Light at the End of the...Year

The Winter Solstice has passed, the days are getting lighter, and Pergola-tory is getting lit up too. For Christmas I received from my parents an "Infinity Light", which is a plastic lantern assembled from identical translucent pieces with a color-changed LED bulb inside. It's a little Scandinavia (e.g. Lego), but the pattern is organic and fits well among the Passiflora. While the air is still cool, I think I'll enjoy it from inside.

Happy Christmas and a Floriferous New Year!

This is my last post of 2012. I easily beat the pests back this year with the prior year's lessons. I added some new species and hybrids to the collection including some highly sought after varieties. And, I started growing some plants from seeds in my new pop-up green house. It has been a good year in Pergola-tory. 2013 should prove to be even more exciting. I'm going to get that hybrid registered - that's the goal. Until then, cheers!

Blue (Da Ba Dee)

I was planting the little plastic name tags that I ordered in the germination wells a noticed a new sprout in addition to the others. I have a bunch of P. tarminiana, just one (P. actinia x P. sidifolia) x P. actinia, and now  one little 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x 'Blue Bouquet'. That's [(incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata)] × [( P. amethystina × P. caerulea) × (P. amethysitna × P. caerulea) × P. caerulea] The others were all gifts, but this one is something I put together on a whim. Who knows if it will ever grow up, blossom, or look interesting, but it will be fun to wait and see!

Ton o' Tarminiana

I returned from another business trip to check on the sprout from the previous post and found 7 more sprouts coming up from the P. tarminiana trays. One of those 7 was already the height of the (actinia x sidifolia) x actinia hybrid sprout. The source of these seeds had warned me that P. tarminiana is like a weed. I am beginning to see why. I'm pleased to find that I'm at least doing something right with the seeds that were gifted to me. There are still a bunch of empty tray wells to go, but in due time perhaps I'll have some incubation trays stuffed with sprouts. I think I've solved the heating issues by insulating the bottom of the heater so that more heat is entrained by the trays and less via convection to the air. It's December, and these little plants are coming up like it's Spring!

Update: The count is up to 40 sprouts now!

Double Bonus Update:

Germination Elation!

I just posted yesterday that nothing was coming up in my seen trays. Well, I'm not often so happy that I was wrong, but this time I am! I did my morning rounds today and after pulling the lid off of one of the trays I spotted something neon green! It was a very small sprout, but it made me very happy to see. I wasn't a complete failure at germination! It's on the edge of the tray, so perhaps there's too much heat in the middle? I'll give it a few days before I drop that temp a bit to test the theory just in case. Even if this is the only one to come up, I'll be thrilled. My first mutant baby! (P. actinia x P. sidifolia) x P. actinia.

Two days later...

A few more...

Green House

Even though it doesn't get that cold here in Redondo Beach, CA with a mean low of about 50°F during the night, I figured that I would set up a green house to help some of the younger and/or cold sensitive plants keep their rooting. Passiflora cirrhiflora is in there and growing like a weed now. I have two spot lights, a 32 gallon trash can filled with water and a submersible tank heater for constant warmth, a tent fan, and a few timers to make sure things turn on and off as I desire. Together in the pop-up green house, the whole thing seems to be working really well. It climbs into the 80's during the day when the sun is coming through, and doesn't go below the 70's at night.

I have 4 trays of 72 seed wells that I'm trying to germinate in the green house. So far absolutely nothing has come up. Maybe it will take awhile, maybe the seeds are sterile, maybe I'm terrible at germinating seeds. I will have to wait and see what comes up if anything.

Serious Flora: Cirrhiflora

Well, I've really gone overboard yet again. I purchased through ebay.com a P. cirrhiflora. It's a rare find, and it cost me a pretty penny, but it should be a fun one to watch grow and bloom and hopefully fruit. However, it's not the best time of the year for an equatorial species that loves heat to be introduced to the fold. I'll have to and keep it warm and under grow lights for the cooler season here before I can let it run rampant in Pergola-tory in some iron rich lateritic soil.

