This weeks featured plants are both in the Genus Rondeletia, in the family Rubiaceae (The Coffee Family). Rondeletia leucophylla (Bush Pentas) and Rondeletia odorata (Panama Rose), with R. leucophylla the more common of the two. The Genus was named for the French physician, Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566), who had a particular interest in botany. Both of…
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I took a ride around the nursery this morning and quickly realized South Florida ‘winter’ has quickly given way to summer. It seems spring got swept away in global warming. Perhaps there is still time to get back to more seasonal temperatures as March quickly approaches. Anyway, I did see the spectacular blossoms of the…
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This week we harvested two large bunches of bananas, one is called ‘burro’ used primarily for cooking and the other for eating out of hand. We have many more available for sale. Each bunch had more than 10 hands, very nice. Both plants and fruit are available for sale. Since our South Florida soil is…
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If you’re looking for a colorful variegated shrub, you would do well to consider the Caricature Plant. Native to southeast Asia, most likely New Guinea, the plant features glossy, variegated leaves which display a splash of pink/peach coloration in the center. Richard Lyons’ Nursery carries two foliar color forms, one with a green background and…
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What are the odds that a plant native to elevations more than a mile above sea level in the Andes could grow well in southern Florida? Probably no better than for the lion to lie down with the lamb. But, amazingly, Iochroma cyanea beats those odds. I. cyanea is endemic to the Ecuadorean Andes in…
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