SUM' - Flowers.. Summer / Fall flowering things 2023 Non Cycad n' Palms stuff only..

[Silas_Sancona]

With Meteorological Summer underway, and Astronomical Summer closing in, ..it is Summer,  and time to show off what non Palm and Cycad flowering plants are enjoying the longest days of the year in the garden, ...or out and about..
 

Kicking the door open,

The other local Cassia fistula  specimen i'd found in the area a month or so ago. Not a particularly large specimen, but looking better than my neighbor's atm..





Some early Kallstroemia grandiflora ( AZ Summer Poppy ) getting going.. This turns out be another Dud-Soon, these might be the only ones i see flowering this summer..



Early Ivy-Leaved Morning Glory.. Figured these would be hindered by the heat, but guess not..



Unstoppable Madagascar Periwinkle...  Except one the ****** ...... Gopher got, lol.






Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima. So far, so good  in several hours worth of low desert sun.






A few flowers on one of the Senna wislizenii atm as well.



Wild Euphorbs..

Snow On The Mountain ( Euphorbia marginata ).. as good as it will get before the plants die down..



Wild Poinsettia, just getting going..



Galactia wrightii, ahead of the curve this year..



Turk's Cap.. Plant itself has exploded in size this year..



Aloysia gratissima, Whitebush..  Flowers smell exactly like the related Sweet Almond Bush ( No flowers on it yet )





Mini Tiger Punkins'  ...looking ..alright,  so far..  Female flowers started opening over the last couple weeks and looking like i've got a few baby tigers on the way already.. Silvery colored leaves is supposedly the result of a type of White fly, but i've  yet to see any flying around the plants when i check for flowers each morning.. Another thought is, here perhaps, the color may be the plant's response to our sun.. Not sure,  but isn't effecting the plants at all, so i don't worry about it.



Female flower ( bigger, on the left ) Male flower ( smaller, on the right )


More dudes..


First Tiger Cub of the season..


Sunflowers, on the way.  Next batch of seed gets planted this week..



Peppers planted looking good also, but no fruit forming yet, ...so no pictures

[Rivera]

Gravillia in Davis, CA

I think this was the same plant viewed from afar. 

Mountain mule ears in Tahoe National Forest 

White flowered Ceanothus

Yarrow

And back home in our own garden, this hummingbird sage is in a cool shady area and flowers late.

[Silas_Sancona]

 Harbranthus robustra





Distimake aureus.. May need to water more to convince it to start forming seed..





 First flower developing on, Pinkthroat Morning Glory,  Ipomoea longifolia...



Water bath time...



I'd started some grasses earlier but learned ( quickly, lol )  that starting them in baggies doesn't work out well ( Get too hot in the baggies and rot, and are hard to keep wet while settling in.. So, trying again.. Hopefully using the trays makes it easier to get them going.

Some of the Sprucetop ..or Elusive / Santa Rita... Grama   starting to sprout already.  Both grow on dry gravely banks in Las Cienegas and aren't the easiest to tell apart.  Both also produce attractive, bright Red / Orange - colored Anthers when flowering. 

As mentioned in the past, strains of Sprucetop Grama which were collected in various areas around Sonoita has been under evaluation by the U of AZ alongside another native grass as a potential warm season native turf grass alternative for AZ ...and likely other areas of the Southwest. ( to replace Bermuda ) So far, it has proven to take quite a bit of abuse under cultivated conditions..



Same idea w/ the Devil's Claw.. W/ the trial batch i started awhile back, I got a couple to sprout, but damaged roots when trying to transfer out of the " thumb" pots to 5" squares..  Very sensitive things they are..  Also trying seed from -one- of the Annual sps i collected last year and in '21.

Annual Proboscidea sp are supposed to be easier than the perennial, or is what i've been told ..We'll see.  Not sure if they are P. parviflora, ( Doubleclaw Devil's Claw ), or possibly P.  louisianica, Ram's Horn / Common Devil's Claw..

Can see the size difference in the seeds..  Top = Perennial / Yellow Devil's Claw,  Bottom = one of the Annual sps.  



Like Sunflower seed, seed of Proboscidea  are encased in a hard, woody outer cover that should be carefully peeled away to help get the seeds to germinate faster / more reliably ( ..is the idea anyway )



Seeds themselves are extremely nutritious and can be consumed  ..like sunflower seeds..


Also getting some of the Dyckia rariflora  seed going   ..since i have plenty of it this year.. 

Ripe capsules just starting to open





Opened segment ( 3 or  4 chambers per " capsule " ) containing papery seeds stacked on top of one another.

[Silas_Sancona]

" Red Bird " Season in full glory...  Because the heat has been tempered thus far, many specimens are producing pods..  W/ the potential of our first episode of  " real heat " lurking on the not too distant horizon, those pods may - or may not - contiune to fill out ..if they aren't shed from the plants completely ..in response to a week / couple weeks of 110 / 110+ heat..




















A couple bigger Mariosousa willardiana / heterophylla   for an added bonus.. Full of seed atm.

[Silas_Sancona]

Surprise find hanging out on my " whatever it is " Ceratozamia.. 

