From dedicated gardener / photographer JAM:
Some more pictures from summer 2024. These are pictures of Hibiscus moscheutos, Swamp Rose Mallow, and Hibiscus Turret Bees, Ptilothrix bombiformis, a specialist bee of native hibiscus plants. Hibiscus plants are mostly cross-pollinated by these guys or bumblebees.
The receptive stigmas of Hibiscus flowers are held far above the pollen stamens, which increases the chance that they will be pollinated by a different plant when pollinators visit.
Male Hibiscus Turret Bees constantly patrol the flowers, looking in them for females, and fight when they encounter each other, which increases cross-pollination. The picture shows two bees fighting while another (female?) watches from the top of the stamens.
Hibiscus Turret Bees could be mistaken for Carpenter Bees, but they have a satiny black abdomen, not glossy like carpenter bees.
The medium-pink flower in the top picture is a new bee creation that first bloomed last summer from a dropped seed. The original flowers were grown from seeds passed down from my mother and grandmother.
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I need more pictures, gardening jackals!
What’s going on in your garden (planning / prep / updates), this week?
Jeffg166
I like hardy hibiscus. They do tend to become invasive. I had Texas Star hibiscus in red, white and pink. I was pulling seedlings out all the time. The plants died out at some point.
Now I have the typical hardy hibiscus. The seeds are from my neighbor’s plants. Now they are everywhere.
My knees are starting to bother me doing all the squatting and kneeling cleaning up the garden. They need a break.
The daffodils in front of the south facing wall at the back of the garden are open.
Bg
Coincidentally, I just planted several rose mallows in my backyard. I started with one in a pot last year and it multiplied so I transplanted them to a sunny spot in the backyard where they are free to reproduce all over the place. Fingers crossed that they survive the shock.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
kalakal
Lovely pictures. Many plants have a hard time here on the west coast of Central Florida. Hibiscus is not one of them, they love it here
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
satby
@rikyrah: and all: Good morning 🌞!
I started growing hardy hibiscus a couple of years ago, but they’ve barely hung on, I assume they’re not getting as many hours of sun as they need. I had my first crocuses bloom yesterday; from barely above soil sprouts to full bloom in 4 days in the unexpected warmth. It’s supposed to snow a bit today though. From 70° yesterday, it’s going to be 31 degrees colder today. So my only gardening will be covering the rose pots I took out of the garage last week with sheets to protect them from frost tonight.
eclare
@Jeffg166:
The daffodils in my backyard have been open for several days.
Gvg
I grow Turks cap hibiscus. They dangle down and don’t open, but the stamen protrudes out. Built to appeal to humming birds not bees and butterfly’s. Sometimes the bees get mad and rip the flower open to get to the pollen and nectar. The Turks cap I have seems to bloom best in the winter which seems odd. Other peoples bloom more in the summer. I recently acquired a pink one, which we had when I was a child. No blooms yet. Mail order gardening makes so much more possible, especially since fashion changes so fast.
I got a nice large Holly for my birthday last summer to replace a common viburnum that had been planted right by the foundation by a prior owner and was threatening to crack it, not to mention trying to grow into the eaves every year. People buy small plants and ask for something that will grow fast to fill in, but don’t ask how big it gets or are terrible at foreseeing proportions. The Holly is blooming now and is a surprising bee magnet. It’s just full of bees. I did not know Holly’s could be so attractive to bees. It is a hybrid, though I think it’s mainly native. Holly’s tend to be expensive because most of them are slow growing, but long lived. For a house foundation plant that can be good. Less trimming required. I planted it well away from the house and picked the full grown size carefully. I am planting other short lived temporary things around it so the area behind it won’t look bare while it grows.
I am also growing a bunch of dill and fennel seedlings to plant out for caterpillars to eat and become butterflies. And I ordered some new species of milkweed to try.
Suzanne
Good morning and HAPPY SPRING! Since Spring showed up exactly one week ago (it snowed last Saturday and then was 65 degrees last Sunday), I have been very excited. I spent much of yesterday getting my front porch all cleaned up and spiffy, washing the covers for the outdoor furniture, etc. I need to do a little bit of weeding in the front garden (roses, hydrangeas, an arborvitae, and a lilac), and then put down some mulch. But it’s raining pretty hard all morning, so the weeding will have to wait until this afternoon, and then the mulch a couple of days from now, when it dries out a bit.
I am going to go to the garden center today and buy a couple of basil and mint plants for some containers that I have. I like basil and mint with pasta.
zhena gogolia
Fantastic photos.
JAM
@Jeffg166: I know what you mean about squatting and kneeling. The new bed I am digging now for more native plants will likely be my last. Of course, I keep saying that.
JAM
@Bg: My grandmother would move a lot and she would always dig up her big plants to take with her, so they will probably do fine.
