My Dracula lotax has one bloom! It seems happy!

Have yet to succeed with lotax. Spikes always blast.

Don't feel too bad, all of mine blasted but that one flower.

Paul/Mike, thanks for the ideas on the kumquat. It's been a good tree but I'm not so fond of it that I would take a cutting. There is a great wholesale citrus grower here in town who stocks the local stores with potted plants. They always look really nice so I would just plant a new tree in a better location. I just hate to see that kumquat die now that it has reached a nice size. It's not on the very precipice of death but I have watched branches on the most shaded side gradually die back. I think I might be able to transplant it and this winter would probably be a great time to do that. I'll start a new thread with that topic if I tackle the transplant.

Paul, Circle of Life isn't a mini, but it's compact, around 9" tall (because the leaves curl a bit).

Lars, your bromeliads are wonderful. My old Bilbergia (vittata, I think) currently has 2 flowers:

An orchid I didn't show earlier is a mini, Pleurothallis leptotifolia, which recently arrived from Andy's in bud and now is in full bloom. I hope it will be happy in my Crosswind terrarium.

Here are photos I took this afternoon, about 5:00 PM:

Back yard epidendrum.Yellow cymbidium that I need to stake up.Pink cymbidium, which should open in January.Tillandsia, not an orchid, but still an epiphyte.Epidendrum in front yard.
Bromeliad in front yard.

Lars, my God, it's as if you have your own very different paradise. Just amazing as is all the pictures from our friends here! Beautiful color and just makes one smile)))

I think I could spend all day in some of the gardens about here.

Tommyr, you have a monkey face)))!!!

You don't know how many times I have tried a hand at one of these. Bravo.

John , you know me with the fragrant plants! lol. Will only grow the Cattleya with a heavy fragrance and let me tell you when I say they are. Tell you what. If they spin off a kiki, or when I divide them I will keep you in mind since they grow pretty rapidly, especially if after flowering I stick them in my greenhouse. )

Mike

Thanks! A greenhouse! How great! I'm really on the fence about this, especially with all the snow out here. On the other hand, I have just the spot.....

Don't think about it John my friend, just do it!!! Make that a gist form yourself come spring. It doen't have to a big one. just big anough to put a few citrus trees and a few orchids. A 6x8 would do you just fine and the cost of heating it would be affordable along the with ease of covering it up with a see through pool solar cover! manageable))

If you like going into your warm semi humid room with fans blowing in a t-shirt, then you will love escaping into your nice warm greenhouse when the sun is out will your flowers blooming sweetly after spraying every thing dow with water in your shorts..ha

Mike

Mike, you are evil !! Keep it up. I still remember my first greenhouse experience that resulted in buying my first Paph. That was 40-some years ago. I guess maybe I’ve earned a small greenhouse.

A phal I picked up in summer, Fang Mei I believe.

Some Sneary Coelogyne action...

More amaryllis grown by my brother...

How gorgeous. Tempting to reserve a little shelf space for an early forced bulb or two.

Not so much flowering, but definitely harvesting.

Meyer lemons on the left, Oro Blanco in the middle and a couple Rio Red grapefruit front right

A few eurekas on the plate in the back

Variegated pink eureka lemon

NZL nearing harvest age

2-3 weeks

Evan, please do tell us what your sweetest favorite fruit was!! Such a beautiful harvest and the blossoms before that must of smelled so good in your yard . Is it getting cold down there? I just love your pictures my friend. Those fruit are very colorful. I hope you and your family are healthy and well ! Keep the pics coming please. Brightens my day in this crappy weather.

Steve, yummy looking. Very nice

Nancy , wow!! Those are gorgeous !

Blutayle, how beautiful and I’ll bet you love to smell those! So beautiful. Good to have you about too. Hope all is well.

Dbaron, beautiful color. Unique !

Mike

Thank you

Hey Mike, the rios we’re still a little tart, as well as the pink lemons, both of those need about another month to sweeten up a little. The Oro Blanco is decent, this year they actually had juice in them which was a bonus. Actually my best tasting fruit right now are my tango mandarins that are starting to ripen up, I’ll post a pic below of the tree with fruit hanging on it. We had some cold weather around Christmas and New Years, we dropped down to around 31.5 on our coldest evening. With highs in the upper 50’s, that’s probably not too cold for you guys but it’s cold to us in the desert. Our coldest weather is behind us for the year, crazy to think I need to fertilize in a month for the spring season. Take care my friend.