Snapdragon Vine, Maurandella antirrhiniflora,  Red flowered form.. No idea where the seed came from ( Probably in a batch of wash grit i'd collected ), but leaving it..  Will scramble over the Cycad, but not smother it..  Easy enough to keep control if if it tried.







Out in the desert, it is rate to see these covering shrubs.. or covering large areas of open ground / over rocks.

Was once lumped in with it's sister Genus, Maurandya  but recently separated into Maurandella  by some authorities. The move is controversial because the " closed mouth " of the flowers is what was used to separate the species from Maurandya, ...in which the mouth of the flowers are open. 

All are natives of the Southwestern U.S., Texas,  and Mexico ...with at least a couple sp of Maurandya  being cultivated for their showy flowers ( often a bit larger than Maruandella )..

A similar looking plant, Mabrya acerifolia,  can be found hanging from vertical / near-vertical rock faces in the Superstition Mountains,  w/ the Rock Daisies, Genus Perityle. 

Rest of the species in the Genus can be found hanging from rock faces /tucked into shaded crevices in various parts of Mexico. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Distamake dissectus,







Kalstroemia grandiflora





Gaactia wrightii





 Jacquemontia pringlei



Aristiolochia fimbriata



Surprise fruit forming on Bursera microphylla ..standard form i believe..  Specimen must be a hermaphrodite because the other  B. microphylla i have produces seems to produce only male flowers / has never tried to fruit. This and a B. fagaroides i have are the only two Bursera so far that produce fruit / seed.  Testing a few off that tree this year,  seed on my B.  fagaroides is viable. We'll see if seed on this one is good too.




 

[Silas_Sancona]

Nothing special atm..  Ruellia nudiflora starting to flower though..



Random Tansy Aster flower appearing ahead of the main show ( late summer / fall )



Batch # of Sunflowers out back filling in nicely.




Late Summer / Fall filler display planted ( Sunflowers, Cosmos = along wall / in the furrowed section.  Kallstroemia grandiflora,  and Partridge Pea,  ..if they come up, = flat section in front of the furrows. Magenta X is where the Bottlebrush was ) Some Senna seed in there too apparently ( noticed earlier today  while checking to see what was sprouting ). 

Sand in picture #2 is spread to cover the Kallstroemia and Partridge Pea seed, simulating preferred exposure for both.

Also top seed in the rows w/ a layer of sand for the same purpose.. Soaks through easily / seed can push through it easily.  "Yard Soil" itself it good as-is, but doesn't soak up water as easily this time of year as during the winter.






A few days of our heat + keeping things wet enough = Cosmos and Sunflowers starting to pop..

[Silas_Sancona]

Guaiacum coulteri,  larger container grown specimen showing some color again.  Because i have it tucked  beneath the Ficus atm,  not as full of flowers as it has been in the past when going into a flowering cycle. Probably move it again in the fall. Have to anyways when i raise the canopy on the Ficus.



Clitoria ternata,  While not flowering ( -yet-, seeing possible flower buds starting to form ) impressed with the increasing leaf size seen as it finally starts climbing one of the makeshift trellis out back.. Not sure how, but survived while the Yellow Morning glory next became gopher food..



Could be influenced by where i planted it but no real adverse effects from this past winter's cool and wet at time conditions..  Planting another out front soon.


Fiddlewood.. Likely Spiny / Florida  ...though it is spine-less.    One of the " FL native plant " trial  things that has survived it's time in the desert, in a pot..  Came close to loosing it after delaying repotting when ground dwelling bugs started mining away soil out of the drain holes ( ..Because i did not place screens over the holes originally )  but has bounced back nicely.. While not as nice as they can look,  was not expecting -any- hint of flowers at this point so any flowers on it right now is a nice surprise.  All goes well and it should look even better next year.





Another surprise.. Seed grown Kopsia arborea  flowering for the first time..  Out of the two plants that have made it this far after i germinated ..then forgot about the seed, back in 2016, this one being the neglected /under-potted specimen, i'd have never expected it would be the first to flower..  Guess it is time to give it a little more attention, lol.  Flower scent seems to fall somewhere between true Jasmine, and Gardenia, w/ a hint of Irish Spring Soap. Will get a better idea after sunset and once a few more, fully formed flowers open. Would be awesome if any of the flowers lead to fruit / seeds.





As long as the bigger/ happier plant  continues growing ..happily,  i'd expect the first flowers on it next year.

[mnorell]

Nathan, you always post so many fantastic photos of so many gorgeous and unusual flora...please keep doing so, I love learning about some of these (for me) arcane species!

Funny you say about Caesalpinia pulcherrima ditching pods in heat, for some reason I find that not to be the case at all over here in the Palm Springs area, it can be 123F and they just keep popping both flowers and seeds. I always get a ton of seeds every year from mine here. Sometimes I think there are just peculiar differences between the Coachella Valley and the Phoenix and Tucson/So. Arizona ecosystems, whether it's soil, sun exposure, or what. I have to remember that I am up against the Santa Rosa Mountains here in a cove, protected from much of the powerful wind as well as having the sun go behind the mountains a while before sunset for a bit of late-day relief on both people and plants...

