Saturday, October 3, 2009

October is here and Fall is in the air...even in Arizona!

Fall has definitely arrived in Arizona, even though the afternoon temps are still very warm, the nights are getting cool, and my garden is changing with the season. My pink roses are blooming again. This rose bush was here when I bought my home and they are real reliable. I tried a few "bare-root" roses before I learned they are not suitable for my climate, but the couple that lived rarely put out any blooms.
I had a couple surprises this last week, that were completely unexpected. My purple sweet potato vine bloomed! I didn't even know these flowered- having bought it for the pretty purple leaves. I was pleasantly surprised to discover they do bloom.
Here is a picture of the vine- pretty without flowers too.

I have yucca plants (at least I think they are yuccas) at the front of my flower bed beneath the big olive tree- and I can't recall ever seeing them bloom before- until this year. Only one put out flowers but they are so beautiful. I wish I could get up close and see if they smell, but the tops of these yucca are not within my reach.

Here is a picture of how they look from a distance- they seem to stand guard over the bed behind them. I need to get in there and trim the dead leaves- another job for another day!
And on the other side of the bed, is this little palm. It was actually in a pot when I bought my home, and my son planted it in the ground. It has since gotten quite large and I am thinking I might need to dig it up and plant in a bigger area. Does anyone know what kind it is, and how big it will get?


Happy October and Happy Saturday! I am heading off to Kansas City for a few days for my job. Hope it isn't too cold there for these used to Arizona bones!

9 comments:

Claude said...

You should probably move that 'palm' someplace else. Common name of ponytail palm, bottle palm or elephant foot tree, they're not really a palm but a relative of the agave... Nolina recurvata. The swolen trunk which holds water and cn get the plant through extended droughts, can get up to 4 feet across. In it's native habitat of Southeastern Mexico they can get about 30 feet tall... they are relatively slow growing though, so you may not see it get that big... but it is probably going to get too big for the bed you've got it in...

kesslerdee said...

Thanks for the palm advice Claude- I will get it moved. I swear it was much smaller when I moved in 5 years ago, and my son planted it there. It was long before I added anything to that bed. I suppose I'll have to move some plants before he can even get at it to move it.

Diane AZ said...

Hooray for fall and cooler temperatures! Beautiful leaves and flowers on your purple sweet potato vine.

Julie said...

Yes, I see Claude told you the name of the palm, which is actually a succulent plant. One of my neighbors who fertilizes regularly actually has a few of these that are as large as he described!!! They can be quite magnificent!!!

Julie said...

P.S. The purple sweet potato vine...did it live through the AZ summer heat...????? I love the look of it and would love to have some here. Is it an annual or perennial there???

Jenn said...

Hey Julie,

I can answer that one for you... The sweet potato vines do great all summer here - they may want a bit of relief from direct sun, but they don't need very much.

What they don't like is the cold, and we do get cold enough to kill them if they are unprotected in pots... The tuberous roots turn to mush when we get our occasional frosts.

I suspect that if you have a window with strong winter light, you could bring them inside and over-winter them, but the easier option is to buy new pots in the spring.

Deb said...

have a safe trip...

PAK ART said...

Your plants are beautiful. Someday I want to have a garden like yours! Enjoy the cooler weather!

parsifronde said...


the leaves of your sweet potato vine are elegant on their own, the flower is all the more a treat, lovely plants