Iris hexagona var. savannarum - Dixie Iris

Iris hexagona has the widest range of the Irises in Florida.  It is found throughout much of the state except for the southeast and northwest portions of the state.  I have seen it growing in various places around Manatee County, FL.  Here are some that are growing around the neighborhood:

Iris hexagona, late in the afternoon in a wooded area adjacent to a stream and sometimes floods.  These plants are shaded by Live Oaks (Quercus sp.) but get some filtered light. The plants look very inconspicuous when not in bloom.

Iris hexagona about to bloom - perhaps tomorrow.

Iris hexagona growing in a sunny streamside area.  The soil is very sandy, which you can see in the stream. 

A close up of the same flowers.

Iris hexagona has three varieties.  These are Iris hexagona var. savannarum which hold their flowers above their leaves.  They should also have a smooth circular seed pod when viewed from above (instead of a hexagon) but I have not observed this yet since this is the first time I've seen them flower!

If you live in Florida this would be a great addition to a water garden or pond. My Mom moved a plant up to the garden from our pond and its been growing and blooming without wet conditions - which really surprised me. Just to be safe though, keep it on the moist - wet side.  

Harrisella porrecta - Threadroot Orchid

Hello!  I just got back from my week long trip to South Florida.  It was a very  nice trip like always and I cant wait to go back!

During my trip to FL I visited my parents house in Bradenton, FL.  Usually during my visit I explore the woods in their backyard and around the neighborhood.  Every time I find some interesting plant or animal.  This particular time I went in search of Tillandsia species; specifically Tillandsia utriculata.  I had seen the adult plants in the area before but failed to find any this time.  I did find 3 small plants on a Viburnum in a shady wetland area and while examining them I found an unusual orchid.  

Harrisella porrecta - I first noticed the seed pods and then the roots. 

That's when I knew it was an orchid.

I found around 30 orchids with seed pots on this dead portion of a Viburnum obovatum.

I could not see any plants anywhere else other than this particular tree.

Some more Harrisella porrecta with lots of seed pots.

Another Harrisella porrecta.  This tree also had Tillandsia utriculata, T. balbsiana, T. recurvata, T.useneoides, and T. setacea growing on it.

Harrisella porrecta common names are the Threadroot Orchid and Needleroot Airplant Orchid.  

Sometimes it is placed in the genus Dendrophylax along with Ghost Orchid. 

It is a theatened species in Florida and should not be removed from the wild.  

There are many other orchids around these woods which are primarily Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) and Scrub Palmetto (Sabal etonia).  These other orchids are all terrestrial. 

Pinguicula lutea blooming

My Pinguicula lutea is finally blooming! The first flower was somehow destroyed and now the second flower stalk that has been slowly growing has started to bloom.  I think it is still growing - during the day it opens and nights it droops and closes.  There is another flower bud that is also forming in the center of the rosette. I pollinated the flower after I photographed it this morning and in about four weeks they should be ripe. It also looks like this will be the last act of my P. lutea. They are a short lived perennial and usually bloom themselves to death.

Just like my P. planifolia I grow my P. lutea outside all year with sun during the morning and shade in the afternoon. They are grown with the tray method. I tried undrained pots previously but they succumb to rot easily. P. lutea can tolerate somewhat drier conditions in the wild than some other Pinguicula.

Pinguicula lutea flower "sleeping" at night.  This movement is called nyctinasty.

Pinguicula lutea blooming in the warm sun. 

A side view showing Pinguicula lutea's spur.  It looks like a bee could fit perfectly in there. 

It is really starting to feel like spring! 

Pinguicula planifolia blooming

Spring is in just a few weeks and here in Houston, TX we are seeing many signs of spring.  Many of my native wildflowers are blooming and other trees and shrubs are sprouting new leaves.  The carnivorous plants faired pretty well this winter (I did loose a few Sarracenia to rot) and all are starting to wake up.  Some of the Sarracenia have flower stalks growing and the SE Pinguicula have started to bloom.

My Pinguicula planifolia are the first to bloom!

Pinguicula planifolia - grown outdoors all year.  They receive full sun for half of the day and then shade for the rest of the day.  Of all the things I've tried here in Houston, TX, this seems to work the best. Our  afternoon temperatures are often over a hundred in the summer and the water evaporates before the day is done; especially if left in full sun throughout the day! 

P. planifolia - the rosettes of my plants are pretty small.  They might appreciate more water but I wanted to keep them on the dry side to keep them from rotting during winter.  Wild plants are often submerged for short periods of time. 

The flower stalk has an unusual shape.  Perhaps because of our drastic weather changes lately.  Almost 90 degrees in the day and 30s at night.

My P. lutea was also going to bloom too but some critter bit off its flower bud.  Thankfully its growing another one. 

