Bloom Day October 2015

 Not a great bloom day.  It's been dreadfully hot for the past several weeks, and I've hardly gardened at all.  Stapelia grandiflora (above and below) has been the highlight; this is its first flower. 
A flower from the tiny rooted rose that nearly died in a previous heatwave.  I planted it in the ground and it recovered.  I think the cultivar is 'Erfurt' (Kordes, 1939)
  At least someone around here is enjoying the heat.  A Pentas selection or cultivar;  I planted it for the butterflies.  This plant will live over winter, looking miserable but surviving.  It's a heat lover.
The Kalanchoe luciae flower stem is six feet tall, at least. No flowers open yet, but close.
Several are sending up stalks;  there are other rosettes that will replace the bloomers, which will die after flowering. 
Slightly damaged 'Rouge Royale', but oh so fragrant!
A few hours of heat, and...toast. 
Some roses manage to keep going, heat and drought not withstanding.
Grevillea 'Moonlight' continues to grow and bloom
Aloe fosteri's first flower continues to shoot up. 
Butterflies were at the Bougainvillea, which is also happy with the heat.
The clematis are like the roses, they bloom despite all.  I need to be more resilient in the face of heat, like my plants.  It would also be great to be that good looking.
Click on over to May Dreams to see flowers from gardens all over.

Comments

  1. So glad somethings are thriving in your heat, although it sounds like you're not one of them (understandably).

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    1. I'm all wilted. The Pentas is a bit of comfort. They've never looked so good as this summer.

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  2. You have beautiful flowers in your garden!

    Greetings, Sofie #26
    http://sofies-succulent-beads.blogspot.be

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    1. So do you, Sofie! Lots of delicate plants that cannot handle the heat we get here. I enjoyed your post.

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  3. Amazing Kalanchoe luciae flowerstems......, the exotic Grevillea and wonderful fragrant roses, then I see that stinky Stapelia. I had this one once in my greenhouse and was excited to see the flowers but the smell......
    You really have a great garden, there's always something interesting to admire.
    Regards, Janneke

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    1. There's lots of space so there is some variety. But more work, too.

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  4. Hopefully the heat is behind us now. Knock on wood.

    It's the stinky season as stapelias are opening up everywhere. Mine's about a day away from flowering. I'd love to have the bloom coincide with Halloween so I can say it's the offical succulent of Halloween, but I think the flowers will be gone by then.

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    1. Supposed to be a bearable weekend but then back to the 90s next weekend. Oh joy. Hopefully they are wrong.

      I can see my Stapelia but can't smell it, so I get the best part.

      I have the perfect plant for Halloween, the post will be next Wednesday.

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  5. :: I need to be more resilient in the face of heat, like my plants. It would also be great to be that good looking. ::

    LOL! That is one drop-dead gorgeous clematis bloom. Maybe emulate it by hanging out in dappled shade. We're all more mysterious and beautiful there...

    Struck by the resemblance between the bloom of 'Rouge Royale' and 'Mme. Isaac Pereire', a particularly fragrant Bourbon rose. What kind is 'RR'? Any parentage info?

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    1. Ancestry includes Whiskey Mac, Kings Ransom, Queen Elizabeth, Tropicana, Charlotte Rampling--pretty standard HT types. You never know what you'll get from modern roses!

      I certainly do look better in deep shade. Or at least I feel better there these days.

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  6. That Kalanchoe flower stalk is amazing! Prior to this last heatwave, the cooler nighttime temperatures seemed to be having a positive impact on the garden (even some of my roses bloomed!) but the return of the heat struck a blow. I'm hoping the heat disappears with the ghosts and goblins and other scary things after Halloween.

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    1. I was surprised how tall it got. They always under performed in a pot; as soon as I put them in the ground they really thrived and looked good.

      Heat fatigue! More 90's next week. I am so disappointed.

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  7. Interesting to see the ones thriving in the heat. Love the Pentas, and the grevillea is beautiful, and the clematis... no heat fatigue there.

    Supposed to cool down a bit the week after next. Here's hoping.

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    1. The Plumerias in the neighborhood are WOW this year, too. Loaded with perfect foliage and flowers. It's interesting to see what the warm nights have done to plants.

      Yes, here's hoping.

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  8. That Kalanchoe is amazing. Funny - I never thought of them as reaching that size, but why not, if the conditions are right? I really hope things cool off for you soon - I feel for you all - plants and people!

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    1. They really, really liked that spot. In too much sun they struggle. Morning sun/afternoon shade seems ideal here.

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  9. Your roses are looking beautiful in spite of the heat. And oh, that bougainvillea! I always lusted after these when I visited my daughter in Arizona, but they certainly wouldn't survive in my zone 5b garden. We're expected to get a frost tonight, so I might not have much of anything blooming tomorrow--good thing Bloom Day was yesterday!

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    1. Frost? Sounds wonderful!

      At least with the Bougies you have an extra added attraction to enjoy when you visit AZ. They must be a brief summer annual in zone 5.

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  10. Lovely garden photos dear Hoover, some of your plants are handling the heat better than others. The little rose is very pretty and the clematis. Sorry to hear that it is so hot and that you are wilting, I don't like the heat either.
    Have a happy restful weekend. :)
    xoxoxo ♡

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  11. I've done the seasonal opposite of you cutting roses to save them from the heat. it's going to freeze tonight (30F last night), and the rambler 'Silver Moon' has put on a little flush of bloom after the rains that started the month. Now thrilling me in a jar are two-thirds of those blooms (had to leave some on the bush for the tiny bees and wasps that were all over them). So unexpected, with their subtle scent and glamor.

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    1. 'Silver Moon', must be enchanting. That is I think the pollen parent of the superb 'Belinda's Dream'. Lovely, lovely rose!

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    2. Lovely it is, and tough; it's been here for 60 years, planted by my father, and is the only non-species rose that hasn't succumbed to rose rosette disease. RRD is hard to avoid here because there's so much multiflora springing up in the fencerows and under trees -- but we're further ahead of the multiflora on the property than we've been in a long time. For one thing, the disease finally began to make as much of a dent in it as in the cultivated roses -- particularly effective at wiping out the many little stubs in the fields. Fall and winter patrol necessary to stay that way; right now the sprays of tiny hips have turned bright red on bushes big enough to outgrow RRD, alerting us to their location and the need to get in there ahead of the birds. The hips are gorgeous when safely Indoors, as decoration, giving the satisfaction of at least that many fewer sprouts of multiflora next season.

      The Scotch rose (R. spinosissima) and swamp rose (R. palustris) are the only other two roses here that have shown no sign. I gave up roses after losing a magnificent 'Alberic Barbier' on the pergola 15 years ago, and several others I loved but not quite as deeply. In June I happened to run into Rosa glauca on offer online -- from Digging Dog, while looking up something else -- and decided not to let the opportunity pass. I've wanted it for a looooong time. Fingers crossed that it will have one whole flourishing, flowering season without The Disease.

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    3. I don't know if I would grow roses with the scourge of RRD hanging over the garden. What a sad state; what a huge mistake it was to spread that disease everywhere. You handle it better than I ever could.

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