Do you recall . . . .

12 Aug '07 6:36 pm

. . . . the time when I proclaimed my shock at seeing geraniums being grown in an expensively restored (£75,000) greenhouse? And my subsequent desire and intention of establishing exotic-looking plants in my own exotic greenhouses - once they had completed their initial purpose of providing a home to my younger, and more tender introductions for the gardens. Nowadays all the tender plants are now thriving outside.

So, I've been establishing my 'Boogie House' this summer and the ten varieties of Bougainvillea chosen are coming along very well and I'm sure they will produce one helluva show next year.

But I've not been quite so lucky with the second greenhouse and my intention of turning it into a dedicated 'Passionflower House'. After obtaining some unusual plants to stock it, I sadly have to report that most flower at night! Twisted Evil

I didn't believe it at first, and for some months now I've watched them come into bloom late in the afternoon and be gone by the following morning!

So now I'm switching to 'Plan B' for the second house. Hibiscus.

13 Aug '07 3:18 am

Gardeners, like some others who have traditionally been accused of this trait, have the right to change their minds in mid stream or whenever it suits them. That's just being flexible (and realistic). If plans that we formulate in our heads prove not too successful in actuality, not to worry, just change plans. Hibiscus have many beautiful forms and some can be quite exotic.

13 Aug '07 4:03 am

All my passion flowers bloom in the daytime and I believe each stays open day and night for perhaps a week. (Now I'm going to have to go out and make sure.) Some have not performed as well as others and the reluctant are no longer with me.

The one that makes up my avatar here (P. alata) is the most stingy flowerwise, but it is the only one not planted in the ground so the fault may well be mine. The other more common white one (P. caerulea), which I don't recall actually ever planting, is always in bloom from spring until it gets cold, though rarely really heavily. The little yellow one (P. citrina) blooms very heavily all season and tolerates a little shade. A purple one is one of my newest, is not planted in a prime spot but almost always has at least one open and sometimes several. Then there is the odd ball, P. membrosa, which is an enormous vine capable of covering large trees. Its very unique blooms form below the folliage and is quite attractive to walk under. This one has had hundreds of blooms every day since spring and is still going strong. It grows through my fig tree and I can see its flowers by walking under it. I bought a new hybrid just last month which a new cross between the red P. antioquiensis and the orange, almost extinct P. parritae. No flowers yet but it is looking healthy so far.

I'd encourage you to keep some around even if you cut them back to see if any just need more time to settle in. Are yours growing in pots? I did lose one I had growing in a pot and as I say, the one I have in a pot now doesn't keep up with the ones in the ground in terms of flower production. Oh and I'm watering it fairly heavily twice a week.

I agree with you about the purpose of a greenhouse though, if not to allow you grow more exotic plants? It will be interesting to see the things you grow there.

13 Aug '07 1:12 pm

Could those plants in your Boogie House be shy, or embarrassed, about the name given to their place of residence? Hee hee.

You could try music - wake them up in the morning with the three tenors, or something equally appassionato...

Hope all goes well in your garden - no floods, or storms, or droughts, or whatever! Cheers.

13 Aug '07 10:55 pm

Mark!! Your babies are stunning!! And the captures, too!

14 Aug '07 2:40 am

It's a small world Mark as I also have Passiflora citrina and it's one that does flower. But my immature plant doesn't flower much at all. P's. lutea and organensis are 'pitiful' in my experience. P. kewensis, a pink, is my most regular flowerer. P v.Scarlet Flame is an excellent red but it is very 'untrustworthy', so too is a P. decaisnea. Very beautiful, but the UK appears slightly beyond it's natural limit. 'Decaisnea' used to be my previous avatar before the 'fox'.

Against this 'background' I've been veering away from passion flowers in the greenhouses. Others remain in the gardens and behave like convolvulus!

14 Aug '07 3:08 am

I didn't realize you had other than pots in the greenhouse. Nice. I think it is absolutely right to be ruthless about demanding performance from all our plants. Especially in the prime real estate of your glass house, there is no point in running a refuge for disappointing plants.

It is just hard for me to imagine giving glass house space to bouganvilla as they are so common outside here, although I realize that doesn't do you any good there. In Hawaii you've probably heard, they are taking over the island. Still, few plants produce a wall of color so solid for so long as this plant. Beware the prickles.

14 Aug '07 3:27 am

All this talk of passion flowers has got me reminiscing about my childhood. Passion vines did grow as weeds in a field across from my childhood home. We called them Maypops because of their seed pods that looked like limes and made a very satisfying pop when stomped on by children. However, our favorite things about the flowers and fruits were that we could make tiny ballerinas from the blossoms and the seeds inside the pods were edible. They were sour tasting, but we loved them. Children today know nothing of all the treasures nature provides for exploring.

15 Aug '07 4:59 am

I must admit Muddywellies: I always wondered why they were called passionfruit and passionvines. I remember eating them as a teen and sitting back waiting for the results.... Now at least you have given a partial answer - they flower at night!

In SA they are a popular garden fruit, called grinadellas, and we grew them in Johannesburg when I was a child, but it was only years later that I first noticed their amazing flower shape - or rather: flower structure. We have one that doesn't produce edible fruit which grows on the farm - introduced, I assume. I've never noticed the flower. My aunt, ten km away in a warmer area, has a line of fruiting vines.

But I've never seen them sold as garden flowers in SA, despite the fact that much of our climate must be ideal... Brick wall

SA is a gardener's desert, even though so many garden plants are sourced from here.

And also: I never knew Bougainvillea was an acid lover. Here they simply grow with ease, and are often the neglected remains of abandoned homesteads, covered in dust. As I've said before: on the whole I don't like them - dirty whites and dull maroons - or their thorns, which always cause septic infections. Strange how we love the difficult and the unusual... (Although at their best I admit they are wonderful, and I've promised pictures of them growing massively into flowering jacarandas in the older parts of Johannesburg!)

Do you recall . . . .

Do you recall . . . .

Gardeners have the right to change directions

That is so weird.

Boogie House

Adorable blooms!!

Maypops

Passion fruit and bougainvillea