Today's Flower ... Pentas lanceolata.

I just couldn't do without Pentas in my garden.  I've had at least one shrub in every garden I've had the joy to tend.  They are, without a doubt, THE most reliable, fuss-free, sun and heat hardy, great looking shrubs for any tropical garden.

I have quite a few varieties and I'm afraid I don't know the cultivar names for any of them!  Many were pass-alongs and those I bought as little plug seedlings were not labelled with anything other than 'Pentas'. 

These fabulous little evergreen shrubs will grow to around a metre in height and here in the northern tropical areas of Australia, they flower reliably all year round.

The flowers are star-shaped and bloom in little bunches all over the plant.  In fact, one of their common names is the Star Cluster plant.

Despite being known as 'Pentas', which implies that the flowers have five petals, you will notice that there are six-petalled blooms occasionally thrown into the mix.  

They come in the most amazing array of colours ... pinks, lavender, purple, white, red.  I have quite a few different colours and I'm always on the lookout for newer varieties.

 The red Pentas I have also has terrific variegated leaves which are a great contrast to the rich colour.

I like mixing colours that are not considered great combinations ... the results are quite lovely sometimes.

My favourite combination of Pentas colours, however, is definitely the stark white and the deep red.  They are a perfect match.

For other terrific flower posts, please go and visit Today's Flowers

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

A great addition to any warm climate garden is the evergreen Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.  They are remarkably sun, heat and drought hardy - tolerating the heat and intensity of our mid-Summer sun and the high humidity levels without much fuss at all!

Of course, when you say the word Hibiscus, thoughts immediately pop into your head of tall palms swaying on long stretches of pristine white sand with the sound of gently lapping waves in the background.  

Did you know that, in fact, many species of Hibiscus are in fact, native to China and South-East Asia?   No!  Thought they were all from the South Pacific or Hawaii?  Well ... you're half right.  Most of the now oh so familiar, very colourful Hibiscus are the result of the hybridisation activities that took place there.

My little collection of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis shrubs includes the original red flowering plant .. what's often referred to as 'the common red'!  It's been a standard for any tropical garden here over the last two generations of gardeners.  I have two of these old-fashioned shrubs with the simple, yet beautiful, single dark red blooms in my garden.

You will not find any brightly coloured double or semi-double blooms on my Hibiscus shrubs.  In fact, I've never had any of those hybrids in any of my gardens ... I've just never been tempted!  I think it has something to do with the nostalgic memories of the Hibiscus shrubs in my Grannie's old garden! 

Hibiscus really need full sun.  One of my old Hibiscus shrubs is indeed growing in the ground in full sun.  It is now a magnificent huge old thing and it puts on a great display almost all year round. 

The other old original Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is growing under the canopy of some tall Eucalyptus trees.  Whilst it's the tallest of the two ladies, reaching over 4 metres high, it does not flower as profusely.

When Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is still quite young, they need a well-drained soil.  Take care though as they hate to dry out, so they need to be watered regularly when they are becoming established. Apply a thick mulch around the base of the shrub, but do not let the mulch touch the stem. 

They relish a decent prune in early Spring ... here that's September to October - to shape the plant and encourage flowering.  It's important to remove the old wood at this time.  These plants are also heavy feeders when they are still quite young. Apply complete fertiliser after pruning and during the flowering season. Water well before and after fertilising. 

Of course, my two old specimens really don't need any of this care and attention any longer.  They are grand old ladies now who just need the occasional tipple from a rain cloud and some golden sunshine!  

Just a couple of oddities about my two old dames:  the old Hibiscus rosa-sinensis growing in front of my house  - now around fifteen years old - will put out rather lovely new blooms that look almost pink, but they quickly turn darker and more red in no time.

The slightly younger old dame growing under the gum tree canopy has flower petals with lovely ruffled edges.   They're like a pair of old maiden aunts ... each with their own particular characteristics and charms and out of touch with the modern world of Hibiscus!

There are two other Hibiscus rosa-sinensis hybrids in my garden ... but again these two varieties have single dark red blooms.  I've previously written a post about these, so if you're interested just follow this link:

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis variegata 'Roseflake' and 'Snowflake'

Calliandras - the striking Powderpuffs.

Just as the flowering Poinciana screams 'Summer!' here in north eastern Australia, nothing quite says 'Winter!' here in the tropics like the blooming evergreen Calliandras ... or Powder Puffs.

I have two beauties that are wonderful showy shrubs growing on other side of my front gate and when they are in flower, they make an eye-catching display.  They grow to around 3 metres high with the same spread.  In my part of Australia, they begin flowering at the end of Autumn (in May) and will be in full bloom through our early to mid-Winter (June and July).

Here they are ...  showing off as I drive into the property.

The common name for these shrubs is Powder Puffs - because the long, long stamens cluster to make a puffy looking flower.

Here is my red Calliandra haematocephala.  You can see the raspberry-like buds to the right of this bloom.  That little bud is packed with many long, long stamens.

It's amazing to watch the little buds open and see the stamens bursting out.

Finally the deep red stamens are out in all their glory!

Here is my pink Calliandra haematocephala.  This one has gorgeous watermelon pink powderpuff blooms.

