Viewing comments posted by bonitin

44 found:

[ Fuchsia 'Ambassador' | Posted on July 31, 2016 ]

This beauty has very large flowers, over 7cm. I have it growing in complete but bright shade after I noticed it doesn't like sun, which was not even the midday sun but early evening sun.

[ Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) | Posted on June 13, 2016 ]

This plant is attractive in many ways. The problem is that it chokes out all other vegetation by its aggressiveness. It is a real pest over here, where it is a serious threat to the native flora, especially along river banks. Avoid at all cost the temptation to plant it in your garden, from where it can escape.

[ Cosmos (Cosmos caudatus) | Posted on November 18, 2015 ]

I think this is a plant that requires a longer growing season than I could give it.
This year I grew four of them from seed started at the end of February. The plants grew very well and strong, reaching a height of around 90 cm (3 ft).
I never got them to flower, though, but even without flowers the foliage is very attractive.

[ Stinking Onions (Allium triquetrum) | Posted on July 30, 2015 ]

This is the only allium that is really happy in my shady garden. In fact, it doesn't like full sun, unlike most, if not all alliums. It even self-sets in spots that get hardly any sun at all! Beautiful in all stages, even with seed pods. The leaves are pretty too, another bonus, and it blooms the longest of all alliums I know..

[ Viridiflora Tulip (Tulipa 'Virichic') | Posted on April 22, 2015 ]

A very interesting and artistic Tulip! Color tones and flame-like shape of flowers change considerably with maturing, starting off white and green, gradually evolving to intense deep pink-red with green.

[ Peruvian Lily (Alstroemeria 'Freedom') | Posted on July 31, 2014 ]

I find Alstroemeria 'Freedom' identical to Alstroemeria 'Red Coat.' I can compare them as I have both!

[ Kiwi Fruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa) | Posted on July 28, 2014 ]

I had a male plant in the past. It made flowers, but of course no fruit as I didn't have a female.
Now I have only a female plant as the male died due to Vine Weevils.
As I had no more space for another male, I wasn't really expecting fruit on the female Kiwi vine, but to my surprise it does give fruit without a male!

[ Papaya (Carica papaya) | Posted on May 31, 2014 ]

You need a male flowering plant in the proximity for a female tree to produce fruits. Male or female plants can only be recognized when flowering.
It does occur that a tree has both male and female flowers and thus can bear fruit too.

[ Sea Bean (Mucuna urens) | Posted on April 15, 2014 ]

Don't touch the seed pod! I did as I was intrigued with it but felt it for days after in my fingers. What looks like hairs are actually very sharp needles that penetrate the skin!

[ Sea Almond (Terminalia catappa) | Posted on April 9, 2014 ]

A tree which is often planted along tourist beaches in Brazil to provide welcome shade.

[ White Bellflower (Campanula alliariifolia) | Posted on November 2, 2013 ]

A very strong plant, reliable and pest-free. I've had it for 4 years and it is still going strong, though it is planted in a container in the same soil. Blooms for months in a row. Mine only gets 3 hours of sun in summer.

[ Storksbill (Pelargonium abrotanifolium) | Posted on August 16, 2013 ]

There was a warning from the nursery that it is difficult to grow, and they were right: It proved to be difficult to please!
I have it growing in a pot on a sunny balcony and let it overwinter inside, but so far it has only reluctantly made one flower in the second year after purchase.
The plant itself doesn't look happy and hardly got any bigger than it had been the previous year.

[ Strawberry Begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera) | Posted on August 9, 2013 ]

I have had this plant for over 25 years! In my garden it is a strong and reliable plant, more hardy than estimated, keeping its foliage all through winter, undamaged by hard frost (down to -12C !).
I have some growing in deep shade, and though those don't bloom, they do provide nice foliage and good ground cover, even in challenging areas like dry shade once established.
My happiest one lives in dappled shade.

[ Coral Bells (Heuchera 'Kassandra') | Posted on August 7, 2013 ]

I've never had luck with Heuchera before. They never lived long, no matter what I tried.
I was very pleased to find Kassandra, a very strong plant. It kept its foliage all through the harsh winter of 2012-2013.
Its colour is very pleasing and lights up shady parts in the garden.
Mine only gets 1 hour of sun (midday-sun!) in summer and dappled shade in spring. I haven't seen any blooms yet, so maybe it needs more sun for that..

[ Regal Knights' Spur (Consolida regalis) | Posted on July 24, 2013 ]

Consolida regalis can easily be confused with Consolida ajacis.
Differences are:

Consolida regalis:
Style and seed pods are bald (no hairs)
Spur up to 2,5 cm long
Flower deep purple

Consolida ajacis:
Style and seed pods are densely haired (a magnifying glass might be needed)
Spur not longer than 2 cm
Flower purple blue, pink or white

[ Perennial Hardy Foot Begonia (Begonia pedatifida) | Posted on May 16, 2013 ]

This Begonia is supposed to be hardy in my zone 8a. I didn't take the chance though last winter and took it inside in a well-lit but unheated room, where it kept its foliage, while it normally would have gone dormant. This spring I rooted a piece and will risk that next winter in the full ground in my garden. Will update this next spring..

[ Kowhai (Sophora microphylla) | Posted on May 16, 2013 ]

I love this tree. Mine will never get to flower or grow very big as I cannot provide it with the full sun it requires, but I love the delicacy of its foliage. I have it in a big container and take it inside when hard frosts are expected.

[ Fern-leaf Pelargonium (Pelargonium fruticosum) | Posted on May 16, 2013 ]

This is absolutely my favorite Pelargonium. It blooms non-stop even in the middle of the winter when I take it indoors and put in a bright unheated attic room.
Everything is beautiful on it, the delicate ferny foliage on the reddish-purplish stems, the strong fragrance, and the lovely flowers, quite big for a scented Pelargonium, and it's a magnet to bees!:)

[ Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) | Posted on May 2, 2013 ]

I love this charming wildflower with a delicate beauty, It has self-set in my garden and now grows about everywhere, including plant pots. Some might consider it to be invasive and a nuisance, but for people who love natural gardening and wildlife it is a blessing! Bees, butterflies and hoverflies love it! When not wanted, it is very easy to pull out.

You can also easily transplant it in more desirable locations, such as difficult spots where no other plants thrive. It grows in full sun to full shade, in wet to dry soil, blooming non-stop from mid spring to the first frosts.

It can grow as an annual or a biennial.

[ Baby's Tears (Soleirolia soleirolii 'Aurea') | Posted on April 29, 2013 ]

This lovely ground cover isn't really hardy in my zone( 8a). Hard frost will kill most of it, although small pieces might and often do survive and the plant then regrows from them the next season.
Last winter I protected it with a thin frost-protection cloth mounted on a few thin bamboo sticks I had bent into bows over the plant. I took it off on longer periods of little or no frost. This worked wonders. The whole plant has survived very well and even looks very healthy and happy in nearly full shade, where I had planted it last year, and it has now spread to more than 5 times its original size. This looks better than a lawn in a shady location!
I love how it twines itself among other shade loving plants. It looks so much better than just bare soil! :)
I'm not sure how I will do it next winter when the plant will have spread much farther. I think protecting a few patches here and there, from where it can regrow, will do the trick..
It loves humid soil, but can withstand drought when planted in humus-rich soil in the shade.

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