I purchased a Kopsia from Tom Piergrossi a few months ago, he has it labeled K. singapurensis, and it has already flowered (it has a pink eye) but lacked fragrance when I smelled it--could be time of day or my sometimes insensitive olfactory equipment--and also didn't look quite like the plant pictured on the Singapore National Parks site. So it may be either a subspecies/variety or one of the several others in this genus. But they certainly seem to love the desert heat and retain a nice appearance, though I haven't stuck it out into full afternoon sun over about 105F.

Funny for me to see you growing Fiddlewood, it was common in the few deer-free Lower Keys but it never made much of an impression on me, I don't know why. It has glossy leaves and thus that "luxuriant" quality but overall seemed amorphous to me...and really the capping failure for me was that the Key Deer ate it to the roots so I couldn't use it on Big Pine Key anyway. One Florida native that does very well for me here in the desert and has very beautiful glossy, heat/sun-tolerant foliage, is Psychotria nervosa (Florida's "wild coffee" plant). In fact I used to grow it in Natchez, Mississippi and it would come back from hard freezes (usually) even in north-facing areas. Again I couldn't grow it in the Keys because the Key Deer ate it ravenously (and boy they must have had some fun psychedelic trips after doing so!). I have quite a few of them growing here in containers and am going to use them liberally in my landscape as they seem extraordinarily tolerant of so many adverse factors. It's something I think in general about Florida natives, they have over the millennia endured lots of extremes of stressing elements, heat, freezes, drought, deluge, etc. and so they in general are a tough bunch. A bounty that needs to be exploited by the nursery industry but has to this point really not happened.

Another "regional" native of the Bahamas and the Caribbean basin is Turnera ulmifolia, Bahama Buttercup, it has naturalized very slightly in the Florida Keys (probably more so in mainland South Florida, where I suspect the rainier conditions may cause it to become a slight nuisance in the eyes of the "native" plant militants), to my senses a delightful and cheerful yellow-flowered plant and I have one small specimen here in Rancho Mirage that has been quite happy since I planted it about a year ago. This one could be a Big Box six-pack favorite if the industry would open their eyes to it. Though it may not flower as prolifically in the cooler, more populated coastal areas of the West Coast.

Keep it coming, please...

[Silas_Sancona]

On 6/28/2023 at 9:14 PM, mnorell said:

Nathan, you always post so many fantastic photos of so many gorgeous and unusual flora...please keep doing so, I love learning about some of these (for me) arcane species!

Funny you say about Caesalpinia pulcherrima ditching pods in heat, for some reason I find that not to be the case at all over here in the Palm Springs area, it can be 123F and they just keep popping both flowers and seeds. I always get a ton of seeds every year from mine here. Sometimes I think there are just peculiar differences between the Coachella Valley and the Phoenix and Tucson/So. Arizona ecosystems, whether it's soil, sun exposure, or what. I have to remember that I am up against the Santa Rosa Mountains here in a cove, protected from much of the powerful wind as well as having the sun go behind the mountains a while before sunset for a bit of late-day relief on both people and plants...

I purchased a Kopsia from Tom Piergrossi a few months ago, he has it labeled K. singapurensis, and it has already flowered (it has a pink eye) but lacked fragrance when I smelled it--could be time of day or my sometimes insensitive olfactory equipment--and also didn't look quite like the plant pictured on the Singapore National Parks site. So it may be either a subspecies/variety or one of the several others in this genus. But they certainly seem to love the desert heat and retain a nice appearance, though I haven't stuck it out into full afternoon sun over about 105F.

Funny for me to see you growing Fiddlewood, it was common in the few deer-free Lower Keys but it never made much of an impression on me, I don't know why. It has glossy leaves and thus that "luxuriant" quality but overall seemed amorphous to me...and really the capping failure for me was that the Key Deer ate it to the roots so I couldn't use it on Big Pine Key anyway. One Florida native that does very well for me here in the desert and has very beautiful glossy, heat/sun-tolerant foliage, is Psychotria nervosa (Florida's "wild coffee" plant). In fact I used to grow it in Natchez, Mississippi and it would come back from hard freezes (usually) even in north-facing areas. Again I couldn't grow it in the Keys because the Key Deer ate it ravenously (and boy they must have had some fun psychedelic trips after doing so!). I have quite a few of them growing here in containers and am going to use them liberally in my landscape as they seem extraordinarily tolerant of so many adverse factors. It's something I think in general about Florida natives, they have over the millennia endured lots of extremes of stressing elements, heat, freezes, drought, deluge, etc. and so they in general are a tough bunch. A bounty that needs to be exploited by the nursery industry but has to this point really not happened.

Another "regional" native of the Bahamas and the Caribbean basin is Turnera ulmifolia, Bahama Buttercup, it has naturalized very slightly in the Florida Keys (probably more so in mainland South Florida, where I suspect the rainier conditions may cause it to become a slight nuisance in the eyes of the "native" plant militants), to my senses a delightful and cheerful yellow-flowered plant and I have one small specimen here in Rancho Mirage that has been quite happy since I planted it about a year ago. This one could be a Big Box six-pack favorite if the industry would open their eyes to it. Though it may not flower as prolifically in the cooler, more populated coastal areas of the West Coast.

