's a bit more earth friendly.  Use the hand rake to mix the fertilizer into the soil.  

I took about 1/2 the seeds and sprinkled them into my hand first.  Then I scattered them across the top of the soil.  I used my open palm the disperse the seeds and get them covered by soil at the same time.  This was done very gently.  Finally, I watered the freshly planted seeds with a watering can that gave a very gentle water. 

Do you remember when we talked yesterday about the dead trees?  Well, my limon tree (cross between lemon and lime tree) was dead.  I swear it was.  Nothing but dead branches were sticking out of that pot and I was just too lazy to go out and take care of it.  Today, I went to take care of things and looky, looky what I found! The fragrance was out of this world beautiful!!

You may have noticed by now that everything is so far is in containers.  This is because I have a deer problem.  We live in a preserve area that is a gated community that keeps the deer inside and protected, but this also means they are heavily overpopulated.  They eat everything in sight.  Any tender growth, bulbs, even my hanging flower baskets weren't safe from these monstrous appetites.  While the animals are beautiful to behold, they are the bane of my garden.  I'm investigating new plants that deer do not like due to their heavy fragrance or thorny stems for planting outside the screened lanai to move beyond my containers since I'm so cramped for space. 

Seed Collection & Hardiness Zones
Today was one of those days when you learn something you wish you hadn't.  I may be paying with time, a whole year's worth.  I wanted to collect the seeds from my white Bird of Paradise.  So, yesterday I took out the ladders and climbed up, cut all the Birds out of the plant.  I carefully cut one of the Birds apart looking for the seeds.  All that happened was I was that I made a sappy mess and no seeds could be found anywhere.  Soooo, today I looked it up again today, printed everything out on Birds of Paradise finding, harvesting, and planting the seeds.  Well.....one of the first things I noticed was that it said to leave the flowers alone on the plant until they begin to die off and the seed pod is tan and noticeable.  Uh oh, too late, I cut them off the plant.  I'll try leaving them sit on the table and see if the seed pods mature and I get seeds just in case.  Mistake made and lesson learned.  For any of you interested in this subject, here is a great link on the topic: How to Find Seeds for Bird of Paradise  Hopefully, my next experiment with collecting seeds is more fruitful.

Harvested Birds of Paradise

Destroyed Birds of Paradise

I chatted with my daughter and she told me that she was checking and rechecking her planting zone because one place said one zone and another gave her a different zone.  This got me to thinking, because I know every planting season I do the same thing.  I check my planting zone too.  I know my zone, but still I check it.  I don't know why but I  forget if I'm 9a or 9b and before it used to be zone 5 or 6.  I get brain dead or something.  Either way this conversation with her got me to thinking that we are not alone and many of us go through the same ritual.  Checking that zone map is the signal for us that we are ready to start our gardens.  To help you get the hint that planting season is nearly here for some and  already here for others, I'm giving you your zones.  If you click on the map it will take you directly to the official USDA plant hardiness website. ☺

Sowing Seeds Indoors
Yes, it's time to think about starting those seeds indoors. You could be thinking of giving your gorgeous flowers a head start or your veggies or herbs a jump start so that you can either take  advantage of a double planting season or maybe harvest sooner or even have a short planting season if you are in the great, white tundra.  Some people have the mistaken idea that they need to go out and buy all kinds of stuff for this . . . peat pots, topsoil, fertilizers, yada yada.  I've had pretty good luck doing this on the cheap and I've found some pretty cool inexpensive ideas as well.  Egg shells, egg cartons, plastic fruit containers, and milk cartons all make excellent plant containers for the new seeds.  The egg shells are my favorites because you can put those directly into the soil and crumble them up as you transplant them.  Another option that is really nice 
and you can move directly into the garden, is the little pots made of newspaper.  I found an excellent tutorial online that gives step by step instructions for even the very blackest thumbed gardeners.  (Newspaper seedling pot instructions)


Let's talk for a minute about those seeds while we're at it.  You might have some seeds left over from last year.  Don't throw them out.  Test them out to see if they're any good first.  You may be surprised!  