The other half of the story is that I want to cross breed this one very much. It could be a difficult task since it's not of the typical families (decaloba: n=6 group, or passiflora: n=9 group). This is an n=12 and potentially without many compatible species. From what I've read, I think my options are:

• subgenus Tetrastylis
• subgenus Deidamioides
• P. arbelaezii
• subgenus Tetrapathea
• P. aurantioides
• P. kuranda
• P. tetrandra
• P. pittieri
• P. kawensis
• P. candida
• P. guatemalensis
• subgenus Dilkea
• subgenus Adenia

Great! I've identified them...now to find them. That should be interesting. I'll definitely have to put this to the Facebook Passiflora group for help. Until I can find a mate, I'll just have to wait out the Winter and hope for an early hot Spring.

Update: I found one! I picked up a P. tetranda from Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants today. Apparently it's pretty hardy, so if I can combine that with P. cirrhiflora, that might be something marketable.

All Hallows Inventoreve

Despite factors out of my control, I was able to maintain homeostasis in Pergola-tory this Spring, Summer, and Fall. I'm pretty much ready for Winter now (such as it is here). The plants are largely healthy, except for 'Blue-Eyed Susan' which has highly yellowed leaves for some unknown reason. Going into the sunless season, my inventory is:


Container 1:

• P. holosericea 
• P. 'Manta' (xiikzodz × coriacea)
• P. 'Jennifer Grace' (quadriglandulosa × poslae) 

Container 2:

• P. parritae

 Container 3:

• P. × decaisnea (alata × quadrangularis)
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata)
• P. 'Lady Margaret' (coccinea × incarnata)
• P. 'Saphire' (edulis × caerulea)

Container 4:

• P. racemosa
• P. × belotii (alata x caerulea)

Container 5:

• P. 'Exoniensis' (antioquiensis × tripartita var. mollissima (aka tarminiana))
• P. nephrodes

Container 6:

• P. 'Sunburst' (gilbertiana × jorullensis)

Container 7:

• P. trisecta

Container 8:

• P. antioquiensis
• P. 'Mission Dolores' (parritae × antioquiensis) 

Container 9:

• P. 'Coral Sea' (P. manicata × ?)

Container 10:

• P. 'Warmlands' (vitifolia × macrocarpa)

Container 11:

• P. cirrhiflora

Bi-color Lady Margaret

Something strange showed up in Pergola-tory recently  While doing my rounds, I discovered a mutant blossom on 'Lady Margaret' It had half red petals/sepals and half white. The extra strange part of this is that two of the sepals were divided down their mid-lines the same way - half red and half white. I'm not sure how the mutation occurred though between all the pests and the poisons, I'm not really surprised. I had hoped that the mutation would persist throughout that branch of the vine, but it did not. If it had, then I would have tried to propagate it and start a new variegated variety.

Coral Un-Sea-sonably Hot

It's the middle of October, and the weather in Redondo Beach is in the low 80's! To me, that means it time to garden...of course, that's what time it is every spare minute. Nevertheless, I decided to replant some of the front yard. The mealy bugs from the neighbor's yard had done a number on my plants there. I fought them the best that I could, but decided in the end to start fresh. So, I pulled out the most afflicted, and pruned aggressively those that could handle it. The best news there is that the peony which I thought was dying for no apparent reason, was actually just dropping some branches, and new ones were coming in at the nodes. Anyway, I picked up some new inhabitants for the front yard. I have high hopes of course, especially for something I had never seen before. It's called 'Hairy Balls'...yep. Gomphocarpus physocarpus.

Every time I go to the garden store I check the back where they keep the vines. I found some passi's there. They had P. x belotii, P. edulis, and 'Coral Sea' (manicata x ?) in stock. All were healthy with fruit and flowers on most. I couldn't resist, and picked up a 'Coral Sea'. I had an empty pot after all. The only question was where to put it. I decided to put it in the front yard and lean it tendrils on the palm tree growing there. My friend from the Facebook Passiflora group promises me that it will climb up over the house and strangle all the plants on the block. I look forward to that!

