Flower Focus: Plumeria

Oh, the lovely Plumeria!  As a flower-lover, it's hard to miss them if you visit Hawaii.  They're everywhere, and so fragrant!  Even if you somehow manage to miss the ubiquitous plumeria plants outdoors, ranging in size from small shrubs to 35ft trees, surely you will notice that these flowers are widely used to make leis as well as perfumes. 

 

As I mentioned last week, I brought a cutting back with me in the hopes of having my own plumeria plant one day soon.

As you can tell from the picture, the cutting is about 12 inches long and if all goes well, will produce pink-yellow flowers.  The plumeria flowers range in color from white with yellow centers to various shades of peach-pink with or without yellow centers. 

Here are the directions that came with the cutting:

According to the Sunset Western Garden Book, plumerias are very easy to grow from cuttings... in Hawaii.  On the mainland, it's safer to buy a plant.  But it is still possible.  The biggest obstacle is maintaining a delicate balance of sun-water such that the plant is just above dry.  In Hawaii, where it rains often and is always warm, this is quite easy!  In SoCal, it almost never rains and the air is quite dry.  Also, temperatures tend to drop quite a bit at night.  Water too much and you end up with a rotten plant.  Water too little and it dries out and dies.

Good luck, little guy.  I've planted the cutting about 3-4 inches into the ground in regular soil.  It was a bit calloused at the end before I did so, which is what is recommended to avoid rot.  You can also use rooting hormone if you have it to promote rooting.

A few interesting facts about the lovely plumeria:

• Another common name is Frangipani
• The sap is milky and quite caustic to the skin
• In Polynesian culture, a flower over the right ear means a woman is seeking a relationship.  Over the left means she is taken.
• In some parts of Asia, local beliefs state that plumeria trees shelter ghosts and demons, and as a result, plumeria are often planted in cemeteries.
• Blooming begins in the spring and continues for more than 6 months.

I bought my cutting at a fruit stand by the highway and these cutting are available widely, including at general stores on the islands.  I think that there's a higher probability for success given our Santa Monica climate.  But given their enthusiasm to sell these cuttings to anyone and everyone (at the fruit stand at least), I'm not going to get my hopes too high.  We'll see....

Meanwhile, here's a gratuitous shot of the Maui beach that I am missing at the moment.

And I leave you with a clip of some fabulous previous world cup celebrations.  I hope to see many more from Holland and USA in the next few weeks still!

Wonderful World of Plants, Aloha Style

Little break last week, and for good reason... we were in Maui!  So you may be able to guess what I'm going to show you this week...

In addition to the many fantastic things we did and saw there-- snorkeling with sea turtles (one of my favorite animals), multiple visits to the shave ice stand, surfing, and solid beach time-- I was amazed by the how colorful all the plants were, and so much diversity!  I could go on and on just about foliage.

Why are tropical plants so colorful?

I went online to do a little bit of research, and was mostly unsuccessful in finding an answer.  (True confession, I have had the World Cup on in the background all day every day since it started -- Hup, Holland, Hup! -- so it was a cursory effort).  There was a rather long scientific article about the advantage of colorful fruit, that being increased likelihood of seed dispersion by birds that are more likely to notice the fruit.  And I also found a nice article about tropical fauna, which explained the following regarding reasons for colorful fauna in tropical locations:

• the increased biodiversity creates a greater need for distinction amongst species
• "necessity for communication within closed environments"
• the abundance of nutrient available in tropical environments allows for use of the excess energy for plumage, colors, etc.

I think several of these explanations for colorful fauna can be extrapolated to be reasonable causes for colorful flora. 



Look familiar?

Always lovely hibiscus

Is Southern California a tropical climate?  Not really.  We are quite a bit drier than tropical climates, but we do have the sun and heat that lots of tropical plants like -- there's no reason not to add a bit of tropical life and color to your garden!  Here's an article with a few suggestions.  I already have one or two tropical friends on the patio, and I intend to add another:

More on this to come...

That was one of my souvenirs.  This is my other:

Hello Kitty got a tan too

I will probably be talking about these lovely plants more in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, just as gardening is in my Dutch roots, so is soccer...  In case you missed it, here is Van Persie's amazing goal for you to enjoy!  Let's go, Holland!  Can't wait for the game tomorrow!!

Flower focus: Geraniums

Meet my favorite flower of the moment, the mighty geranium:

These are no delicate little spring buds to sneeze at, they are hardy easy-care plants and live up to that reputation.

But the buds are fuzzy and cute

A few interesting facts:

-What we commonly call geraniums (the plants pictured here) are not true geraniums.  There is a different flower that is technically a geranium in botany world.  Our commonly referred to as geraniums here are actually of the Pelargonium species.  Confusing, isn't it?

-Many different types exist, including the "common geranium," ivy geraniums (what I have), and scented geraniums.

-The leaves of scented geraniums can be used to flavor jelly and cold drinks.

Should you plant geraniums?

If you live in a warm, dry days and cool nights with mild winters, than this is a perfect flower for you!  That is to say, if you live in California, yes!

Care:

-Light -- full sun unless you live in a very hot area, in which case partial shade is better.

-Water -- Moderate to regular water

-Soil -- well-draining soil

-Feeding -- depends on the quality of your soil.  Generally, light feeding required.

-Other -- Pinch spent flowers to encourage blooms!

Ivy geraniums differ from common geraniums in that they grow 1-1.5 feet high but can trail 3-5 feet.  Both types have fleshy succulent-type leaves with bloom clusters in the white-red-light purple color spectrum.

I was first inspired by the ubiquitous geranium in terracotta pots and window boxes that I saw in Italy and decided to put a little Italy in my patio garden.  What great flowers!  

An aside, the music video is totally weird, but I love this song-- Big Data, "Dangerous"