Nothing too exciting here, but there are a few things in boom. The thanksgiving and christmas cactus are both all bloomed out now, so I wont bother posting those photos in the thread since they were gone about a week ago.
First up, a few photos of one of my many Chamaedorea Elegans, however the first one I have gotten to bloom.
Closeup:
against white background:
Whole Palm:
This is the second largest Chamaedorea Elegans I have, leaf tip is about 15" or so. The largest has 7 leaves, and is about 20-22" at its tallest leaf tip, and is starting to show the classic ringed trunk.
A couple African Violet blooms...
This first one the bloom is a good bit darker than the photo. Iphones do not have the greatest cameras.
This second bloom is a good bit darker too. Gotta love the bargain bin for plants that are not "in bloom"! $1.00 a piece!
This next and last one for this post, is one of my favorite plants. Jatropha Podagrica. Common Name "Buddah Belly". As you can see it is a caudiciform plant/ tree. I have had this for almost 4 years now, and it has grown to nearly 3 feet tall, from a mere 10". Oddly enough, I got this plant, at of all places, IKEA!!! LOL!
It blooms year round, however is deciduous and does lose most or all of its leaves during late fall/ winter, but continues to bloom. Depending on how much light it gets the leaves are anywhere from 5-8" across, to large dinner plate size. It is monoecious, so you can get seeds from just one plant. Each bloom spike has male and female flowers and can be hand pollinated or, if left out for the summer, insects, usually bees will do it for you. Anyway, here are the current blooms:
Closer up:
And just for reference here are the then and now photos of the Buddah Belly:
August 2006:
August 2009:
