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Tithonia rotundifolia


Manalto

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 I happen to like orange blooms in the garden so this plant, AKA Mexican sunflower, (but other tithonias are also called that) has become a favorite. Wikipedia surprised me by saying that it's native to this region but I've never seen it in the wild. Plants get about 8' tall by 4' wide and, if deadheaded early in the season, bloom profusely until frost. It's a pollinator magnet and a good temporary privacy screen. Combines magnificently with 'Grandpa Ott' morning glory. Here it is weaving through the fronds of a needle palm.

20220913_084137.thumb.jpg.cb10f715accef5af7ccca9f250a29ea6.jpg

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1 minute ago, Manalto said:

 I happen to like orange blooms in the garden so this plant, AKA Mexican sunflower, (but other tithonias are also called that) has become a favorite. Wikipedia surprised me by saying that it's native to this region but I've never seen it in the wild. Plants get about 8' tall by 4' wide and, if deadheaded early in the season, bloom profusely until frost. It's a pollinator magnet and a good temporary privacy screen. Combines magnificently with 'Grandpa Ott' morning glory. Here it is weaving through the fronds of a needle palm.

20220913_084137.thumb.jpg.cb10f715accef5af7ccca9f250a29ea6.jpg

Agree, it's a great warm season plant and adds a nice tropical look..  and definitely a butterfly ( and other pollinator ) magnet.  I've heard they can survive / resume growth in our winters but, will have to test that.

Unfortunately, discovered they may not be fond of even morning to mid- day sun here... or, at least the ones planted this year weren't.   Plants i put out front this spring were real close to flowering, then completely collapsed, ( ...and, for whatever reason,  were full of lace bugs / mealy bugs ) right before Monsoon season set in.  Have another spot i'm going to plant some next year.  Good cut flower option too.

As far as Morning Glories,  only cultivate the native / near- natives..  Ivy-Leaved, Trans Pecos ...and a few other sp.  Also grow 2 sp. of Distimake, Perennial Morning Glory look a likes )

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I really like this species and the flowers are extremely vibrant. I grew the "red torch" cultivar in the past and it was far more popular with the pollinators than standard sunflowers.

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Here it is near (Grandpa isn't being very cooperative this morning) the morning glory.

20220914_080025.thumb.jpg.888c4147e04894df16d6f568e43c2622.jpg

Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) may also be an option, but they tend to climb pretty high.

20220914_080637.thumb.jpg.da1b6fe317ae4fbce8892546bf4da20e.jpg

 

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Ivy Leaved Morning-Glory.. Aside from the flowers, like the leaves.

Some populations can have entire / heart-shaped leaves, or the leaves can be shaped like those of Ivy, ( Hence the name.. )  ...round-lobed, or deeply cut like these. Occasionally,  the different leaf characteristics show up on the same plant. Flower color is pretty consistent, though i've seen plenty of plants where the flowers were brighter blue, or leaned purple.

IMG_5737.thumb.JPG.99a65e78c0f65768125d872130d662e8.JPG

IMG_5738.thumb.JPG.986dea4e5e439d022f23686270c941fc.JPG

It was one of several native Morning Glories that was blindly included on the state's noxious weed list until de-listed a couple years ago.

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20 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Ivy Leaved Morning-Glory..

Lovely blue flowers and handsome foliage. For some reason I thought that purple was the complimentary color of orange but it isn't. It's blue. I've always liked the trio of orange, white and blue/purple.

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1 hour ago, Manalto said:

Lovely blue flowers and handsome foliage. For some reason I thought that purple was the complimentary color of orange but it isn't. It's blue. I've always liked the trio of orange, white and blue/purple.

:greenthumb:

Agree..  Blue ( or Blue Violet ) / White is my favorite combo,  ...with some bright Orange / Red Orange, and/or dark ...Maroon-ish Red sprinkled in. 

A smattering of Gold flowered things is nice too, if not overwhelming  ( Use mainly sunflower- family things, Cassia/ Senna Sp. myself  )

If i were in the right place ( and could find enough of a couple things )  I'd include certain plants that produce Turquoise colored flowers in with that Blue/ White combo.  Of course, one could add specific Cycads / Palms that add the same tone, or Silver as well.

 

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Oops, complementary not complimentary.

Gold is a tough one for me because it's so bold, and can indeed be overwhelming, as you say. I've tagged the poor color with some harsh, unflattering nicknames. My woody plants professor used to call forsythia "the vomit of spring," a phrase that to this day haunts my perception. Then people go and combine it with pink, which doesn't help matters much. Done right, it can be a striking element in the landscape. I avoid it out of laziness.

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11 hours ago, Manalto said:

Oops, complementary not complimentary.

Gold is a tough one for me because it's so bold, and can indeed be overwhelming, as you say. I've tagged the poor color with some harsh, unflattering nicknames. My woody plants professor used to call forsythia "the vomit of spring," a phrase that to this day haunts my perception. Then people go and combine it with pink, which doesn't help matters much. Done right, it can be a striking element in the landscape. I avoid it out of laziness.

Agree, too much gold can overwhelm everything else..  I didn't mind seeing Forsythia in different yards we maintained, but definitely wouldn't want a ton of it around.. Kind of like all the Palo Verde / Sweet Acacia planted here..  Talk about Golden Vomit, haha..  At least with those, each species has a differing shade of yellow.  

Yellow and Pink is just... < pick a word >🤣  🤦‍♂️Some colors just weren't made to go together, en-masse.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/14/2022 at 10:36 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Ivy Leaved Morning-Glory.. Aside from the flowers, like the leaves.

Some populations can have entire / heart-shaped leaves, or the leaves can be shaped like those of Ivy, ( Hence the name.. )  ...round-lobed, or deeply cut like these. Occasionally,  the different leaf characteristics show up on the same plant. Flower color is pretty consistent, though i've seen plenty of plants where the flowers were brighter blue, or leaned purple.

IMG_5737.thumb.JPG.99a65e78c0f65768125d872130d662e8.JPG

IMG_5738.thumb.JPG.986dea4e5e439d022f23686270c941fc.JPG

It was one of several native Morning Glories that was blindly included on the state's noxious weed list until de-listed a couple years ago.

If this is the same species, they're common around these parts.

20220927_065739.thumb.jpg.4278507601038da94c5a56e5d90cd2a7.jpg

There's a mind-numbing consistency to the color, like the ones on the left. They're everywhere, engulfing fences, small buildings, cars parked too long, sedentary senior citizens, etc. Finally this morning I stumbled upon a few (out of millions) white blooms.

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10 minutes ago, Manalto said:

If this is the same species, they're coming around these parts.

20220927_065739.thumb.jpg.4278507601038da94c5a56e5d90cd2a7.jpg

Around here, there's a mind-numbing consistency to the color, like the ones on the left. They engulf fences, small buildings, cars parked too long, sedentary senior citizens, etc. Finally this morning I stumbled upon a few (out of millions) white blooms.

Thinking that species is Tievine, Ipomoea cordatotriloba : 
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/135263-Ipomoea-cordatotriloba

Inat doesn't list any " confirmed " observations here, but, pretty sure i've seen it growing.

Ivy leaved Morning Glory, and a couple other native/ introduced, Blue/ Purple-flowered sp. occur there as well.. Red/ Orange flowered sp. you probably see around there would be I. coccinea, I. hederifolia / ** or  I coccinea var. hederifolia **, and Cypress Vine, I. quamoclit.

Ivy leaved Morning Glory definitely climbs or crawls over things, but never really seems to grow to the point where it is trying to smother everything, not even in moister / somewhat cooler areas down south..

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4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Thinking that species is Tievine, Ipomoea cordatotriloba : 
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/135263-Ipomoea-cordatotriloba

 

That looks correct to my amateur eye. Thanks, Nathan.  I have an I. quamoclit (introduced, I assume) cluster that appeared last year and I let grow because I had cultivated it in New England and was tickled to discover this lacy freebee. I've had to chop it back a few times. It's lost its airy delicacy through being a bit too aggressive but there are hummingbirds around, so I keep it for them.

 

Nice shot of Queen butterfly on Tithonia, Reyes!

 

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21 minutes ago, Manalto said:

That looks correct to my amateur eye. Thanks, Nathan.  I have an I. quamoclit (introduced, I assume) cluster that appeared last year and I let grow because I had cultivated it in New England and was tickled to discover this lacy freebee. I've had to chop it back a few times. It's lost its airy delicacy through being a bit too aggressive but there are hummingbirds around, so I keep it for them.

 

Nice shot of Queen butterfly on Tithonia, Reyes!

 

Tough call..  For what it is worth, in the Taxonomy section of Wikipedia's description entry, there's this regarding some thoughts on where the species originates..  While the " distribution " section states it is native from Mexico to Northern S. America and that European explorers were transporting the plant around the globe from early on during exploration of the Americas.

1951847612_Screenshot2022-09-27at18-48-14Ivy-leavedMorning-Glory(Ipomoeahederacea).png.e1bde9b529ae14bd75879290c5bbdab7.png


Next section further adds to that in how the origin of the species name came about..

304487583_Screenshot2022-09-27at18-53-14Ivy-leavedMorning-Glory(Ipomoeahederacea).png.1c0b3c8af2f52602897f6a91fc21e7bd.png

Not sure about Cypress Vine, but our native I. cristulata, Trans Pecos Morning Glory,  and possibly I. coccinea ..and the hederifolia form ( ..or species,  depending on source ) are very attractive to Butterflies in the subfamily Coliadinae ( Sulfurs, Yellows, and Dogface.. ) who gravitate toward red flowers.  Magnets for Pipevine Swallowtails as well. 

Something i wasn't aware of:  Evidentially " Cardinal Climber " which looks  a lot like Cypress Vine, is actually a cross between I. quamoclit and I. coccinea.  Always assumed that Cardinal Climber was just another common name for Cypress Vine..

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