Newfound Lilies

I have one crinum lily at home, but I also love those i found in Butuan and in Hagonoy Island, Surigao del Sur. Aside from the basic differences in morphology like size of stem, propensity of leaves, colors and number of flowers in the umbel, the flowering frequency also varies. 


The 3 photos below is at home, the grand crinum lily, with powerfully scented multiple flowers in an umbel. It flowers in succession during the rainy months, but not during the dry season. The stem doesn't look like a big onion like the specimen i found in Bislig.

                                                      

 

The following photos, except the last, i found in Hagonoy Island, Bislig, Surigao del Sur. It has white flowers, as manifested by the fully green  leaves and whitish stems. Also the young developing flower is evidently fully white. It lacks the big bulb of other lilies, but the stem's diameter is >6 inches, looking like a big spring onion stem. The nearly ripening fruit is pinkish though. 

             
Below photos promise a very big flower umbel when fully opened. The fruit is about 1.5 inches in diameter at the middle section.                                                  

The bottom flower is at the Bislig Museum grounds. It has white flowers with pinkish stripes, and the plant is small compared to the above two varieties. Compared to the first crinum i have at home with very strong scent, this last one has very, very faint scent. The flowers are already drooping because we saw it around 3pm after the very hot noon sun. 

Postscript:

I would like to join in a photo sent just minutes ago by ONE of Onenezz. She has lots of photos of maybe the same crinum with lots of dragonflies, but i opted to choose one with the purple stem among the whites. I guess this will produce purple flowers. Thank you very much for this photo. 

She said she hasn't seen the flowers yet, but maybe they are still young to flower, but looking at the size of the plants, flowering is not far away.

Rainy Season Blessings

Our rainy season started early due to the changes in our world and maybe in our universe. Last year, many fruit trees died, soil cracked and many emotions were affected by the long hot dry months, we now embraced its arrival. Plants and animals welcome it, but plants' reactions seem to be more obvious.

The orchid below, which i posted last year due to the death of most plants in its clump, still was able to produce long spikes from the resistant remains.

Cymbidium

 a clump of Amaryllis volunteered in a corner

 squash shoots elongated luxuriantly 

 the first Caladium leaf

 taro (Colocasia esculenta) and Caladium clumps

our cat family enjoying the first grasses

 the stones look happy with their new clothes

 our hedges in full bloom

   tree seedlings, vines, weeds luxuriantly growing amicably not yet showing survival of the fittest

Boston ferns in splendor on a vertical wall amidst duranta and grasses

                                         ...and there's a lot more to come!

Small Amaryllis Experiment

Amaryllis, Hipeastrum puniceum,  is a perennial fixture in our garden in the province. I thought it has been there since i was born, they were maltreated, abused, thrown away, disowned and given some unwanted behaviors given only to weeds by  some people. I've posted it a few times in the PAST with some sentimental thoughts and some insightful ideas. They flower only after the first heavy rains in May-June, produce luxuriant leaves after, and then hide, or better said lay dormant the rest of the year. We forget everything about them  till they produce the lovely  orange flowers again.

Because blogposts from winter climates said they force them to flower, coupled with my normal impatience in waiting for things, i also tried a little experiment. I dug some bulbs and brought them to the city, where i stay most of the time. I only visit the province on my free weekends, and those are really once-in-a while. I  put a bulb on a small fruitjam bottle, and another on a yellow plastic oil bottle. Basis for choosing these containers is the size of their opening which favorably held the bulbs in place. These are the only containers available that time, i don't want to go out to look for more suitable containers.

It's been January again so i thought of this results which were actually done the same month last year. It is serendipitous as i am also experimenting on making collages, which i have been shelving for sometime because i thought it could be very difficult. So you will be viewing results of 2 experiments:  amaryllis forced to flower, and  trials in making collage.

Above mosaic shows the progress of the bulbs. Top layer shows bulb on the yellow bottle producing a flower spike and a leaf. The enlarged photo of the bulb on the jambottle seems to be producing the same as well although a bit delayed. The top photo is taken 3d after planting while the bottom taken after 7 days.

The bottom layer shows  flower spikes growing faster than the leaves. Even at the early stages, the flower spike already shows a bit of orange hue. The whole duration from planting to full opening of the flowers took two weeks. Of course you very well know that all the flowers in one spike do not open at the same time, all the time.

The above mosaic shows another set of experiment i did after finishing the first trial. One bulb did not flower but produce just leaves. It could be still immature bulb still small to flower. Most of the spikes here produce 2-3 flowers. I've noticed also that the spikes are longer than when they are on the ground. That is because the lights received indoors are not sufficient. Insufficient lights produce  etiolation and elongated stalks.

Some sample close-ups of the flowers. There are flowers still there at least a month after planting, and because i planted 2x in succession, i have flowers for more than 2 months. Maybe i should try selling bulbs online here in the country, together with a procedure for doing it. These can make very beautiful gifts if done in nice containers, complete with ribbons and a card. One can choose what stage of development to buy, depending on the date of the occasssion.

