One Month to Matthewsii

One of my recent acquisitions was a little P. matthewsii in a 4" pot. Long story short, it bloomed about a month later. For a tacsonia that's a pretty good little plant. I'm definitely going to fold this one in to the gene pool. It's a perky little pink flower. Let the experimenting begin!

Tenuous Tendrilous Buds

So, I was pollinating a few flowers in Pergolatory after work today. I was heading back into the house, when I decided to check P. cirrhiflora. I had noticed a few days prior that they were a deeper darker green color than the rest of the vine. I noted this as unusual, and hoped that meant something big was coming...or rather, something small. It has been warm lately - in the mid 70's during the day; mid 60's tonight. Maybe?! maybe my hopes were coming true?

In fact, yes, there were tiny buds on the tendrils of one of the growing tips! They're very small. They're very delicate. I'm going to hold off on the pesticides because I've noticed that sometimes it will cause flower bud abortions. I'm going to be careful with the watering and feeding, and the rest is in the weather's hands. The forecast calls for sunshine and warmth, so I remain anxious and hopeful!

Update:

Update 2.

Update 3.

Loefgren-bee

I was out snapping photos this morning and noticed a bee bouncing around in Pergolatory. He landed on P. loefgrenii and licked up the nectar from each and every petal and sepal. He revolved 360 around the corona until he was satiated then bubbled off. I don't see many bees here, and when I do, they're usually dead from the still unresolved affliction that their colonies have sustained lately.

You can see his tongue in the first shot.

Holosericea in the Morning

I've had P. holosericea for two seasons now. I knew that it was unlikely to bloom in its first, and after it was attached by some fungus during the Winter months, I didn't know if it would survive. Well, it did survive, and has spread to all four corners of the pergola. I noticed some buds on it a few weeks back, and yesterday one opened, but when I went back to take a picture later in the day when the sun would be at a better angle, it was all closed up. Hmmm. So, today came, as todays tend to do, and another bud opened. This time I took the pictures regardless, and sure enough when I came back to admire it again later in the day, it was already closed. It's a nice little decaloba, but I don't think that I care for how early I have to get up to admire it in the best light. I'm not a morning person.

June Bloom

June gloom is how locals in my area, the Southbay, refer to the weather this time of year. We have a thick marine layer that lingers until mid-afternoon that shields the sun and heat from us. While other parts of the state that are more inland are experiencing 90's or more, it's in the cool 70's or even 60's here. Nevertheless Pergolatory is in good form right now. There are lots of blooms emerging this week. See for yourself!

Horned Melon

I spotted a weird fruit in the produce section of my local grocery store. I had never seen a fruit quite like it, but I had since moving to California seen similar fruits of various sizes; from lychee to durian. It was yellow and covered with plenty of sharp spines. I bought one with my regular groceries, and the check out employee asked me, "Is this good?" I replied, "I have no idea."

So a couple of days later, I was feeling brave. I pulled it from the fridge and having no idea what else to do with it. I sliced it like a kiwi and found that it was about the same color inside. It had pale seeds like those you might find in a "seedless" watermelon, and without knowing what else to do, I took a scoopful on my spoon and tasted it.

It was marvelous. It's described in various ways, but to me it tasted of cucumbers and limes with the texture of gelatin. So this horned melon, or kiwano as it is sometimes called, was not cheap. So, having my propagation trays not quite full of Passiflora seeds, I decided to save a few from my new fruit. I popped those into the little wells, and went on a business trip. Three days later, I have nearly 100% germination in all of the wells. I was not expecting that. Nevertheless, it looks like I won't need to buy that fruit anymore!

Butterfly Eggscapade

While doing rounds this morning and checking on my little plants grown from seed, I spotted a conspicuous yellow spec on one of the rounded leaves of an P. actinia hybrid. I knew what it was before really going in to inspect it, but as I did I noticed another. There had been Gulf Fritillary butterflies flitting about Pergolatory recently. I knew they were laying eggs by their behavior. They would stop as they do near flowers, except they were stopping at leaves, dropping their lower abdomens, and depositing eggs on my collection. The eggs are golden yellow and look like tiny bee hives with a cellular structure. I'm sure most of them die to my insecticides, so I'm not concerned a bit. Otherwise, it would be cause for alarm as those little caterpillars can really do a number.