Ya, Ya....I am a copycat. I have nothing blooming or really happening, but while blog reading today, I came across this post, and absolutely loved the sideshow, so I had to do my own. Mine is different in the sense that I did a puzzle sort of slide show, so it makes for a bit of a guessing game.
Look for an AV slide show in the days to come too, I just can't resist.
A few months ago I could not figure out why my azalea kept wilting on me. All of a sudden it would just be limp, and the whole plant looked close to its death. Not having much experience with azalea's, I didn't understand what was going on. Now that I own a few, and have also seen a friend caring for hers, I have it figured out.
I bought the above pictured azalea a couple weeks ago. I couldn't resist it. I got it covered in buds, and I knew how beautiful my neighbors was while it was in flower. I had one of mine re flower for me but not even close to the amount of flowers this one has. A friend of mine has a bi-colored azalea, and it is so pretty, that I had to get another (it kind of replaced my white one that I froze to death a couple weeks ago)
I think that I like azalea's more than any other flower other than a hoya, of course. I like that they are big showy flowers and they come out in abundance. I like that they have no scent, they never become over powering. I like that there are so many different types and colors, there is so much variety. And now I finally realize they are not too hard to get to re bloom, if you don't freeze them to death first. It was only last week, and I really thought we had seen our last frost. Boy, I was wrong...lol. 
Anyways, I went way off topic on the wilting mystery. It was a watering problem. These guys use so much water when they are flowering that they get watered almost every 36 hours (on really hot days, like the past few). As soon as they need water, they start to wilt, and it seems to happen so fast. I wouldn't think it does them any good to wilt (the soil isn't completely dry, but bordering on moist, so I know the roots are not going completely dry), and giving them water seems to perk them back up. Now seeing three different azalea's in flower at the same time, I believe I have it figured out.
I knew they were heavy feeders, so I give them 1/4 strength fertilizer every watering. I did not realize that they used so much water. There is a difference in the pot's weight after 24 hours without water. I have to say that this is the first plant I have noticed that used so much water. Maybe because it so obviously tells you it needs it by wilting so fast. It's kind of a neat phenomenon.
I think these are just so pretty when they flower, I am so glad they are what they are. They capture the whole room's attention almost instantly. I could own a million of these, and still love seeing them flower.
A couple of months ago, I noticed some odd growth on a red philo I had. Mr. S thought it could be a flower, and he was right. It has taken close to three months from the first time I noticed "something", to opening up into a flower like the pic below. It's......umm......different than most flowers I see. It is a pretty cool thing to see, it's the first time in my life I have ever seen a philo flower up close and personal. And it fit so well with this post, being a flower amongst many.
The red Philo flower is probably one of the more unique flowers I have ever seen, but there are so many other plants starting to flower too, and they all need their time in the spotlight too.
I am not sure what happened with my Azalea. It finished flowering a few months back, but has since started to develop buds again. I didn't cut it back after it flowered the last time, and it didn't get a cold period at all either. Most, from what I have read should be pruned right after flowering, or you risk cutting off where it will flower next year. I have also read that they need a cold period to induce flowering, but this one never got that either. All I know is that they like a ton of water and some sun, and they stay pretty happy!
This the bi colored azalea I mentioned over at PATSP in the comments section. The one and only reason I bought this one was because it was pink and white. My other azalea has white flowers, and it isn't doing much lately. It will be interesting to see if the flowers will be like they originally were when they were drown in a greenhouse, or if they change slightly because they are now grown in windowsill conditions.
The plant pictured below, one of my Lipstick plants (Aeschynanthus) has tried to bloom before by growing a few buds here and there, but it always seemed to drop the buds or get a couple flowers at a time. This time there are buds all over the plant. I would say that half of the stems have developed buds. If every one of the buds actually make it to flower, it will be a spectacular display.
I am so glad that there are certain types of plants that can and will bloom in the dark days of Winter. I get nervous when the days get colder and darker thinking it will be months before I see flowers, but this never happens. Reason......because there are plants that flower under less light than others, and there are plants that are considered short day plants (which means they need so many hours of darkness to flower, such as a schlum or kalanchoe).
The plants I have seen flower over the winter, that are in my collection are:
African Violets
Various Lipstick plants (Aechynanthus)
Azaleas
Schlums (Holiday Cacti)
Kalanchoe
Goldfish plants (Nematanthus)
Fuchsia
String of Hearts (Ceropegia Woodii)
Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milli)
Passion Vine (Passiflora)
Poinsettia
The above links will take you to some of my older blog posts, each one having a picture of the
flower.
