Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Bloomin' Tuesday: An interesting Agave

I am not sure what kind of Agave this is. I thought it was similar to some that is growing in clumps at the base of one of my small Cholla, but those are a reddish color this time of year, and this particular one has remained a greenish blue, in spite of the lowering temperatures. I recently noticed that it seems to have pushed out an interesting looking bud.
The little Hydrangea I planted last summer has turned an interesting reddish color with the cold weather. This plant had blue flowers and is one that will have blue or pink flowers based on the acidity of the soil. I am not sure how hardy these are here in Arizona, but I have high hopes for flowers next Spring.


My little Parodia cactus is blooming again- for at least the 3rd time since I purchased it last spring. Each round of blooms has been about 4 flowers, that open one at a time.

And the bougainvillea just seems to get prettier with each passing day. And to think I was ready to pull these plants out and put them somewhere else. I guess they just were not ready to bloom until Fall came. I was a little concerned at my placing the lavender one between two red ones, thinking the bloom colors would clash, but in fact I think they are gorgeous together! Against my white house they really add some lovely color. I am going to have to learn how to prune these correctly though, so they grow somewhat up the house, and not so much out into the driveway. They are thorny plants for sure and pruning isn't easy.
The little Snail Plant from my post last week has the one opened flower and 3 buds growing fatter each day. I sure hope they all bloom before it actually gets cold enough to freeze them here.

Happy Bloomin Tuesday! To see other posts and to join in yourself please visit Ms "Green Thumb" Jeans.

11 comments:

Suzanne said...

Oh, I love the beautiful, vibrant colors of your blooms! Bougainvillea is an absolute favorite of mine. It's just an "annual" here, but I often buy one just for that incredibly vibrant splash of color!

Unknown said...

You have some wonderful blooms. That Aloe is it, or Agave? Heck I don't know much about them. Anyway it looks like the one I have. My neighbor gave it to me and it has gone nuts growing, he said his gets big white blooms on them. Keep us posted!!

Anne Fannie said...

Hi Dee, I just love looking at your plants during Bloomin' Tuesday. I also love Bougainvillea plants. They add so much color while giving you some privacy and those thorns, no one will climb my fence!
Happy Blooming Tuesday,
Love, Ann

playsdolls said...

Your plants are so pretty ,my fave is te bougainvilla it is such a beautiful color.

Jean said...

Love all your interesting plants. Remember to take plenty of pictures of those blooms for when we are back in Jan. Your hydrangea looks real healthy for now. Jean

Carla said...

is that the agave's bloom (it does look like my aloe)? or will is spike? All your plants look so happy! Love cacti bloom, and bougainvillea (which are not hardy here), love those colors together! Snail vine is just too cool! Thanks for sharing today!

Laurie and Chris said...

very interesting plants. I can't wait to see your hydrangea on bloom.

Anonymous said...

What a treat, I'm just craving color in my northern winter! That snail plant is so neat - is it related to peas? Or snapdragons?

Rose said...

Hi, Just saw your post title on Walk 2 Write's blogroll and had to come visit. I'm an Illinoisan visiting my daughter in Phoenix this week. I visited the Desert Botanical Gardens yesterday and wanted to purchase an agave--I had no idea how many varieties there were:)
I love your bougainvillea--I have been so impressed by all these gorgeous blooms I've seen here this week. Good luck with your hydrangea--I have no idea how they'll do in your garden, but I do know mine require a lot of water.

Aiyana said...

Hi Dee, The succulent is actually an Aloe. The species is probably A. zebrina--if the flowers are reddish. They send up a flower stalk this time of year--and the flowers should last for a month or so, maybe more.
The Parodia is nice. It is unusual to have a flower this time of year. Do you know the species name?
Also, do you know what cultivar your two Bougainvillea are? The one looks like a 'San Diego Red', but this time of year, it's hard to tell 'Barbara Karst' and San Diego Red' apart.
Aiyana

kesslerdee said...

Thank you all for you comments and I so appreciate the ID help. Aiyana I do not know what type of Bouganvilla I bought- it was preblog days when I didn't really think about that sort of thing.
The Parodia though was marked a "horstii" It was one of the first cactus I bought last spring.