wax begonia

order: cucurbitales
family: begoniaceae
genus: begonia
species: semperflorens
variety: ?

After not being able to write a post for a long time due to the overload of activities in the university, today I want to resume with two unknown wax begonia varieties that I acquired last year in spring from a city-owned garden. I think these varieties are very common, I'm just not sure if they have a name. I often find them as bedding plants. One has dark bronze leaves and bear pink flowers. The other has green foliage and flowers red. These plants have both male and female flowers on them. The male flowers wither away after some time, while the female counterparts will continue on to live a while longer and develop into seed pods if they are conceived. Interestingly, they are related to pumpkins.

I collected many seeds last year at the end of the season and kept them in my seed storage. They became sterile as I sowed them in the garden this spring. Not a single seed dust out of the hundreds turned into a little new life. The plants themselves overwintered in the basement next to a window. It wasn't very bright, but seemingly sufficient to keep the plants alive. I only had to remember to go down there in the winter from time to time to give them a little bit of water, so they wouldn't dry out completely. The temperature was for most of the time between 10 and 15 °C. This year, I transplanted them together into an oval terra cotta pot I bought from impruneta in italy, and I'm terribly satisfied with the result. I don't know how old these plants can get but I know instinctively that they will not do for long.  So I'll just enjoy the flower and the handsome foliage as long as I can and replace them when they are done with. They are really wonderful plants for your patio. They don't complain much if you are a bit late with watering. They are also fine with both light and shade.

common myrtle // true myrtle

order: myrtales
family: myrtaceae
genus: myrtus
species: communis

As the year began, i bought this small myrtle bush slightly off its rounded silhouette as a discounted item from a garden centre that I frequented. They'd already put it up on sale in late fall but couldn't sell them off. So they were trying to rid them at the time in order to make room for spring flowers and herbs. This plant had long been in my wish list. So I was very happy that I finally brought it home with me.

I nearly lost the plant along with some other plants after the trip to Italy in May this year. The friend I engaged for taking care of the garden somehow didn't give it enough water, so all the limbs were dried up and pointing downwards. I immediately gave all the wilted plants a good soak and continued to care for them intensively for the next week(s). This myrtle was one that recovered very well. Other plants weren't that lucky. You see that's the price you have to pay if you want to leave home for some days. Or you can also see it the other way round. The price you have to pay for doing gardening is to be chained to the plants. You can't move around much.

Currently the plant has put on plenty of flower buds which it has been having for more than a month now. The flower buds don't seem to open soon despite the hot days we had this week. Repotting will also have to be carried out. But that will be after the flower.

gold-leafed tree heath

order: ericales
family: ericaceae
genus: erica
species: arborea
cultivar: 'Albert's Gold'

late autumn 2012. leaves turned dark green.

As the name implies, this tree heath's leaves are usually more yellowish than green. But that's only if new growth is exposed to sufficiently bright light. Otherwise they turn mid to dark green just as they do when it gets darker into fall and winter. My plant is currently about knee height. It has lots of stems coming from the base, which makes it look like a group of cypress trees crowding together. Although I must say, the sight of its foliage at a distance reminds me of casuarinas on hot sunny beaches.

flowering in may 2013. close-up.

As the spring was breaking, I could see small tiny white tips emerging mainly on the branches of the upper section, which soon turned into foliage and terminal flower buds. Flowers become fully open in May. They are tiny, white, drooping and have a red dot in the middle. With the help of an enlarged macro photo, I counted four petals on each flower.

I repotted the plant earlier in April in a nice dark grey plastic pot. But I realised, the plant needs a new heavier pot so it doesn't get blown over easily by wind.

samaipateño cleistocactus

order: caryophyllales
family: cactaceae
genus: cleistocactus
species: samaipatanus
cultivar: f. cristata

This is a cleistocactus originating from Samaipata in Bolivia in crested form. It came into my possession over the winter 2011/2012. Since there was nothing to do in the garden and the tropical plants in the room were mostly dormant (my plants were still countable back then), I felt the need to go around hunting for some lovely plants. I found it amusing that different plants can develop crested form. I must have had the idea of expanding a collection of crested form plants for some time. Regrettably one cannot have an infinite amount of plants and an infinite amount of time to care for them.

Generally all of my cacti give me the impression that they never grow. With this one, it is especially true. It hasn't grown tall, it hasn't grown long, and it hasn't grown fat since the day it came home with me. So if there's one plant in my nursery that I cannot be proud of, this must be it. This year, the months of March, April and May turned out to be on the cold side. The plant is still being kept in its winter quarter besides on a couple of warm sunny days in April on which I brought it outside for sunning and watered it thoroughly. (It must be very thirsty after a long winter of aridity.)

I'm not really expecting it to give me a bloom this year, though I've seen lovely flowers on cacti, and they are to wish for on your own cacti. This year I'd like to slightly increase the amount of water and fertiliser on the cacti and I hope it helps them grow.

japanese larch

order: pinales
family: pinaceae
genus: larix
species: kaempferi

fresh green needles extending. april 2013.

Actually I had no idea which plant I was going to write about this time. I just happened to talk to a bonsai friend of mine about this japanese larch that I acquired last year in late autumn and he asked to see the photos. So since I needed to upload the photos, I thought I might as well just blog about it this time.

The plant came to me after it had dropped all of its needles (yes, indeed they are deciduous) in November as a birthday present to myself. I think it was the very last plant that I bought in 2012. I realised that gardening can be very addictive. I told myself to stop getting a new plant, but as soon as I come across a lovely species like this, I forget about anything I had in mind before.

So since it was moving into winter, I kept it well protected in my winter storage after unpacking it. Also, since it didn't have any needle on it, it didn't need any light either. So the corner where it stayed was just dark. After the danger of frost had passed, I brought it out again. Several buds began to swell into large rounded balls which became female and male cones. While the male cones are drooping, the female cones are erect and carrying some pinkish colour. Feeding program will start as soon as all the needles have fully extended.

>>Update

on the last day of april 2013. 

>>> stolen on the 12th sept 2013. that's a very brief relationship with this beauty. had so many plans for it yet have to let them go now. farewell my 29th birthday.