JAM
@Gvg: That’s funny about the bees tearing the Turks caps apart. I cut some big Chinese hollies down a few years ago, they were planted right next to the brick porch so we couldn’t dig up the roots. Those are still coming up all the time in the bed I made there. They did attract lots of bees. I would actually like a native rusty viburnum, but I wouldn’t put it next to the house because they can get pretty big.
satby
@JAM: Very nice pictures, and I never realized that there was an entirely different bee attracted to the hibiscus, so thanks for that!
sab
I bought a bunch of bulbs last Fall and didn’t get them planted. Stuffed them into a very cold and dark bathroom.
If any of them survived, when should I plant them? Now, or after frost?
They are all daffodils.
Trivia Man
I got carried away with seeds. Last year was my first attempt at indoor starting, i had about a 10% success rate. After i bought seeds i realized i had some left from last year. I now have about 30 different seeds.
About 1/3 are flowers i can attempt all over the yard – sunflowers, zinnia, snapdragon, lavender, dahlias, poppies, and a new attempt Cardinal Climber.
jalapeno, pumpkins, squash, basil, beets, zucchini, …. And more.
more tender, cabbage, chard, and 6 kinds of kettuce.
now i have to decide when to start and what can start inside. Its been so warm, but the garden center said may 15-31 for going outside.
Which of those need the most sun? I have fencing for the edibles but i also have neighborhood squirrels and rabbits. Hoping the peppermint spray that got the squirrel out from behind the siding will discourage rabbits from busting through the fence.
Nukular Biskits
I can send photos of the flowerbeds in the backyard … my purple verbena are beautiful.
The lantana in the front beds got clobbered by the cold weather back in February but they’re coming back. It’ll be another couple of months before I see blooms on them.
satby
@sab: plant them now if they’re not rotted. They probably won’t flower, but if they develop leaves they’ll gain enough energy to bloom next year. I’ve planted even in still frozen soil by using hot water to thaw it, then digging deep enough to plant.
satby
@Trivia Man: lettuce and chards are cool weather crops. If you’re still cool but not expecting heavy freezes you may be able to direct sow them outside. Old Farmers Almanac is full of useful information on seed starting and when/how.
sab
@satby: Thank you. Information is amazing.
Spanky
@Bg:
Oh man, you ain’t seen nuthin yet.
@Jeffg166:
Ours along the south-facing wall are bud-swollen and ready to pop.
In other spring news, the ospreys are back! We’re getting a stiff southern breeze along this front moving though and I saw our first osprey of the year this morning.
Spanky
@satby: Agree 100%. Don’t expect blooms, but planting now will allow the plant to feed itself and look all the better next spring.
munira
Great photos. Bees and flowers – what a lovely way to greet the morning. Thank you.
Trivia Man
@satby: Traditionally in Wisconsin i am told we have one or possibly 2 more snowstorms with several inches before mid april. Frost occasionally until mid may. But not a hard freeze (in my mind below 25 or so)
Trivia Man
@satby: thanks for the link, helpful
oldgold
Here in hardiness planting zone Twilight, it looks like my glechoma hederacea blue bell bloom is a long ways off. Wednesday the forecast is for a foot of snow.
sab
@sab: All your cats are doing amazing. Solomon roams the house after dark and also a lot in daylight. He likes my husband. Thy watch sports together a lot.
Echo is my little girl.
She is only little compared to Solomon who is a moose of a cat She sleeps in my room and has come to accept the pitbull as friendly.
She was getting too thin, so I am plumping her up with cat treats. It is working.
After tax season she and her brother will get their first new vet checks
Meamt this response to satby not me.
sab
@satby: Also too see comment 27
No One of Consequence
Anne Laurie,
I’m not sure that I ever comment on your morning garden chats, but I do always appreciate the pictures. Thank you for these, and those that have gone before unappreciated, or perhaps rather unthanked.
-NOoC
sab
Very few hibiscus grow in Ohio. We are in a new house. I need to plant a Rose of Sharon, the speading weed of northern hibiscuses ( hibisci?)
Jeffg166
@JAM:
Me too.
Timill
@sab: You’re in luck
wiktionary allows both. (It doesn’t have my preferred ‘hibiscusses’. Boo, hiss)
EthylEster
In Our Time had an episode last week on pollination. Lots of good stuff about bees.
sab
@Timill: Well that sucks. Your spelling is perfectly logical and also attractive.
satby
@sab: Thank you! It’s great to hear. But they’re your cats now 😸
I’m heartbroken for cckids and eclare that both of their adoptees passed away after only 4-5 months. By all accounts the adoptions went well and the kitties did great, but neither were youngsters and, especially in William’s case who knows how long he was outside. But I’ll be forever grateful that because of their generosity, two cats had longer, happier lives; and especially in William’s case, finally the home indoors that he clearly had yearned for.
sab
@satby: They are indeed my little guys. I cannot believe how attached I am to them. Two little sweeties.