Blue Seed Group

I've harvested a few of the 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x 'Blue Boquet' seeds now. They're sticky little things. Since scooping them free of their shells, I've dried them, and freed them from their casings. They're in baggies now awaiting their sowing. I'll have to read up on the best ways to do this before I lose patience and just jam them in the dirt. Wish me luck!

Alata Patience

I've been impressed with the size of my P. alata 'Ruby Glow' (see edit at end of this entry). Late this Summer it took off up one of the legs of the pergola, over the top, and then on a direct diagonal across. Very recently, I noticed that there were a few buds on the main vine. I was as excited as I was surprised, since P. alata doesn't typically bloom the season that it's planted! The leaves look healthy, the tendrils are tentaculous (I made that word up), and now I might get some spectacular Fall flowers. I won't hold my breath though in case the buds are dropped, which is what happened to my P. trisecta.

Well...it turns out that 'Ruby Glow' is actually P. x decaisnean a cross of P. alata x P. quadrangularis. I discovered this vicariously through a very well informed passie friend in the Facebook passion flower group. He noted that 'Ruby Glow' has smaller, less wild, more purple coronal filaments. I agreed, posted the discovery on the Facebook page, and the other experts agreed. So, that's a mixed bag revelation. On one hand, I didn't get what I ordered from Logee's. On the other, I got a spectacular plant with fruit which are rumored to be delicious. I did try to pollinate the blossoms before I knew what I really had. The first with P. racemosa and the second with 'Blue-Eyed Susan'. I'll have to wait to see if I get a delicious reward!

Update: Nope.

Exoniensis Escapade

I took the little path between my house and the condominium complex when I walked home from the grocery today. When I got to the fence that I share with them, I checked out the tops of my bamboo. But, something else caught my eye. Something pink and pendulous was hanging from the bamboo. It was Passiflora exoniensis!! More specifically, it was a withered bloom that I had missed, and when I checked the ground around it, I found one that had dropped!! So I had missed at least two of my first tacsonia blooms!

Well, I pried its wiry grip off of the bamboo and slung it back over the fence the other way toward my pergola. I came around the house, and situated it properly, so that when the next bloom comes to fruition, I'll be sure to see it. What a pity that I missed the others, but at least it's in full health even if it seems to want to run away from home. So, once again, I wait for my first tacsonia blossom.

Laced with Nightshades

I've been patiently waiting for P. trisecta to open (at night) for a few weeks since I returned from my extended time away from home. This morning when I inspected the largest bud to make sure that I didn't miss it, I found an tiny little carnivorous lacewing resting. I still haven't figured out why the plant smells of tomatoes when it's rustled -  a very strange trait.

Update: The bud dropped without ever opening, and I do not know why. I guess I'll wait again.

Race to Racemosa

I was running the first ever Ragnar Colorado, a 189 mile foot race from Breckenridge to Snowmass with my 11 teammates this weekend. Before I left, I noticed that I'd almost certainly miss the first bloom of Passiflora racemosa. Sure, enough, when I returned I found an obviously post-bloomed bud wilted on the ground. But, true to its name there were plenty of other buds on the raceme. So, my first day back I was rewarded with a new flower opening to the Southern sun.

I purchased this beauty from Logee's. It was listed as P. racemosa 'Pink', but in discussing this name with a fellow passi-lover, I've since determined that the name little more than a description and not a true registered name. So, now I go to the Passiflora society to determine this one's proper name! More to come!

The results are in, and not much to my surprise the consensus seems to be P. racemosa 'buzios', which isn't a hybrid of course. Instead it's a cultivar with pink flowers instead of red. Case closed, and bud dropped.

Skipping and Sipping

I've always liked these little butterflies. Only recently did I try to figure out what they are. They have distinct triangular wings that the fold when they land. They actually buzz around when the fly in their darting patterns. I think they're Pelopidas (aka Skipper) butterflies. This one is tonguing my 'Blue-eyed Susan'.

