Bougainvillea?

Bougainvillea or maybe red oleanders.

I don't think either one grows very well in El Paso.

oh, no, I'm pretty sure I would have recognized bougainvillea or oleander. This is a rounded shrub.

Oleander grows pretty well here; bougainvillea -- well, people try.

This post was edited by Violet.West on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 15:37

Valentine emu bush are beautiful Christmas to Valentines's Day.

Hmmmm Red Fairy duster? AKA Baja Fairy Duster, Calliandra californica

I'm not familiar with that stretch of freeway landscaping ... don't know if they are blooming yet. But they've been emphasizing native plants along the freeways.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/great-design-plant-baja-fairy-duster-a-scarlet-stunner-stsetivw-vs~25611006-design-plant-baja-fairy-duster-a-scarlet-stunner

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I tried looking on google maps streetview here around that stretch of the freeway and here's what I got.

Google streetview picture

the photo was taken in March 2014. Closest month they have to January, most of the other pics taken are during the summer.

Lazygardens might be correct with the fairy duster bush. If you look around, only other plant with red flowers are the bougainvilleas.

Nice work raimeiken on getting that image.

I switched to the satellite view and looked for anything red and then the street view to see what it was.

I'm doubling down on Bougainvillea. There are a lot of them along our highways and Violet.West didn't originally say "not the Bougainvillea, the other red shrub". So I'm guessing at 65 mph, a distances away, and maybe not being familiar with the natural shrub form (is pretty rare to see in yards) or Bougainvillea in full bloom (also a bit rare to see a un-sheared plant in full bloom which is stunning and almost solid red) that they wouldn't look like a Bougainvillea to many people. Possible Violet.West?

Name that plant game is always fun...though I almost never win.

lots of responses, thank you! I still don't think it's bouganvillea, but it might be the red fairy duster. I have one in my yard in a pot, but it's pretty pitiful compared to those. Could be the emu bush, too.

So no winner can be declared? Bummer.

Just found GWeb has a forum just for playing the name that plant game. Those guys are scary good though.

too bad I didn't get a pic

this? I am wondering too.

That's a red yucca.

Hi, do you still grow Grewia Asiatica? I just purchased it from nursery in Florida. I can't find info on how to grow it (especially, type of soil requirement in pot, etc.) here in Bay area (Santa Jose to be exact). I'd really appreciate if you could share the info. Thanks! - kachropeti@yahoo.com

My phalsa (grewia asiatica) grows in a clay 17" container, although when it goes dormant over the winter, it takes an unusually long time to come out of dormancy. Mine finally comes out of dormancy in May. Usually when I see that type of thing it means it's not getting enough chill hours, but from what I saw it doesn't require chill hours.

Based on how big mine is getting, I'd probably keep it in the ground if you can. It's a much wider (and scraggly) shrub than most of my other plants. It might produce berries too late to actually get any useful ones around my area. It seems to start flowering in Oct and the berries die from the cold before they can mature. It might stay warm enough in your area to actually get berries though. I've only had it flower 1 year though, so it's hard to judge that. I might try to keep it on the patio this next winter and see if I can give it enough protection.

When you find out what that mystery plant was, please come back & post here. My inlaws asked me the same thing then INSISTED to me that it was not a bougainvillea. I have no idea what they're talking about and am curious.

iandyaz, I truly appreciate your prompt reply and information you provided. Still trying to figure out how to grow Grewia Asiatica. Could you please answer following questions:

- What kind of soil combination/potting mix do you use to it in the container? This is very important to me.

- What do you fertilize it with and how often do you feed?

- How old and big is your plant? Could you please share the picture of your plant in the pot? It would be great!

Mine came potted in 14" tall/deep thin cone (I could provide the picture if needed) and I am just not sure what size pot to put it in once it is acclimated here. I might put into the ground next year...for the first year, I don't want to take a chance until it establishes. Here in silicon valley, the temps could go on several frosty nights per year as low as in upper 20s / low 30s.

I added very little perlite to the mix for this plant since I was putting it into a clay pot, so it's mostly regular potting soil. I added a little peat moss and vermiculite like I always do to the mix.

I usually start out plants in containers with a little osmocote plus mixed into the soil mix, and for general fertilizer I've used fish emulsion for this one. I generally fertilize my potted plants at least twice a month depending on the plant (I stop fertilizing June thru August since most new foliage that is grown fast will just burn in those months).

Right now my plant is just coming out of dormancy so it's not much to look at but I'll show you a pic so you can kind of see how wide it gets:

For reference, each square of that path is 1 foot, and I had taken off some of the branches that went further out because I figured they were dead but I found green in the middle so they might have been okay. If you look closely you can see the new branches forming. Last year it started the branches a little bit later than this so I guess it's improving a little bit.

Wow I didn't know it got that cold there. The coldest I've seen here was 19 degrees F a few years ago, but I had protected everything really well that night.

It's a good idea to let it stay in a container the first year. I'd just use a 2 or 3 gallon container and make sure you plant it's top root just below the soil line. A lot of times nurseries add soil around the base of a plant to protect it and people think that's where they need to plant it at. I think I want to eventually plant this into the ground as well, but I'm not sure how much I like the whole "dormant until May" thing. :) I'll probably wait another year or so and see how it reacts to a warmer winter under the patio.

Hopefully we're not hijacking this thread.. I would put all this into a new post but I've already put it down here :)

My bad, for hijacking the thread, I did not think about it. Sorry, everyone. Ultimately, I will move the entire conversation in a new thread.

Since the plant arrived in 14" deep cone (see photo), I have to look for pot that is at least 14" deep. How old is your Falsa plant and how long it's been in this pot? It looks mature plant. Note that it fruits mostly on new branches, hence, annual pruning is required for fruiting. I am in zone 9b.

I've had it for a little over 3 years and I'm assuming it was about a 1 year old plant when I got it (grown from cutting I believe, got it from Wellspring Gardens). I put it in this pot after 1 year.

As far as the container it came in, you might want to check where the soil level is and see if it's really 14" of roots. I usually carefully wash the soil off roots off of new plants if I can see the roots and they aren't the real weak breakable type of roots (like on Michelia Alba), or fiberous roots like on blueberry. I especially do this if the soil they came in is fast draining soil (most of the time this is the case). This helps if the roots are potbound and you can spread them out a little.

Thanks, landyyaz. I will check out the soil level before re-potting. I appreciate all the information you've provided.