What do you say Friends? I am calling Solitude Rising, or Onenezz or Autumn Belle we can have  partnerships for these venture.

Disclaimer: (haha) I apologize for having the worst conditions for experiments, variable bulb size, variable container, variable depth of water for roots, and a lot more varied here. Further, there is no replication which must at least be 3. I suppose i am also biased to prefer the nicer and faster growing bulb, and i suppose i used it for more photos. Please rest assured that i fully know the requirements of a sound and scientific way of doing experiments, complete with statistical analysis, graphs and figures to the nearest significant places, and i have publications to show my work! But time has changed! Maybe doing things the right way is not as fun as doing it totally different, not actually wrong, just totally different.

Just please bear with me coz I am enjoying this! and thank you....


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Hot, Loud and Proud for July '10

Our normal inclination to participate in this meme by Noel Morata is to display colors and shapes. I have done that in the past months. And entrees from everyone are all beautiful, wonderful and awesome. I tried my best to make an entry everytime, no matter how busy things are like.

This time i will try to post those with characteristics in terms of scent and fragrance, as in that case they are all Hot, Loud and Proud. Those who are familiar with their scents, please tell me how they affected you.

Do you notice the graduation of color from white, diminishing at the last and proclaiming the vivid vibrant hue. I would like to believe that the scent is also correlated in that progression.

Kamya, garden lily or Hedychium coronarium

Grand Crinum Lily or Crinum asiaticum (found in Batanes, Philippines)

Crinum lily

Rhynchostyllis gigantea

P.S.: My sincerest gratitude to Bernie of Bernie's Garden for identifying the 2nd photo as Crinum asiaticum. Thank you Bernie.

The Bulbs: tropical style

 ulbs are usually found in temperate and semi temperate gardens, but are also available in tropical climates. I will be presenting 2 bulbous plants from my garden. They have been there since i was born and have been treated unkindly by members of the family including me. That is because they seem to be always there, difficult to discard and behave like weeds. I say this because they have the habit of just sprouting anywhere, because there are months of the year when they are gone. I even dig some bulbs to throw away to give space for more favored species.

We only have 2 seasons in the tropics, the dry and the rainy seasons. These plants just suddenly produce flowers when the rains arrive in April or May. After 1-2 weeks of elegant splendour, flowers just wilt when the green leaves appear, which eventually also dry during the dry season.  Then the rest of the household forgot everything about them. Sometimes they are cut and thrown away. However, the remaining bulbs are still alive and will sprout again when the rains come. Now we are so sorry for our behaviors, we will redeem these soonest!

Blood lily or football lily, Scadoxus multiflorus or Haemanthus multiflorus, is a beautiful flowering bulb from tropical Africa. How they came to the Philippines to our garden, i am sorry i don't know. The spectacular flowerhead is a huge spherical umbel consisting of up to 100 flowers. One plant produce only one flowerhead per season.  I read somewhere that it may contain a cardiac glycoside which causes cardiac irregularity and sudden death.  (I seem to be posting poisonous plants, i realized this is my second since the  nipple fruit.

By the way, the vegetative plants at the right hand side are growing in an old iron skillet with holes. Without the flowers, they can also be nice as foliage. Whoever called it "repurpose"? I am sorry i forgot, but i used your term. Thank you.

For cultural practices: please click here
 
For more photos and cultivars: click here
 
Another bulb crop present in my garden is the red lily, which we call lirio, Hipeastrum puniceum. Its characteristics are the same as the blood lily, so it suffered the same fate,  but show the same persistence. Maybe they can be later on classified as colonizers too for their persistence. Come rainy season and they will show their elegance.

Now i am contemplating on studying them to be made for indoor plants. Maybe its time to pay back for what i did to them in the past! Aren't they gorgeous? I hope you will not crucify me for my sins, fellow bloggers/plant lovers or phytophiles. Those are the days when i am still young and not yet a horticulturist. Now i know better...blah, blah, blah!

 

                                                  

Even singly, in small clumps or as hedges, they seem gorgeous. Phytophiles from temperate climes will love this plant for the vibrant colors of summer. Gardeners from the dessert like  Noelle of azplant Lady, and Kathleen of Hill Country Mysteries  should try planting this bulbs. Or maybe you already have them.

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My Share for Blooming Friday

This is my first entry for Katarina's Blooming Friday of Roses and Stuff.

Starting to show off!

Bigger petals now!

Still early in the morning so a little bit shy yet!

It's now fading and another one opens. Flowers in one panicle don't open simultaneously. Above right is the little patch where this lilies grow.

This is half of the area where the lilies grow, not shown are greener ornamentals. The garden is my friend's where we had a wonderful Christmas party. I did not elaborate on what this flower is because you are very familiar with it.

Thanks Katarina for letting me be a part of the Blooming Friday Club!

In my garden

Am trying hard to produce a nice macro shot. But will it be possible just using a point and shoot camera? I am sure you know what these plants are, so i did not put the labels.
(Hipeastrum puniceum) Lantana camara
Costus sp.
Hibiscus rosa sinensis
Duranta erecta/repens
lichens