1. Put about 5 or 6 seeds between 2 paper towels and spray them with a water bottle with water until wet but not sopping.
2. Fold or roll up the paper towel and put in a plastic baggie and label with date.
3. Place in a warm place and check after a few days.
4. The back of the seed packet tells how long it should take for germination.  If it is taking a lot longer than this for you to see the seeds sprout, they are likely not viable any longer.
5. If 2 of the 6 germinate, then you will need to sow 3 times as many seeds as you want plants to grow.  

These germination charts should help you to know what to expect from your seeds:

Germination Time for Common Seed-Grown Annuals

Common Name	Germination Time
Ageratum	5 to 14 days
Alyssum	7 to 14 days
Baby Blue Eyes	7 to 14 days
Baby's Breath	10 to 15 days
Bachelor's Button	7 to 14 days
Bells of Ireland	25 to 35 days
Black Eyed Susan Vine	10 to 15 days
Calendula	7 to 14 days
Celosia	3 to 6 days
China Aster	8 to 14 days
Cleome	10 to 14 days
Coleus	10 to 15 days
Cosmos	5 to 10 days
Geranium	10 to 14 days
Globe Amaranth	10 to 21 days
Impatiens	10 days
Larkspur	15 to 20 days
Love-in-a-Mist	10 to 15 days
Love-Lies-Bleeding	10 to 15 days
Marigold	5 to 7 days
Mealy-Cup Sage	14 to 21 days
Mexican Sunflower	7 to 14 days
Morning Glory	5 to 10 days
Nasturtium	9 to 14 days
Nicotiana	14 to 21 days
Petunia	10 to 14 days
Poppy	8 to 10 days
Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine	7 to 14 days
Scarlet Runner Bean Vine	7 to 14 days
Snapdragon	7 to 14 days
Sunflower	5 to 12 days
Sweet Pea	14 to 21 days
Verbena	14 to 21 days
Viola	10 to 20 days
Zinnia	7 to 10 days

Germination Times for Common Seed-Grown Herbs and Vegetables

Crop	Germination Time
Basil	7 to 10 days
Bean	7 to 14 days
Beet	10 to 14 days
Broccoli	7 to 10 days
Brussels Sprout	7 to 10 days
Cabbage	10 to 14 days
Cantaloupe	5 to 7 days
Carrot	10 to 14 days
Catnip	7 to 14 days
Cauliflower	5 to 7 days
Chervil	14 to 28 days
Corn	5 to 7 days
Cucumber	7 to 14 days
Dill	10 to 21 days
Eggplant	7 to 10 days
Fennel	10 to 21 days
German Chamomile	10 to 15 days
Lettuce	4 to 6 days
Mint	12 to 15 days
Parsley	21 to 28 days
Pea	7 to 10 days
Pepper	7 to 10 days
Pumpkin	7 to 10 days
Radish	3 to 5 days
Spinach	7 to 21 days
Squash, Winter	7 to 10 days
Tomato	7 to 14 days
Watermelon	5 to 7 days

Flower cart from Provence in France

Free Plant Network 
In honor of my first blog post, I'm sharing the link for free plants!  
Totally Free Plant, Cut Flowers, Vegetable & Flower Seeds and Flower Bulbs Delivered Right to Your Doorstep.

Yellow Phalenopsis Orchid

I'm really excited about starting a gardening blog that will share the information I have been gathering about gardening in Florida and that spring is just about here.   We've already started sowing some seeds for the herbs and our early bloomers have begun their showy displays.  We have some wildlife problems in my neighborhood to deal with that limits where and how planting can occur or else it just becomes food for the ever-growing herds of deer.  Coming from zone 5 to zone 9b is a learning experience that never ends, so together we will face the joys and sorrows of my successes and failures of the garden.  This year is the year of learning to collect seeds from our gorgeous plants and try to regrow and share them.  We'll see how that goes too.  I invite you to come learn with me, teach me and share your garden glories.  

Tomorrow, we'll start talking about getting those seeds started indoors on the cheap.  :)