Was in Belize this past spring. I turned my camera on the flowers when the wildlife proved too elusive. I thought these looked like hummer plants. Feel free to identify!

1)
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2)
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3) Didn't notice the spider web when shooting. Kinda gives me vertigo.
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4)
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The first picture may be an orchid. Thr third picture looks like a Hamelia species and the last one looks to me like Asclepias curassavica

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

I have to agree with Penny on the Hamelia, I was first thinking a Scutaleria. And of course a milkweed. Thanks for the pics, anymore?? I love tropicals! I picked up a Firecracker Red Plant today. It was $5 off, I had some Garden Bucks (promo stuff) and actually paid $8 cash for the gallon plant tax included. Now to turn my dining room into a sunroom for the winter. but

Ain't she a beauty?



Pam NJ 6B

Am certainly not an expert but I agree that the first photo does look like an orchid. Very pretty

I think the first one might be a bloom on an orchid tree. It's a Bauhinia. I had one that died in Katrina. It would bloom in the spring. I don't know if hummers used it because I wasn't looking for them at that time in my life. Here's a bad picture of mine in bloom from 2005.

I have an orange ixora that looks like the 2nd photo. Mine isn't blooming yet this year, so I'm only going by memory.

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Farmer Steve
Deluz, CA usda zone 10a

The first one looks like a species of a tree that we call the Hong Kong Orchid tree. There are at least two different types that I know of. I have one that is about 35 feet tall now and about as wide. It blooms in the spring and is a big favorite of arriving hummingbirds. It doesn't do this all the time, but if the weather is right the tree drops all of its leaves and is totally covered with fragrant flowers.

The flowers drop off and the tree looks sickly for about three months. It is just now filling up with big green leaves and a flower or two. A really bad freeze here (below 20) will kill it, but we don't get those kind of freezes very often--perhaps once every ten or fifteen years or so.

The last picture sure looks like a milkweed--the larval plant for Monarch butterflies.

The one above it is the Firespike or Odontonema strictum. It starts blooming in August and goes through January and beyond at times here and is perhaps the favorite of hummingbirds at that time of year.

Thank you for joining and participating!

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Cheers,Bob
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a
Lexington,Ky.
It's Summer!

Tom, that's exactly what happened to mine. I was given the plant when it was about the size of a pencil. It grew for a few years, then was killed to the ground by a hard freeze which we don't see often here. Then it came back from the roots like a giant shrub. If we get a moderate freeze, the leaves would drop and when it bloomed it was spectacular. In this picture I had some leaves remaining when it bloomed. It makes these long pods like a Mimosa tree and if it's quiet you can hear the pods split open and expel the seeds. Kind of neat!

Pam - that was a spectacular buy! I have one from Bustani - and its small but filling in and love it. I saw one at our local nursery that was selling for $69.00 - granted it was huge and beautiful but way too expensive for me even with bonus bucks.

Joan, That is a great picture! I never saw an orchid tree.

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

Thank you BobKy for the welcome :)I've been a lurker for a while enjoying the incredible photos so finally figured I'd join.

I never knew there was such a thing as an orchid tree. I've been given two orchids just recently and am gonna just try to figure how to keep them alive.

Agree the first is Bauhinia.
Second is Ixora, seemingly the largest selling plant in Costa Rica
Third is Firespike, a hummer favorite
Fourth is a wild flower that we have growing all ove the farm, but I can't remember the name of right now...

Patricia has the names correct. The last is Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias currasavica. It gets some hummer attention, but is primarily a butterfly plant. I've seen hummers use Ixora and Bauhinia in the tropics, but not here. The best of those plants as far as attracting hummers is the Firespike, Odontonema strictum. I have 2 versions. The most popular [with local gardeners] has glossy red flowers. I saw some in flower last week. However, my red one had to be cut back a couple of months ago and I'll have to wait a month or two before it flowers. I also have a pink/purple one that can be truly spectacular and it is very popular with hummers. Currently, it stands about 8 feet tall and is just now coming into flower.

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Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

The Firespike, Odontonema strictum, roots very rapidly and produces blooms almost immediately.
The Cinnamon hummers really love this one. I got my husband to prune one as I couldn't get a clear shot of the hummers nectaring at one of the tall plants, and he put the cuttings in a pot on the table. These are presently bloom, and need to be planted elsewhere. It is a shame I cannot send cuttings to you all...

I have seen a Rufous using the Orchid tree here in Orlando.

Jana
Montverde,Florida
USDA zone 9

The orchid trees are popular places for a variety of hummers here, as well. I have seven trees about 5-6ft tall, all grown from seed, so not too many blooms as yet, but so far this 'rainy season' they have really put out a lot of new growth, so hopefully many more blooms will soon apear.

Hi! I'm so glad y'all liked the photos. I hope to take a decent photo of a hummer one day -- or any moving mammal for that matter. Thanks to everybody who played the name game. I learn so much from all of you!

Pam - you've inspired me to take some flower pictures here in Florida sometime soon

Farmer Steve - I have a bunch of orange ixoras in my front yard, but like you, they are all green now. They barely survived the freezes in January. I'm just happy to have them still. They were brown sticks for 3 months.

Kathy - Welcome!

Jana, Steve B., and all Floridians - the USF Tropical Plant sale is this weekend in Tampa. Just read it in the paper today. I hope to go.

Have a great day!
Julie

Julie,

The USF plant sales start at 10 AM but members get to enter at 9:30. It's a nice advantage, especially on a hot day or if you're looking for something in particular.

I think I spent my plant allowance for the year (and then some) at the spring festival. I'm assuming that Colorfield Farms will be there (they're in Wimauma). That's where I spent most of my money in April. They've got a big selection of flowering plant that goes beyond what the superstores have. D&D Growers was another. We got a Pineapple Sage and a few herbs from them.

I'm not sure if we'll make it to this sale. The biggest problem with going when on a budget is either you exceed the budget or you're left frustrated with what you didn't come home with. In April, there was a species of calliandra (powderpuff), different from the two that I have, that I really wanted but the cheapest one cost $20. That was my budget (but wound up being less than half of what I spent).

I recently went to a plant exchange that was organized on a Florida Gardening Forum and came away with a number of plants that I wouldn't have spent the money to buy. I thought that was great so I've set up a board for plant exchange on the floridahummingbirds.net forum (proboards). My thoughts are that maybe exchanges will be easier on that site as opposed to this one since eventually I expect to have enough participants living close enough to meet for their exchanges rather than depending on use of the mail. This will allow for the exchange of full grown plants as well.

By the way Patricia, I'm not sure how well the Gloriosa Lily grows from seed but they produced a good number of them this year. I've typically grown them from the tubers. E-mail me if you would still like some seeds.

Steve Backes
Valrico, FL (east of Tampa)
http://mysite.verizon.net/resu64md/yardhummers/
http://floridahummingbirds.net/
http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/