WHATS BLOOMIN’ IN PARADISE? A gardeners journey
First impression: Vibrant, lipstick red, folded umbrella like flowers. I am amazed at all the blossoms gorgeous, even though they never open. The grass green matte leaves are the perfect companion to accent the unique scarlet blossoms. Its plant’s appearance reminds me of our adored Hibiscus. Gosh, we have oodles planted and they reward us every day with hundreds of never ending color. You can see these multitudes of shy, scarlet, sleepy flowers blooming but never revealing their inner most secret self at the Botanical Gardens of the Sanibel Moorings.
Upon further investigation: Our star’s flowers will remind you of Hibiscus. Malvaviscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family. They differ from their closely related Hibiscus by having ear shaped petals and fleshy fruits. Turks Cap is very unusual to our northern visitors, but quite common in our gardens. It is one of those frequently asked “Why doesn’t that Hibiscus open up?” question. The long pedals form tubular flowers that remain unopened and pendulous. These Hibiscus like flowers never open, hence the nickname Sleeping Hibiscus. Guess what? I have some bushes that can flower all year round! They are a sprawling, multi-branched evergreen shrub or, many times you will see these as standards, bushes that have been grafted on tree stocks. I have enjoyed our many pseudo Turks Cap trees. Shrub or standard can be planted alone or grouped together with a mature height of 12 feet. This sun to partial-shade lover is drought tolerant and needs minimal care. Tender too cold, when it gets chilly aka in the thirties, its leaves drop. No worry, once our temperatures begin to warm up, usually the next day new growth will appear. Here in paradise when our plant looses their leaves from cold, we should refrain from trimming. Pruning adds another stress on the already stressed cold plant. Since we don’t get cold much, we have lots of opportunity to admire those unusual blossoms. Routinely, they need natural pruning to control their leggy, sprawling shape. Hedging and edging pruning practices takes away from the flowering potential of our star. Did you know we get hummingbirds here in paradise? Besides migrating thru in the spring and fall, some will stop here and take up residence for the fall and winter seasons. This plant is a must for them to pick your yard as their winter home. When their food source is available and nearby, they will reward you with never ending escapades of weightlessness and acrobatics.
Pros: Almost always blooming – Available as a Standard – Blooming brings in the pollinators Hummers must have! – Salt tolerant East to grow Drought resistant – Great choice for dramatic color.
Cons: Hedging and edging has less blooms May tire of neighbors asking what’s wrong with your Hibiscus? – Blooming brings in the pollinators Who don’t love Hummers? Not cold tolerant – Non native.
Conclusion: We have oodles of eye catching Turks Cap’s bursting with blossoms. Even a handsome prince can’t wake up these blossoms, but we invite any visiting royalty to try in our tropical eye catching garden.
Don’t wanna miss this bloomer!
WHATS BLOOMIN’ IN PARADISE? a gardeners journey
First impression: Striking, exotic, five petals with a sixth larger iconic orchid-lobed lip in yellows, oranges and reds. Wow, such dramatic fade in and outs of colorations adorn the frilly lipped petal. The elliptic leaves are soft green and all along the reed like stem, which is in the shape of caned bamboo. These gorgeous orchids are growing as ground covers in the garden soil. I am drawn to the many tiny dancing flowers on slender extra long stalks. You can see these multitudes of tiny orchids fluttering in full bloom at the Botanical Gardens of the Sanibel Moorings.
Upon further investigation: Reed aka Sun Orchids hail from the Epidendrum genus of which you can easily be confused with the more than 800 plus species that are terrestrial or epiphytic. It is a show stopper, with umbrella like clusters of tiny glowing flowers suspended by super long slender stalks, which gives them an excuse to dance at any chance they get. The five quinacridone orange, petals are tiny, soft, and oblong. Of course the sixth petal is the preverbal orchid nectar guide for pollinators. It is drop dead gorgeous, marked with a yellow landing pad and varying shades of brilliant orange dotted with crimson freckles. And yes, it’s cupped and ruffled with orchid drama thru and thru. Each flower stalk is laden with 10-15 flowers, I easily count 50 plus on all over our gardens. If you’re lucky, you can smell that faint sweet scent, which I find strongest early morning and dusk. After blooming, remove spent blooms to be ready for the next profusion of blossoms. The dark green leaves are linear, long cane like and really are a great ground cover even without the flowers. The green cane bases of the leaves remind me of bamboo and attached by the roots. A healthy strong orchid will have numerous silvery colored roots encircling and securing itself in the soil. Most orchids are Epiphytes which means they sit on top of their selected companion. Our orchid is a very hearty terrestrial orchid which obtains most of its moisture and run off nutrients from the garden soil and plants around it. Our star’s parents were naturally occurring in the tropics but non-native to our region. Orchid, just the name and your mind can conjure up a flower picture that’s fanciful and magical. I have had success with our Reed Orchids in full sun and drought like conditions. Once they establish themselves they are nonstop bloomers. They form babies at the ends of its roots and keeps growing wider and wider. I easily separate the larger clumps and transplant them all over the garden. We have three varieties in colors of yellows, purples and oranges. Add some to your garden oasis and you can discover another way of enjoying orchids at ground level.
Pros: Likes filtered sun to full – Easy to maintain Flowers are unique, exotic and fanciful – Salt tolerant Is great for oooh’s and ahhs Great ground cover to plant among other plants – Long lived blooming period – Everyone needs at least one Blooming brings in the bees No care needed – Lovely soft fragrance Attractive when not blooming.
Cons: Non native plant – Has a sprawling manner – Blooming brings in the bees It’s hard to say no to any Orchid!
Conclusion: Bring your camera or your paintbrushes to record the bounty of our beauties. You don’t have to look up to admire our exploding with orchid uniqueness land lover who is just waiting for you to admire. So many flowers so little time in our eye catching tropical garden.
Don’t wanna miss this bloomer!