Thursday, July 31, 2008

Cyrtostachys renda




Red Sealing Wax Palm Cyrtostachys renda
Family: Arecaceae •
Genus: Cyrtostachys •
Species: renda (Blume) •
Country of Origin: Malaysia •
Common Names: Red Sealing Wax Palm •

This is my favorite palm! Can you see why? I bought this as a little seedling for $80.00 This is a tropical palm and it's very sensitive to cold. Large specimens can fetch up to $2000! I planted this in the ground this year as well. Hope we don't have a cold winter this year.


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Cyrtostachys renda by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Dypsis leptocheilos




Teddy Bear Palm Dypsis leptochelios
Family: Arecaceae •
Genus: Dypsis •
Species: leptocheilos (Hodel) Beentje & J.Dransf. •
Country of Origin: Africa •
Common Names: Redneck Palm, Teddy Bear Palm •

I got this nice palm at a Fairchild plant sale. It's very cold sensitive, so it's leaves turn brown when we get a little cold spell. I finally put it in the ground this year maybe it will do better now!


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Dypsis leptocheilos by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Licuala grandis

Ruffled Fan Palm Licuala grandis
Family: Arecaceae •
Genus: Licuala •
Species: grandis (H.Wendl.) •
Country of Origin: China •
Common Names: Ruffled Fan Palm, Vanuatu Fan Palm •

Here is a series of posts for all my fans that have been asking about my palms. I'm doing them individually so I can classify them easier. I got this nice Licuala when I bought the book 'Palm Trees A Story in Photographs' by David Leaser. The author David was at Fairchild signing his book and giving a seedling to everyone who purchased it. It's grown alot since then as you can see it is almost ready to go in the ground!


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Licuala grandis by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Monday, July 28, 2008

Bambusa tuldoides 'Ventricosa'



Buddha Belly Bamboo Bambusa tuldoides 'Ventricosa'
Family: Poaceae •
Genus: Bambusa •
Species: tuldoides •
Country of Origin: China •
Common Names: Buddha Belly Bamboo •

Another one of my bamboo. I keep it inside of a pot even though it's in the ground. Neglect is what makes this bamboos culms fatter and more 'Buddha like'!


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Bambusa tuloides 'Ventricosa' by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Ghost Bamboo Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus part II



Ghost bamboo Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus is a beautiful tropical clumping bamboo similar to Bambusa with a white bloom covering new growth hence the name Ghost Bamboo[my favorite] or White Bamboo it grows in a tight clump reaching about thirty [30] feet. Mine is about four years old and growing well. I don't do much for it as far as care a little organic fertilizer and a little supplemental watering during our dry months. [winter]
Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus

Family: Poaceae •
Genus: Dendrocalamus •
Species: minor var. amoenus (Q.H.Dai & C.F.Huang) Ohrnb.(1981)•
Country of Origin: China •



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Ghost Bamboo Dendrocalamus minor var. amoenus by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Bambusa lako




Timor Black Bamboo Bambusa lako
Family: Poaceae •
Genus: Bambusa •
Species: lako •
Country of Origin: China •
Common Names: Black Bamboo, Timor Black Bamboo •

What more can I say this plant speaks for itself. "A picture is worth....."


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Bambusa lako by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Neoregelia ampullacea 'Tigrina'






Neoregelia ampullacea
Family: Bromeliaceae •
Genus: Neoregelia •
Species: ampullacea (E.Morren) L.B.Sm. •
Country of Origin: Tropical America •


One of my smaller bromeliads. I've divided this many times so it's all over the yard in a variety of conditions. I found this on a tree growing on a lot that was being demolished (I'm the savior of thrown away plants), sure glad I saved it! It has interesting little flowers that bloom frequently.



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Neoregelia ampullacea 'Tigrina' by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Heliconia rostrata



Heliconia rostrata
Family: Heliconiaceae •
Genus: Heliconia •
Species: rostrata (Ruiz & Pav.) •
Country of Origin: South America •
Common Names: crab claws, false bird of paradise •

Here's another favorite of mine! These have amazing flowers (it's actually the bract the flowers are inside) as you can see. This plant flowers faithfully every year without any extra care. It is slightly invasive if not contained in a pot as I discovered.



Creative Commons License
Heliconia rostrata by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Kalanchoe thyrsiflora




Paddle Plant Kalanchoe thyrsiflora
Family: Crassulaceae •
Genus: Kalanchoe •
Species: thyrsiflora (Harv.) •
Country of Origin: South Africa •
Common Names: flapjacks, desert cabbage, white lady, geelplakkie, meelplakkie, plakkie •

This succulent plant is a real beauty. My neighbor Karen gave me this five or six years ago. I have it growing in a few different places but these that are out by my mailbox seem to do the best. They get full sunlight all day and no special care at all.



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Kalanchoe thyrsiflora by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

'Jamaican Red' Banana

This is a medium size banana tree that has fruits with red skin. The inside of the fruit is more orange than yellow. This is considered the best dessert banana in the Caribbean.

Family: Musaceae •
Genus: Musa •
Species: acuminata (Colla) 1820 •
Country of Origin: Indo-Malaysian region reaching to northern Australia •
Common Names: 'Jamaican Red' •


This picture is from 7-15-2008 as you can see it's growing rapidly!




Here's some nice close ups of the flowers. I'll be documenting the progress until the fruits are ready to eat! These pics are from yesterday 7-25-2008


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'Jamaican Red' Banana by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com

Friday, July 25, 2008

Acalypha wilkesiana, Acalypha hispida and Hybrids

Acalypha is one of my favorite genus of tropical/sub-tropical shrubs. It's not grown for the flowers(except A. hispida) but its beautiful foliage as you can see by the fine examples here! This plant has been in cultivation for many years so there is many hybrids and not much info on getting a proper id. I grow these all over the yard in all sorts of conditions and they grow reliably. The only maintenance is occasional trimming. Another bonus is that since they are related to poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima it turns reddish when the days get shorter. All these plants are in my yard!

Copperleaf Acalypha wilkesiana
Family: Euphorbiaceae •
Genus: Acalypha •
Species: wilkesiana •
Country of Origin: Fiji •
Common Names: Joseph's coat, fire-dragon, match-me-if-you-can •

Chenille Plant Acalypha hispida
Family: Euphorbiaceae •
Genus: Acalypha •
Species: hispida (Burm.f.) •
Country of Origin: E. Indies •
Common Names: red-hot cattail, foxtail, red-hot cat's tail •




Acalypha 'Eric's Acalypha' this one is a sport [mutation] that was growing off one of the other plants. I propagated it and walla my own hybrid!





Acalypha hispida or chenille plant, red-hot cattail, foxtail, red-hot cat's tail

(Acalypha hispida)




Acalypha wilkesiana hybrid




Acalypha wilkesiana hybrid



Acalypha wilkesiana 'Dwarf Copperleaf Lanceleaf'




Acalypha 'Inferno'




Acalypha wilkesiana hybrid




Acalypha wilkesiana hybrid

(Acalypha wilkesiana)


Creative Commons License
Acalypha wilkesiana, Acalypha hispida and hybrids by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.flickr.com