Keep it coming, please...

I think the fact that Phoenix is so far removed from ~any~ moderating influence Palm Springs / overall Cochella Valley can see seep over Banner Pass influences how certain things respond to the heat this time of year.. Soil and general heat intensity are similar otherwise.  Remember seeing certain Brachychiton sps planted there that you don't see here. Could be too that more moisture that seeps in from the Gulf of CA is able to pool in the valley there, helping to lessen the effects of really hot temp exposure on things like Red Birds..

Being 900-1300 ft, heat likely effects the valley ( here ) differently also.


Was a bit surprised how it has done, along w/ most of the other trial stuff from there..  Had some wild coffee i'd started before leaving FL. but they didn't make it past the first summer. Cocoplum was another thing i'm sure would do fine, though maybe not in full, all day sun ( mine didn't like it ).


Considering Turnera ulmifolia ( and diffusa ) are both native to Mexico ( ..and the Caribbean Basin ),  would consider it more of a regionally native plant than something introduced..

Agree that it should be grown a lot more in this part of the world than it is.. Would likely survive even here w/ some shade / a weekly/ bi-weekly soaking this time of year.  Some iNat. observations in CA though several marked as "Research Grade" are obvious,  miss-identifications ( Yellow Hibiscus ).  There's at least one nursery in Vista that offers it, ...so, that is at least one source for folks there to pick some up to try.










 

[Silas_Sancona]

Some patience ..some reward. Ipomoea longifolia  producing it's first flower, maybe the first from a specimen grown north of Tucson ( Yet to note any specimens in any gardens up this way anyway.. )   We'll see if this plant, or the other decide to produce any more flowers this year, or, if they'll need this year to store up enough energy to flower more next year. 

Bigger specimen is producing a 3rd stem from the Caudex / Tuberous root(s), a good sign it is gaining size / maturity.  No noted fragrance on it ...though that could be influenced by how hot it has been. We'll see if the Receptacle / Peduncle on this flower remains attached / goes on to produce seed ( would be nice ).







Overall flower size approx. 3/4ths the total width of Moonflower, Ipomoea longiflora / alba. Open only for one night, like Moonflower, and several other Ipomoea sps.

 

Kopsia arborea moving on to two fully formed flowers open at the same time. Interesting how similar they look to flowers produced by New World Genus Plumeria or Himatanthus.



Kallstroemia grandiflora, loving the heat..  Being that they came up in late May, started flowering in June, and i've had late starting plants flower up until the end of December/ early Jan. in the past, will be interesting to see how long these go this year..






Some of the Sunflowers out back starting the crowning process ( perhaps my own term for developing flower heads )



Even though it has been hot and dry, some Peppers coming along nicely atm..  Specific variety pictured is Marconi Red, an Italian cultivar.



Sunflowers out front coming along nicely, despite being eyeballed by another wave ( err, Tsunami, lol ) of Grasshoppers atm.. Cosmos have had a tougher time though. Will have to set new seed down in areas where the grasshoppers have " pruned " them.  Being able to get a few up, decided to seed some annual Proboscidea  ( Devil's Claw ) seed collected at Oak Flat out front, just to if the seed how seed responds to being planted directly, and figure out which species they are ( ..P. parviflora,  or louisianica ).




 

[Silas_Sancona]

Some sizzling color    ..and a weekend " Palm Walker "

Plumeria X Divine ..looking  ..Divine..



Ruellia nudiflora..  Wayy nicer, low growing perennial " filler " option than it's aggressive / invasive cousin, Mex. Petunia.



Guaiacum coulteri, ...The shy flowering, potted specimen. Bigger one just finished it's second bloom cycle of the year.



Bigger specimen i planted out front finally decided to throw  -a -  flower, lol...  Should flower more starting next year.. Second seed- grown specimen to do so.



Distimake aureus  on full tilt   ..Btw, anyone seeing this and thinking " wouldn't mind trying it "  Yes, i'm working on getting seed to pass around to those interested..  Being very shy about producing any so far though, unlike the other Distimake  sp.out back ( Alamo Vine ) Have more seed off that thing ..and more on the way... then i could possibly need.










Kallstroemia grandiflora,   laughing at the heat, while creating some of it's own..



Getting closer to the start of " Sunflower Season "..



Looking good out front too.  Due to another visit from a grasshopper swarm, some of the Cosmos started out there got mowed down, so, added more seed.






Because of erosion issues when sowing seed, been placing piles of larger grit in certain spots to slow down runoff when i water the bed.  Also use it when sowing seed ( easier for the seed to break through ) Spread some around where the Kallstroemia are planted as well. Helps the seed settle and germinate. Will also come into play when planting this section of next years spring display ( Certain stuff i'm planning on planting out there that likes grittier soil.. )





...Our weekend " Palm Walker ",   getting the Washingtonia in front of an Apartment complex a block up the street did..  ...Perhaps a bit over trimmed, as is the norm around here, imo. 

