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.