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Pachypodium lamerei I planted in 2006 in my front yard from a 7" plant that had been in a 6" clay pot for 5 years or more ? I SEE A FLOWERING STEM!! its now about 5' 7". Something like that.
I did have a potted one send up a stem two years ago..and it was almost October. It never even reached the just about to flower stage before cool nights and all the rest,caused it to eventually fall off. THIS TIME,its June! Should have time to reach flowering.
A first ever and once again a very long wait.
I think I can claim first ever bay arean to get one of these to flower in ground after several years. This plant 14 years ago I was told "Would never survive here". All the experts told me that "Too cold and wet"..well,we have had cold and we have had wet...and its lasted. Only Once was it ever frost damaged..and it wasn't even anything part of a cold event. Why then, I don't know.
Photos when it gets so be something.
I dont know why this spring has just been an incredible year of firsts for me. Somethings like this and the Pseudobombax I thought would never happen really.
Only the Coffee tree has yet to flower.
Ok,couldn't wait. A photo from 2009,three years after planting it. And today.
This was once part of a collection. What that means is it might have been grown from seed collected in Africa 30 years ago for all I know for sure. That would explain why the leaf shape isnt like all other P.lamerei you see nowadays...it's thinner,darker and in winter can turn near black without a frost. Not all years and as its gotten larger it hasn't gotten as black as in 2009.
Its a survivor spending too many years in a dinky clay pot. You can see where it took off and you can see where the frost did nip it and it branched that spring.
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Not the fattest of them,but its alive and doing well.
Nice, I guess the cool temperatures really slow it’s growth. They love water and they love heat. In a 2 year span my Lamerei and Geayi went from a few inches to 2-3 feet each .A few years ago I had 3 lamerei, one about 7 feet with multiple head. I mistakenly put them in the ground and thought I could protect with Christmas lights and sheets. The first freeze down to 25-26*F(wet of course) did them in. They had flowers the one summer I owned them. This time I started small and cheap. Although I’ve seen specimen size Lamerei (4-5 feet) down in the Rio Grande Valley for $40.
I have to mention that this particular plant had been kept in an undersized clay pot for years. Its why you can see that thick tap root. I planted in ground as it was in the pot..not lower. That also did a number on trunk fatness. Yet,its done the best of all the Pachy's I've tried outdoors.
On the other hand,we can never equal that super fast greenhouse like growth back east. Not Hayward that's for sure.
I mean,it was 65f yesterday. In mid June. 68f today. Tuesday back to 80's.
One month later...almost there. I swear,it's grown while at the same time preparing to flower. Its now a bit taller than me. I would say 5'10".
I use to be a fisherman though..
Ok,a month later and its still a three petal bloom. What the hell is going on? Its been a 75F summer..not hot.,but not exactly 50's either. Long sunny days. It does not get all day sun...half a day. Is that why?
Some Pachypodiums will bloom readily grown in pots; I have a few that bloom every year, kept in a greenhouse in Winter at 50 degrees. Wish I could grow them in the ground, though. I saw some giants in Florida.
Mine for the bay area is giant. I lucked out that the sidewalk keeps the roots on the dry side in winter. That bloomstalk started in June. That single stalk is still in bloom in mid October and only 50% down in petals. I never would have guessed any of that. Every year learn something new. I have a dwarf P.saundersi that is tough as nails to winter cold and chill and yet after 16 maybe 17 years now,its never bloomed. Reminds me of a 1940's baseball glove.
I thought I posted it in full bloom? Its still in part bloom on Nov.7th. Bigger flowers in real life then when you see them in photos. In fact,larger than a potted one I saw in bloom many years ago at the Dry Garden. Sometimes you have to grow it no matter how much you read,or how many photos on the net you look at.
This photo is from mid last month.
Love seeing the plants as they progress and flower.
I visit friends living in the Palm City/Stuart area of Florida. When I first started my winter visiting, I made it a point to go to all the plant nurseries in the area. My friends are not gardeners, and could care less about taking care of any exotic or unusual plants. I said...."I'll buy the plants, and I'll plant them in the ground". "Fine, no problems", they said.
So I bought, and I planted. The first to go in ground was Uncarina grandidierii. Bought at a local nursery for $25.00, the plant stem was about 12" long and as thick as my finger. Now the trunk is as fat as my thigh, over 6 feet tall, branched, pruned back during my fourth return visit, and puts out hundreds of yellow flowers throughout the year. It loses some, not all, leaves during the short winters in south Florida.
It's amazing how quickly plants can grow when planted in the ground instead in restrictive containers. The "soils" in Florida are almost pure, sugar-sand. Terrible, inert, but drain quickly. Rainy season brings violent torrents of water, and plants can be instantly flooded until the deluge drains away through the compacted sand. The Uncarina just thrives and gives more flowers.
While visiting all the plant nurseries, I came across a large specimen of Pachypodium lamerii that was planted in a grassy strip of lawn, next to a street. The area is rural, and no one walks anywhere in Florida, so there's little or no danger of any passer-by getting impaled on the thorny trunk. Anyway, that golden-trunk Pachy-"tree" is about 8 feet tall, branches sprouting from the top end are just overhead, forming a huge umbrella rack. The plant is beautiful, and there isn't a spot of damage or rot on the plant. I love stopping the car and staring at the plant each time I visit, and sometimes, I get to see the beautiful flowers nesting in the top branches. Never met the owners. That's too bad, I have plenty of questions to ask them. Maybe after the Wuhan Flu is over, I'll get back to Florida. I'll be sure to take some photos.
I'm assuming Pachy. lamerii can be fast growers under the right conditions. The photos above show remarkable changes within just a few years. I wish I had the room for one of these Pachys. Maybe I'll plant one these Matagascar Palms in their backyard when I visit my friends. Pachys are sold all over in south Florida, as well as the common-as-weeds, Adenium/Desert Rose.
Oh well....in my next life I WILL have a heated greenhouse!
Should have time to reach flowering.
