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| LARGE CHARTREUSE SEED PODS AND YELLOW FLOWERS APPEAR TOGETHER ON BUTTERFLY VINE | |
| Published: June 17, 1997 | |
Seed pods resemble a butterflyQ:A friend on Broadmoor Boulevard has a vine that Ive never seen before. It has glossy green leaves and produces large flowers that look like butterflies. Can you help to identify it?A:Dr. William Fletcher from USL explained that the seed pods, not the flowers, on Stigmaphyllum ciliatum or butterfly vine, look like butterflies. Our thanks to him, and to Genny Alborado and Sara Hamsa, who both grow butterfly vine, for identifying the plant.This excellent tropical evergreen vine is available from time to time from the plant nurseries, but is not well-known in our area. It grows best in locations that receive morning sun, in moist, fertile soil, where there is support to grow on and protection from winter temperatures. The chartreuse-colored seed pods, which appear with the flowers in summer and autumn, turn brown and papery when dry. When temperatures remain warm well into fall and early winter, butterfly vine may climb as high as the roof of a two-story house. After a severe freeze, the upper portions of the plant may be cut back, and if the vine has had winter protection, it will come back from the roots. Why does this Japanese magnolia give two seasons of bloom?Q:My Japanese magnolia has had 17 healthy buds and blooms this spring and summer. The flowers are a dark purple, not the plants usual pale lavender color. Im certainly not complainingjust curious as to how to make it do this every summer.A:Ken Durio at Louisiana Nursery says that reblooming magnolias are those cultivars that have dark purple flowers to begin with, and when they rebloom, the flowers will be the same dark purple. Occasionally, because of bleaching from the heat, these will produce summer blooms which are somewhat lighter than usual in color. Rebloomers just dont produce flowers darker than the original.A possible explanation, according to Ken, is that your plant is grafted on to a root stock of a dark purple variety, and this is what is producing the summer blossoms. Its an interesting situation. I wonder what color the flowers will be next spring. Bird of paradise wont be mature enough to bloom for a year or soQ:I purchased a small bird of paradise plant about six months ago. When can I expect it to bloom?A:Divisions of bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) plant usually require at least two years to reach flowering size. Its a good idea to keep your plant in a container for as long as possible without dividing it, as crowding the roots tends to produce bloom sooner. Also, keeping it in a container facilitates moving indoors when the temperatures drop.Place your plant where it will get at least four hours of direct sunlight a day, feed monthly during the growing season with superphosphate or other high phosphorus fertilizer, and water well. Calm your nerves by applying Roundup in foam rather than liquid sprayI dont know about you, but I get nervous when I spray with Roundup. So I was delighted to read advanced publicity about the new version of Roundup called Sure Shot that is designed for spot-treatment of weeds. The foam application shows you exactly where the product is applied, and helps to keep it from drifting onto other plants. If not already available in Lafayette, it will be soon. |