Amazon lily
(Originally posted December 19, 2007)“Is there a difference?”, you may ask. Yes, there is–and it’s one of my biggest holiday pet peeves, horticulturally speaking! With today’s mass market mentality and the ease of growth of the “Holiday Cactus”, one group of hybrids has essentially taken over the holiday market. However, the truth of the matter…
Those words were uttered more than once this summer as passersby gawked at the otherworldly flowers hanging from the vine on the fence at my friend Leann’s house. (There are pictures of her garden in my Garden Gallery at www.troybmarden.com) Apparently, a few folks even took offense at these giant, martianesque blossoms that so proudly…
As the days grow shorter and temperatures begin to drop, many of my tropical plants begin to head into their dormant or semi-dormant winter phase. The elephant ears (Colocasia and Alocasia), however, continue looking good right up to frost. This is especially true if they’re planted in the garden where their roots have free run…
While winter’s icy grip may have many gardeners house-bound for several more weeks, there is no reason to let the fact that the ground is frozen keep us from gardening. And even if you live in a milder climate where the ground is workable and the days are balmy, winter is still a great season…
It’s clivia season! I always wait with anticipation in mid- to late March to see whether or not the clivias are going to flower in April. I have two–the common orange variety, Clivia miniata and the much rarer yellow-flowering form ‘Citrina’. Both are extremely special plants. The orange one is special because it came from…
Hippeastrum cybister. Yes, yes, I know. More weird plants. Why not just talk about good old-fashioned red Christmas amaryllis? (Yawn.) Or everyone’s favorite, ‘Appleblossom’? (Yawn.) Or that beautiful red-and-white striped one that Granny grew every year? (Yaaawwn.) Alright, alright. I’m being unfair. I’m sounding like I don’t like the traditional, large-flowered Christmas amaryllis when really,…