Strong Sun Flowers: Summer 2025 blooms n' stuff...

June 5

Meteorologically, it started on the 1st, Astronomically, it will start on the 20th..

For the garden, this time of year represents when most plants are growing at full speed, some setting fruit, and / or waking up for their turn on the stage that is the yearly show of " what is blooming now "

Here in the desert, ....and in other summer season rainfall regions of North America, and the broader northern hemisphere that border ..or lie.. within the subtropics, this time of year is often when plants closely tied to the tropics rise and shine. ....That Magic that is only brought into yards and landscapes by summer storms, long days, and heat.

Some open the season, others set their sights on the final oncore, while many simply enjoy their long season in the sun..

Regardless, even here in the desert, there is always something flowering, ..or on the way.. while the sun is high..

Remember, got somethin poppin' share it..

Starting off, the rewards of yet another iNat observation inspired leafy investigation on a very monsoon-y day two weeks ahead of when the first hints of our summer rains are just starting to awaken.

A blue -eyed muck lover i'd have assumed might not like our heat ..but apparently shrugs it off, even in full sun., as long as it's feet are moist.

Pickerelweed, Pontenderia cordata. Had seen observations made of specimens growing locally awhile back and made a trip to look them over / verify the location on a warm but soupy morning. Turns out they are planted in several of the retention ponds in this part of Chandler. Is only 1 of 2 AZ observations of the species on iNat.

Obviously, snagged a few small offsets to try in an ideal spot in the yard.

June 5

As anticipated, " surprise " early June rain / humidity = the big potted G. coulteri starts flowering a few days earlier than if it had stayed hot and bone dry.

Could this be THE year Bonellia ( Formally Jacquinia ) macrocarpa var. pungens finally flowers, successfully?? ..Watching how this progresses very closely..

New plants from my own seed of this TDF gem is the goal..

Little Monster In Training ( LMIT ) Pseudalbizzia sinaloensis starting to flower, partially in response to this weekends early June monsoon tease..

Another early Kallstroemia grandiflora popping off well ahead of any others to come ...in a few weeks..

Lippia gravolens, _Mexican Oregano lovin the heat..

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima sending early signals of impending flowers..

This specific test subject was subjected to an attack from the burrowing rat popping up right in the center of the plastic sleeve i started the seedlings in. After filling the hole ..and getting the rest of the gopher barrier completed elsewhere, this group of seedlings -that weren't destroyed by said burrowing- took off.

So far, so good in morning - to 2PM sun ( When it's position starts casting shade here ) ..We'll see what happens once the heat cranks up / afterwards..

June 7

My largest coulteri is flowering profusely now, even though it dropped all its leaves for the first time ever this winter due to a freeze.🤷‍♂️ Love the unusual blue color.👍

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

June 9

Monsoon Magic? ..How about some Cactus Magic ..before Monsoon Season arrives..

Cochemia grahamii ..and fraileana responding in tandem to last weeks rain..

Trichocereus x " June Noon "

Echinopsis x Fond Adieu ( Orange ) Sorceress ( Pink / Magenta ) and another whose name i can't remember atm..

Thelocactus bicolor, one of the standard form specimens

T. bicolor v alba..

Adenium x Purple Jade.. ..the P.J. half..

Pachycormus discolor

Looks like the TX Ebony also really liked the out of season rain too..

Zinnia elegans.. " 75 days until bloom " it says on the seed packs.. Not here.. Planted about a month ago and just about ready to go.. As it typical for me ..even the Zinnia varieties / colors chosen are unique vs. anything standard or ordinary..

More will get planted once rains arrive..

June 15

Hot, dry, and that kind of " meh " time of year as we await the rains to come ( hopefully, ha ha ) but still some fireworks here n' there this time of year..

Distimake aureus

For whatever reason, i thought i lost the " in ground " Devilish Blonde ( Proboscidea althaeifolia ) over the winter ..or to the burrowing furry menace, which had killed it's companion early last fall.

