May Endings and June Beginnings in the Garden

I didn’t get to post a May update as I was busy getting ready for our trip to Ecuador. So much has happened in the garden in the last month, and a lot is happening now. The hedgehog cacti and others bloomed during May, and now the prickly pears and chollas are blooming. Unfortunately, I missed many of the cactus flowers while traveling in Ecuador. Of course, it was worth missing them for the trip. So many incredible tropical plants in Ecuador from trees covered with bromeliads in the cloud forest to all kinds of aroids and palms in the Amazon to giant prickly pear trees and ceroid cacti in the Galapagos.

Spring arrived late. We are still having cool temperatures for this time of year. We also had some rainy days in May, which is usually one of our driest months. As a result, some heat-loving plants including gingers, lantanas, pineapple lilies, and others are just now emerging. Cool-loving plants including abutilons and ferns have been enjoying the cooler, wetter temperatures.

Many plants are in bloom now as follows: roses, abutilons, calla lilies, anisacanthus, fox-tail lilies, salvias, pine-leaf penstemons, chocolate flower, cota, ground orchids, and horsetail milkweed. The cannas, elephant ears, hardy hibiscus, Japanese aralia, loquat, Brazilian elegant ruellia, Turk’s cap, dahlias, and tractor plant, are among the many plants that are in the early stage of their seasonal growth.

Some plants have yet to reappear. I get anxious when I don’t see new growth on a plant. Mexican petunia (ruellia) has not begun its growth. I’ve had one for several years and started two new ones from cuttings last year. I’m surprised it’s not up yet as the Brazilian elegant ruellia is up and growing. I thought it would be more tender than the Mexican ruellia. None of the curcumas (a genus of gingers) are up. I’ve tried one before with no luck and it appears they are not going to be hardy here. You don’t know until you try.

Earlier this year, I pruned off many large branches on our mulberry trees to allow more sunlight to penetrate to the plants underneath. There is still a fair amount of shade and as a result, I am planting more shade-tolerant plants. This year I am adding Japanese toad lilies, astilbes, peace lilies, and red abutilons under the trees.

Last year, I planted two pineapple guavas and a Thomasville citrange as an experiment. I covered them during cold spells with large, 15-gallon nursery cans. They suffered minor damage, mainly on the newer foliage, but all of them looked good coming out of the winter. They are growing nicely now. The guavas look great. The citrange looks okay, but some of the older leaves are showing sun damage. It didn’t do much last year until the end of summer and into the fall. I’m hoping it will adjust to the sun and put on a lot of new growth again later in the summer.

That’s a quick update. I have a lot of new plants to put in the garden so I better go outside and get to work!