Fade to Black

Absent August

So, worked called me away from home for a little over three weeks. I rigged up the pots in Pergolatory so that they'd get their water. Still, I worried that the heat of August (though not the same heat as I was experiencing in the desert) would slaughter my plants; especially my tacsonia passiflora, which are heat sensitive. However, much to my delight, they were all thriving upon my return. In fact, my new trisecta was clambering over its own trellis and on to the adjacent trellises. The thing smelled of tomato plants when i pried it's tendrilled grip free, but despite that fact, it's a keeper. I also noticed that it had bloomed (at night) during my leave, so hopefully it has a few more buds in it for me to witness opening for the bats. Trisecta was so overgrown that I was concerned that it had choked out antioquensis, but it was in there and obviously seeing sunlight. 

Parritae was my largest concern during the heat of the summer. But, it too is doing well. It's not so overgrown to the extent of trisecta, but it and it's pot-mate 'Mission Dolores' are winding their way upwards without any signs of distress. I've heard rumors that parritae will suddenly drop dead for no apparent cause, but to date she is spiraling toward the sky.

Even my decolobas are doing well. Holosericea, 'Manta', and 'Sunburst' are all doing well. And 'Jennifer Grace', co-potted with the former two, is wanting to bloom soon. I'm excited to see that for the first time. Racemosa has a few pink buds on it, and x belotii (the replacement plant) is doing just fine. The only plant having a hard time appears to be nephrodes. She's in a corner with exoniensis and 'Warmlands', and I think the pests from the neighbors' yard have been sapping her strength. I'll have to talk to them and request that they do something about their infestation on their night blooming jasmine.

All the fruits are still maturing much to my surprise. They sure do take a long time to ripen, but I'm hoping the wait will be worth the taste. Time will tell!

Sunny and Smelly

P. 'Sunburst' opened for the first time this morning. I grabbed my camera promptly and snapped a few photos, not knowing what I would find when I returned from work. After that, I dipped my nose down to take a whiff of the notoriously "stinky" hybrid. Verdict? Yeah, it's not a sweet smell, but I don't mind it. I also somewhat enjoy the distant smell of skunks...so take that for what it's worth.

That's No Moon...

Once the pergola is covered over with vines, this should be a fun night time scene.

I also performed some major surgery today. I grew sick and tired of 'Blue Bouquet' looking pitiful despite it's prolific blooms. The leaves yellowed and wrinkled and there was not a mite in sight. The conclusion was that it had contracted a virus, probably when there were white flies, thrips, or mites chewing on it. Sadly too, it had still managed to choke out 'Star of Surbiton' and 'Monika Fischer' so they all had to go. They were sharing a pot with P. racemosa  which was doing fine. So, I pulled the former three, added some fresh soil and gave racemosa a friend in 'x belotii'. It's a sad day, but Pergolatory will be better for it in time.

Summer of Buds

I enjoy seeing the passiflora flower buds almost as much as the flowers...almost. They're alien-esque and with a little color showing through the outside of the sepals it's a proper little tease. Here are some that are flirting with opening today!

 

Fruitful Fourth

It is Independence Day, and the fireworks are going off already. 'Blue Bouquet' is exploding all over the pergola. But, the more exciting topic is the fact that 'Blue-eyed Susan' has started to bear fruit! This year I've had so many flowers at once that I've been able to brush some viable pollen from my finger on to neighboring plants (because the bees are dropping like flies). So, for this first fruit of Pergola-tory, I'm actually getting a hybrid of 'Blue Bouquet' and 'Blue-eyed Susan' which are already hybrids...my head is spinning...it will take some work to figure out if the seeds can be germinated. And, if they can, is the resulting plant new? Could I get that lucky? I'll have to wait and see. Until then I'll post updates to this post with pictures of the fruit as it matures!

3 days later...

 

4 days later...

 

Hybrid Hopes

With the pest situations under control, and my new passiflora all flourishing, I have a new goal. I hope to breed a new hybrid and give it a registered name! It seems that the number of hybrids on the scene and up for sale lately has grown exponentially. However, I've noticed, or at least perceived a lack of subgenus tacsonia hybrids. Having said that, I do have 'Mission Dolores' in Pergola-tory, but other than that I haven't seen too many others. I was also lucky enough to score a parritae and exoniensis this Spring, and they're both doing marvelously. In fact, I think the botanical zone that I live in is near perfect for them. So, getting back to my goal, I hope that I can create a new tacsonia hybrid, but I could use some advice! Have any of the seasoned veterans of passiflora horticulture tried the tacsonias? What would you recommend as parents? I'm anxious to hear from you!

