My Florida Tropical Garden

Recently my son and I went on vacation to Venice, Florida where we stayed at the beautiful Venice Beach Villas for 3 nights. There I noticed some attractive coleus plants they had growing in their landscape. I snipped 4 coleus cuttings from the backside and stuck them in a cup of water. The cuttings are about 5-6" long and only 2-3 leaves on top, the rest of the leaves were snipped off. After only 4 days the thicker cutting already has roots! I wonder if thickness of cutting has anything to do with the quick rooting? I will have to experiment with that someday.

Today it has been 6 days since I made the cuttings. The thick one is growing longer roots, but the other 3 still no visible sign of roots. No worries I think it just might take a little longer.

About 2 months ago I was intrigued by the idea of propagating Tropical Hibiscus, essentially making copies of the mother plant through stem cuttings. Six weeks ago my first experiment failed. I made stem tip cuts (soft and hard wood), putting the cuttings in a pot of moist perlite after dipping in a rooting hormone. The pot of perlite and cuttings is then placed in a saucer of water, allowing the perlite to wick the water as needed. The experiment failed because I didn't cover the cuttings with anything. Within a few days the leaves actually started to yellow and fall off.

So I revised my next experiment by covering the cuttings with a polythene plastic bag. On July 19th I made 5 hardwood stem cuts of Red Snapper hibiscus, dipped in rooting hormone, stuck them in the perlite pot and then covered. Covering the cuttings creates a greenhouse atmosphere of high humidity which prevents water loss. Several days go by and no yellowing like before. I noticed a huge difference by covering vs not covering. After 4 weeks look what I found....ROOTS! =)





Potted up the cuttings in their own gallon size pot with Miracle-Gro potting mix.

My first two plant clones! I've successfully propagated a red penta cutting and a succulent leaf. These two were pretty easy though. The penta was rooted in plain water and the succulent leaf was just laying peacefully on a pot of soil. The red penta took about 2 weeks to notice some root formation and the succulent about 3-4 weeks to notice a root coming out of the edge where it broke off.

eBay is a good source for just about anything, even live tropical plants shipped to your door. I wanted to find something rare and unusual, and the Dwarf Red Powder Puff plant fit the bill. I've never seen anything like it. It's a drought tolerant flowering shrub that can be maintained in a container or directly planted on landscape. The prolific buds look like clusters of small red berries and they seem to pop the next day into puffy balls. It's a unique flower that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. I've only had the plant for about a week and it's already blooming like crazy so I think it's a real winner for our garden. It's fun, interesting, and easy to grow!

One hibiscus hybrid I grew from seed, the "Red White Splash", doesn't want to root very well. The leaves quickly wither down and fall off within a few days. I'm experimenting to see if this one will root, so today I setup a new cutting. The cutting is an all green stem tip about 3-4" long. I removed all the lower leaves except the top two. I dipped the end into Rootone and placed the cutting into a mix of Miracle Gro Seed Starting and perlite. I made sure there were 3 nodes buried in the Miracle Gro mix. I covered the cutting with an empty 2 L bottle with the bottom cut out. Just keep the cap screwed in to lock in moisture. The idea is to keep humidity in to prevent moisture loss from the leaves, hence the name Greenhouse Experiment in the title. Also I don't want to cook the plants either so I have to keep the covered cuttings out of direct sunlight.

Here is day one, fresh green stem tip cutting of "Red White Splash" hibiscus hybrid.


This upside down 2 L bottle creates the greenhouse environment.

In 2009 I learned there is actually an international society geared towards hibiscus hybridizing. They have hibiscus of the year voting and all that stuff too. Some of the hybrids that are generated look amazing, nothing like you can find in Home Depot or Lowes. In 2009 second place was awarded to Gator Magic, a Florida hybrid created by Bob Carran. I had to have it so I purchased it online. Here's a photo of my first bloom...



