I keep my Tropical Hibiscus in pots & put then in the shed for the winter. Even doing that it takes them a few months to recover from the 40s.

There are non-trops that I have in the ground that usually fare OK thru a winter but even those got froze back this year. Some have a bit of growth showing now but the others still appear dead. It will prob be May before I see much new growth from the roots & then they will bloom in the Fall.

@qwilter
Jean, I have some coral bean in a pot & they don't show signs of new growth yet. But I did sprout seeds. I scarified them first.
Thai is what you're talking about right? I have a feeling they will sprout out. They are deciduous.
Cherokee Bean (Erythrina herbacea)

I've never seen a CB bloom. When I got it last year there was already a pod hanging from it. Then I just had a bushy shrub all summer.

It is semi-sunny but chilly here. Some ponding in the far back yard from the 2" yesterday. Hoping my hay bales are happy with the fertilizer & watering in.

I am officially tired of these pop up cold nites we keep getting. I don't think it went below 40 in my yard but still, not what my seedlings want!!!!
Now that Feb is over, perhaps March weather will be kinder to us up here in N FL!!!!

I WANT FLOWERS!!!!!!

WM has a display of blooming hibiscus for $10. I'm thinking a couple will hop in my cart next time I'm over there. Even if they just live 1 year, it will be worth it to have color in the garden..

They said patchy frost for us & it was a full frost ~~~ nothing patchy about it. I had some wildflowers seedlings coming up around the property --- no way to cover them as they are scattered all about. Don't know if they got toasted as I haven't been out to check them yet.

Our low was 48º last night which wasn't too bad, I do hope it's the last cold snap of the season though!

We've got so many weeds everywhere, some are spiky and thorny but rather interesting looking, and some have pretty little flowers ... so I thought I'd share photo's of a couple of my weeds.

Fleabane (Erigeron pulchellus) .......... an unknown prickly weed and pretty little wildflowers that I've forgotten the name of:


Now the regular stuff, LOL.

The red Hibiscus (again!) ................. Aloe maculata and .................................... Oxalis violacea:


Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Arizona Sun' (I think), 'Oranges and Lemons' and ... not a bloom but pretty fruit of dwarf variegated Schefflera:

Lin,
you stay so much warmer than us. We were down to 41º. But !! You have the same weeds we do !!

It seems like we get more and more weeds every year.

schefflera makes fruit ??? mine never has. maybe too much "creep stalking by D*O*G when he was alive I'll have to look for a pic of him in mode with the dumb look of bliss on his face

That didn't take long. He was sooo funny in mode...each foot very carefully placed and a dumb look...like he was high on something

LOL, that is so funny!

We were down to 50 last night, and it will be that or lower tonight too. Brr! I did swoop the tender orchids into the house before I went to bed last night, but everything else is fending for itself.

Jean, my favorite winter flower that stands frost just fine is Calendula. I plant a packet of seeds when I'm starting my cool-season veggies in November (usually). This year I had guests from Thanksgiving to January 10th with hardly a break, so I forgot. Pansies are good to, but a bit more high maintenance.



My favorite weed that always seems to pop up in my garden, the pink salvia.

Lin, your third photo of the pretty little wildflower is blue toadflax. I love that stuff!

I did not know Schefflera "bloomed". Perhaps mine just die before they are mature enough.

I'll have to check on the Calendula.

Just ready for constantly warm weather. The longer days are nice.

Elaine: love those Calendula blooms, so pretty and the pink salvia is gorgeous!

Ann: Toadflax, that's it! Thank you for reminding me of that name; I used to have a lot of pic's of Nuttallanthus but lost them when my laptop crashed a couple of years ago and for the life of me I couldn't remember the name of those wildflowers that appear every spring! Going to label my current picture right now!

Jean: Yes, Scheff's do bloom:

Boy, do they ever! When the big ones get mature, they have huge red inflorescences 'way at the top, then they seed themselves far and wide. They are considered an invasive here.

Yes, I'm very fond of the peachy Calendula, and carefully collected seeds from those but they had obviously cross-pollenated because all I got were yellow and orange the next year from the collected seed.

I have grown schefflera for many years (part of my tropical plant inventory) and I have never once seen a bloom on any of them. Perhaps it is because I keep mine trimmed back, small enough so that they can be shipped. I have one plant that is at least 7-8 years old, but I use it to root cuttings from and though the base (multiple bases actually) is thick, I never let it get over 5' high and about as wide. Like my old fiddle leaf ficus, this schefflera is my "Mother" plant.

Yes, Schefflera (species actinophylla) grows really tall and bears red flowers as shown by Hetty's gorgeous photo in the database:




The dwarf variety Schefflera (species arboricola) bears tiny white flowers. I have one in the ground and a couple in pots; the one in-ground hasn't bloomed so I'm wondering if being root-bound in containers (which mine always are ) is what forces them to produce blooms?

Love the beauty!

plantladylin said:Yes, Schefflera (species actinophylla) grows really tall and bears red flowers as shown by Hetty's gorgeous photo in the database:

• Umbrella Tree (Heptapleurum actinophyllum)
• Uploaded by Dutchlady1

The dwarf variety Schefflera (species arboricola) bears tiny white flowers. I have one in the ground and a couple in pots; the one in-ground hasn't bloomed so I'm wondering if being root-bound in containers (which mine always are ) is what forces them to produce blooms?

• Dwarf Umbrella Tree (Heptapleurum arboricola 'Variegata')
• Uploaded by plantladylin

I don't think being root bound forces them to bloom Lin b/c I had one in a pot, root bound for heaven only knows how many years & it never bloomed. But talk about taking a lickin' & keeps on tickin'! They ought to be called the "cast iron" plant.