I put a picture of one of them on a blog post thinking they were some type of Begonia. Flowerlady responded to that post and identified them for me as Kalanchoe.
Since they are all well and blooming I deduced that these plants don't care for the full sun here to thrive. Also one of my hard learned South Florida Gardening rules has paid off . That is: If it looks dead give it 30 days before you chunk it. In their case they have been hidden for several years. But check out the result!
In other garden ramblings I found these Cuban Buttercups 
that have self seeded. I have since potted the small plants up to give to a friend.
They are Tunera Ulmifolia if you are so inclined. The grow well here in South Florida and bloom most all summer even in the worst heat.
They are supposed to be the official flower of Cienfuegos,Cuba.
I was given the original plant these came from so that makes my cost Free.
Need some motivation for an organic garden? In return for not spraying poison anymore in my garden Mother Nature has provided the promise of some natural
bug control.
These are Lizard eggs ready to hatch out in time for the rain and bug season as summer approaches.
And lastly some more progress on the 2010 challenge for this week . I put the challenge on the side of the margin to remind myself to do something toward it each week.
I started these seeds for the garden in the recycled yogurt cups with the homemade markers. Using some of my old seeds back to 2007.
They include two more hybrid Cucumbers Park's Pearl.
Two Grampa Ott Morning Glorys.
Four Dwarf Bolero Marigolds.
---sanddune----------------
Looks like you are well set for summer Sanddune, my Kalanchoe and Begonia have done great during our wet summer, but they do like the shady spots. The Begonia have flowered all summer long (in fact I am sure they always have flowers!) I have red Kalanchoe but mine only flower during the dry season, they are great to propogate just by breaking off a bit of leaf and stem and sticking it in the ground. I started off with one pot and have it all over my yard now - should add lots of colour in about May.
ReplyDeleteThe begonia you have seems to me is dragon wing, or angel wing begonia. I have some cuttings ready to be potted up. Yes, I also learned in south florida, lots of plants need some shade, at least the afternoon shade. I used to put my wax begonia in the sunny spot, they did really bad. But now they are happy in the partial shade. You are doing very good progress in your garden! I need to start some seeds as well.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I just received a cutting each of Kalanchoe and Dragon Wing Begonia. The Kalanchoe has bloomed pink already. The Begonia has not yet bloomed so I don't know the color yet. Good to hear and see first hand that they both can take some neglect and that they will soon grow and give me plants to share.
ReplyDeleteLove your challenge to yourself. I feel the same, but somehow can't stay away from those garden centers. Maybe I'll work on that one NEXT year :)
Sanddune,
ReplyDeleteThose kalanchoe cannot be outdone this time of year for pretty flowering plants and waxy thick green leaves! Begonias are prolific bloomers here, too.
Your challenge is paying off ... and your garden will show it come summer. It takes lots of years of learning and experimenting (read:trial and error)... the best thing I ever did was stop using chemicals for pests. I can't say I'm 100% organic but probably 98% and it really does work out for balancing the garden with good bugs to take care of the bad ones. Turns out there are many more beneficial bugs in a garden than harmful pests. If we'll just be patient and let time and nature take care of some issues it all works out in the end.
Dividing and propogating plants (and seeds)is enormously fun and rewarding. Can't say it keeps me away from the garden centers (always something I need I don't have ~ did I say 'need'?).
Meems
I love the yogurt cup idea! You can also use those plastic asian noodle trays or sushi trays as miniature greenhouses that also keep those dreaded gnats out! I tried it before and it worked well, so I'd better try it again.
ReplyDeleteA side note about the kalanchoes- We have one that fell over months ago and hasn't been watered since. It was also left out on the back porch all winter in the low 20's and it has started blooming! Very resilient plants where they don't get frost.
WOW! You and Rainforest Gardener have great recycling ideas! Very impressive! I love your kalanchoes..I have them too. They're so cheerful! And I like your begonia. I had a Rex Begonia that was beautiful, and I seemed to kill it. I haven't tried again.
ReplyDeleteGillian,
ReplyDeleteYour tropical Australian garden always looks lush and is a source of motivation for what might grow in my backyard.I have taken some cuttings fron my creamsicle Begonia and a Red Kalanchoe that are in small pots now.I hope to get some new plants from them.
Ami,
It seems my plants have a keen nack for survival.Most of mine survive dispite my best attemps to help them. And yes, South Florida seems to have it's own set of garden rules that don't apply elsewhere. Figuring them out is the challenge! Hope your cuttings prosper.
NanaK,
A lot of my neglected plants are the one's that look the best. Go figure. Yes, it is hard to resist the temptation of buying new plants at the nursery or garden center. I figure that I can ween myself off of the habit. Just buying a new plant once as an investment that I can then propagated into others. One small step at a time.
Meems,
I found your post from August 13 2008 Dragon wing or Angel wing. I think this begonia is one of those Dragon wing type. I enjoy reading your old posts and learn a lot from them.
Switching from a chemical to organic garden does take patience and learning. But the results are worth the effort. In Florida I figure whatever poisons we put in the garden we will be drinking sooner or later with the aquafer right below our feet. Scary thought!
Starting your own plants from seed or cutting is fun. Always gives you something to look forward to seeing if they will take. I see from your posts that you plant a lot of heirloom veg seeds. That seems like a great idea and I am want to start as soon as my old seed collection gets used up.
Thanks for the encouragement and the ideas.
TRG,
The yogurt cups work well for me. But I have noticed that they have gotten smaller over the past few years when I put them side by side. I think it is an insidious plot to reduce the size slowly and charge the same price. Remember the moonpie, same thing I swear it has shrunk from the size it was when I was a kid. Anyway I have a newfound appreciation for the Kalanchoes now that they are blooming. They are tough as well as beautiful.
Kimberly,
Don't give up if I can grow these anyone can. I think the secret, if there is one, is the amount of sunlight they get. I deduce that they do well in filtered to shade light conditions. I know they can't take the full sun here for long.
I love begonias and have good luck with them in the shade. Those little lizard eggs are neat. I'm sure I've come across them in my yard but did not know they were lizards. I like the way you recycle and repurpose...yogurt cups...for the garden.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteThe lizards are great bug hunters around here. With all the eggs I have been finding I hope to have a good batch of them this year in time for the annual bug invasion.
The same yogurt cups have worked well for years. You can carry one seedling to where it is to be planted and the plant and mix slide right out when you invert the yogurt cup and tap on the bottom.