San Francisco Treats, Part 2

After making my rounds inside the botanical garden, I headed out to where I found a small group of people lined up for the members only plant sale. I had a guest pass gifted to me by one of my new Passiflora friends. I was prepared to wait outside the gates with my sticker on my shirt until a pair of other Passiflora friends emerged from the adjacent building. They ushered me inside, handed me a plate of treats, and a plastic cup of red wine. I met the whole bunch of Passiflora fanatics and spent the whole hour prior to the sale talking about plants; in person!!

Once the doors to the sale started there was a mad dash. The cactus and succulent people headed to their table. The protea people headed to theirs. And, of course, I headed with my small group to the Passiflora table. The plants there were larger than I anticipate, but within the first minute I was able to snag a small P. antioquiensis. It looked like that was all that I would fly home to LAX from SFO with in my suitcase, but after speaking to one of the curators, I found myself holding another plant. One rare P. bicuspidata was more or less gifted to me. I'm not sure why I deserved it, but I was all too happy to accept the gift nonetheless.

After the sale, we stumbled through the wind back to our cars. One of my friends offered to store my plants in his while we went to dinner, and on our way I spotted something pink hanging in the roadside trees along the park. It was some Tacsonia that looked like P. tarminiana. I snapped off a length about 4 feet long and stored it my my purchased Passiflora in the car. Dinner was as loud as it was flavorful as we liberally discussed plants in a small reverberate room for a couple of hours.

After flying to San Francisco in the morning, walking Strybing Botanical Garden for hours, chatting and shopping, and a satisfying dinner, I was ready to end day one in Norcal.

San Francisco Treats, Part 1

This last weekend I spent in San Francisco. The trip was planned so that I could tour the San Francisco botanical garden in Golden Gate Park, purchase plants at the 47th annual garden sale, and meet some of the fantastic people that I've met through the Passiflora Online Facebook group. I flew up on the morning of Friday, May 2, took BART downtown, hopped in a Lyft driver's car, and paid my admission to the botanical garden.

I walked the grounds for 4 hours straight. I paid special attention to the fences where most of the Passiflora were located. I only had my point and shoot camera, so my pictures aren't the best, but it was fun to document all of my finds. Of particular interest was P. membranacea. There were two of those, once by the main gate, and one in the back of the garden climbing several stories up into the trees and showing blooms from a distance. P. matthewsii 'alba', P. x exoniensis, and P. tarminana were among the Tacsonia in bloom (including one outside the garden from which I snipped a cutting). P. x violacea, P. loefgrenii x P. caerulea, and one other yet undetermined Passiflora were also in blooming in curious locations on the grounds. Each time I "discovered" a Passiflora vine, I had spotted the leaves first. In fact, the only way I found the P. membranacea in the rear of the garden was from the fallen leaves underfoot.

There were plenty of other plants in bloom even though early May was clearly not "prime time" for flowers. However, the Rhododendrons, Peonies, Brugmansia, and Protea were all showing off. My legs and feet were plenty tired after four hours of wandering around, but there was more excitement to come...

Tribute to Beauty

I returned from a business trip today to find my second Epiphyllum in bloom. This one, called 'Tribute to Beauty' is larger and darker pink than the previous blooming cutting. Both this one and the last are little more than single stem cuttings with giant flowers on them. If these plants thrive in their new locations and continue to grow. I can't wait to see what the next round of flowers will look like.

First Epiphyllum Flower!

I have been monitoring the Epiphyllum cuttings outside my kitchen window lately. Remarkably, two of the rooted cuttings had sprouted buds, while the others were all setting new branches. I'm somewhat stunned that a single cutting without any new growth will bloom, but when I woke this morning, raised the curtain, and looked out, there it was!

Impromptu Up Pot 2

I evacuated the greenhouse today. It was scorching hot for March weather, so I decided it was a good day to up-pot all the plants. Originally, I had planned to make do with my ceramic pots, but I found some moderately attractive, light-weight, and inexpensive plastic pots that were perfectly sized for my needs. I bought 10 of those and was able to spread out my collection a bit. I ran out of soil before my ad hoc plan was finished, so I'll come back and update this post after I purchase more. I was also able to move my epiphyllum out of the greenhouse and into their planters which cap the cinder block wall behind my house. They look good so far. Hopefully the environment is good for them there.

Container 1:

• P. holosericea 
• P. 'Manta' (xiikzodz × coriacea) 
• P. foetida 'urbaniana' 

Container 2: 

• P. × belotii (alata x caerulea) 

Container 3: 

• P. x 'exoniensis' (antioquiensis × tripartita var. mollissima) 

Container 4: 

• P. 'Sunburst' (gilbertiana × jorullensis) 

Container 5: 

• P. trisecta 

Container 6: 

• P. cirrhiflora 

Container 7: 

• P. membranacea 

Container 8: 

• P. serrato-digitata
• P. glandulosa 

Container 9: 

• P. macrocarpa
• P. 'Mission Dolores' x P. anioquiensis

Container 10: 

• P. 'Erl' (P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x P. 'Blue Bouquet')
• P. luzmarina x (? x ?)
• P. actinia x (? x ?)