As you can see this is a plant worth having, only problem is it's hard to find now. I searched and came up with nothing, even eBay didn't have it. My option now is to clone this plant myself using propagation. The plant itself was neglected for a long time in a pot, which most of the soil leaked out. I'm surprised it's still alive. Nevertheless, I lucked out and it's still going. I pruned and repotted in fresh new potting soil. It has a bud growing on the top, so I didn't want to cut that stem. I found a small 3-4" tip cutting that will work though. I am using the water method to root this cutting since it's mostly tender green stem. Hopefully it works, if it doesn't, I still have a nice stem cutting waiting for me after the bud flowers. :)

Today I took some cuttings off some of the hibiscus I grew from seed in 2009. I'm using a gallon pot with side holes on the bottom. Fill the pot 2/3 full of moist perlite and sit inside a saucer of water. The water level in the saucer should always submerge the holes in the gallon pot. Because of the wicking properties of perlite, this method should keep the cuttings moist and also provide plenty of oxygen. I put the cuttings in a partial sunny area that doesn't get direct afternoon sunlight. In 4-6 weeks I should have duplicate mini copies of the plants below...

3 cuttings of Rosalind x Dragons Breath (image below)



2 cuttings of Sweet Bippee x Dragons Breath (image below)



Cutting in Perlite Experiment - Day 1



UPDATE 4 weeks later: None of these cuttings survived unfortunately. It was my first attempt and I think I took the cuttings from an already unhealthy plant, plus the stems were from last years growth I think. These hibiscus plants were neglected for so long but now repotted and bouncing back. Another thing I didn't do is cover the cuttings hold moisture in the leaves. So this experiment failed but I'll try again. :)

After taking a break from extreme gardening for awhile, and with some free time on my hands, I've decided to revisit the world of plant propagation and development again. In 2009, I started Tropical Hibiscus, Datura metel (purple trumpet), and Plumeria from seed. After successful germination and overwintering, these 6 year old plants are still alive today. Most still in containers as well.

The Datura had seeded itself and was actually growing outside the container. So with a little luck I carefully took it out and repotted it. It's dropping some leaves, but so far hanging on.

I have 3 Plumerias now, neither have bloomed sadly. Although they lacked fertilizer for several years, they are heavy feeders. In the picture there is one large and two smaller plumerias that just need bigger pots. All three plumerias are 6 year old plants, so you can see how much space for roots makes a huge difference in overall plant size and growth.



A few years ago I purchased a Purple Passionflower vine (Passiflora incarnate). It's a host plant for the Gulf Frit butterfly. The wasps have controlled the caterpillar population this year, therefore allowing a lot of lush green growth and it's even bloomed several times this year.



The Hibiscus I'll take pictures later when they are in better shape. The containers they were have leaked soil, so they need to be repotted. With a little TLC they will bounce back and should have blooms by the end of the year.

One of the wild vines we have in our backyard is a Cypress Vine, also known as the Hummingbird Vine. It has taken over a corner of our backyard and spreading fast all over the large Sago palm tree. This vigoriously growing vine has fernlike foilage with small bright red trumpets that bloom for 3-4 months in the summer and fall.

This plant has attracted our first hummingbird in our area. It visits briefly about once a day checking out the red flowers on this vine. Now we put a new hummingbird feeder outside on a shepherds hook. They haven't found the feeder yet but it's in the right location close to the cypress vine. We'll see how well the hummingbird feeder works out by the end of the year.

In this post I will briefly update the birds we've seen in our backyard recently.

First I'll start with the year-round residents who seem to have found a local home here. The most common bird around our feeders are the Mourning Doves. At least 2-3 visit everyday, while some days I see up to 8 or 9 doves fighting over a spot to eat.



The Tufted Titmice are still here, usually in small groups of 2 or 3. I can always tell when a hawk is in the area since these titmice are very vocal to alert others of a possible threat.

The male and female pair of Cardinals are still here too. They usually travel together and occassionally the male will feed the female.

My favorites are a couple of Black-capped Chickadees that seem to travel with the Tufted Titmice often. These small chickadees are the most adorable birds ever, and their calls are even more adorable.

