1gal. Perennial Peanut (Arachis glabrata and Arachis pintoi) $3.50.
This perennial plant is an excellent ground cover with bright yellow pea-like flowers. While it is closely related to the peanut (Arachis hypogaea), it does not bear any edible peanuts. Richard Lyons’ Nursery carries two different species as noted above.
Plants you may be seeing blooming around town, but didn’t know what they were. The most eye catching of these plants is the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow shrub (Brunfelsia grandiflora). Three different colors of flowers on the same plant. The flower starts out dark purple, then fades to light purple, and then to white before falling off. So, depending on when an individual flower begins blooming, you see all three colors on the shrub at the same time. Another large shrub or small tree blooming around town is, Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans), with its bright yellow tubular flowers.
Richard Lyons’ Nursery is growing them for sale.
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 so very nutrient poor we plant our banana pants in deep mounds of old decayed mulch. This medium is extremely nutrient rich. We find it is not necessary to add additional fertilizer, just provide water. No pesticides or fungicides are required.
The sweet almond bushes, Aloysia virgata, are intoxicating. What a delightful aroma. The scent can be enjoyed from several feet away. This bush blooms year round and is extremely maintenance free.
If you enjoy fragrance, stop by and enjoy the strong vanilla scent of the Ceiba schottii tree (Vanilla Kapok). Our specimen tree is currently in bloom and it blooms for many months out of the year.
That is all for today, from ‘Under the Jakfruit tree‘.
Jakfruit
Here at Richard Lyons Nursery we are at the beginning of the dry season. The weeds are different from the wet season and the dry season fruits are nearing harvest. We have already picked some jujube and sapodilla. Many more are on the way. All the fresh fruit and fruit trees are available for purchase six days a week. We are closed only on Thursdays.
The Brazilian Red Cloak is stunning with its one foot plus plumes of red flowers.
Winter vegetables are growing in the surrounding farms. The humidity is lower and the night temperatures are mostly in the 70s. I saw my first hummingbird of the season sipping nectar from the red firespike plant. More will be here shortly for our winter/dry season. If you plant the right nectar plants, they will come to your yard too.
From under the jackfruit tree.
Richard
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 one with a brownish background. The plants produce red or red-purple tubular flowers.
G. pictum will mature to a height of 6-9 ft. in our region. It can be made bushier by pinching out new growth, but the plant will flower more prolifically the less it is pruned. This species performs best in a moist, well-drained soil, particularly if organic matter is worked in. It prefers sunny to partly-shaded exposures.
The Caricature Plant is valued in the folk medicine of Indonesia, where it is used to treat a variety of problems, including rheumatism, urinary infections, constipation, dermatitis, and wounds. It also appears to have some promise in the broader medical community. One study confirmed that an extract from the leaves of the plant has anti-inflammatory properties, and another study found that a different extract appeared to alleviate symptoms of diabetes. Of course, as with a lot of desirable substances, too much can produce toxic effects.
Richard Lyons’ Nursery carries G. pictum in 3-gal. containers.