....At least whoever trims these each year,  also keeps loose boots cleaned up too.





 

[amh]

It has been so hot and dry here that not much is blooming, even the wild, native sunflowers have given up the ghost. Surprisingly this small Moringa oleifera has decided to bloom.

It isn't much, but it's something.

[Silas_Sancona]

Cowpen Daisies, Verbesina escelioides  starting their summer flowering cycle.




First Cosmos of the season..



Random wall of Red Birds spotted while running errands out by Queen Creek..



Some developing Pun' kins.. 





Weirdo, Crested Pumpkin plant. Been tempted to chop off the fasciated section, but w/ how hot it has been, pretty sure it would mean the death of the plant. Figure i'll just let it do it's thing





'Nother flower spotted on the bigger G. coulteri planted out front.. Maybe a few more trying to form.





Annual Devil's Claw seedling sprouting out front.. We'll see if any of the other spots i placed seed decide to sprout also.



Surprise perennial Devil's Claw sprouting in a large pot that gets no attention other than getting sprayed when the sprinklers are run. 



Will be interesting to see how each of these behave since what seed  has sprouted in smaller pots sprout.. them fall over and die..   Challenges are fun, right? lol..



Getting closer to sun- rise..



Nice maroon-ish haze in the foliage of this particular Sunflower..  May be Helianthus  cv. Chainti. We'll see in a couple weeks.






 

[Silas_Sancona]

First Rays of Sun-rise...






A very tough ..but eye catching color to capture correctly,  esp the Chocolate-y greenish iridescence that covers the base of the petals under mid day sun..

6am:






Mid Day:














After the sun set behind the wall:





A very alluring Sunflower variety that could only be better if it had either a Vanilla / chocolate, or Cinnamon - esque scent.  Will be interesting to see what the other varieties planted will look like as they start opening in a week or so.


Cosmos:  ..Fire-tipped petals really set this Orange C. sulphureus  variety off.. Almost a purple-ish tone in the tips of some of the newly opening flowers in shot #2.

[Silas_Sancona]

Day #3:  Really enjoying the sizzling fade on this specimen.. Will be interesting to see if other flowers produced by it follow the same color change pattern.  Other Sunflowers gearing up, despite the unrelenting, punishing heat.

[amh]

While the plant is not flowering yet, I must give praise to Erythrostemon gilliesii. I planted two in my yard and have left them completely alone. The two plants while not thriving, are growing well, even after the freeze of '21, and the 2 extreme drought years that have followed. I am currently starting more from seed.

[Silas_Sancona]

Coulteria pumila  ***Formally Caesalpinia pumila ***





Adenium  X Purple Jade



More Sunflowers poppin'

Nice " Tiger Eye " effect on this specimen. Note that it is producing pollen.











Surprise " Devilish Blondes " ( Perennial / Yellow Devil's Claw )  doing surprisingly well since popping up on their own in this container.

[Tom in Tucson]

How old and tall is your Coulteria pumila? Mine is about 5 years old, and 1' tall, but has not bloomed yet.

Hi 107˚, Lo 82˚

[Silas_Sancona]

21 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

How old and tall is your Coulteria pumila? Mine is about 5 years old, and 1' tall, but has not bloomed yet.

Hi 107˚, Lo 82˚

About the same size, in a 1 gal pot.   Pretty sure i started this one from seed a couple years ago.  I need to repot it. Other one i'd had  ..Can't remember where it originally came from,  might have been 15" in height and flowered yearly..

[Tom in Tucson]

23 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

About the same size, in a 1 gal pot.   Pretty sure i started this one from seed a couple years ago.  I need to repot it. Other one i'd had  ..Can't remember where it originally came from,  might have been 15" in height and flowered yearly..

That's much faster growing. Mine was from DELEP. It's in full sun with denser leaflets. Maybe It'll bloom next year.

BTW, monsoon plant sales have begun. I bought 4 Bursera microphylla 'Waterman Mt. form' today at the Desert Survivors sale. Good size crowd when I arrived. Next weekend I'll be attending the one at Tohono Chul. Last years was great.

Hi 113˚, Lo 81˚

[Silas_Sancona]

43 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

That's much faster growing. Mine was from DELEP. It's in full sun with denser leaflets. Maybe It'll bloom next year.

BTW, monsoon plant sales have begun. I bought 4 Bursera microphylla 'Waterman Mt. form' today at the Desert Survivors sale. Good size crowd when I arrived. Next weekend I'll be attending the one at Tohono Chul. Last years was great.

Hi 113˚, Lo 81˚

This particular specimen came from a  DELEP order..  Keep it in dappled shade ( same area where i keep other stuff under shade cloth / where the Ficus blocks afternoon sun. )

How funny,  was planning on attending both sales this year but something came up. The way i felt when i woke up, i'm not sure i'd have made it down there anyway, lol.   You attended the Monsoon sale at  D.S. last year.. or so i'd thought?

Really wanted to attend next weekend's sale at  Tohono Chul  but ..eh, lol. Next year.   You'll have to let me know if the guy who sells Oaks / assorted Conifers is there this year.