Always Belotii on My Mind

My first passiflora was the hybrid P. alata x P. caerulea called belotii, or alato-caerulea, or Pfordii. It's confusing, but that was before I delved into the passiflora societies and various informative webpages. Anyway, my first one flourished very well, which is what encouraged me to acquire all kinds of other species. As I've said before, the Decoloba subgenus hasn't done well due to the pesticides that I've been forced to use. But, the others all do very well with my mild "weather" here in Redondo Beach, CA. Sadly, after that first season, the spider mites had already done their damage and I wasn't able to save it in time. Ever since then, I've had the pest situation under control (which isn't to say that I don't have to fight them almost daily). So, now in memory of my first plant that sparked my interest I think it's time to get another belotii.

Pergola-tory Conserva-tory

I forgot to write about this, but Passiflora parritae (along with 'Mission Dolores' which is a parritae x antioquiensis hybrid and a replacement for cyanea) and nephrodes arrived from Grassy Knoll!!! The story goes that it's extinct in the wilds of Colombia and that the parent clone plant of all the available (rarely available) plants thrives in San Francisco at the botanical garden with the same name. (Note to self: find parent plant when I eventually visit the Andean cloud forest there). They say the town that the San Francisco plant's parent is from was bulldozed, so until someone finds another wild plant I am doing my part in continuing the species! That's kinda neat. And, allegedly it will do very well here in Redondo Beach where the temperatures don't climb beyond 80°F nor dip below 50°F all year long. Maybe in a few summers I'll have some peachy-pumpkin colored blossoms danging down from the pergola. I can't wait!

So here's this summer's inhabitants:

Container 1:

•     P. holosericea 
•     P. 'Manta'
• xiikzodz × coriacea
•     P. 'Jennifer Grace'
• quadriglandulosa × poslae

 Container 2:

•     P. parritae
•     P. 'Mission Dolores'
• parritae × antioquiensis 

  Container 3:

• P. alata
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' 
• (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata)
• P. 'Lady Margaret' 
• coccinea × incarnata
• P. 'Saphire'
• edulis × caerulea

Container 4:

• P. 'Blue Boquet' 
• ((amethystina × caerulea) × (amethystina × caerulea)) × caerulea
• P. 'Moniker Fischer' 
• (incarnata ×  amethystina)4n × (kermesina x caerulea)4n
• P. 'Star of Surbiton' 
• 'Amethyst' × caerulea
• P. racemosa

Container 5:

• P. 'Exoniensis'
• antioquiensis × tripartita var. mollissima (aka tarminiana)
• P. 'Warmlands'
• vitifolia × macrocarpa
• P. nephrodes

Container 6:

•     P. 'Sunburst'
• gilbertiana × jorullensis

And because I have a passiflora problem...

Container 7:

•     P. × belotii

Container 8:

•     P. antioquiensis
•     P. trisecta

Blue Monday...Not!

Today I returned from work and after inspecting Pergola-tory for a few minutes discovered, to my delight, that a new passiflora was in bloom! 'Blue Bouquet' opened up! Though that hybrid is prolific bloomer given sunny conditions, it wasn't until today that it opened up for the first time this year. Because it's mixed in with P. racemosa, 'Monika Fischer', and 'Star of Surbiton' in a single large pot, I wasn't even sure it had survived the mite attack. But, now I see that it had survived to climb to the top of the pergola and bloom first of all the others! Now that it's up there and June gloom (as it's commonly referred to in Southern California) is nearly over, I expect fireworks!

Update: I just returned from a business trip and I found 'Lady Margaret' opened for the first time this year too. And, 'Blue Bouquet' is popping open everywhere just as I expected. 'Blue-eyed Susan' continues to impress.

