Viewing comments posted by carlysuko

I don't know for an absolute fact, but I had heard from a few sources that this is a hybrid of Laui and the cultivar 'Hakkou'. Hakkou is a hybrid of Laui x pallida. This makes sense that cream tea would have a lot of Laui in its lineage as it looks almost exactly like a full species laui.

This rose is just okay in my opinion. If I had a larger yard I would probably enjoy it a lot more, but with limited space I have to love every plant I have. I don't know what it is about it that I don't love. Perhaps the form and shape of the flower? Then again it's new. Time will tell if it stays or not.

Hoya Hybrid 'Dr. IBOK'. A Susan Swartzfager hybrid of H.Ilagiorum X H. Viola. Beautiful veined leaves. The small flowers are cute and smell of citrus. Beautiful! - Gardino Nursery

I think this is my favorite of all my roses. It's healthy as can be. The blooms are literally perfect in my eyes, I love the globular cupped shape of the blooms. I think mine might want to climb, which I'm all for.

One of my favorite Hoyas. It's a fast and easy grower, with beautiful large shiny leaves. I highly recommend this Hoya. ?

I received this Hoya from Gardino's Nursery where I've received various other Hoyas I own. All Hoyas I've purchased from them are always healthy on arrival and have great root systems. This particular Hoya, though healthy, is a slow grower for me. I have had other species of Hoyas for a lot less amount of time that were the same size on arrival that are already 2x the size of this one. I have all my indoor Hoyas under LED grow lights and I make sure the humidity doesn't drop below 60%. Perhaps this is just a slow grower, or I need to adjust its environment. I will do some research on its native climate to see if I can figure it out.

This is not actually cymbiformis but a cooperi hybrid. The haworthia literature is a true mess. People used to refer to cooperi as "obtusa", while there is actually a scientifically valid species called cymbiformis var. obtusa. Some people still refer to cooperi species and cultivars as "obtusa" and the Japanese breeders still name their cooperi hybrids "obtusa," so this is where a lot of confusion comes from.

I really love this salvia! It blooms pretty much year round for me here in Oceanside, Southern California. The blooms are a brilliant fuchsia color with contrasting black calyxes. The leaves are quite beautiful. The older leaves can develop a dark reddish color. While being marketed as just like Amistad but with different colored flowers, they are actually quite different. Amante grows much taller than Amistad. In my zone it has reached about 7 ft and still growing, it stays only about 3-4 ft in width though. I grow mine in a pot at the back of the border and it flourishes. The stems seem stronger than Amistad and less prone to breakage. I love this plant, and highly recommend it. So do the hummingbirds! ? ?

This plant has performed exceptionally well for me. Which is no easy feat for any plant in my garden this year. I had mass casualties from squirrels, gophers, and spider mites. Yet my African Blue Basil looks perfect. It is a blooming machine and always looks healthy. The bees are very fond of it, which is great. I highly recommended this plant!

This is a DA rose that seems to do very well here in my zone 10a climate. Very floriferous with huge petal packed blooms. A great re-bloomer as well. I don't grow it yet but I see it often at the Inez Grant Rose Gardens and it always looks outstanding!

This rose has the most beautiful blooms. They start out in the high centered classic hybrid tea shape. The colors range from mauve to lavender. When the blooms unfurl the petals take on a lovely frilly edging to them. The blooms also take on a wonderful scent. These are the reasons I keep this rose in my garden. I have to say that the vigor of this rose is terrible, at least in my garden. It literally doesn't grow! I don't think it's even two feet.

This miniature climber is very vigorous in my garden. Has pretty good disease resistance. Also it says fragrance mild, but I find it to be strong, at least in my garden.

I just bought this rose and it is beautiful. The colors are stunning, a blend of different shades of orange, pink, and some yellow. Like a vivid sunset. However, be careful as this rose is quite thorny!

Invasive in San Diego County. It may even be considered a noxious weed. I live near a nature preserve, and it covers the shady hillsides next to the main entrance. It is pretty, but spreads very aggressively here. We have received very little rain here this year, and it is still everywhere! It is fragrant, but in my opinion it has a sickeningly sweet scent. Check your State/County invasive plant list before planting.

