Exceptional Exoniensis

Passiflora 'exoniensis' bloomed today after a false start yesterday. This is the same plant that escaped Pergolatory through the bamboo last season. It's definitely blooming earlier than last year though, and I've spotted a few other tiny buds. They take quite awhile to mature into fully fledged flowers, but it's completely worth the wait. 

After taking a few dozen pictures of this bright magenta gem, I dabbed some P. trisecta pollen on it that I harvested a day prior. In addition I have a bunch of P. 'Coral Sea' x P. loefgrenii in the front yard and perhaps some P. trisecta x P. loefgrenii in the back. We're off to a great start and it's only April!

White Flower!

It's April. There have been no showers. However, a few trips to the nursery to boost the appeal of my front yard found me picking up another new Passiflora. I picked up 'Quasar', a hybrid that I had not heard of before. It has large buds much the same size as x belotii, but the blooms are pure white. I actually planted this one in the ground instead of a pot, so it will be a permanent resident of this residence (though I'll take clippings eventually). 

I lost some branches of P. trisecta in a wind storm a few weeks ago. I was saddened to find that the branches that I lost were the ones laden with the most buds. Sad was I. However, last night I noticed that the largest bud on the vine was sticking straight up where had been drooping under its own weight the during the day. It looked as though it would burst like one of those egg pods from the movie "Alien(s)." Sure enough, the flower popped open to reveal this little nocturnal flower. I dabbed some P. loefgrenii pollen on it, and we'll see what happens next. 

It's a Bird! It's a Moth!

I was tending to the bamboo today, when a sphinx hummingbird moth showed up. He was anticipating the rain and looking for a place to shelter. I've always really liked these critters.

Pitchers

Spring is officially here, and while the sun climbing higher in the sky each day, the increased daylight has instigated some new growth. P. exoniensis has grown quite a bit and there are a few buds on it. P. trisecta too has some buds. The real news is that while picking up some soil at Home Depot today, I stumbled upon some pitcher plants. I just had to have them, so I bought a pair and brought them home. They're hanging on the trellis under P. trisecta right now. I'm not certain that they thrive there, partly because I don't know what species they are, but the light is filtered and they're protected. I even fed them a few flies that I zapped with my electric fly swatter. Perhaps they will actually catch some on their own once they're established. This makes two weeks in a row that I've found something special at a garden center. I should really venture out more often just to see what I can find.

A Loef in the Rough

Today I was at my local garden center looking for small plants for the front yard. I've been increasingly frustrated with the way it has turned out. I'm trying a new strategy now with a bunch of perennials/annuals. I ripped out the hibiscus and a moved a few plants around to get a better balance. Hopefully, things will shape up better.

The real story is that after checking out the section of the garden center that usually has the vines (just in case), I spied something out of place. It had deep purple buds and three-lobed leaves. I pulled the tag and discovered it was Passiflora loefgrenii! That was a nice surprise since loef isn't normally found at your average garden center. Anyway, I grabbed the best looking one, repotted it, and set it in the sun.

Now, will it be variant 'corupa' which sets fruit on almost every flower? Or, will it be variant 'iporanga' which almost never sets fruit? I should know pretty soon, but either way I have a potent pollen donor!

Update: After some scrutiny from the online experts, it appears that I have an 'iporanga' variant, but recent discussions have brought up some confusion since this plant bears lots of fruit.

Today in Passiflora

Here is my inventory to date. It excludes seeds and seedlings.


WANT

• P. gritensis
• P. harlingii
• P. curva
• P. 'Ex Menton' (tarminiana? x trisecta?)
• P. leptopoda
• P. macrophylla

INCOMING

• P. tetranda
• P. nigradenia
• P. loefgrenii

HAVE

Container 1:

• P. holosericea 
• P. 'Manta' (xiikzodz × coriacea)
• P. tarminiana

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

Container 5:

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

Container 6:

• P. 'Sunburst' (gilbertiana × jorullensis)

Container 7:

• P. trisecta

Container 9:

• P. 'Coral Sea' (P. manicata × ?)

Container 11:

• P. cirrhiflora

Container 12:

• P. loefgrenii

Container 13:

• P. membranacea

Container 14:

• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x 'Blue Bouquet'
• P. actinia x (P. sidifolia x P. actinia)
• P. foetida urbaniana

In the Ground:

• P. 'Quasar'
• P. edulis flavicarpa

4" Pots:

• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan' x 'Blue Bouquet'
• P. tarminiana
• P. actinia x (P. sidifolia x P. actinia)
• P. edulis flavicarpa
• P. serrato-digitata
• P. luzmarina x ?
• P. foetida urbaniana

Passiflora Cirrhiflora

I don't have a clever title for this post. It's going to be an updated post where I hopefully track the emergence of the first flowers from Passiflora cirrhiflora. The flowers originate from the tendrils, and I've noticed the the tendrils of my plant have suspicious little bumps. Either these are the beginnings of flowers, or my plant has been sleeping around and not been using protection. Here we go with the first photo.

Update: There have been many buds and flowers to date! Search my blog for "cirrhiflora" or click one of the ready-made links at the right to see all the posts and pictures!