[Tom in Tucson]

As the risk of being banned for OT discussion - No, I only went to "the chul" last year. There is one MM sale near the UA campus, but I've never been reminded about it's date and time.

Hi 107˚, Lo 78˚ - We're cooling down. A shower tonight

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

As the risk of being banned for OT discussion - No, I only went to "the chul" last year. There is one MM sale near the UA campus, but I've never been reminded about it's date and time.

Hi 107˚, Lo 78˚ - We're cooling down. A shower tonight

Yerr' good .. 

I'll have to ask around about the UA sale.. I need to contact someone at the University and Tumamoc Hill anyway..  

[Tom in Tucson]

23 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yerr' good .. 

I'll have to ask around about the UA sale.. I need to contact someone at the University and Tumamoc Hill anyway..  

I don't think the UA sponsors that sale. The last I heard about it was 3 years ago.

Hi 113˚, Lo 77˚

[Silas_Sancona]

Sum' more heat   ..in the heat... 

[Rivera]

Achillea millefolium (Yarrow)

We're growing four varieties, all in bloom right now. These all grow easily without any supplemental irrigation in San Francisco, but will also accept water here any time of year without resentment, making them adaptable to the transitional areas where a hand-watered palm or fruit tree is surrounded by a dry garden.

Island Pink, selected from Santa Cruz Island. My favorite yarrow flowers, but in dry areas this yarrow has only a seasonal presence. While it reliably blooms every year, it almost disappears later in the year and is consequently overtaken by vigorous neighboring plants like Epilobium canum seen below. No worries though, as its flower stalks just reach up and over whatever has covered it up. It may hold more foliage in an irrigated area. Re-seeds, but not aggressively.

Mediterranean Mystery, not an actual cultivar name, just a garden variety I don't know the identity of. Grown from a small division from a family member's property. Seems to attract the same critter activity as the native yarrows. Has a semi dormant season late in the year, less so here and more so in the valley/interior climate zones. This one seems to be re-seeding itself the most, maybe too much for some.

Moonshine

Also grown from a couple of small divisions. Flowers are very bright yellow when they first open. This one turns up at CA native nurseries, but at best it's a hybrid of native yarrow and old world yarrow. Can't say more definitively... Egyptian yarrow? Year round foliage, does not re-seed.

Sonoma Coast, final and favorite, native to the north coast as the name implies. Unremarkable white flowers, but awesome mounds of rich green ferny foliage all year. Seems adept at fog capture. Looks like it's getting water when it's getting nothing. 

Some brown sections late in the year but easily reinvigorated by cutting some old matted material out and giving a few waterings if you won't tolerate the slight dormancy. I don't bother unless I get a big dead patch which doesn't happen much. Re-seeds minimally.

This is the one I always recommend to other coast-dwellers. Its dense foliage is seasonally full of larval ladybugs, amongst other tiny beasts. Birds pick through it. Wolf spiders run amok in it.

Butterflies (mostly admirals and ladies here, but occasionally swallowtails, monarchs, or diminutive species) visit any and all of these varieties when they're about.

Yarrow also has medicinal value and a long history of both internal and topical application in the northern hemisphere.

[Hillizard]

This year a couple of my potted Guaiacum coulteri seedlings (Thx Nathan!) have finally started to take off. For now I overwinter them indoors.

[Tomas]

On 6/18/2023 at 8:54 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

" Red Bird " Season in full glory...  Because the heat has been tempered thus far, many specimens are producing pods..  W/ the potential of our first episode of  " real heat " lurking on the not too distant horizon, those pods may - or may not - contiune to fill out ..if they aren't shed from the plants completely ..in response to a week / couple weeks of 110 / 110+ heat.

One thing I always forgot to ask, do they need to be watered or are they also drought resistant?

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, Tomas said:

One thing I always forgot to ask, do they need to be watered or are they also drought resistant?

Provided a deep soak 1X every 2 weeks through the summer, they will be lusher / get really tall  -fast-.  That said, i see plenty of specimens which don't seem to get much -if any- extra water during the summer, and those seem to do fine / flower their heads off.. Neighbor a few doors down have one in a planter that i know they never water..  Grows and flowers w/ out a care in the world each year.

Several years ago, it was cut to the ground but faithfully resprouted the following summer.

[Silas_Sancona]

More Sunflower-idge.. 







Backlit..












Sometimes, a little added flash is your friend around Sunset.





Sunflowers by day is one thing, ..by night, w/ some soft, distant illumination from a patio light, and the full moon in the background,  is another..













Kallstroemia  patch out front.







Senna covesii




Proboscidea althaeifolia.   Mentioned elsewhere,  After several attempts at getting this challenging subtropical, Tuberous-rooted Xerophyte going, only to have the seedlings reach the 1 or 2 leaf stage and croak,  i think i may have a winner..  In this case, seed was scattered in a wide 5gal pot filled w/ grit and left to do ..whatever it decided to do... in a spot that gets full/ partial sun most of the day,  and only gets overspray / heavier drip from taller plants near the pot that are hit when i run the sprinklers for the grass.