Easy germination and very quick to reach maturity. Flowers are beautiful, but also very variable. I would say 40-50% of the seeds I sowed flowered with fully tubed petals. However, all the flowers turned out beautifully. I plan on saving seeds from the flowers that did have the fluted petals in hopes of increasing the likelihood that they will turn out that way for future sowings.

Canary Island Sage is a large shrub native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. It can attain a maximum height of 10', but the average is about 6-8'. The width varies anywhere between 3' and-4'. Its size can be controlled by hard pruning. It's best to prune before it starts to set buds: mid-spring in warmer areas and early summer in the colder areas. The flowers and bracts are a beautiful, showy purplish-pink color. The leaves are large, arrowhead shaped, with white hairs on the undersides, which help it to conserve moisture. It is also fragrant; hard to describe but perhaps similar to California natives? The flowers attract many different pollinators. In my garden it attracts a good diversity of them, including honey bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as wasps. It can be susceptible to disease, such as powdery mildew and others, as well as to pests, such as aphids and whiteflies. It's best to water from below and keep its area clean and try not to plant it too close to other plants. Also, in my garden it reseeds, but not to a point of nuisance.

An easy and beautiful perennial for me in zone 10a. Definitely worth growing as an annual for those areas in which it is not hardy, which I believe is up to zone 8. It not only self sows, but also gets bigger each year. It is herbaceous and very easy to divide, so I have more plants each year. Though most report its height topping out at around 2ft, in its third year here it has reached 4ft. It can be prone to powdery mildew so it's best to water from below. Spider mites, white flies and others also attack mine, so I spray with neem oil once in a while and that seems to work well. It attracts beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies, as well as hummingbirds. In my garden I've also looked on as the lesser goldfinches go for the seeds and comically the stems bend under their weight.

It's also reported to be a good cut flower, which is rare among salvias.

The blue color is beautiful and they seem to pair well with pretty much any other plant and flower color. I have mine next to cuphea vermillionaire, cuphea firefly, with amistad in the back.

They do not require any fertilizer. Deadhead once the flowers start to die to promote more flowering. At the end of the season you can let the flowers go to seed to collect, or you can simply let them self seed. A beautiful versatile garden staple that I think most would enjoy having.

Eriogonum Giganteum (St Catherine's Lace) is a native California buckwheat endemic to the Channel Islands. It is the largest native buckwheat with a maximum height of 8'! However, size varies, with literature citing anywhere from 2 feet to 8 feet. Seems 4' is more the average. Same goes for the width as well. It is evergreen, with beautiful silvery green, wooly leaves. It flowers for a long time, starting earliest in April and continuing until Fall. Like most California natives, it is drought tolerant, while also tolerant of garden conditions to an extent. Many beneficial insects utilize this plant, as well as birds, especially for the seedheads in the fall.

Geranium Incanum in a perennial from South Africa that has become naturalized in parts of Southern California, though it's not listed as invasive.

In my garden it is extremely tough and carefree. I read on several websites that it is evergreen, which is peculiar because in my garden it seems to die back to the ground at the end of fall, and then I see it again starting in late winter. The leaves are dissected, and it is a spreading groundcover type plant, hence the common name of "carpet geranium." If you do want to have this plant, you will have to watch it due to its tendency to spread and its habit of readily self seeding. It is, however, very easy to pull out. The flowers are definitely what makes the plant worthy, in my opinion. A beautiful purplish-pink color that seems to glow. Its biggest flush of flowers is in the spring with another smaller flush in the fall and intermittent blooms at other times. Word of caution, in my garden aphids love them! I once pulled one out of the ground and what I saw was horrific, aphids everywhere! Some were monstrously big. I now watch them, especially the ones nearest my other plants. If I spray with neem oil once every week or two, it solves the problem.

In my area of Solana Beach California, it is naturalized but only comes up from late winter to early spring. It comes up all over my yard, but I don't care as the birds absolutely love it, especially the warblers and hummingbirds. A black throated gray warbler and a yellow rumped warbler (myrtle subspecies), which is not regular on the west coast, have overwintered in my yard for the past two years and love the chasmanthe. The orange crowned warblers love it too!