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Featured Plants 2008

Vanda Orchids
Sharon Summerall bought this lovely vanda orchid 'Blue Magic' in bloom three years ago, put it on her porch, and was disappointed that it did not bloom again. So this year she hung it on a tree in the newer part of the garden, left it on its own, and it is currently recently blooming again. Vanda's are among the most beautiful of the orchids. In their native habitat in the Himalayas and Australia, they are epiphytic, growing on the trunks and branches of trees where their aerial roots take in any moisture in the atmosphere. This one is growing in a basket with roots both hanging down and attaching to the tree trunk, so Sharon couldn't bring it in but had to cover it there. Vandas can get up to 3 or 4' tall and bloom two or three times a year with up to 3 or 4 spikes of 10 3 to 5 inches flower which can last for over a month.

They will take full sun but prefer intense but dispersed light. They need plenty of water and should be kept evenly moist except for the two to three weeks after they bloom when they can be allowed to dry out between waterings to give them a rest. They do best if fed a balance fertilizer at half strength every two weeks from June through September, given a formula high in potash from September to mid November to toughen them, and then fed only quarter strength until the next June. They should be repotted very seldom for the most bloom.

Gotu kola
Good for memory and brain function, can be added to salads.

Fiddleleaf fig, Ficus lyarata
The fiddleleaf fig is also supposedly hardy in only in Zones 10B and 11, but the one in shade in my yard has had no frost damage for several years. It is one of the best figs for landscaping in warm areas and can grow 40 feet tall in its native habitat in Africa, but the this one on the Martiny patio is about as tall as I've seen in this area. The large leaves are shaped like a fiddle and the plant is easy to grow outdoors, a little fussy for me as a houseplant. It can be rooted from cuttings or air layers but both Lynne Martiny and I have had infrequent success with cuttings. It supposedly prefers high to medium light, which may explain why mine grows slowly. It does have high drought tolerance: I almost never water mine. In the container watering is necessary but less frequently than for many plants. Larry changes out the low plants in his containers often but the taller ones hardly ever. Here he has a variegated creeping fig cascading around the pot. The Ficus family is quite diverse.

Starfish flower, Cryptanthus
Cryptanthus (kirp-TAN-thus) species, earth stars or starfish flowers are tender tropical perennials in the Bromeliad family. The compact rosettes of foliage, for which the plant is grown, stay small, under 6 inches, but multiply and I've seen plants 4 feet in height with dozens of rosettes. They come in many colors from green to green-and-white striped, to a range of pinks and pink, white, and green striped. They need strong light for the best color, but can fade in full sun. In too much shade they stay an uninteresting green. They are reliably hardy to in Zones 10A to 11, but with a little protection do well in our Zone 9. The leaves have sharp edges, so use extreme caution when handling. The plant also has a cluster of white flowers in spring to early summer but the flowers are not showy. This makes a good houseplant as well as an outdoor plant. It requires moist soil (but not soggy) at all times to thrive. To divide it, Brandon gardener James Roush flips his fingers at the growing centers and small pieces come off that will grow into new plants. If these or divisions do not root readily, give them some bottom heat. One man who grows this as a houseplants says he sprays it with a mister once a day. Our Florida humidity should take care of that outdoors. Otherwise Cryptahnthus is easy to grow and looks great in a group or as a focal point in a floral arrangement or even in a terrarium.

Stevia, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni
Stevia, a genus of about 150 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), is native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a remarkable plant with the common names include sugarleaf and sweetleaf. For me it is a short lived plant, but one I keep on trying. All of the stevia products come from this plant, but even with my growing failures, I seem to keep a supply of dried leaves to sweeten my fruit shakes. It can also be used in baked goods, desserts, preserves, and such, but amounts vary with each plant, so use very little and sweeten to taste. Stevia is also noncaloric and safer than chemical sweeteners. The plant may be hard to find, but check at the USF Botanical Gardens spring sale or call around. If you can't find it, you can get it from Richters Herb Catalog, a Canadian business, that offers plants in 2 1/2" pots. For information and prices, you can call (905) 640-6677 or fax them at (905) 640-6641 or write them at 357 Highway 47, Goodwood, Ontario L0C-1A0 or go through their website: www.Richters.com.

I have one thriving in full sun at the moment, but more successful growers have suggested partial shade, especially in the summer. The one in the photo is in full sun in a raised bed in the Discovery Garden at the Extension Office.

They can easily be killed by overwatering, and mine seem to go down mostly during the summer rains, so this is another plant to keep in pots in a place out of direct summer rainfall and in rich, loamy, well drained soil. They also need to protected or brought inside when frost threatens. Because their roots are shallow, mulch helps keep the soil from drying too quickly. Feed with a fertilizer with a lower nitrogen number such as or with an organic fertilizer with slow releasing nitrogen. Because the leaves are so sweet, many insects, including aphids and grasshoppers seem to pass them by.

ZZ plant, Zamioculcas zamiifolia
Lynne Martiny has a houseplant that I had never seen before: the ZZ plant, Zamioculcas zamiifolia (zam-ee-oh-KUL-kass zam-ee-FOH-lee-uh). It does indeed look like Zamia species, especially the cardboard palm at first glance, but the green of the foliage is deeper and more glossy and the stems are smooth round and succulent. This is actually a member of the aroid family and Lynne and others report it is very easy to grow. It takes little water and light, grows slowly to perhaps 3 feet or more, has tubers and can be multiplied by stem or leaf cutting or division of the tubers. The flowers are typical of the aroid family, more like a little ear of corn in a spathe.

Mustard, Brassica
Mustard not only provides a tasty vegetable in some gardens these days, but it is also blooming in the wild, in some case filling whole fields with golden yellow flowers. In pastures and hay fields these are considered weeds. These Brassica species are part of the cabbage family and there are both wide leaved and narrow leaved kinds in the wild. They thrive throughout Florida winters and are minor but important plants for the bees. For this and because they are used for our common condiment and for medical purposes, they are considered herbs. There are white, yellow, black and brown mustards that make the stuff we put on our hot dogs. There are also both green and maroon wide leaved kinds that are excellent cooked as greens, made into noodles, stir-fried, or chopped in salads. Plants can be from 2 to 6 feet tall. Long slender pods begin to form on the lower stems while flowers still bloom above. Mustard plasters were a time-honored treatment for congested chests, rheumatism, toothache, and soreness or stiffness. And infusion of mustard seeds as a foot bath relieves sore and aching feet.

Mustard grows easily from seed sown directly outdoors from September through spring. Plants will flower in spring if you don't keep them cut back. If you don't grow any, enjoy the ones you see on the roadsides.

White Bird of Paradise, Stretlizia nicolai
Stretlizia nicolai is one of the most reliable and drought tolerant of the big leaved tropical plants. While the flowers, white on top and bluish white underneath, are interesting, this is grown mostly for the foliage and for its flat habit that allows it to be grown in narrow places or against walls or fences. It can get messy in maturity but can be controlled by cutting off any dead leaves and flowers as needed and dividing the plants or cutting the unwanted trunks down to the ground as needed. It can grow to 15 feet tall and wide but can be kept to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. In large containers plants can sometimes look good for up to seven years. This needs medium shade to full sun and infrequent watering once established. It does have low wind tolerance. It is hardy down to 25 degrees.