The Trouble with Thrips

It was the mites last year. I was able to kill them all with some miticide, but not after some casualties. This year, there were thrips. It took me awhile to figure out what was causing the general chlorosis on some of my passiflora, and then I saw a couple of them skulking about on the newest growth. So it was back to the poison. I think I got them because the chlorosis has stopped, and since they were slightly less devastating, most of the plants have fully recovered. I do think that I've lost P. sanguinolenta. It gave me two blossoms before the pesticides burned it up. Nevertheless, I have some new blossoms from some of the other inhabitants, and the best part of all is that the leaves are looking healthy and large.

Manta Ray of Sunshine

I've been excited for this one to open for a few days now. Passiflora 'Manta' has the smallest passion flowers in Pergola-tory, and today the first one opened which makes for the second of the new arrivals to bloom. Now, if I could just get some height on it, the I'd have some shade this summer!

Blood, Sweat, and No Tears

The first of the new arrivals bloomed today - passiflora sanguinolenta, which means "that which expels blood" in Spanish. The flower is a mauve-ish color and there are no thorns, so I think it's a bit of a misnomer. Nevertheless, with the heat the first little pretty flower popped open.

Update: I'm sorry to report that the pesticides used to kill the thrips also whacked sanguinolenta. I don't do so well with the smalls (aka Decaloba subgenus). I've killed two cintrinas now. They just can't handle the poisons like the others.

Sequoia National Forest Flowers

I went backpacking into Sequoia National Forest over Memorial Day weekend. The weather was as spectacular as the scenery. I took the obligatory pictures of the trees, which don't really translate into photographs so well because you just can't capture their massive size in one picture. Also, there were plenty of wild flowers in bloom. Enjoy!

Fremontodendron californicum

 

Star of Surbiton

There's no real story to tell today. I just spent a little time sweeping the patio clean of some bamboo flotsam, and taking a picture of the latest blossom in Pergola-tory. The Star of Surbiton hybrid is very bright white with little blue filaments. I also noticed that two of the newer arrivals have buds - 'Manta' and P. sanguinolenta. It's getting exciting as the real star starts to heat up the weather.

Hapeony Mothers' Day

I recently wrote about how I transplanted all of my bromeliads to the patio planter in Pergolatory from the front yard. That decision was partly to prevent the raccoon (I suspect) from destroying my plants in an attempt to eat the snails, partly to fill the shady planter with something that would survive, and partly to put something more inviting in the front yard. Well, I think I've done that. I put a few new plants in most notably an Itoh Peony. I have zero experience with these, but from what I can tell it's going to do great.

I was out of town this last week, and at a friend's house they had several pink and purple double peony varieties, which was a strange coincidence. I hadn't realized until then that there were Japanese, semi-double, double, and bomb varieties, but there are as it turns out. So, when I got home it was great to see that mine was a semi-double and smelled pleasant.

Typically, for Mothers' Day you give a spring bouquet with daisies or lilies, or perhaps you go with something more formal like roses. But, I think peonies would make a nice choice. Come on florists, let's see some variety and peonies. OK, so since I've been over-worked as of late, I'm going to have to just dedicate the following picture to my mom. Hapeony Mothers' Day.

Searching for Monika Fischer

I had to ditch work today in order to meet the electrician. It's an overcast day; in the upper 60's, and I did not except to find two passion flowers blooming boldly through the gloom. It has been such a long time since I've seen any of them blossom that I had to go through my list to figure out that they were 'Monika Fischer' blossoms. The pair of them were inches apart, reminding me that the stress of last year's fight against the mites was over and that more goodness was to come. At least I am only waiting for the electrician now, and Spring seems to have made it's proper commencement announcement.

Transplant (Literally)

I did promise to write about the Bromeliads that I planted in the front yard. Well, it turns out that they were cranking out pups and were making the front yard a little congested. So, as nothing seems to grow in the one shady planter next to the house, I transplanted some of them. They're basically disease and pest free as a group of plants. The only problem seems to be that the racoons or opossums rip them up a bit if there are snails to be had. Nevertheless, they should look great in their new location especially when they send up their inflorescences. I'll have to wait to see if my predictions come true.