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