Spring in St. Croix

Pelican Cove, along north shore of St. Croix, USVI.

I just got back from a week in St. Croix, USVI, where the temperature on the first day of spring was in the mid-80's, surprisingly about the same as it was in the Boston area.  Despite the similarity in temperatures, the view was very different.

We spent most of the trip snorkeling and taking in the underwater sights, but we spent one day at the St. George Village Botanical Garden.  The 16 acre site is on a former sugar plantation dating from the early 1800's.  It is located on the western end of the island  in a transitional area between the rain forest and the grasslands.  The botanical collection contains 1500 species, both native and introduced, that are woven into the remains of the plantation's buildings.  This collection includes plants from drier east end of the island, as well as those of the grasslands and rain forest.

 In the former Sugar Factory building are found some display gardens featuring many species of Aloes and Bromeliads.

The addition of the little waterfall really enhanced this garden.

Notice the crazy growth on these leaves

The Crested Euphorbia, which is at the lower right in the photo above, is a variant of Mottled Euphorbia, a plant native to tropical Asia.  This variant tends to grow in random directions creating ridges and waves along it's leaves.



There were a number of different members of the Euphorbiaceae family in these gardens.  Another one that caught my eye was called Red Bird, Pedilanthus tithymaloides.

Another member of the Euphorbiaceae family,
note its Poinsettia-like leaves.

Bromeliads are featured in another part of the Sugar Factory.  Not all of these are native to the Virgin Islands, but most are from the American Tropics.

The spines on this Kapok Tree are
difficult to make out at a distance.

In addition to these smaller tropical plants, there are a number of larger trees in the collection.  The Kapoc Tree is among the largest trees in the garden. This native tree can be found growing in many spots on the island.  The larger specimens can be recognized the the massive buttressing roots.  On smaller and medium-sized trees a key feature is the large spines that decorate the trunk.

The fiber found in the seed pods of the Kapok tree is very hydrophobic (water resistant) and was used in life vests before synthetic materials were available.










Another tree that I had noticed around the island is the Cannonball Tree.  It is most easily spotted by its large orange flowers.  The tree's common name is for the 4-5" spherical fruits it produces.

The Cannonball Tree is native to the northern
parts of South America.

These flowers are easy to spot at a distance.

This member of the Bignoniacea family is native to the Virgin Islands.

When I saw the flower of the White Cedar, or Pink Poui, I did a double take.  This flower looked very familiar, but I did not expect to see it on a tree. After reading the tag, it noted that this was a member of the Bignoniaceae family, same family as the Trumpet Vine, found in many parts of mainland North America.

I think this may be Lobster Claw,
Heliconia rostrata,but I couldn't find a tag.

Moving back to the leafier plants I was struck by this bright red and yellow flower coming out of what looked to me like a banana tree.  Well it wasn't a banana, but instead was a Heliconia (both in the order Zingiberales).  

As we were winding up our visit we passed through the Cactus and Succulent garden.  These plants are usually found on the drier eastern third of the island. 

In the background on the right is another Cannonball Tree.

When travelling I always like to visit a local botanical garden to learn something about the indigenous plant life and to see how some of the tropical plants we have look in their native environment.

Native Annual Seeds that I tested in 2010

As I get ready to order seeds for 2011, I’m looking back on the native annuals and biennials that I tried out last year.  Some were successful and bear repeating while others went nowhere.  Some of the failures were not surprising while others just wouldn’t germinate and I’m not sure why.  So here’s a review of last years seeds.

Native to Massachusetts:

Adlumia fungosa (Allegheny vine, biennial) I got a few more plants from seed I collected in 2009.  Even better, I saw several plants coming up on their own from the previous season’s plants! 

Aureolaria pedicularia (Fernleaf yellow false foxglove, annual)  None of these germinated.  Since these plants are partially parasitic on oaks, my seed starting mix may not have been right, or they may not have been conditioned properly.

Bidens coronata (Crowned beggar’s ticks, annual)  Very few of these seeds germinated and those few that did failed to mature.  This was a surprise to me since other Bidens species tend to run wild in the garden.  I’ll give this one another try, directly in the garden.

Corydalis sempervirens (Rock harlequin, short-lived perennial)  These had good germination and transplanted well. I really love this plant.  I’ll need to find more places with thin rocky soil for this plant.

Hedeoma pulegiodes (American pennyroyal, annual) sprouted freely in the garden near where I had planted seedlings in 2009 – even under the Norway Maple.  While I couldn’t see them all, I could detect their aromatic aroma whenever I stepped on or mowed over them in the lawn.  It is reported that these plants act as an insect repellant when rubbed on the skin.  I hope to give that a try this year. 

