What's blooming now?

[Salsacharley]

Here's an orchid I got over a year ago and I finally got it to bloom again.

Here's a backyard bed overrun by salvia and marigolds but I'm not complaining.

[Karla]

Pretty

[greenthumbomaha]

I have to admit I was not a big fan of annuals until I started reading the market garden , and now this thread. When I was master gardening, we would go to a nursery and buy very expensive showy plants that were tropical and watch them die 3 months later. Times change, and so did the crew. Now the natives are being used.

I did, with some shame, dig up a few lantanas and keep them indoors for some cheer during the winter. The other crew members started bringing their pots.

So, I revisited my seed stash of saved flower seeds from previous mmmm swaps and moved them up in priority. Not easy when you have around 500 vegetable seedlings to care for.

I am wondering what I am growing, and the seeds were most likely shared via Tormato from someone active in this thread. They were in the worst soil in tiny trays, crammed into this small pot. They took forever to take off, but when they did it was non stop flowering all summer. The wind blew the pot over and half the branches snapped off, they rooted very easily. I have been able to save a few seeds from the remaining branches. I saw a hummer checking out the blooms yesterday morning and earlier in the week but I don't remember the time of day.

In comparison, the Victoria Blue Salvia plant that I purchased for 10 cents when a nursery was closing up in June has also taken off, but no seeds and no interest from the hummer.

Photos to follow. I carried it inside to get a better photo. In addition to the identity, the identity, I would also like to know if this might do well indoors in a sunny window this winter. Many thanks to the gardener that shared this beautiful flower!!!

- Lisa

[MissS]

The red and the peach are salvia coccinea. This annual reseeds readily and is easy to grow if surface sown. Hummers do like it. It does okay indoors. It has self sown into a few of my indoor pots and is fine in bright light or a sunny window.

[greenthumbomaha]

Hello Patti,



I moved the plant inside because of the expected deluge so it can get more sun without falling over. Kind of an abrupt change in light levels but the weather is miserable, even for humans!



My summer ended abruptly the night before last when a cold front dropped the temp from 90 to 41. I had just finished picking off off the seed pods (mostly blown empty) and went in for a drink and a hummer came by and was exploring the very last few blooms left on the plant. Not much else is in bloom in my garden for them (bees and monarchs were flocking to the marigolds and zinnias).



Yes, I have a surprise stem coming up in the mint pot. It is huge and very pink, and as it was a single the hummer was interested in visiting it last before flying straight up and away.



I hope there was still some nectar left in those blossoms. It seems the hummers know which blossom they visited and do not return for seconds. A little bit of extended summer cheer as the cold season rolls in.


- Lisa

[GoDawgs]

I have some pass-along plants from a friend. She didn't know what they were because the person she got them from didn't know. They're just starting to bloom.





I'm guessing they're some kind of aster, perhaps because of the time of year they're blooming. I've not grown asters before. This patch started as a very small clump in fall '16 that my sister grew off in a 3 gallon pot for a year. They then filled that pot so this spring she divided and planted them out.

If they're asters, should I have cut them back sometime during the summer to keep them from getting so leggy and gangly? Or is that the nature of the beast?

[Rajun Gardener]

I have a Ginger plant starting to bloom.

[MissMoustache]

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

I have some pass-along plants from a friend. She didn't know what they were because the person she got them from didn't know. They're just starting to bloom.





I'm guessing they're some kind of aster, perhaps because of the time of year they're blooming. I've not grown asters before. This patch started as a very small clump in fall '16 that my sister grew off in a 3 gallon pot for a year. They then filled that pot so this spring she divided and planted them out.

If they're asters, should I have cut them back sometime during the summer to keep them from getting so leggy and gangly? Or is that the nature of the beast?

Looks like asters to me.

I cut back my asters about midsummers day (mid June) Same time as hardy mums for a more compact mounded look. Blooms will be later though.

[MissMoustache]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

I have to admit I was not a big fan of annuals until I started reading the market garden , and now this thread. When I was master gardening, we would go to a nursery and buy very expensive showy plants that were tropical and watch them die 3 months later. Times change, and so did the crew. Now the natives are being used.

I did, with some shame, dig up a few lantanas and keep them indoors for some cheer during the winter. The other crew members started bringing their pots.

So, I revisited my seed stash of saved flower seeds from previous mmmm swaps and moved them up in priority. Not easy when you have around 500 vegetable seedlings to care for.

I am wondering what I am growing, and the seeds were most likely shared via Tormato from someone active in this thread. They were in the worst soil in tiny trays, crammed into this small pot. They took forever to take off, but when they did it was non stop flowering all summer. The wind blew the pot over and half the branches snapped off, they rooted very easily. I have been able to save a few seeds from the remaining branches. I saw a hummer checking out the blooms yesterday morning and earlier in the week but I don't remember the time of day.

In comparison, the Victoria Blue Salvia plant that I purchased for 10 cents when a nursery was closing up in June has also taken off, but no seeds and no interest from the hummer.

Photos to follow. I carried it inside to get a better photo. In addition to the identity, the identity, I would also like to know if this might do well indoors in a sunny window this winter. Many thanks to the gardener that shared this beautiful flower!!!

- Lisa

Penstemon 'Firecracker' is a perennial that will give you a similar look to the red salvia.

Pineapple sage is another hummingbird favorite that is a late bloomer. I grow it against a South facing wall because it's not hardy here. That gives me the latest blooms possible. Maybe something to try next year?

[MissMoustache]

SpookyShoe your flowers are absolutely stunning!

[SpookyShoe]

I hope we can keep this thread going over the winter. I think a couple of people have greenhouses. Or sunny windows? Happy growing over the next several months!

Donna, zone 9, Texas Gulf Coast

[SpookyShoe]

Thank you, Moustache. I so enjoy seeing the variety of blooms that others have. People who plant something have hope in what the future will bring.

Donna, Texas Gulf Coast

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by MissMoustache

Penstemon 'Firecracker' is a perennial that will give you a similar look to the red salvia.

Pineapple sage is another hummingbird favorite that is a late bloomer. I grow it against a South facing wall because it's not hardy here. That gives me the latest blooms possible. Maybe something to try next year?

Here in Nebraska we grow Husker Red Penstemon as football is huge here. And it re-seeds prolifically but the blooms last only a week or two. I don't mind free plants, but it can take over a bed in a few years.



One of my favorites... I was able to see lovely blooms on my potted pineapple sage, I think it was year before last year I bought one from Bonnie Plants. In another posting, you can see how this lovely plant was completely taken down by spider mites. It seems to really not like the summer droughts we have, even though I kept it well watered. Bought another at the nursery, attracted spider mites in the backyard instead. I would love to have more hummingbird visits! On the try again list, but from seed and maybe indoors or inground!


- Lisa

[greenthumbomaha]

Very pretty ginger plant. I have to grow it indoors in my climate. It grows really tall, maybe it doesn't get enough light and stretches. I ALWAYS manage to knock it over. Was yours, Rajun, started from the grocery or did you order a fancy one online? How long do the blooms last?


- Lisa

[GrowingCoastal]

Originally Posted by Rajun Gardener

I have a Ginger plant starting to bloom.

Lovely!
I once planted some ginger root in a pot in a greenhouse where I was working. It bloomed a pale yellow and had a fabulous scent.