Avocado Trio

Normally in the supermarkets one finds the Hass Avocados, and they're good. They're tough skinned so that they  aren't easily ruined, but they're not as tastey as some other varieties. The ones that I have tasted (and are better tasting) are Bacon, Zutano, and Fuerte. The latter is my favorite, but to eat them you have to wait until they seem mushy and overripe. However, once they've reached that point they are just perfect for lunch time sandwiches. So, with some seeds in hand, I decided to make little trees. All three sprouted in water and I transferred them into little pots, which they quick out grew. So now they're up potted and happily growing in the June gloom. I haven't done the research to see how many years it will take before they're ready to bear fruit for me to pick, but it will be worth the wait. By that time, maybe I'll have a yard in which to plant them.

Epiphyllum in the Litter Box

With the Decaloba subgenus Passiflora blooming prolifically, it was nice to finally get some new color in the yard. True, P. loefgrenii, P. racemosa 'buzios', P. caerulea, P. foetida, and P. x belotii are all blooming, and they all look nice. But having something new is fun. These Epiphyllum flowers are huge. It's not hard to see why people enjoy this genus. Despite the kittens that were using the planter as a litter box and digging up the roots a bit, this one has survived to provide a really nice bloom.

Less than Exciting Exsudans...Or Bryoniodes??

Another Passiflora bloomed for the first time today. P. exsudans has been a solid growing plant, with interesting foliage, but the flowers are quite boring even for the Decaloba subgenus. If it weren't the first time that it has bloomed; I probably wouldn't even be making the post. The plant is quite hard to find in the U.S. though, so perhaps I can use it to trade for something a little more exciting.

After posting these pictures to the Facebook group "Passion Flowers Online" I've determined that there was a mix up. Either I or my the PSI seed bank mislabeled the seeds or the plant. It matters little, but this little plant is actually P. bryoniodes.

More Morifolia than Imagined

Passiflora morifolia has proven to be a very strong growing plant, but moreover it seems to set fruit with more ease than any other Passiflora that I've every seen. Every single flower that has opened has set fruit. The flower isn't remarkable, but it's also a Decaloba so one shouldn't expect too much. Regardless, it has added some much needed green to the cinder block wall behind my house.

Fuzzy Feline Friends

Recently, after returning from vacation, I discovered that my plants were being guarded by some tiny little fuzzy gargoyles. It seems a mother cat found my yard to be an ideal location to keep her litter of five kittens safe. She wasn't wrong, but I made it a priority to get them fostered/adopted before they grew to a size that would allow them to scale the walls and fences and leave my yard. There's just too much traffic and too many large dogs for me to let them just grow up and move out. So, I arranged to have the five of them picked up. In the end only three were fostered out because two friends from work ended up adopting one each. It has a been a couple of weeks now and they're already growing like weeds. Anyway, the mother (and as of a couple of days ago, the father) are still prowling around and I'll keep trying to catch them to have them fixed and adopted too.

Mossy Mulligan

I had to redo the back yard. Either the shade or the dryness or something else altogether made the thyme that was planted there wither. So, I pull all of the stones, regraded the soil, put the stones back, and then replanted in two successive weekends. It sounds like work, but it's fun for me. I think with a regular watering schedule the Irish and Scottish mosses should get established in time before the heat of the summer comes. Fingers crossed that all of this is true because the two-toned look is working for me. It's somewhat whimsical.

Update:

March Madness

I have a pretty good collection of plants this year...

I moved all of my Epiphyllum from the wall, were they were growing, but not really flurishing or covering up the blocks and fence. In there place I decided to relocate a bunch of the smaller species. I have one open wall planter that will probably be the home of something in the greenhouse in a gallon or 4" pot soon.

P. holosericea and P. serrato-digitata and P. trisecta were all cut back really hard, and now they're starting to recover. I made cuttings of course. Speaking of cuttings, I'm trying my hand at P. cirrhiflora yet again. Several species have rooted well in the little aeroponic propagator, and it's warm enough now to try it. P. cirrhiflora is blooming and I've tried to bud pollinate it with P. loefgrenii and P. caerulea. Tried. 

This year I have a good number of mature plants so I hope to get some serious blooms this Spring and Summer. We will see what those seasons hold. Meanwhile, I watch P. 'Erl' my first hybrid jump back to life in the sunshine. I am anxious to take cutting to give it away as a gift, but I can't be harming the plant like that just yet. 

My Astrophea are growing well too, so maybe I'll actually get to see those bloom this year too. I always have more species in that group on my wish list. They're so hard to find though. 

Large Containers:

• P. holosericea 

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

• P. antioquiensis

• P. gritensis

• P. trisecta 

• P. cirrhiflora 

• P. membranacea 

• P. serrato-digitata

• P. macrocarpa

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

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

• P. racemosa 'buzios' 

• P. glandulosa

• P. membranacea (Strybing variegated)

• P. loefgrenii

• P. caerulea

• P. malacophylla

• P. pyhrrantha

• P. macrophylla

• P. lindeniana

• P. pittieri

• P. 'Ex Menton'

• P. vitifolia 'Scarlet Flame'

• P. tucumanensis 'alba'

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

• P. misera
• P. guatemalensis

• P. nigradenia
• P. tarminiana 'Bailadores'
• P. tarminiana

In the Ground:

• P. edulis 'flavicarpa'
• P. caerulea 'Constance Eliot' x P. loefgrenii 'Iporanga'
• P. 'Raspberries and Cream'
• P. caerulea

Gallons:

• P. subrotunda
• P. 'Purple Hippo'
• P. discophora
• P. bicuspidata
• P. poryphretica var. angustata
• P. 'Blue-Eyed Susan'
• P. ornithura
• P. racemosa 'buzios'
• P. malacophylla
• P. macrocarpa
• P. membranacea (Strybing variegated)

On the Wall:

• P. morifolia
• P. gritensis
• P. cintrina
• P. exsudans
• P. sublanceolata x P. foetida

Plants in 4" Pots: 

• P. gritensis 
• P. tarminiana 'alba' 
• P. lindeniana  
• P. morifolia
• P. antioquiensis
• P. tarminiana 'alba'
• P. tarminiana
• P. helleri
• P. sublanceolata
• P. sublanceolata x P. foetida
• P. setacea
• P. 'Raspberries and Cream'