Flowers 2018

[AlainK]

Prunus Mume, outside, in the ground. It's about my height (1.80 m, 6 feet) and last year I had only 3 pink flowers. Tghis years, most branches are covered with flower buds, and they're white!

 

[AlainK]

Some maple species are very early too:

http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/early-spring.92613/

 

[Carol 83]

A cheerful surprise, on another boring winter day.

 

[cmeg1]

Here is hibiscus a few weeks ago at Longwood Gardens

 

[namnhi]

Here they are today.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Matsubara red ume

 

[Anthony]

For @my nellie,

Alexandra,

think of it as tropical wisteria.
Called Petrea .
Leaves are like sand paper.

One more to follow later.
Enjoy,
Anthony



Look for the bees

 

[Anthony]

@my nellie ,

Alexandra,
and here is the second set.

@Leo in N E Illinois,

can you or anyone else identify this orchid please?
Good Day
Anthony

Blooms for February.

 

[CamdenJim]

For @my nellie,

Alexandra,

think of it as tropical wisteria.
Called Petrea .
Leaves are like sand paper.

That's a gorgeous color! Thanks for showing me a new plant.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Anthony
Hi, there are so many orchid hybrids, that it is difficult to nail it down to an exact name, but I can get you go the Genus of the likely parents.
This is a hybrid dominated by Cattleya parentage, horticulture would be as for Cattleya. The orange color most likely comes from Cattleya aurantiaca. The orange species, is most likely 3 or 4 generations back, the flower is too shapely and large for C. aurantiaca to be a recent progenitor. Likely several other Cattleya species are involved. All have similar horticulture. Laelia is very closely related to Cattleya, and could have been included in the ancestry.

The form of the lip suggests that one of the Brassavola species is an ancestor, likely a grandparent, 2 generations back. The somewhat narrow for Cattleya, heavy, slightly folded leaves is also from the Brassavola grandparent. The Brassavola species used was most likely B. nodosa, as it has the largest flower of the genus, and is common in collections, so is available. Brassavola hybrids will tolerate more sun than Cattleya - if there is good air movement. Sun + still air is bad for most orchids, a light breeze keeps leaves cool. Brassavola species in particular can be found on most of the larger islands in the Caribbean, and are native to Central and South America, often in lowland forest edge settings. Obviously the hybrid likes your island.

The hybrid genus name is Brassocattleya if there is a little Laelia in the background, it would be Brassolaeliocattleya.

Nice flower, very cheerful orange. I like it.

 

[my nellie]

@Anthony
Thank you very much for those very beautiful photos.
Like @CamdenJim I haven't seen this plant Petrea until you showed to us.
Mauve is my favorite colour!

 

[my nellie]

@Carol 83 and @cmeg1 these are really stunning Hibiscus flowers amid winter!
In my country they blossom during summer until late fall.

 

[my nellie]

@Leo in N E Illinois your knowledge is admirable!
Thank you for your posts - in general -

 

[Carol 83]

In my country they blossom during summer until late fall.

Here too. They would have been dead in October, had I left them outside. But they don't mind coming in, and saves me having to buy new ones every year.

 

[AlainK]

Iris reticulata (10-15 cm high). Two weeks earlier than in the previous years:



Abeliophyllum, a shrub known here as "white Forsythia". I've never seen one in a garden but I thought that maybe one day, I could try making a bonsai out of it. Won't be easy though. Is it common in other countries, has anyone tried it as bonsai?...

It flowers even earlier than Forsythia:

 

[Starfox]

More colour than I was expecting.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Matsubara red Ume is my favorite

 

[Carol 83]

Happy Birthday to me .

 

[Cadillactaste]

Loving these blooms...tired if the ice we have been seeing.

 

[milehigh_7]

Was doing a bit of repotting yesterday and this little friend was hanging out on the rosemary.