And finially here's a female Painted Bunting that recently showed up since the first cold snap that hit our area last week. I remember seeing these birds last fall/winter, so I'm pretty sure they are migrating from the north.

Another first bloom, and this is now my 3rd hibiscus hybrid bloom from seed.

The top side-by-side pictures show the parent plants of Sweet Bippee (left) and Dragonsbreath (right).



This one is full of colors. It has a pink/white interior that fades out to orange tips, with a slight yellow speckle on the edges. Here it is!

Today I was rewarded with an impressive first bloom on one of my hibiscus from seed. This plant is over 2 years old and finially blooming. It's another hybrid seed crossing from Australia.
The top side-by-side pictures show the parent plants where the seed came from.
Rosalind (left) and Dragon's Breath (right)



And here's the first new flower :)

Another first bloom today on a passion vine I purchased on eBay

'Becky's Blue/White'

The first day of September is welcoming after enduring two of the warmest months of the year. July and August have an average daily high of 92°F in Orlando. Even though it's still very hot and wet for weeks ahead, this day marks the beginning of a seasonal change. It means the beginning of Fall-Autumn on September 23, 2011. As days move on we can expect a slow transition of color and weather.

Gall Midge Treatment Update
Only a couple days after my gall midge treatment and the hibiscus look like they are pest free right now, not even an aphid was found last time I checked. I'm pretty sure it's killing the gall midge larvae too since I've noticed a few more healthy blooms on the white hibiscus.

Upcoming First Blooms
I have 2 more hibiscus plants that are blooming for the first time which means sometime this month I'll have a few new hybrids to show off. These hybrids were grown from seed for the last 2 years.
Also my Becky's Blue/White passion flower is blooming well, another first flower on this one too. I purchased this plant on eBay this year.

Milkweed Bug Control
Another pest this summer is the Milkweed bug. Once established, they do alot of cosmetic damage to your milkweed. They don't actually kill the plant as milkweed just grows back when it's cut down, but the Monarchs need healthy leaves in order to grow properly. Getting rid of an established milkweed bug colony means cutting back my plants, throwing away the stems with the bugs still on the cuttings. The cuttings go into a trashbag that is sealed leaving the bugs trapped. I absolutely don't use pesticides on my milkweed plants as I don't want to harm the baby caterpillars or poison the leaves. It doesn't take long for milkweed to grow back, in fact they actually look better when you do occassionally cut them back.

Earlier this year I purchased two passion vines on eBay. Here's one of them, the 'Lady Margaret' passiflora vine. Yesterday I got to see the first flower bloom. Similar to the hibiscus, the flowers only last a day and then it's gone. The flowers are smaller than I expected but still very attractive. Still awaiting a trellis for more growing support.



Also yesterday I treated a gall midge infestation that is preventing alot of hibiscus buds from blooming. These stupid little flies seem to come around every year around the same time. Two years ago I posted how to treat this pest and here's how you do it. You have to use a systemic pesticide spray because the larvae are actually eating and growing INSIDE the plant. A systemic pesticide is actually absorbed into the plant, it's kinda like humans getting a flu shot. The gall midge larvae are not visible until you start peeling away a fresh bloom on your plant. You'll know when you see them, but you have to look carefully. They can be white to bright orange and very small. As your opening a bloom, look for areas inside that look bruised or decayed. The gall midge larvae will be very close to that area.

For a systemic pesticide, I spray Bayer 3-in-1 insect-disease-and-mite-control (active ingredient: imidacloprid) on the plant. For a soil treatment, I sprinkled Bayer Complete Insect Killer granules. The soil treatment is necessary to kill the larvae that have exited the blooms and are now buried in the soil, awaiting to emerge as an adult midge fly.

Twenty-five months ago I purchased some tropical Hibiscus rosa-sinensis seed from Australia on eBay. The seed are a hybrid crossing from two exotic parent plants. In this case, the parent plants are Sweet Bippee (left) and Dragonsbreath (right).