Guess it just wasn't hot enough until the past week to wake it up.. Grass in this sleeve w/ the Devilish Blonde = False Rhodes ( Leptochloa crinita )

Zinnia fireworks show under way.. Note to self: Plant Z's before mid May ..if you don't want late May / June Sun to cook 90% of seedlings planted at that time ..Here at least..

September 9

As the heat starts to chill out, a round up of summer stuff that made it through another dry year...

Bonellia macrocarpa v. pungens.. Blooming for the first time 5 years after germinating.. No seed this year but that is fine.. 2nd specimen that i almost killed last year is filling out nicely atm.. We'll see but it could flower next year, which might help w/ seed set.

Ruellia nudiflora, Easy, low growing native " filler " for shade.. Despite this year being dry, what rain has fallen has been enough to get a ton of seed to pop. MUCH nicer than the highly aggressive / PITA to remove Ruellia simplex.

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima.. Started from seed off the former " front yard " experiments 6 months ago, pleasing the bees now.

Though they'd likely be fuller / taller in more overhead mid- day canopy / given a little more moisture, interesting that this S.E.' rn AZ native, often found growing in sunny breaks among rocky ground up in the foothills down there, vs out on low, hot flats in the valleys has tolerated the torture that is full sun exposure this time of year up here.

Contrast that w/ this " Christmas " Senna.. Likely S. pendula vs. bicapsularis ( ...As mentioned before, the two sps. are easily confused )

Nice and green until the heat set in, then ..like last year, most of it's foliage was burned off.. Bigger than last year and giving it a bit more water, just to see if that might counteract the sun induced stress, is starting to push new clean growth now and might actually flower later this year..

Species comes from lower elevation areas in Central / S. America..

Senna covesii, doing what these do this time of year..

One of our two native Cochlospermum sp.

After a few years since i picked these two up, one is finally setting fruit.

>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>

September 9

Coulteria ** No Longer Caesalpinia ** platyloba throwing out a flower this year..

Pretty good year for Albizia sinaloensis.. Hard to tell from the angle but top is easily above 10ft now.. Not bad for only being in the ground since 2022.. Graduated from needing " Training wheels "( AKA: metal stakes ) this summer too..

Delonix regia, Not quite as much growth as i'd hoped for ..but it is moving..

Since it is small, only thing i'll do to protect it this winter < ...if necessary.. > is make a tent out of steel stakes, draped in a towel on the coldest nights ..If we even have any this year.

Gotta love living where " cold " is a rare word. Vert little worry or whining about winter here.

Desert Willow = ..still going..

" Devilish Blondes ", doing their thing..

Same w/ the Double Claws ( Proboscidea parviflora )

Seed grown Asclepias subulata coming along nicely

We'll dive deeper later but, ..at least a few of the zinnias managed to survive summer sun torture fest part #3. Evidently, cool enough now that a ton of seed i scattered off fried plants is popping up so, ..maybe a mid- autumn Zinnia show???

..Because well rounded plant people also appreciate, admire, and grow their native grasses, instead of the 💩- y non-native and invasive " options ".....

False Rhodes Grass ( Leptochloa crinita )

Still not settled on an exact, 100% accurate ID on this Grama sp.

Until it started flowering, i'd thought it was likely Bouteloua curtipendula, AKA: Sideoats Grama ....since that is what i'd collected from several places..

🤔 with nailing down an ID comes down to: 1, Seed heads on Sideoats typically hang to one side of the stem as they mature.. 2, Individual seed heads/ spikelets are a bit fatter than these have been, and 3, Anthers hanging out of the florets are bright Red- Orange instead of pale yellow as these are.. Were in every location where i collected seed off that species..

Only other Bouteloua sp this could be is B. uniflora, Oneseed Grama, which ..when looking at iNat obvs. appears pretty rare here. ...Or is it??

Needle Grama, B. aristidoides stays shorter, isn't a tight clumper, and the spikelets / seed heads look different.. Is also an pioneering annual.. Neat grass for stage 1 restoration of open, barren sites but seedheads stick to ...everything... When you walk through a field w/ high Needle Grama density, you emerge with a lot of Needle Grama seed clinging to shoes, socks and shirts..