As far as being able to call this experiment a success,  Not " out of the woods " yet ..so to speak,  but definitely the furthest along i have managed to get seedlings..  We'll see how much more they develop before winter.. and if they re-sprout next spring. 



Tough as they are to get off the ground, those flowers make this challenge well worth tackling.. 






Moving some stuff around yesterday, i may have found one popping up in the grass.. Waiting until it gets a little bigger to be sure..  Go figure, lol.
 

[Tom in Tucson]

6 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

More Sunflower-idge.. 







Backlit..












Sometimes, a little added flash is your friend around Sunset.





Sunflowers by day is one thing, ..by night, w/ some soft, distant illumination from a patio light, and the full moon in the background,  is another..













Kallstroemia  patch out front.







Senna covesii




Proboscidea althaeifolia.   Mentioned elsewhere,  After several attempts at getting this challenging subtropical, Tuberous-rooted Xerophyte going, only to have the seedlings reach the 1 or 2 leaf stage and croak,  i think i may have a winner..  In this case, seed was scattered in a wide 5gal pot filled w/ grit and left to do ..whatever it decided to do... in a spot that gets full/ partial sun most of the day,  and only gets overspray / heavier drip from taller plants near the pot that are hit when i run the sprinklers for the grass.

As far as being able to call this experiment a success,  Not " out of the woods " yet ..so to speak,  but definitely the furthest along i have managed to get seedlings..  We'll see how much more they develop before winter.. and if they re-sprout next spring. 



Tough as they are to get off the ground, those flowers make this challenge well worth tackling.. 






Moving some stuff around yesterday, i may have found one popping up in the grass.. Waiting until it gets a little bigger to be sure..  Go figure, lol.
 

Could it be that you have a fondness for Kansas, and that's why you are partial to sunflowers? Great shots, as usual.

Hi 109˚, Lo 74˚

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Tom in Tucson said:

Could it be that you have a fondness for Kansas, and that's why you are partial to sunflowers? Great shots, as usual.

Hi 109˚, Lo 74˚

...A tiny influence,  perhaps, lol.. Always had a fondness for them, though more so once i'd seen there are varieties with more exotic - colored flowers.  There's one that is fragrant ( Chocolate scent ) i want to try next year.

In N.E. KS, i rarely saw the fields of cultivated Sunflowers everyone associates w/ the state, and i traveled all over between Topeka, St. Joseph / Atchison, and KCMO / suburbs just southeast of there fairly regularly.  Gray headed Coneflower,  Ironweed, ..a couple of the late-summer- flowering Bidens,  and Salvia azurea  are the primary wildflowers that signaled the final half of summer out there rather than roadside Sunflowers..


I also wanted to try something different ( ..and easy.. ) this year.  Considering the course of this summer, ..glad i did.  Plus, ( .. everyone seems to have forgotten about it )  There is a Solar Eclipse in October, ...so having Sunflowers around, as a lead up to... / and salute to it, kinda fits.   We'll see if they're still flowering by that time.

Both Eclipses and Sunflowers symbolize renewal / new beginnings,  and have powerful meaning in Native American cultures.





 

[Silas_Sancona]

Sum'  " Stormy Morning " shots...

Echinopsis  X Sorceress.. Not sure why it works but the subtle, clouded lighting this morning ( 6:36AM ) really brought out the purple highlights in the petals.. Usually, it is tough to get that tone to come out correctly in pictures when the sun is up, even if the plant itself is sitting in shade.




Drippy Sunflower ..or two... Flash used due to time of day.






What the shot would look like if you don't use a flash.. ( Same shot as the first one above ) It's ...Ok.., but, note how, even though it past sunrise,  the background light can still wash out everything, esp. your target. ..Also a little blur from from the slightest motion,  let alone much less detail in the flower itself.   Not to be abused, but a flash can be an important  " tool in the bag " when photographing certain targets in really low light situations. 





Random cloud / sky- scapes ..with Sunflowers..

Not sure which of these two i like more.. Sunflower, or building Cumulus in focus..  Flash was used to get these ( particularly the Sunflowers ) because the sun itself is still below the roof line, and behind the thick mass of dying storm to my east ( Looking west in the shots )














Kallstroemia grandiflora.. Included:  a few shots i took yesterday.  

Taking a step back for a moment, When i look at the shots, particularly the background of the 1st, 2nd, and 9th esp., i can visualize bright green Plumeria leaves and x colored flowers on them,  and something silvery  ...a short B. armata, ..or silver / silvery green-ish form Sabal uresana  adding layers of their blurred colors, above and behind the Kallstroemia,  to the pictures.


















 

[mulungu]

Texas rock rose, Pavonia lasiopetala: Loving the heat and high light intensity of August.

 

 

Golden lotus banana, Musella lasiocarpa:  not loving these endless triple digit F temps and drought, but hanging in there, and decided to flower this year.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, mulungu said:

Texas rock rose, Pavonia lasiopetala: Loving the heat and high light intensity of August.

 

 

 

 

For whatever reason ..may have sat in too wet of soil last winter.. the specimen i had planted out front croaked. Need to start more seeds i collected off of it.