After 2 years of hard work growing the seedlings in containers while protecting from two of Florida's coldest winters, I still have two of these cross-plants and now they're blooming for the first time. One of the flowers should open up today for the first time too, so it's very exciting. I'm curious to see the colors and patterns in comparison to the parent plants above. No two crosses are the same, or so I've heard. We'll find out if this holds true.

Well here it is, my first hibiscus hybrid bloom! And since I'm the grower of this new hybrid, I can officially give it a name... Red Snapper

Please watch this video I recorded of a Giant Swallowtail on our first year Purple Coneflower plants.



I started these Purple Coneflowers from seed for the first time in March. Purple Coneflowers are among the best perennials for attracting butterflies such as Monarchs, Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, and Painted Ladies. Hummingbirds will come, but not only for nectar, but the small insects the blossoms will attract. Perhaps the best feature is the blooms will remain colorful for a very long time so it can be enjoyed for many days.

I obtained my coneflower seed in the summer of 2010 when we vacationed in Indiana to visit family and pickup my son from Ohio. My grandma had a few dried seed pods on her coneflower plants so I took a couple home with me. The seed can be difficult to actually harvest because of the prickly pods shown below. But fortunately the coneflower is relatively easy to sprout and grow from seed. Plants will often self-seed in gardens too. An ideal location is full sun with well-drained soil, but they will grow in partial sun.

Here's a few garden photos I took today. The zinnias are the Burpee Candy Cane Mix, and the gulf frit butterflies are always attracted to them. I'm also anxious to see this plumeria bloom for the first time since I grew it from seed almost 2 years ago. There are about 5 tropical hibiscus plants that I grew from seed 2 years ago too, and should bloom for the first time this year. The question is what color marks will be on the flowers. I don't know until they bloom for the first time. These hibiscus should be really interesting since they were seeds I purchased on ebay from Australia.

With two bird feeders filled with sunflower seed almost year-round, it's going to attract a host of species 24 hours a day. During the daylight hours you'll see the birds and the squirrels, but do you ever wake up in the morning wondering why your bird feeder is empty? If it's accessible to raccoons, thats more likely what happened but raccoons are not likely to raid those feeders hanging from shephard hook poles. The problem could be rats, at least thats what happened to us. We have a large shephard hook supporting a bird feeder at the top. About halfway up the pole is a plastic squirrel baffle. So how did the rats access my feeder if there's a baffle blocking the path? Easy, they chew a hole in the baffle just big enough to squeeze through it. Rats love sunflower seed, and they breed like crazy so I took matters into my own hands. I started with my old Red Ryder BB gun and shot a couple but I was having trouble with the BB's not shooting very accurate. So I purchased a scoped air rifle from Amazon for $75, the Remington Airmaster 77. Combined with Crosman 0.177 caliber pellets and a 4x scope, this air rifle has proven very accurate and powerful. I've nailed several rats so far and now started noticing not as many. In fact, last night I didn't see any at all. I know there's more though, it's just a matter of catching them off guard. Here's a photo of my new air rifle, everything you see is what you get in the box.



Wild rats can host many diseases and parasites, some fatal to humans and pets. A common myth is many rats carry rabies, though this is not entirely true. It's not impossible for a wild rat to carry rabies, but it's not likely. There have been very few cases reported in the United States of a person actually contracting rabies from a wild rat. If biten or exposed to rats though, your more likely to get Rat-Bite Fever (bacteria infection), parasite worms, Hepatitis E., and several other bacteria and viruses. They also spread fleas and ticks to your pets, and eventually your homes. So don't comment about how cruel it is to shoot rats. I don't go outside with guns blazing like rambo, shooting everything I see. I'm only targeting rats and shooting them with air rifles is alot safer than setting out live traps or even rat poison. With live traps, squirrels can injure themselves if caught. With poison, you risk poisoning yourself if not handled correctly and poisoning anything that touches it, raccoons, squirrels, dogs, cats, etc.

Some milkweed and alyssum 'snow crystals' started from seed...


Here's a group of cosmos I started from seed