Trial and Error in Florida 2012

[Harriet]

And now for a little before and after (well, almost after, we are a bit light on the mulch...)

BEFORE:

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CLEAN UP:

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ONE WHEEL BARREL SHORT OF A MULCHED BED:

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[Minime8484]

Wonderful yard - loving what you are doing with it!! So much space!

[Harriet]

Why thank you! I keep trying to fill up all that space so we'll have to see how it all turns out!

In the meantime, I have some other shareables.

Echinopsis 'dominoes'

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This plant always seems to have buds or spent flowers, but I rarely see the open blooms!

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Agave, Agave, who's got the Agave?

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[Harriet]

Went to the nursery for butterfly garden plants, but who could resist this?

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[hoteidoc]

Harriet - If you have the pink blossomed plumosa, flowers can't hide ! Sounds like another trip to HD/Lowe's!

[Harriet]

Freezes killed my plumosa/frangipani years ago and I have not replaced them. I got into the habit of avoiding plants that freeze because I'm not a fan of dealing with them in the winter. But it is difficult to avoid the beautiful plumosas!

The nursery trip was to Lukas Nursery, which has been the best nursery in the Orlando area since it started selling retail back in the early 1970s. It is great for Florida landscape plants, but does not often carry C&S in any great quantities. (Although many nurseries around here are stocking more Agaves and some heat hardy succulents, the succulents at the nurseries other than HD and Lowes are most often varieties of sedum and are sold as Annuals.)

[leisurely]

How does your garden do during the rainy season? I too live in Florida and have lost a lot of plants that I attempted to grow in the garden without protection from the rain. Some of the easier varieties did ok but most were unhappy. I also found that many developed discolored (blackish) spines from all of the humidity.

[Harriet]

Jerry - So far it has been true 'trial and error' in getting the plants right for wet Florida weather. I spent a lot of time looking for plants that can handle rain better than most, they are cactus so that can be a daunting task, but there are some plants you just learn to avoid putting into beds here. I think the most important trick is building the bed with the best drainage possible, and in an area with enough sunlight to dry them off quickly when they do get wet. My beds are slightly sloped so they drain out to the grass, or into the 'dry' creek bed in the front garden, and I dug out a lot of dirt and replaced it with a "cactus mix". Opuntias seem to be nearly fool proof here, and Agave is pretty forgiving, so they are good for Florida beds and really make the beds look "exotic" in comparison to more typical Florida landscaping. I've also branched out into Yucca and other spiney companion plants like Dyckia, along with Euphorbia and others that look desert-like but can handle the wet.

In the front beds it looks as if I may have some problems with a couple of columnars, so I won't use those again, but the others seem to be hanging in there.

Bottom line is that if I have any cactus or succulents that could turn to mush in the rain I keep them in my covered shade house so I can control the moisture. Sometimes even that does not work, but I keep trying anyway!

[Harriet]

New "show" opening in Lake Mary! I have two big Opuntia humifusa, one was sent to me from Missouri, the other was saved from being plowed under on the side of the road near here. It looks as if the "native" plant is 4 or 5 days quicker to bloom. I wonder if it is plant genetics, or the amount of light that makes the difference?

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I don't know who or what did this, but I hope there was stomach upset involved!

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[hoteidoc]

Harriet, think maybe a "medusaid" form of a some Stapelia. My understanding is there's a family of species that are like this. Wait for others, but should get you into the right ballpark.

[Harriet]

Oh dear, I know what it is (Euphorbia flanaganii) I just don't know who or what ate the stems off of one side of it!

[hoteidoc]

Now that you said Euphorbia, I definitely misspoke/forgot I have a single long stem that looks like that, that I was trying to ID & did a marathon session of the Euphorbia site with it's upteen hundred species! Can/do deer get into your yard? Whatever it was must have one heck of a belly ache! if alive! I thought I remembered at some point you said you didn't have to worry @ wild piggies in your neck of the woods. Racoon? They have deft little hands. FLA Bigfoot?
Peter

[Harriet]

Squirrel or rat I'm afraid. It is up on the top shelf of a plant rack... too high for the bigger critters, and no pots were knocked over.

However, I do like the idea of Bigfoot, and "umpteen hundred" euphorbias is a good way to describe those plants!

[Harriet]

Opuntia humifusa update:

Florida Version

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Mid West version

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[Harriet]

I had a lovely day today. Found a new source of succulents in the area, and met fellow cacti aficionado "Apfire". Traded some O. humifusa for various Rhipsalis plants. Sooo cool! Will post pictures when I get them potted up. Also went a little crazy buying up planters, succulents and agave at a nursery I didn't know had such things.

Good stuff! Great day!