The Variegated Thumb

Some of my plants have been surprising me with blooms lately.  I figured the lower sun angle would be enough to trigger dormancy in some plants, even in the 65 degree temperatures of the greenhouse.  But none of my plants are going dormant and some of them are blooming for the first time.

Our neighbor across the street (the one who gave me the Begonia cuttings) is letting me overwinter her variegated Bougainvillea in my greenhouse.  It is in a hanging pot along a rod I installed in the top of the greenhouse and has just been hanging in there.  It didn’t have a lot of leaves when I took it from her and I haven’t seen very many new ones form.  But all of the sudden, it is blooming!  I think I will have to run it over to her house soon (on a warmish day) and show her the blooms.

First blooms from my Bougainvillea plant

I also have a Bougainvillea that was my Mom’s.  She gave it to me about three years ago.  It has had moments of rapid growth and lots of new leaves, but always drops its leaves and looks really sad in the winter - until the greenhouse.  It has been pretty happy this winter in the greenhouse and is actually  producing the first blooms that I have seen on it since it has been in my care!

New blooms on my purple shrimp plant (Justicia scheidweileri)

I bought several Shrimp plants last Spring and Summer, most of which were blooming when I bought them and have continued to do so.  One of them, the Purple Shrimp Plant (Justicia scheidweileri), has been particularly difficult, though.  It wilts quicker than another other plant that I grow.  But it also bounces back quickly and is blooming for the first time since it lost its initial blooms.

After forming some small white flowers, which I didn’t photograph in time, my Ying Yang Bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) are now forming pods of new beans.  I hope to get a decent crop from these plants, so that I can keep a bean or two myself and share the others with other local greenhouse owners.

Newest bloom on my yellow Datura

My lime tree and yellow Datura continue to bloom on a regular basis.  I dropped seeds from the Datura parent plant onto the soil under the same plant and some of the have sprouted and are producing new little plants.

Seedlings of my yellow Datura plant

I am anxious to see some of my Hawaiian ginger plants bloom, but that might have to wait until this Summer.  Some of them are quite large now - over 4 foot tall.  I would expect those are pretty close to blooming size.

The Carrion Plant (Stapelia gigantea) is a rather inconspicuous plant when not in bloom.  This lanky, hanging succulent thrives in dry conditions.

The Carrion Plant (Stapelia gigantea)

However, the large bud that forms on a happy plant will alert you that something is about to happen.

Stapelia gigantea bud

These buds open to form a huge flower that looks a lot like a starfish.  You might wonder about the name, and don’t worry, I’m going to tell you.  This plant is called “Carrion Plant” because of the pungent smell that attracts flies to pollinate the blooms.  I came across this plant blooming at the Myriad Gardens last weekend as I was weeding.  I had actually walked by the plant about 10 times before I noticed it.  Thankfully I had to weed on the ground where the bloom happened to be laying or I would have never noticed.

Stapelia gigantea bloom

I was surprised to find that the strong smell I heard about was very localized.  It was only apparent when I put my nose very close to the bloom (within an inch of the center).  I imagine there is probably a point in the life of the bloom where the smell is more prevalent, in order to lure in flies that happen to be flying more than an inch away from the bloom.  Either that or flies have much better noses than I do.

My neighbor across the street gave me four cuttings of her large Beefsteak Begonia (Begonia ‘Erythrophylla’) for me to root.  Begonias are generally pretty easy to root from leaf cuttings.  These cuttings took about a month to produce a nice set of roots.

Roots began to form after just about a week in water

The beefsteak Begonia has very large, waxy and thick leaves.  They are dark green on top and purple underneath.

Underside of the Begonia leaves

The petioles are rough with small hairs.  It is a very attractive plant, that is usually pretty dense with leaves that droop down to the soil surface, or over the edge of the pot.  You couldn’t even see the pot buried  underneath my neighbor’s plant.  I’m hoping to have as much luck with my cuttings.

My mother-in-law has a knack for growing very large plants.  I should qualify that statement by explaining that she does not grow large plants, but grows plants large.  In other words, plants in her care tend to grow much larger than their “normal” size.

Geranium bloom head

One such example is her ordinary Geranium that is about 8 feet tall.  Yes, an ordinary Geranium.

An ordinary Geranium of extraordinary height.

I believe the key ingredient here is lots of light year-round.  This Geranium produced some behavior recently that I had never noticed before.  The blooms were actually pollinated and produced seed pods.  I don’t know whether this is common for Geraniums to do in Oklahoma and I have just never paid attention enough to notice, or if this is somewhat rare.  Anyway, I do have some seeds from this mammoth plant that I might try to germinate soon.

A Geranium flower head with spikes protruding from seed pods.

She also has a corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) which is of unusual height.  It grows in the 2 story foyer to their house and is likely 18 feet tall.  This plant has a good history, including at least one suspected period of death, from which it valiantly arose like a phoenix.  Even recently it went through a spell of poor health, but has been sprouting anew, after the top was lopped off.

My sister works for a non-profit outreach program here in town.  On Friday we went to a fund-raising dinner and trivia tournament for her group and my sister’s boss (Lynn), who also has a greenhouse, brought me a gift.

Ying Yang Beans from the Phaseolus vulgaris 'Calypso' plant

These are Ying-Yang beans (Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Calypso’).  Lynn was given some Ying-Yang beans when she got her greenhouse and she grew them into plants, which flowered and produced about 10 beans.  She is now passing three of them on to me for good luck.

They are really cool beans.  When she handed them to me I almost felt like I was being invited on a snipe hunt.  I thought, “Oh, this must be the mild hazing that all new greenhouse owners endure.  Surely these beans were painted by someone.”  But they’re not painted; they are authentically half white and black with little dots even.  And as far as I can tell, this is nothing like the fruitless snipe hunts.

These beans grow into small bushes that produce white flowers and eventually some little pods of similarly colored black and white beans that look like ying-yangs.  (see here) These beans have also been called “Anasazi beans” since they are believed to have been a crop of the Anasazi native Americans.  They can be cooked and eaten much like any other bean.  However, as far as I understand, the beans turn solid black when cooked.

I hope to be able to grow some beans of my own and maybe pass them onto to a fellow new greenhouse owner.