This challenge is in reference to a previous post a couple days ago. This pic he was trying to "create" was a huge ordeal in my house. It first started when he asked me to do this for him in Photo shop. I am a novice when it comes to Photo shop, but I can navigate and play around with it. He can navigate it, but really can't even play. It is quite the program, and it can take hours to do the smallest task. One day I will take a course in this program because it really can do amazing things.
Anyways, back to the subject at hand. So me trying to "create" this pic for him has turned into him barking out ways to do it whilst standing over my shoulder, yet he can not even understand some of things I am doing. I admit it took some thinking. It is a high resolution picture, therefore anything I do to it can change it's quality. Notice it is a side by side of two different pictures. And one requires the pic to be zoomed in upon. Being a high resolution pic, and wanting to keep the resolution, so that when the pic is clicked upon, one can enlarge it, and still keep detail and reduce graininess. Here are the two pictures we wanted to use and combine them to make a side by side.
Well I ended up getting fuming mad and frustrated and told him to leave the room after about 30 minutes of trying with him right behind me, and let me do it in peace. I did it in about ten minutes, nothing spectacular, just the task on hand. Needless to say I can't find my copy of the pic, only his.
Well he couldn't beleive what he was seeing me do in Photoshop, why would a program be so difficult with changing numbers (image size, pixels, zoom....you know, all those numbers), and resizing, and basically everything I was doing. Remember I am a novice too, so I may be doing the long way, but it works for me. He piped up "pft, I can do that way easier than what you did". He took used Microsoft pic & fax viewer, zoomed in, took screen shots, pasted them into word pad, then pasted them into Photo shop ( after he realized you could paste) and then did some adjustments from there. I don't remember how long it took, not much longer than me, but it wasnt a race so it doesn't matter. Here is the pic he came up with. Mine was much the same.
I think Azalea's are beautiful. I could easily fill my house with them. They come in so many different colors now, much like roses do. I only have a couple; a white one, and a pink and white one. Now the reason I don't fill my house with them.....they need a cold period to induce flowering. I am not sure how hardy the ones I have are, but I really don't think they can handle -30 Celsius. I am planning to put it outside once the winter becomes bit milder. I really don't want buy anymore until I am sure I can re flower them.
My white Azalea took nearly 4 months after it flowered to show signs of life. Now it is growing, so I really hope I can re flower it. The one problem I do have with my pink and white Azalea is that it wilts on parts of the plant. The above pic is of some healthy growth, whereas the bottom pic shows the wilting/drooping that I have encountered. I am not sure what this is caused from, but I really would like to know. I do know Azaleas like to be kept on the wet side, more so than other plants. They are also heavier feeders than other plants as well. I try to keep it slightly wetter than my other plants, and I fertilize it lightly every couple of waterings. One quick note about Azalea's that I have come to find out is that if you plan on pruning it, you should do it soon after it flowers, as the new flowers are born from last years growth. Prune it too late and you will cut off the parts where the new flowers will emerge.
I am going to have do some googling and read up some more about Azalea's. First to see how hardy they are, and to also try and figure out what is causing the wilting on some parts. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them. Someone out there must be growing Azalea's and having success with them. I can't call my self successful with this plant just yet.....not until I can reflower it.
So I bought an azalea in the spring, it was blooming white, and it was gorgeous. Well since then, it has suffered a lot of abuse. I had planted it out back in a small garden, and my wonderful dog dug it up at least three times, each time breaking more branches. Once it started getting cold I brought it back in the house. Now I know azaleas need a cold period to bloom, so I might have to put this back outside near the end of winter. Here is a pic of my white azalea.......we will see in the spring if it blooms again.
Well I guess it is azalea time again, because everywhere I go there are blooming azaleas. I don't normally buy these because I haven't had the chance to see if I can re-bloom them, so I don't want to go all out with this plant just yet......lol. I can see myself getting very into these if I could get them to re flower, because the are just beautiful!
So the other day, at Walmart, I came across some azaleas. There was one that caught my eye, it was just the prettiest thing I had even seen. If I can re accomplish the blooming process, I will be so impressed with myself. The color pattern is one I had never seen before on azaleas. .......I guess there are quite a few cultivars, much like roses(have you seen some of the bloom colors roses have lately...OMG!)
So anyways, here are a couple pics of this famous azalea I rant about. See what I mean......Magnifique!!
Now on from that.....here are a couple little plants I have my eye on right now. My streptocarpus (gesneriad)......it is still just small, and at one point I thought it was going to die from rot. I had had it in my humidity dome, and it did not seem to like that much humidity, since I have moved it, it is growing quite nicely. I have never seen one of these flower in person, so it will be interesting to see it when it flowers.
The other one I have my eye on right now is my hoya australis variegata. I took a cutting of it, and the cutting is growing so nicely right now and the color of the leaves is just so cool. Deep red and green, and so shiny.
