. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Years Join the discussions, no logins or passwords needed, ever.
In the Garden Today
Posted by Alvin in Motown, z6 on May 30, 2026, 1:35 am
I finally got around to putting the hummingbird feeder out. Hummingbirds usually arrive in my area, in mid-May, so I'm about 10 days late, this year. Hopefully, some visit again, this year. They, being migratory, are affected by loss of natural habitat, pesticides, and climate change. Unlike other parts of the country, only ONE species of hummingbird comes this far north...the ruby-throated hummingbird. Strange but, I have only seen all green females or juvenile males, at my feeder. Only adult males have the red spot, in the throat area. Once here, they usually stick around to almost October. So, they stay much longer than orioles do. I also spotted a red admiral butterfly, today, that I have not seen in years. Unfortunately, I can guess, they too, are affected by loss of habitat, pesticides, and climate change.
Here's a pic of my Pindo. I got it from Steven in Alabama, a couple of years ago, as a 3 gallon. It has since been bumped up to a 10 gallon pot. Surprisingly, it does quite well indoors, during winter, with not too much light, in a "cold" room (about 50-60 degrees):
Here is a plant species, that was brought to my attention by Cincinnati Frank, years ago. It is a deciduous shrub, that is native to the state of Alabama. The plant is the Alabama Snow Wreath, Neviusia alabamensis, and it is in bloom now. This plant is fully hardy, here, requiring no protection. As you can see, -10F did not affect it...
GOLDEN CHAIN TREE is blooming. The blooms are over my head, now. For some reason, it is not flowering as heavily, as usual, this year. Must be the winter, that was unusual for recent winters..
The RICE PAPER PLANT, Tetrapanax papyrifer, is now returning from its roots. A natural leaf mulch (I didnt apply it), enabled it to survive my -10F winter...
A FIFTH type of MAGNOLIA, is blooming now. Actually, this type is Skinner's Michelia, or Michelia skinneriana , and is reputed to be one of the hardiest forms of Michelia:
Below is a pic of Italian Bugloss, in bloom. Notice the star-shaped foliage of Sweetgum 'Gumball', nearby. Gumball is a dwarf, shrub form of the shade tree. Its small size makes it squeezable into a small garden, like mine. Nevertheless, it is a sweetgum. You can also see the foliage of a BEAUTY BERRY shrub. It usually gets tip-kill, but replaces any lost growth, during the season:
Oddly, LITHODORA overwintered in my garden (first time!), despite my -10F low, and is blooming. Perhaps, being covered in snow for weeks, during the coldest part of winter, helped...
CROCOSMIA is now re-growing from the ground. Amazing, that these were once thought to need to be dug and stored, each fall. As you can see, they get a "natural mulch", that I don't apply. The leaves are from the dwarf redbud tree, immediately above, and a big silver maple in my yard, that towers over everything...
The TAMARILLO/Tree Tomato, is preparing to bloom. The fruits that form on this tropical tomato and eggplant relative, ripen indoors, during the winter months:
Welcome to the forum.
Contact: hardypalmsintemperatezones@gmail.com
Visitors are urged to post any information pertinent to plants, weather, or topics related to either. Off-topic posts, Spam posting, "inflammatory posts" and advertisements are subject to removal at the discretion of the moderators.
NEW FEATURE FOR LOADING PHOTOS IN YOUR MESSAGES: The HARDY PALMS IN TEMPERANT ZONES has a great new feature when adding photos into your message body. As of May 2010 , You can now add photos in your message body straight from your computer files and we recommend Imgbb found in the message body form. * Your certainly welcome to transfer photos from your Photo Albums located in on-line Photo Albums like Imgur, Photobucket or others.
.
.
* If you have an address for the photo, you can use html language to post a photo. example:
<
img
(space)
src
=
"
(photo address)
"
>
leave no spaces except between img and src.
all html language must be used <=" ect. (tightly)
.
.
.
The address of the photo must fit between the " " tightly
.
.
.
* If anyone has any issues with this forum at any time, please feel free to let me know. Thank you. Barry z7b Mississippi - moderator
* hardypalmsintemperatezones@gmail.com
.
.
.