Tango mandarin on Macrophylla

Evan

Mike The 3 most important qualities in a citrus fruit are TASTE, TASTE, and TASTE. I want to leave it on as long as possible to prevent the tree from flowering before April. This will help prevent flower fruit drop like last year.

Even This winter season has seen a low of 14F. That may be a record. Don't know. I have never seen a winter where our lows were above 10F. I am 61 years old and I started gardening when I just turned 7. I was very aware of weather and it's records. I have only had to add a little heat 2 times at midnight to coast through the next morning. I used a hair dryer poked into a peak hole.

Steve

My gold nugget and calamondin are blooming like crazy. Last year my gold nugget has 6 fruits and the calamondin is just a machine. It’s always putting out fruit! I love my trees.

Some of these names are strange. Tahitian Lime is one. Going to have to do some drastic pruning before it takes over the yard.

I'll only say wow if Citrus are grown in an unsuitable climate.

Here is a pic. of Epidendrum tampensis 'No 2'. In bloom in a glass-house down the yard. Bought a couple of unflowered seedlings ages ago and they flower in summer here. Seem to be pretty tough.

Not much blooming, but we finally got some rain! Hurray! It means the little creek that runs through my backyard has seen the return of Mr and Mrs Mallard, and they brought friends! I might see several ducklings in spring, fingers crossed!

Otherwise the citrus is doing great, if a little yellow from the cold.

the finger lime is not only covered with blooms, it has so many fruit they are dropping below the tree in the dozens!

Calamondin continues to bloom and fruit regularly, though not fast enough for me!

And lastly, the only thing in bloom is my jade plant

Happy New Year everyone! It was great seeing all the pics!

KC

Steve, I agree buddy!!!

Kcandmilo, holy toledo, what a very nice jade and in full flower. Very nice and the other pics just as nice. Thank you and so you are a citrus nut too. Love those. That's a TON of finger limes there, wow.

Arthurm, is that orchid very fragrant and related to the Encyclia species? All of those are so fragrant and I am starting a collection of those. Very nice orchid and shape. Well grown.

Amanda, where's the pic? You know me lol. I am very happy for you. I can never get mines to blloom like that. I think it's because I keep it too cold all winter. If I had a nice sunny window spot I'd bet it would flower. Some day I will have the room)

Even, tango manderines? I never thought of getting one of those. Now you have me on the path of gettting one lol. Good to see you buddy. I heard it was chilly down there. I know parts of Arizona whwre it's suppose to be warm were under a snow emergency which I find very odd. I am glad your trees did ok. I'll bet your Oro when in bloom smelled your whole back yard up!

Evan, thank God the coldest air is behind you. How about water? Have you been able to provide enough of that there? I hope so after all those fires north of you. That is one beautiful tree my friend. Would love to see a recent picture of the Oro too. I have a place in my heart for those ones. Thanks )))

Just wanted to post a few more very fargarnt flowers))

Orchid

Orchids

Orchids

Orchids

Jade

Morning sunrise the other day))

Gorgeous! Mike, I am a citrus nut, but trying to diversify into other fruits and veggie! Plus lots of roses and flowers! Can't wait for spring!

KC

I just had to add a bit of heat last night and will soon be putting in a disc heater. I can set it to 350 watts at 50F setting. We are going below 0.0-F

Mike, the Encyclia tampensis does have a perfume which is hard to describe but not unpleasant. Have two plants and do not know if the blooms are any better than those grown in the wild,

Here is the second one, I'd buy a few more if they became available.

Thanks for starting the thread, it is always interesting to see to plants grown in "difficult" climates.

Arthurm, that has a beautiful shape! I just bought one and here is a link for you if you are still interested. Thank you and love the pics you post)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Orchid-Encyclia-tampensis-Fragrant-Florida-Native-Tropical-Plant-potted/232735000104?hash=item3630164628:g:cnMAAOSwA4Ba4kcq:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Encyclia-Tampensis-Encyclia-Florida-Native-Orchid/273641350398?hash=item3fb64ba4fe:g:lDIAAOSwlXNbaQVU:rk:13:pf:0

Steve, how did the heat work out? Did you here single digit weather coming next Monday? we just can't get an easy winter that's for sure.((

Kcandmilo. thank youd likewise! I have fig and they are well asleep this year. Hoping for one big sweet harvest!!

