September pretty much mirrors August, but here’s a couple oddballs, a roster of irregulars I didn’t include for August.
This salvia lookalike from the acanthaceae family, Brillantaisia subulugarica, has been blooming all summer. Tall, over 5 feet, with big, coarse leaves.
An interesting plant that defies whole-hearted recommendation. If you like big, coarse, and purple, then this one’s for you. For zone 10.
I do need to point out that it is dripping wet from the 2 inches of hallelujah rain that fell early Tuesday morning.
Ptilotus nobilis, from Australia, much taller than the hybrid ‘Joey’ that was circulating through nurseries recently. From the Amaranthaceae family.
All the info available refers to its touchiness about soil, so I’ve trialed it in a large container with marrubium for a couple months. I’m surprised it’s made it to September.
The ptilotus that have been showing up at nurseries like it hot, dry, perfect drainage and good air circulation. I need to trial this one quick as a cut flower before it expires.
More rainy day porn with the grass Aristida purpurea, Yucca ‘Blue Boy,’ Agave ‘Snow Glow’
Agave vilmoriniana and Crithmum maritimum, with both old seedheads and fresh flowers.
Rain-tossed Glaucium grandiflorum.
Plectranthus zuluensis
Bog sage, Salvia uliginosa, with very happy wet feet.
Abutilon venosum drinking it in.
The yucca in bloom against the lurid coloring of the cypresses at sundown.
Love to see those drips and drops! Helps a gardener breathe more deeply…
Also: Always happy to the the Glaucium; keep that streak going!
And that Ptilotus nobilis is extreeemely cool. Report back if you make the cut-flower test.
Interesting and partly unusual plants that would likely all do well in my San Diego inland garden. I better get my notebook out ;-)! My favorite is the Ptilotus nobilis, so lovely blooms. I also like the Plectranthus zuluensis. I just have dug up two plectranthus cilliatus ‘Mona Lavender’ and thrown them in the compost bin. They didn’t seem to be able to deal with the heat and the drought and looked horrible. Maybe your variety would fair better in my garden…
Warm regards,
Christina
Do you know how strange it is to see wet plants in one of your posts? It just seems wrong somehow, but so glad you got some rain!
One more – quick question: What yucca is that?
@Hi Nell — I’ll let you know how the ptilotus pans out. The yucca is ‘Margarita’ aka ‘Margaritaville,’ and has just recently “bifurcated” after its first bloom the last couple years, splitting into two heads, though in actuality I think there’s maybe three heads. The perfectly symmetrical rosette is blown to hell when it blooms, which some find intolerable. Can’t quite make up my mind yet.
@Christina, if my garden soil wasn’t so twitchy and full of plant-killing pathogens I’d try the ptilotus in the ground. It sure looks promising but the buzz about it being reliable isn’t good.
@Alan, I know! So weird to get a substantial storm in September. Of course, the news reports were full of the “damage” and interruptions caused by the rain, like it’s pathological somehow.
Yay! So glad to see you got some rain. By the end of the El Niño winter you may hate the stuff almost as much as me. The Abutilon though, I like 🙂
I bought a P. “Joey” this summer and put it in a huge pot with and Echiveria subrigida.It seemed to want water much more frequently than I expected, but I think the plant was to mature and had too many blooms. I know better than to buy plants that are grown to satisfy the ‘color’ thing with the casual gardener.I like yours much better ! And it’s raining here today–hopefully putting out all our nasty fires …
I am absolutely in love with abutilon now! Magnificent photo!
I have never heard of agave snow globe! Where do you get it? What is it’s species mix?
@Kathy, this one has been really easy in a large pot. I was more worried about overwatering. That rain really cleared the air down here too, not poor quality from fires but just the usual port air 😉
@Brian, that agave is a sport of ‘Blue Glow,’ which is a cross of Agave ocahui with Agave attenuata. It shows up infrequently at local nurseries, but mail order nurseries like Plant Delights should carry it. I haven’t checked, just assuming!
Wasn’t the rain wonderful?! I was up at 5am wandering the backyard collecting water in plastic trugs (as if I didn’t have rain tanks). Luckily, none of my neighbors were up and about at that hour. I’ll have to look for that Ptilotus – I’ve only seen ‘Joey’ and I wasn’t all that impressed with him.
The rain was awesome. Happy you got lots. Your plants are obviously celebrating.
The Agave ‘Blue Boy’ is a bit of plant porn, isn’t it? Oh my…gorgeous gorgeous. All of it. I’m SO glad to hear you finally got some rain!