A fascinating feature about these shrubs is that the leaves will close up at night.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis variegata "Roseflake" and "Snowflake"

Two great tropical shrubs for any garden that gets little rain but lots of harsh sunlight, high summer temperatures and high humidity levels, are these variegated forms of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.  These two hibiscus shrubs flower all year round in full sun and they look fabulous with their striking foliage colours.

This is the "Roseflake" - with its fabulous red, green and pink foliage.  The red flowers almost pale into insignificance amongst the foliage on this.

Here is the single red bloom of the hibiscus flower on the "Roseflake".  The flowers do have lovely frilly edges to their petals.

Now here is Hibiscus rosa-sinensis "Snowflake."  It has green and white variegated leaves.

It also gets a single red frilly-edged bloom.

Both shrubs have a semi-pendulous form and look terrific with their great arching branches of variegated foliage.  I have around eight stands of these shrubs in various spots around my property and they reach between two and four metres high ...  two, in particular, are high enough to peek over the railings of a high set Queenslander home!

Hibiscus schizopetalus - Japanese Lantern

This fantastic arching shrub comes from tropical East Africa and is also known as the Coral Hibiscus, the Skeleton Hibiscus and the Chinese Lantern.

It is a fascinating plant and takes little effort to grow in a tropical garden.  It's an unusual hibiscus as its form is more akin to a weeping tree than a shrub.  The slender stems grow tall and upright quite rapidly and will reach around 2 metres and then arch over to form what could be best described as a pendulous canopy.

I have two of these shrubs growing on the hill driveway side of the pergola out in my courtyard garden.  They are planted at either end of the pergola and have now spread over half of the pergola which measures around 5 metres by 5 metres.  The top of the pergola acts as a support for the long pendulous arching stems.

Here you can see the Japanese Lantern at one end of the pergola spreading it drooping stems over the hill driveway.

This photo is taken looking up the hill driveway and it gives some idea of just how tall the upright stems get before they begin to arch.  The stems can be seen up against the corner of the pergola.

This shrub blooms sporadically all year long and the flowers are a real highlight.  I would say they are unequalled in their deeply dissected form. 

The delicate red flowers look a bit like a parachute or a chandelier... or like a Japanese Lantern!!!  They are rather distinctive with their frilly petals and long slender stamen.

I love the effect as they dangle from the top of the pergola like almost like a decoration out in the courtyard garden.  This is another of my favourite plants that's so suitable for a dry tropics garden or any tropical garden.

Pseudomussaenda flava or Mussaenda glabra - Dwarf Yellow Mussaenda or White Wings

This fabulous evergreen tropical shrub adds a bright splash of colour to tropic garden beds from the New Year right through to the end of the old year.  It grows in partial to full sun and will bloom all year round ... but especially well during the warm summer months ... and requires almost no attention whatsoever.

The shrub can become a little leggy and it can certainly be trimmed into shape if you wish, but I'm more of a 'let it do it's own thing' kind of gardener and these look terrific to me without any pruning.  They survive drought conditions as well as torrential downpours.  They seem to have no pest or disease problems at all ... they seem to love being left alone to do their thing!

I'm a little confused about why it has several botanic names ...  Mussaenda luteola, Mussaenda incana, Mussaenda lutea, as well as Mussaenda glabra and Pseudomussaenda flava.  I'm also not sure why it's commonly referred to as a 'Dwarf' ... all my shrubs are well over three metres high!   I much prefer the common name 'White Wings' ... as you can see from the photo below, that common name makes more sense!

The shrub looks fabulous when it's covered in all its flowers and bracts.  It has these golden star shaped blooms that are surrounded by finely-veined white bracts.  

I have quite a few of these shrubs on my property, but there's one that has a special place in my gardening heart! It's the one that's growing beside the front corner of our verandah.  This particular shrub is now as tall as the verandah railings and is in full sight when we're sitting on the rocking chairs.  Not only does it look fabulous, but the faint perfume from those small star-shaped flowers wafts up onto the verandah whenever there's a gentle breeze!  It's not a heady perfume so it doesn't overpower the senses ... rather, it's a soft gentle sweet smell that just tickles the end of the nose and makes you want to smile.

There's another reason why I do so love these shrubs ... they attract lots of bees and some birds!  All during spring and summer there's a constant buzz of excited bees as they dart from bloom to bloom.  This photo shows our native bee, the Blue-Banded Bee, head first diving in to feast on the sweet nectar.

I'm not sure what bird this is ... but it was also feasting on the nectar of the yellow flowers.

There's a really short (and I mean really short) video clip of the bird drinking the nectar on the link below:

Bird drinking the nectar from the Pseudomussaenda

There's such a lot to love about this shrub ... then, just the other day, I noticed something I've never seen before!  One of the branches ... just one ... on the White Wings near out front gate has variegated leaves!  After having these shrubs in all my gardens over the years, this is a first!

I've been searching any and all references to this plant to see if there's ever been a variegated variety, but so far, have found nothing at all.  Guess I'll have to try and get some cuttings to strike and see if I can't grow my own variegated White Wings.