Our Gardens
For those of us for whom our gardens are special, or for whom our gardens aided in our recovery whether physical or emotional, post your photos of your garden that bring you joy. Cassia fistula (Go...
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Anyone that knows me, knows that I am NOT a gardener .... but with some expert tips from my buddy in WA, @"Annie C" ..... I've been dabbling with some Desert Roses!!!! It seems they 'thrive on neglect' - so suit me down to the ground!!! They have a similar 'body' to a Boab Tree (called a 'caudex') where they store water when in drought .... WHO ELSE has Desert Roses?? Show me your pics (and tell me your tips!!)
This was one of my first ones to flower .... every time one flowers now, I try to self pollinate it!
I am hoping to get a set of seed pods from this one, some time soon - it has only flowered the once so far!
I bought a couple of plants from a local grower, then a couple more from another grower - then some 'baby ones' from Bunnings & I've been given 2 'nice ones' as well by family & friends!!!
My sister brought this one down from Qld (it has never flowered for them!)
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+ these 8 ..... hmmm did anyone say it was addictive??? The one in the terracotta pot was given to me by one one of my Uke Group Members!!
They have STUNNING flowers - and I've been having a go at 'hand pollination' (as they have a really 'weird' setup for pollination, with bees unable to 'get in there', whilst other bugs and butterflies CAN!). So I've been trying to manually pollinate them to produce a pair of seed pods, from which you can get up to 100+ seeds!!!
Finally - after 15+ failures - I have SUCCESS!! I finally have 1 'pair of seed pods' forming (see pic below) ....
They are getting bigger every day - and will end up being quite large - 6-8" each when fully formed & 'dried out' ready to harvest!!
THIS is what the seed pods should look like as they grow bigger - there are about 4 different sets of seed pods on this one plant and they still have a while to mature! (Not mine! :( )
So it looks like you CAN teach an old dog new tricks ...... Watch this space!
So ... Keep an eye open at Bunnings Nurseries (specially in Qld) as they stock way more Desert Roses than Bunnings in NSW - and you too, can be sucked in to the Desert Rose phenomena!! ;)
This was one of my first ones to flower .... every time one flowers now, I try to self pollinate it!
I am hoping to get a set of seed pods from this one, some time soon - it has only flowered the once so far!
I bought a couple of plants from a local grower, then a couple more from another grower - then some 'baby ones' from Bunnings & I've been given 2 'nice ones' as well by family & friends!!!
My sister brought this one down from Qld (it has never flowered for them!)
+ these 8 ..... hmmm did anyone say it was addictive??? The one in the terracotta pot was given to me by one one of my Uke Group Members!!
They have STUNNING flowers - and I've been having a go at 'hand pollination' (as they have a really 'weird' setup for pollination, with bees unable to 'get in there', whilst other bugs and butterflies CAN!). So I've been trying to manually pollinate them to produce a pair of seed pods, from which you can get up to 100+ seeds!!!
Finally - after 15+ failures - I have SUCCESS!! I finally have 1 'pair of seed pods' forming (see pic below) ....
They are getting bigger every day - and will end up being quite large - 6-8" each when fully formed & 'dried out' ready to harvest!!
THIS is what the seed pods should look like as they grow bigger - there are about 4 different sets of seed pods on this one plant and they still have a while to mature! (Not mine! :( )
So it looks like you CAN teach an old dog new tricks ...... Watch this space!
So ... Keep an eye open at Bunnings Nurseries (specially in Qld) as they stock way more Desert Roses than Bunnings in NSW - and you too, can be sucked in to the Desert Rose phenomena!! ;)