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  • Poinsettia Plant Care – Outdoors

    On a recent trip to St Julian’s, Malta, strolling down the road from my favourite Sicilian coffee shop, I came across a plant growing in a way I had to seen before. The plant itself was familiar, although there are lots of plants that have fresh new leaves of bright red. This was the first time I had seen a Poinsettia other than in a plant pot in Winter Holidays. Understanding proper poinsettia plant care can help ensure these vibrant plants flourish beyond the holiday season.

    This one was growing in a small patch of ground in an otherwise stone paved street. It has shelter from the elements by being close to the building with some overhead protection from the midday sun. The plant looked healthy and had grown to about 2 meters high and 1 meter wide, an impressive feat of poinsettia plant care in an urban environment.

    Growing Outside Poinsettia Plant Care

    These plants are native of Mexico and Central America where they thrive in a warm stable climate that is moist but well drained. They need some sunshine but don’t like extremes or sudden climate changes. In their native environment they can grow to a height of up to 3 meters, provided they receive the right poinsettia plant care.

    The other surprise is that they are in fact a Euphorbia, Euphorbia pulcherrima. The same Genus as commonly called Spurge. I don’t think I will be planting one outside anytime soon as the climate here is just too variable, so likely the next time I see one will be December

    Poinsettia plant care
  • Ornate Tailed Digger Wasp: Nature’s Stunning Marvels

    The ornate tailed digger wasp is a striking insects with its vividly patterned black and yellow abdomen. This is something I found out when discovering a series of holes in a well trodden path that was hard packed sandy soil. What could they be, ants, miner bees? 

    Observe for a while and the occupants arrive to hover a moment then go head first into the hole just about wide enough for it to crawl down. It appears to be an ornate tailed digger wasp, now classified as the Cerceris rybyensis, of the family Philanthidae. 

    These wasps have exceptional burrowing skills, which they use to create underground nests for their young. They are solitary creatures that hunt mining bees to feed off. The tunnel goes down vertically for about 6 inches then turns horizontal. 

    Cerceris rybyensis - ornate tailed digger wasp
    Cerceris rybyensis - ornate tailed digger wasp

  • 5 Key Reasons for Growing Indian Hawthorn

    On a recent visit to St Julian’s in Malta, I came across a shrub that I was not familiar with. I am always looking around for plants, shrubs and trees that are attractive and unusual to me. This plant was used in the landscape gardening around our hotel and proved quite effective in that situation.

    5 Reasons for Using Indian Hawthorn in Landscape Gardening.

    • Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica) is an evergreen shrub that maintains glossy green foliage all year. In the spring it produces clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers, followed by dark berries in autumn. Hence, an interest plant all year round.
    • The plant is low maintenance. Indian hawthorn requires little care once established. It’s does not require much watering and will survive through a dry spell. It needs only occasional pruning to keep its bushy shape and thrives in a variety of soil types with good drainage.
    • The shrub can be fashioned into many uses and is a versatile plant. It can be used for hedges, borders, or as a stand-alone specimen in gardens, patios, and even grown in containers.
    • It is both heat and salt tolerant. When I think of the situation these plants were in, close by the salty Mediterranean waters that can, in autumn and winter be rough with salt water spray and punishing winds, and yet hot and arid in summer months. This plant can take some punishment.
    • The Indian Hawthorn can support the local ecology and attract pollinators like bees and butterflies that we so desperately need, and the berries provide food for the birds.

    So, all in all, a good choice to fill a space with an attractive shrub that won’t take up much time and resources or need replacing every bad year.

    Rhaphiolepis indica - Indian Hawthorn
  • Fremontodendron californicum – Yellow Flower Tree

    It is not often that I see a large yellow flower in a tree in my neck of the woods. So to see this Fremontodendron californicum or California flannelbush is a real surprise and treat. The leaves are there but quite sporadic giving the flowers plenty of room to shine. 

    California flannelbush,  Fremontodendron californicum, is a striking shrub or tree identified by its vibrant yellow flowers and unusual fuzzy foliage. It is very tolerant to dry spells and doesn’t need watering in summer once established. It prefers full sun with well drained soil on the acidic side.

    Fremontodendron californicum - California flannelbush
  • Veronica brachysiphon – Hebe from New Zealand

    Veronica brachysiphon is a shrub that is endemic in New Zealand but making its way across the planet to be found in gardens, like UK. It is part of the Plantaginaceae family that includes  Antirrhinums and Fox Gloves among many more species. Common name is Hookers Hebe after Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 

    Loved by the Bees

    The Bees were very active on this flowering shrub. It thrives on well drained soil and can tolerate a wide range of situations. 

    Veronica brachysiphon

  • Cape Fuchsia – Keeps Coming Back

    Cape Fuchsia is a plant that thrives in my area where it is protected from the harsh elements. It not only keeps coming back but tries to spread out using suckers that spread along the surface producing their own roots it not trimmed back. Although it flowers well the flowers don’t last long in the heat we are seeing at the moment. Of course it is not a Fuchsia, nor closely related, but does have some resemblance.  It also sits well along side my perennial Fuchsias.

    Known scientifically as Phygelius, this particular variant is the Phygelius aequalis ‘Yellow Trumpet’. It is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family. The Scrophulariaceae family has at least 2 other members that work well for me, Buddleja and Namesia. Although, to be fair they will grow almost anywhere. The shrub maintains a tidy look throughout the season but needs some pruning in the autumn to keep it at its best and not spreading out of control.

    Cape Fuchsia - Phygelius aequalis - Yellow Trumpet