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.
What a wonderful surprise I got today. I checked in on my Datura's, and one of the flowers was in the process of opening. And yay, because they are the double purple flowers I had hoped for. This might possibly be the most spectacular flower I have ever seen.
So from seed to flower, it only took approx 4 or 5 months, which is totally amazing to me. I can't wait to put these babies outside, and show them off to the whole neighborhood....lol. I have some double yellow datura seeds laid, so hopefully in a few months, I will have more. They are just amazing! And yes, there is a faint aroma from this one......it's a floral scent....lol, I can't really describe it much more than that, as I don't normally like floral smells. But this is faint, so I can appreciate it when I want to by sticking my nose in the flower.
So from the biggest flowers I have ever grown to one of the tiniest, here is a wee little bloom on my Ceropegia Woodii. These flowers are so intricate. The detail of such a small little flower is stunning to me.
I have been trying to catch this one bloom since Christmas (new cam). The hairs on this flower are supposed to trap small flies. Being able to see the flower this close gives it such a different perspective.
So thinking I was buying Brugmansia seeds, I ended up with Datura seeds. Same Family, same idea, but not quite the same. Both have the trumpet shaped flowers I want, only a Brugs faces down and a Dutura's faces up. A Brug is more of a large shrub or tree, whereas a Datura is grown more as an annual. Thanks to the wonderful people in the Brug forum over at GardenWeb for correcting me on this. Here are a couple links that explain it a lot better.
Up until a few months ago, I did not even know what a brugmansia was. I had seen one in a hydroponics store I frequent. It was a massive tree that was almost 12 feet tall. One day I walked in and **voila** there before me were these huge hanging flowers. The owner told me to smell one......it was just heavenly.
Since then, I have received some seeds and planted them. I have four baby brug seedlings. I have them growing under a 400W metal halide, as it is winter here, and I could not provide that much light to them. So now I have to wait for the famous "Y" I guess a brug will not bloom until it has formed one of these "Y's". So as this seedling grows, I will have to remove the lower foliage to encourage this formation. The "Y" formation is a pretty simple concept as you can see in the pic.
I have been told that the "Y" formation as well as a sub equal leaf are two indicator's that the brug may go into flower mode. The simplest way I can explain a sub equal leaf is that on each half of the leaf, where each half normally would meet the other at the base/stem, they don't meet. One half of the leaf is longer than the other side.
So I guess it is just a matter of time before my brug forms it's "Y" Other than pinching off the lower foliage, there is not a lot one can do to promote/induce flowering. They are heavy feeder's as well as heavy drinker's, and they like the sun.
My brug's are supposed to have a double purple and white flower. I am used to the notion that seeds never breed true to their parents, but I hope I am wrong. I wouldnt want another "Black Pagoda/Longicaulis" incident, where I anticipate these beautiful flowers, and then I end up with some funky, ugly green flower......lol. *Update" the green longicaulis flower has dropped off already. I think it has been 2 or 3 or three days since it opened. They don't seem to last too long. THere are many more buds on the way.
There is mixed controversy as to whether or not one can successfully root a hoya from a leaf, and then actually have growth above the soil I have quite a few hoya's so I figured why not try it out. I have tried Lacunosa, Carnosa, Kentiana/Wayetti although the Lacunosa seems to yellow and die quite quickly.
The only leaves that have rooted are two Hoya carnosa. Hopefully one year I will see new growth. The Kentiana leaf has not rooted, although it hasn't died.
I have also noticed quite a bit new growth on my hoya's since putting in florescent lights in my growing corner. I has to take a few close up pics, because I think the new growth is so beautiful. 
The last thing I want to mention today is in regards to my Brugmansia seedling. I ordered these from eBay after seeing one in a hydroponics store. It was in flower when I noticed it and I could not believe how big the flowers were. I was then told to smell them, and WOW!! It was very heavily scented but it was not overpowering. It smelled like a very mild perfume. My Brug's should have a double purple flower. I am not too sure how long they take from seedling to flower, I will have to google it later. Originally I had planted 6 seeds, but only 4 came up.