Here is a pic. of part of the yard taken today.

Plants from left

Golden Robinia

Chestnut tree (next door)

Crepe Myrtle coming into bloom

Lemon

is the chestnut the American variety nut that is roasted over an open fire. disease free & resistant

I have no idea re. the type of Chestnut having just looked it up on google. Think the lady next door planted a nut rather than eating it. The "spreading chestnut tree" would have discouraged me. Anyway, it does have a meagre crop of chestnuts and gives good shade from the hot summer sun.

Arthurm, did you ever get another Encyclia tampensis ? I just bought one in spike for 24 dollars at the local nursery here! I couldn't believe the price let alone the place where I bought it. Nice yard by the way. Love looking at that))

I hadn’t even noticed the bud, I love the surprise bloom!

Nancy, WOW, NOt only would I be excited but I love the color of that one. Nice job. Hope you are keeping very warm. What a very cold night. Just 2 degrees outside. UGH

This is small potatoes compared to the beauties shared above. But because everything I have I grow under lights indoors on the Oregon coast I'm proud of these little ones.

This is Elsie a plumeria

And this is Royal Purple bougainvillea.

Re. Enc. tampensis, the two plants I have are seedlings purchased from an Australian Orchid Nursery ages ago, suspect that the primary source was H & R Orchids in Hawaii.

Here is the plant of the night photographed at an Orchid Society Christmas Function in December.

Dendrobium chrysotoxom

Still astounded at the plants grown under lights by the real gardeners in the frozen north.

Speaking of small potatoes,I missed these flowers by 5 months.

Sweet potatoes.

Steve

Whoa, Steve! I have had no luck with potatoes or yams ever! Those look amazing!

KC

My fave phal.

Assortment of phals and 'Big Red' Thanksgiving cactus.

Vriesea rebloomed for the first time.

Also, 'Armstrong' satsuma is starting to put out lots of buds. Hopeful for a good fruiting season again. Seems to bear well alternate years now.

KC They need at least 11 hours sun and nitrogen feed for the first 3 months to get tons of foliage. I only get potatoes from rooftop plants. Ground none. I grow them in composted leaves and leaf duff

Steve, I wanna try growing sweet potatoes in pots. Voles get them in the ground here. So hard to exist on a suburban garden because of all the critters.

" critters." I grow on the rooftop only. Same problem here to. Chicken wire well supported works well. groundhogs are to lazy to climb. Dear can be held at bay with a water powed dea shooter. after a week or to you can turn off the water and the sound of the device clicking holds the dear at bay.

Deer are not very dear to me!

Dave, I never knew that a plant like that existed! It's a beauty. Your orchids spetacular there. Great work as alwasy. Thank you

Look at all those potatoes!! I never even thought of growing any in a container..Nice work

Mike

those potatoes were grown on my roof. no container.

Steve

Enc. tampensis is native here. I have a nice one on a palmetto tree. Not blooming now. Opposite climate than arthurm. Our club is planning to distribute this plant with help from school kids. I signed up. In my eye this is the nicest orchid in our environment. It has a big range. The southern half of Florida.

Last years blooms...

Shavedmonkey, I'll bet those smell really good, right? I would love to have a bunch of flowers like that at once. I am so jealous. Nice.

A sole pink TC bloom

I've been waiting and waiting for this echeveria to bloom for a few weeks, apparently it's making a larger bloom stalk... Ohh alright... I'll be patient. ;-)

Steve, wow! Nice work on those sweet potatoes! One of my favorite vegetables. I love its foliage too.

Mike also, check this video out, ha I could do something like this but with a non toxic plant (because of the cats) lol (can skip along to 2:30 to see the foliage)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUp2-DqEfOE

Mike, what a mesmerizing sunrise and the landscape, wow!!! Great pic love it. ❤ Mother jade so pretty too wearing her flowers.

Shavedmonkey, those orchids are really beautiful! What is the scent? (if there is one)

Dave, I adore your Orchid! Gorgeous!

Nancy, I LOVE your plumeria, I am envious!

KC, Ohh my, ohh my, that Jade!!!!!! ❤

-Nancy

Made it under the wire. First bloomer in my new setup. And first for this plant. Phal. schilleriana from Sabah now perfuming my grow-room!

I have nothing blooming indoors apart from hyacinths and overwintering pelargoniums but some outdoor winter flowers are heralding the spring.