Regardless, whatever this is, it is quickly maturing into a really nice grass.. Not too big ( Likely because it doesn't get constant moisture ) and tight clumping habit.. ...Best of all, it is NOT invasive..

NO excuses for planting Fountain grass / any other non native grass sps. when there are dozens of great native / regionally native options to play around with..

Some late season Plumeria goodness to finish things off.....

Flowers opening in this new inflo on Divine

Samoan Fluff, still going..

One last, 4 petaled flower on Xanadu...

September 9

My boss had me plant 3 of these “Titan”sunflowers off of their balcony. They got ginormis!

September 9

Last < but not least... > Late summer is a good time for starting some cacti seed.

One of 6 batches of Cochemia grahamii down atm.. Enough seed off my specimens this year that i'll probably sow another 2 or 3 more.

Some Opuntia basilaris, and Echinocereus sp. seed hanging out w/ the Cochemia as well.

Tucking the pots between taller things in 5gals + the added bright shade / minimal moments of shifty sun provided by overhead canopy thru most of the day seems to get these going pretty quickly..

September 20

...On bloom cycle #8 ..or 9? ..for the year.. No need to name, in the loop folks know what this is..

Where once there was only one, now, there are four fruits developing on these two native Cochlospermum specimens.. Good cuz where i usually obtain these are out of plants and seed atm.

Kopsia arborea w/ at least one potential, developing fruit. Most of the time, Ovary turns red as soon as the flower fades, indicating no pollination of a specific flower in the cluster. When white, after the flower falls off? = first hint pollination may have been successful..

We'll see what happens.

Late summer / fall = when native grasses get the appreciation they deserve..

False Rhodes Grass = So much nicer than it's non native and invasive look-alike, Miscanthus sinensis < = absolute 🤮

Setaria ...possibly leucophila ( Plains Bristlegrass ) showing that grasses can have pretty flowers too, ...even if tiny..

Same genus as Palmgrass, Setaria palmifolia.

Wild Pointsettia ( E. cyanthophora ) ..The best kind, Even if a little weedy in shady, moist spots..

September 26

A few days pass ..and wha la.. first mature seed on the above - mentioned native Cochlospermum..

Strong outward resemblance to various Physalis sps in the sense of the seeds being protected by a papery outer shell..

Opening it, 6- 8 Kidney - shaped seed ..A common trait among Hibiscus family plants... grouped in 3 separate chambers sit in the center..

3 more fruits working on maturing to go. Up to 54 potential new specimens ..if all the seed is viable and i get it past the germination stage next year.

Distimake aureus doing what it does best as the heat fades..

Same with Antigonon..

Senna hirsuta in the background..

San Pedro Du Lac X w/ one ( maybe two or 3 ) last flowers

Samoan Fluff ...still going..

Divine ..Going deep, dark, and vivid w/ some of the " fall " flowers. Camera fails to capture how hark the darkest portions of the petals are.. Very different look from the " spring " flowers.

More Cacti seed popping.. ( labeled as Echinocereus dasyacanthus X E. leucanthus ) Will be interesting to see if my attempt at such a cross between two very different Hedgehog Cacti turns out to be legit.. Fine if simply one or the other species..

From random crosses i'd done between various things that all flowered at the same time, back in .....2018.

Late season Kalsstroemia....

...And Zinnia..

>>>>> >>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

November 19

Strong sun flowers? ...How about some " weird " Fall flowers.

While the usual suspects do their thing, heavy rain surprises in late September / early October have thrown a taste of spring into what should be a quiet part of the year.

What do I mean? Well...

Aside from spring stuff popping up earlier than normal, a couple things, which typically don't until mid to late Jan ..at the earliest.. are already flowering ..or are about to..

Notch leaf phacelia ..flowering 3 months ahead of schedule ..with some late flowering kallstroemia ..weird.