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

In my backyard I have a single pot of Purple Passionflower - Passiflora incarnata, and every year it host the caterpillars of many Gulf Fritillary Butterflies.  I constantly see the butterflies around my garden throughout the warm months and often times they lay so many eggs on my passionflower that it becomes defoliated. 

Gulf Fritillary egg on the dried tendril of the Passionflower.

Gulf Fritillary caterpillar in search of more food.

This one has munched away all these leaves...

My Passionflower - Passiflora incarnata, it has a few leaves left. 

Gulf Fritillary empty chrysalis with an egg on it. (3 eggs in the pic total)

Another chrysalis about 20 feet away from the Passionflower.

Here is the mother Gulf Fritillary laying more eggs.

I love the silver on the bottom of the wings!

What's blooming May 2012

The garden is doing wonderfully this year.  Thank goodness for the rain we've got and pretty pleasant spring weather.  It is starting to get hot now in late May; which is to be expected here in Houston.  Almost every specie of flower in the garden are blooming or are getting ready to.  So here is what is blooming:

Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis, Im retrying this species and so far they are doing really well.  I've grown them before from seeds I brought from my garden in Virginia but they kept rotting perhaps because of the heat.  Im guessing these new plants originated in Texas (maybe the Hill Country population) and are adapted to the climate better.  Im so thankful because I've missed having these in my garden so much.

Tropical Sage - Salvia coccinea, continues to go very well.

Turk's Cap - Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii 

Southern Blueflag - Iris virginica var. schrevei, growing in a large undrained glazed ceramic planter.

Gulf Coast Penstemon - Penstemon tenuis

Foxglove Penstemon - Penstemon cobaea

Blue Mistflower - Conoclinium coelestinum 

Spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensis 

Mealy-cup Sage - Salvia farinacea 

Blue Sage - Salvia azurea 

Gaura - Gaura lindheimeri

Indian Blanket - Gaillardia pulchella 

Sundrops - Calylophus berlandieri

Bitterweed - Helenium amarum 

Lanceleaf Coreopsis - Coreopsis lanceolata 

Mexican Hat - Ratibida columnifera 

Giant Coneflower - Rudbeckia maxima 

Common Sunflower - Helianthus annuus, these and the giant coneflower really grew tall this year because of all the rain!

Phlox pilosa - Big Thicket National Preserve

There are many species of wildflower growing in the Big Thicket National Preserve and one of the showiest during the spring is the Downy Phlox - Phlox pilosa.  It grows along the roadside where you can see its bright magenta flowers when driving by. Up close it has thin leaves covered with soft hairs and sweet smelling flowers.  

Phlox pilosa, growing along the roadside in Tyler Co. TX

The bright showy flowers provide food for butterflies and hummingbirds.

There are 9 subspecies of Phlox pilosa across its range; 5 of those are native to Texas.

Another species of Phlox is found in the Big Thicket area is Phlox nivalis ssp. texensis; it is Endangered and was once thought to be extinct.  It has a very small range that is being monitored.

For more info click:  Texas Trailing Phlox

Other possible species that could be found in the area include:

Phlox drummondii - Annual Phlox (usually has bright red flowers)

Phlox divaricata - Wild Blue Phlox (has light blue flowers and spreading growth)

Sarracenia alata - Big Thicket National Preserve

Last summer I posted about how the severe drought in Texas was effecting the Sarracenia alata populations  in Big Thicket.  See:  Sarracenia alata 2011 Drought  Many plants in the Big Thicket area were severely damaged or killed due to the drought and populations of certain species declined considerably.

On my trip yesterday things looked much better than last year thanks to the good amount of rain we've had this spring.  It was much more lush overall with many species of wildflowers blooming.  The Sarracenia populations had many new leaves but I only saw one flower overall.

Sundew Trail:

The Sundew Trail Sarracenia population seems to have been hit hard by last years drought.

There were no flowers and all of the pitchers were thin, short, and phyllodia like.

A patch of some of the healthier plants along the Sundew Trail.  If I didn't know they were growing here I probably wouldn't have seen them.

Pitcher Plant Trail:

The Pitcher Plant Trail S. alata population looked really good.

There was a lot of healthy pitchers!

A nice big and healthy pitcher.  

The only S. alata flower I could find.

...So as you can see the Big Thicket populations of Sarracenia alata was negatively impacted by the drought last year but thankfully still survives.  Remember: when visiting it is important to never take anything!  No collecting leaves, plants, seeds, flowers, etc.  By collecting you could be removing plants that could determine the survival of the species.  As seen above - these two populations will have almost no seeds produced this year.  Hopefully there will be no more droughts in the near future and these Sarracenia alata populations can restore themselves to their previous abundance.