[Silas_Sancona]

Sum' Sunday color..

First Rays of Sun out front.. Rest are getting close..





Summer Spiny things responding to last weeks rain..

Mamm-a-graham



Coryphantha maiz-tablasensis



Thelocactus bicolor





Aristolochia   ..A fimbriata   up top..  A. watsonii  below..







Guaiacum coulteri     ...Because i walked out to this  this morning...









 

[Silas_Sancona]

Few extras to start the week:

I swear, each morning i head out there, this thing is just lit up more that the previous day.. No breeze + higher humidity this morning = that distinct, Fresh, Soap-ish scent from it could be detected from the Patio. Filled w/ all sorts of Bees ...Counted 4 or five sps. Hopefully this time it doesn't get hot enough to cause another mass aborting of developing fruit..





While the " Cosmos Experiment " out front was an utter flop ( Gopher and Grasshopper visit killed many / worst of the heat killed the rest ) this go around,  Senna covesii that popped up decided to fill in most of the gaps, and add plenty of color this year.



Additional color / developing fruit from the Mamm -a- grahams. Already had plenty of fruit form on both older specimens this year.. Going to be up to my eyeballs in seedlings, lol.








Having shown what trees haven't handled the extended extreme heat all that well this summer, a few that have..

Tipuana  filling out nicely after most of the foliage was burned off..



Albizia sinaloensis:  While it hasn't moved as much as i'd hoped this year,  it still weathered the heat well.. and has responded as anticipated once i resumed flooding it 1x/week.




Texas Ebony.. If ever there was a tree that laughed at the heat, this is it, even at such a young age..   Bright green new growth - in less than a couple weeks- is very obvious. No worries about one of the ties coming off of the trunk (  bend seen in the 3rd shot.. ) going to be installing a taller stake soon to get the leader higher than 8ft a tad faster.

Gossypium thurberi in the foreground of this shot.. Working on getting it taller ( likes to weep a bit as it grows )






 

[Tom in Tucson]

4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Few extras to start the week:

I swear, each morning i head out there, this thing is just lit up more that the previous day.. No breeze + higher humidity this morning = that distinct, Fresh, Soap-ish scent from it could be detected from the Patio. Filled w/ all sorts of Bees ...Counted 4 or five sps. Hopefully this time it doesn't get hot enough to cause another mass aborting of developing fruit..





While the " Cosmos Experiment " out front was an utter flop ( Gopher and Grasshopper visit killed many / worst of the heat killed the rest ) this go around,  Senna covesii that popped up decided to fill in most of the gaps, and add plenty of color this year.



Additional color / developing fruit from the Mamm -a- grahams. Already had plenty of fruit form on both older specimens this year.. Going to be up to my eyeballs in seedlings, lol.








Having shown what trees haven't handled the extended extreme heat all that well this summer, a few that have..

Tipuana  filling out nicely after most of the foliage was burned off..



Albizia sinaloensis:  While it hasn't moved as much as i'd hoped this year,  it still weathered the heat well.. and has responded as anticipated once i resumed flooding it 1x/week.




Texas Ebony.. If ever there was a tree that laughed at the heat, this is it, even at such a young age..   Bright green new growth - in less than a couple weeks- is very obvious. No worries about one of the ties coming off of the trunk (  bend seen in the 3rd shot.. ) going to be installing a taller stake soon to get the leader higher than 8ft a tad faster.

Gossypium thurberi in the foreground of this shot.. Working on getting it taller ( likes to weep a bit as it grows )






 

Just a few comments,

Great pics (as usual). Mammillaria grahamii and Carnegia gigantea grow as weeds in my yard, despite the fact that the nearest open desert is a city block away. I think the primary vector is the abundant White Wing Dove. The Saguaros seem to sprout up the most near the house foundation. Since I know that this is not a good long term site, when they are around 2" high I transplant them to pots, where for a few years their just another cactus in my collection. I'll eventually find a good home for them.

The largest tree in my front yard is a Texas Ebony. Some day I'd like to try growing the related Havardia sonorae.

Hi 105˚, Lo 78˚ - light evening showers

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, Tom in Tucson said:

Just a few comments,

Great pics (as usual). Mammillaria grahamii and Carnegia gigantea grow as weeds in my yard, despite the fact that the nearest open desert is a city block away. I think the primary vector is the abundant White Wing Dove. The Saguaros seem to sprout up the most near the house foundation. Since I know that this is not a good long term site, when they are around 2" high I transplant them to pots, where for a few years their just another cactus in my collection. I'll eventually find a good home for them.

The largest tree in my front yard is a Texas Ebony. Some day I'd like to try growing the related Havardia sonorae.

Hi 105˚, Lo 78˚ - light evening showers

I think i still have DELEP  seed from H. sonorae somewhere i need to start. 

The one " Ebony "  i wish i could find seed of is the TX. Ebony relative from Sinaloa,  https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/504427-Ebenopsis-caesalpinioides    Just to compare how it grows, compared to E. ebano,  and because it is endangered. 

Imagine it would be another great tree option since it grows in the same area as Cascalote, Which does well here..