Scarlet Flame Burning Bright

Spring is nearly here in Redondo Beach. There are some warmer days mixed in with the cooler ones. Today was cold, and I was feeling emotionally hung over from the early loss of one of my two cats. Trying to keep myself busy, and still nursing my surgically repaired arm in a sling, I was poking around in my mini greenhouse. In it I found a P. vitifolia 'Scarlet Flame' blooming bright. After my emotional stress, it was nice to see that flower. There's no over wrought analogy to make. It just felt good to see.

Doppler used to pull the screen door open so that he could slip through, and when I turned around to see that there was now a cat sized gap, I would always find him just lying in a spot of sun on the brick patio or on a chair rubbing his head. He loved being a semi-indoor kitty that could prowl through the bamboo culms and stalk butterflies without any real outdoor threats. He was a good boy, that minded his parents, loved his hairless brother, and filled our lives with 5 years of silent meows and head butt.

Rest in peace Doppler Cheese. I miss you, and I'll never forget you.

New Passiflora Additions, Present and Pending

I'm planning the pruning for the end of February. Many of my Passiflora vines are looking scraggly right now, but at the same time there is some new growth. I'll be cutting back to stimulate spring vigor, and hopefully a nice full canopy of leaves and flowers in the summer.

To add to that canopy, I'll be reintroducing some late Astrophea plants, but also some new seedlings like P. antioquiensis, P. cintrina, P. sublanceolata x P. foetida (and its inverse), P. vitifolia, P. bicuspidata, and P. tarminiana 'Bailadores'. I plan to remove (but share first) P. bogotensis and P. poryphretica, two Decalobas that just don't do it for me. And I might replace my Epiphyllum with Passiflora as well, but that depends on their blooms this year.

I have hopes of getting P. parritae back into my collection and maybe a couple of Astophea...I have to find those first. A couple of trips to San Francisco might help with the former. Soon I'll be making my inventory post and see just how out of control my hobby is.