Container 11: 

• P. lindeniana

Container 12: 

• P. gritensis

Container 13: 

• P. New Hybrid 2

Container 14: 

• P. tarminiana 'alba'

Container 15: 

• P. x decaisneana  (alata × quadrangularis)
• P. nigradenia

Container 16: 

• P. caerulea
• P. nephrodes

Container 17: 

• P. umbilicata

Container 18: 

• P. tulae

Container 19: 

• P. racemosa 'buzios' 

Container 20: 

• P. bogotoensis 
• P. discophora 

Container 21: 

• P. stipulata 
• P. palmerii

Container 22: 

• P. loefgrenii

Container 23: 

• P. pittieri

In the Ground:

• P. edulis 'flavicarpa'
• P. racemosa 'buzios'
• P. umbilicata
• P. 'Cherry Tart' (cupraea x (yucatanensis and biflora))
• P. subrotunda

Seedlings and back-up plants: 

• P. New Hybrid 2
• P. gritensis 
• P. tarminiana 'alba' 
• P. lindeniana  
• P. morifolia
• P. membranacea "Strybing Variegated"
• P. sidifolia x (miersii x kermensia) 
• P. pinnastipula
• P. nephrodes
• P. 'Sapphire' (edulis × caerulea)
• P. 'Raspberries and Cream'
• P. umbilicata
• P. tulae
• P. caerulea

The March of Progress

It is a rainy day here in Redondo Beach and the LA basin as a whole. The region desperately needed the water, though it will cause some flooding and mud slides in the burn areas from recent fires. Nevertheless, it's a quick change from the sunny and warm weather than has caused my greenhouse to bulge with overgrowth. I've even taken to cutting some of the 4" pots back, which I almost never do for fear of hurting the juvenile plants. But today, as I noted, it is gray and cloudy. A day that I can't poke the flowers and do the rounds. So, instead I'm taking inventory and plotting my scheme for Spring.

In doing so, I recently pulled up a pot that just couldn't sustain its four original inhabitants. A more foolish and younger version of myself didn't realize how stunted the adult plants would become in this pot. So, with cuttings taken, rooted, and thriving in the greenhouse, I start from scratch on that pot and three others. One from the recently deceased P. parritae (which keeled over quite literally and suddenly), one from P. Raspberries and Cream which despite some flowers and fruit also met a composted fate, and one from P. Donna Brigham, which just didn't thrive where I had positioned it and wasn't a favorite to begin with. So, I have four empty pots...Oh, I have 5 if I count the small one.

There are a few jewels in my collection. I have a P. cirrhiflora doing quite well in the greenhouse. I have a P. membranacea doing just fine outdoors in a little pot. And, I have a couple of P. gritensis and P. lindeniana seedlings that are slowly maturing. With loefgrenii on the way (again) and a few other nice plants on the horizon, I need to strategize. First, what do I have occupied...

Oh wait, I recently put a few plants in the ground in the front yard. P. racemosa 'buzios', P. umbilicata, P. tulae, and P. caerulea are all enjoying the rain today. OK, back to the pots...

Container 1:

• P. holosericea 
• P. 'Manta' (xiikzodz × coriacea) 
• P. foetida 'urbaniana' 

Container 2: 

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

Container 3: 

• P. x 'exoniensis' (antioquiensis × tripartita var. mollissima) 

Container 4: 

• P. 'Sunburst' (gilbertiana × jorullensis) 

Container 5: 

• P. trisecta 

Container 6: 

• P. cirrhiflora 

Container 7: 

• P. membranacea 

Container 8: 

• P. serrato-digitata
• P. glandulosa 

Container 9: 

• P. macrocarpa
• P. 'Mission Dolores' x P. anioquiensis

Container 10: 

• P. Erl (P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x P. 'Blue Bouquet')
• P. luzmarina x (? x ?)
• P. actinia x (? x ?)

In the Ground:

• P. edulis 'flavicarpa'
• P. racemosa 'buzios'
• P. umbilicata
• P. tulae
• P. caerulea
• P. 'Cherry Tart' (cupraea x (yucatanensis and biflora))
• P. subrotunda

Plants in 4" Pots: 

• P. New Hybrid 2
• P. gritensis 
• P. tarminiana 'alba' 
• P. lindeniana  
• P. morifolia
• P. membranacea "Strybing Variegated"
• P. sidifolia x (miersii x kermensia) 
• P. pinnastipula
• P. stipulata (April)
• P. loefgrenii (April)
• P. discophora (April)
• P. nephrodes
• P. x decaisneana (alata × quadrangularis)
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' (incarnata × edulis) × (incarnata × cincinnata)
• P. 'Sapphire' (edulis × caerulea)
• P. 'Raspberries and Cream'
• P. nigradenia
• P. palmeri
• P. bogotoensis
• P. umbilicata
• P. tulae
• P. caerulea

That's a bunch of plants needing space to root. So here's the plan:

1. P. membranacea gets up-potted to the largest pot which formerly house P. parritae.
2. P. lindeniana gets P. membranacea's old pot and some black bamboo stakes.
3. P. gritensis and P. loefgrenii share one pot.
4. P. decaisneana and P. nigradenia share one pot.
5. P. bogotoensis, P. discophra and, P. morifolia share the last pot.
6. P. Blue-Eyed Susan and P. nephrodes will join P. Erl in its pot (extricating the other two).
7. P. tarminiana 'alba' and P. New Hybrid 2 will need a brand new pot

Undead Orchid

A coworker of mine had an orchid at her desk last year. It was in bloom when she acquired it of course, but then it became little more than a few waxy leaves in some potting mix. Then, it lost its appeal and was neglected a bit, so it turned yellow and came close to death. So, after the greenhouse was built I offered to adopt the little plant with the understanding that I would bring it back to work if it should ever bloom again. I up-potted it, left it on the ground in the greenhouse where the filtered light would reach it (though I did give one of its leaves a nasty sunburn), and hoped the humidity would coax it back to life. And so it did rise with a few more leaves and eventually a little spike! The spike sprouted buds, and the buds opened with snow white blossoms.

The only thing is...I think it was pink last time it bloomed. I have a few things to learn about orchids evidently.