Neither the Hypoxis hirsuta (Eastern yellow star grass, perennial) nor the Polygala sanguinia (Purple milkwort, annual) seeds germinated for me this year.  I will give up on these two for now, also I have run out of seed. 

Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium (Sweet everlasting, annual)  These seeds germinate well, but the transplants do not mature well in the yard or in pots.  Its native habitat is in depleted soils with little competition from other plants. However, I was surprised to find one out of the lawn, near the one successful plant from 2009.  I’ll try these again with direct seeding in a prepared area. 


Native to New England:

Monarda punctata (Spotted bee balm, biennial) germinated and transplanted well.  It also bloomed quickly and was a big hit with the bees and some very interesting wasps in the garden.  Since this Monarda prefers drier conditions, I have a roadside spot that would benefit from this plant that I would like to try it in this year.

Rudbeckia triloba (Brown-eyed Susan, biennial) failed to germinate for me.  The germination conditions on the packet were fairly complex, especially when compared to relative Rubeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan) which germinates freely after a month of cold moist stratification.  A small population of R. triloba is getting established at the Wildflower Meadow at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA.





For plants Native to other parts of North America I found the following:

Salvia, Spotted Beebalm, Agastache and Gallardia
all mixed together in my South-facing bed.

Agastache aurantiaca ‘Navaho Sunset’ (Golden hyssop, perennial)  This cultivar germinated reasonably well and while it was a little slow to get started growing in the garden, it was up to full size and blooming by mid-July, producing a cloud of orangy-pink flowers.  The foliage also smells really good when disturbed. We’ll see how well these overwinter/reseed.  I’ll be growing more of these this year!

Cleome serrulata (Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, annual) again failed to sprout for me, either indoors or out. I can get the seeds to germinate, but not develop into seedlings.  Again, there may be something wrong with my starter mix or the newly germinated seed may be too delicate to sow into the growing mix.  In either case, I think I need to move on. 

Eschscholzia californica (California poppy, annual/tender perennial) germinates well in the garden, but my site is a bit too cool to allow many of them to reach maturity.  I usually get only a handful of blooms each year. This plant also shuts down when it gets too hot.  While I loved this plant in my native California, I think it is time to move on from this one too.

Euphorbia marginata ‘Summer Icicle’ (Snow-on-the-Mountain, annual) is a tap rotted annual and is reported not to transplant well.  So after soaking the seeds in warm water for a few hours these were planted directly in the ground in early June.  When mature they provided foot-tall mounds of white foliage and flowers.  This cultivar is shorter than the species (1-3’). 

Gallardia pulchella (Annual blanket flower, annual)  These seeds came from the Wildflower Center in Austin, TX.  These germinated and transplanted well after 30 days of cold stratification (may not have been necessary).  This species has a laxer form than the commercial cultivars, but it bloomed well both in pots and in the garden where it intermingled with the Spotted Beebalm and the Agastache.  This plant was very popular with the bees. I allowed the flowers to go to seed so we’ll see if they are still viable in the spring. 

Helianthus debilis ‘Pan’ (Beach sunflower, annual) reseeded itself into the same pot from last year.  This is not too surprising since there are naturalized populations of this Texas native scattered along the Eastern seaboard up to the Northeast.  This second generation had the same upright branching form of its parent.

Phacelia tanacetifolia (Lacy phacelia, annual) germinated very well and grew well in potting soil, but did not take well to being transplanted.  It has been recommended as a cover crop, with the warning not to let it go to seed in agricultural fields.  I may try this again as a direct sow plant.

Phlox drummundii (Drummond phlox – straight species, annual) also came from the Wildflower Center. These seeds germinated and transplanted well.  The flowers were true to the species scarlet red, but there was some variation in flower shape.  While I am not too hopeful that about the seeds overwintering outside, I did get a second generation late in the summer.  Relative to other flowers in my Massachusetts garden, these flowers were not very attractive to the pollinating insects.

This petal shape, with the white edging,
was unique from the other plants I had this year

Salvia coccinea (Texas sage, annual/tender perennial) is another Texas native.  Seeds for this plant germinated and transplanted well.  It grew equally well in a pots and in the garden bed and was very attractive to the bees.  Based on the native range of this species I don’t expect that any of the seeds would overwinter in my garden.

If you have any advice for growing the plants I listed here, I love to hear it.  What new native plants are you thinking about trying for next year?