-

-
Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Reading Blogs is Dangerous - New Additions

When one reads a lot of plant blogs, (s)he learns about a lot of cool plants that other gardeners rave about.  These four new plants were all ones that I most likely wouldn't have given a second thought if not for reading about them on a garden blog so I lay the blame for these plant acquisitions on the following bloggers:

Hoya lauterbachii came in the mail from Logee's as a result of my reading about Evan's (The Practical Plant Geek) hoyas here.  Evan didn't talk about this one but the fuzzy leaves are quite different from the thick waxy-leaved ones that I'd grown successfully before.  Since it arrived, I've been reading stories saying that unless you live in Hawaii, this plant probably won't bloom for you.  Oh well, the foliage is sweet and I can always pick up a more easily-blooming hoya some other time.


Also from Logee's came this Eucharis amazonica.  Chloris, who writes The Blooming Garden, posted images of her Amazon Lily in bloom here.  She and the internet both say that it's easy to grow and produces fragrant blooms  at various times of the year.  



I'm not a fan of orchids.  There are many temperate terrestrial orchids which folks grow beautifully and are a joy to behold in their gardens.   They carry with them all sorts of mystery about how to keep them happy and alive.  They want water but not too much; ditto with light, they want you to feed them once a month but only with very dilute orchid fertilizer, they want to grow in bark and in pots with holes in the sides,  the plants aren't particularly good looking, and they lurk around the house taking up precious plant real estate and looking dull for months on end.  Like hybrid tea roses, orchids are all about the flowers.  When Jean, Dotty Plants Greenhouse Journal,  shared that she successfully grows orchids in her home here, it got me to thinking about phalanopsis orchids which are supposed to be fairly easy to grow.  I had to go to Lowe's to get some electrical conduit - quick in and out- when this caught my eye. The tropical sunset colors seduced my winter weary (already) soul and somehow it ended up in my cart.


























Right beside it was this very fragrant Cattleya.  When my mind conjures an orchid, it is this flower form that usually comes to mind.  The color looked so nice next to the phalaenopsis...



Added to the Cymbidium orchid that I was given as a gift last year and haven't killed yet there are three "easy to grow" orchids.  You see, there was all this bright space upstairs where the tender plants used to spend the winter before we had the greenhouse...

If you read garden blogs, you will be tempted to acquire more plants!  Consider yourself warned,

21 comments:

  1. So true! I keep reading about really cool plants I had not even heard of before. And now I am going to be contemplating if I need an Eucharis...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You do need an Eucharis! Can't wait to experience the fragrance!

      Delete
  2. Oh, Orchids! Beautiful colors. I wondered how long that room would remain unoccupied.

    We are so suggestible. Mr. Subjunctive encouraged me to plant Schlumbergera seeds last year and I resisted. This year pods are already forming and I am making plans to follow his methods.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just learned that they would make pods if you pollinated them and that they are rather ornamental. Must give that a try!

      Delete
  3. I see lots of plants on blogs that I need to have too, but usually the only thing I do in response is Pin the pictures on Pinterest. And then I forget about them, because I'm getting old and my memory is failing. Maybe I should print out the list and then go plant shopping with it. Logee's is a great place, although their plants are pretty small. I've bought a few Begonias there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your list idea sounds like a good one! I have random scraps of paper all over the place with plant names on them. Mail order plants usually are fairly small to help with shipping costs and because younger plants can withstand the abuse of shipping better than older ones. It's worth it to get something that you can't find locally.

      Delete
  4. Yay for new plants! Always a good thing...

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you could see the long, hand written lists of plant names I keep adding to... luckily, I rarely follow through, and often a visit to davesgarden is enough to set me straight. Still, it took many trials before I realized hardy gardenia is not hardy enough!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never had much luck with hardy gardenias doing much bloom wise even if they survive but I saw a lot of them in the ground at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland and they looked and smelled fab!

      Delete
  6. And so it begins...plants abhor an empty room. I had one of those waxy leaved hoyas and it bloomed its little heart out. Now that we mention it, I'm not sure how or when it disappeared (what a poor plant mamma I am).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think my waxy leaved hoya got left outside one winter. Oops.

      Delete
  7. So many great plants out there waiting to be discovered, and via blogs are one of the best ways to do so :))

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm always happy to hear that I've instigated a new plant acquisition. Hehe. I haven't grown Hoya lauterbachii, though I've admired pictures of the flowers. From what I've read, it likes warmer conditions than I would want to provide for it to bloom, and it also needs good light. Grow lights set to 12 hours in the winter will increase your chances of seeing blooms. It also needs to get pretty big before it is mature enough to bloom, I think. Hope you enjoy it though!

    Coincidentally I've been looking at hoyas lately myself, thinking about adding to my collection. And I have rooted cuttings of what I'm pretty sure is Hoya 'Minibelle' that I could send to you if you're interested. Long (to 7 or even 8 inches!), narrow leaves with silver flecks on the top and a bit of peach fuzz on the undersides. Let me know if you want it! I have my main plant.

    Eucharis is a wonderful plant. The leaves are attractive, the flowers are gorgeous, and (to me) the scent is sweet and somewhat peppery. I have 'Christine', supposedly more compact than the typical Eucharis amazonica.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only lusted after the pictures of the flowers and thought, from experience, that if it was a hoya, it'd be easy. I'll enjoy the foliage but won't go to extremes to get it to bloom. I remember your post about the beautiful long-leaved 'Minibelle' and would love a cutting. Thank you for offering! I'm looking forward to Eucharis blooming but it will probably be a year or two yet. Hope all is well in the midwest!

      Delete
    2. That's good, because I couldn't find that post. How embarassing. I only did a cursory search while writing my initial response here. I'll wrap it up and send it your way! I'm preparing to ship plants to Washington anyway in advance of my hopeful move.

      Delete
  9. Yes, indeed, reading other blogs (and having gardening friends) can be quite dangerous! The Orchids are beautiful. I had one a couple of years ago that lasted a few months and then died. I think I'll try a Phalaenopsis again. Great finds!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gardening is a lovely hobby/addiction, isn't it? Since I have the one orchid that I haven't killed yet (it's putting out more foliage) I was willing to try a couple more.

      Delete
  10. I've found great plants by reading blogs, looks like I am not the only one.

    I've had the same Phalenopsis for 14 years, which means they are easy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I got a bit behindhand with blog reading over this busy festive period so I only just caught up with this one. Thanks for the mention Peter. Eucharis is divine and its glossy leaves look great even when it is not in bloom.
    I love your sumptuous orchids. I find Phalaenopsis orchids the easiest. The blooms last for months. They have a little rest and then off they go again.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.