Friday Project Fun

It's "hotter than the Fourth of July" outside in South Texas this week.  Even with the heat there's still time complete a few gardening projects in the mornings when the weather is a cool 78F.  When I posted about my patriotic wreath for Independence Day, I mentioned Dichondra Silver Falls had reached the porch and needed to be transplanted.  It could have gone straight into the garden but I had a better idea gleaned from Pinterest.

A hanging basket with a difference.  Instead of draping it over the sides, try running it through the bottom of the basket.  Something like this.

That part went pretty well.  The basket should be hanging up while doing this and a bucket to catch soil and other debris is useful.  I lined the wire basket with bird netting before adding moss to keep the moss and soil from falling through the basket wires.  The netting disappears when the moss is added.

Now what to put in the top basket?  Squid Agave (Agave bracteosa) of course!

Maybe it is too hot out there.....

Queen of the Night: Epiphyllum hookeri

This plant was incorrectly identified in the original post.  I have revised this post to show the correct plant ID as Ephiphyllum hookeri.

The night blooming cereus (Epiphyllum hookeri) is both beautiful and easy to grow, but there's one catch -- trying to actually see the blooms.  One of the common names for this plant is Queen of the Night and it is so appropriate for these gorgeous blooms which disappear quickly at dawn.

I posted about the closing of the blooms for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and this week I captured the blooms fully open on a cloudy morning.   The blooms are supposed to begin opening around 10 p.m, but the ones on this plant don't seem to open until the middle of the night.

My friend Ragna shared this plant when her neighbor downsized to an apartment and no longer had room.  I wasn't sure I wanted to grow them but now I'm hooked  and, as a form of cactus, they could not be easier to grow.  After sticking the cuttings and rooted pieces in a well-draining potting mix and watering them in, I basically ignored them.  Imagine my surprise when I found four buds several weeks later.

The foliage is not quite so stunning as the blooms.  It's somewhat messy but it does have an interesting structure for a hanging basket or large pot.

They do need protection from frost and heat above 100F/38C which means I'll need to keep them in the shade this week as we are predicted to reach 104F/41C. 

Here's a slideshow of the bloom cycle which lasted about two hours on a cloudy morning