Things are finally looking like spring outdoors here in western Washington. This spring has been slower than normal, not in small part due to our “Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders related to this little pandemic. However, it has all started to change now. The fig tree has leaves (and the cuttings have leaves too!) and the bananas are awake. We’re going to start seeing big leaves again, albeit in pots for the most part this year.
Tetrapanax papyrifer leaves are over a foot wide, right out the gate this year! 
New copper tinged growth is the best. I could look at that all day. 
Say what you will about rhododendrons. When they are given the space and the time to grow into trees, they become something else. Wow! 
Even grass looks cool and unique this time of year. 
Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa) is just now starting to pop open their first blooms. There’s more where that came from…
I’m excited for new plants! Over the last year, I’ve gained a few aloes and been fortunate enough to receive more cactus seeds than I know what to do with. Most of the aloes have been moved out from underneath the grow light inside the house, and have been placed outside to begin soaking up precious sunlight.
Aloe polyphylla, as you may have guessed from earlier posts. You could say I have a few of these. 
Aloe africana, a tree aloe from… Africa. Who would have guessed that, from the name alone? This will take a few years to get to blooming size. 
I wish that I knew the name of this one. Aloe microstigma? Aloe marlothii? Aloe ferox? I’m no expert. I bought it at a yard sale, with no tag of course. As I’ve gradually exposed it to stronger sunlight since I got it, the color has become a vivid silvery blue in person. Incredible!
This little guy is Parodia warasii. Not a fast grower, but charming nonetheless. Look at those red spines!
More plants! I started this one from seed last fall. It got pretty tall by the beginning of the new year, so I had to chop it back to it’s base. It’s a lobelia, and they don’t mind that one bit. They go dormant every winter anyway, so it isn’t a big deal to the plant in the long run.
Lobelia cardinalis ‘Black Truffle’ is throwing out some really dark purple leaves, nearly black in the center of the rosette. The parent plant of this clump was over four feet tall last August. Let’s hope some of these approach that height. On that note, my seeds were open pollinated and there were Lobelia tupa a moderate distance away…
In the “nearly tropical” category, more plants have moved outside. For lack of a better name, Alocasia odora did extremely well under minimal light this winter. I put one in a cool room with a tile floor, a fairly constant 58 degrees. I put another one in a room that was around 8 to 10 degrees warmer. You can probably guess which one acted like a plastic plant and which one actually grew.
A couple of bromeliads have made it outside recently, and they might have benefited from making the migration a little earlier. Vriesea imperialis (or Alcantarea imperialis as it used to be named) is a true giant of the brom world. It is a terrestrial bromeliad, and so takes roots as seriously as most other plants I grow. From my experience with them in the past, they do more growing during the spring and fall than in the summer. The more overcast and rainy days, the better. Larger leaves, darker color and a fuller rosette all come from those conditions. The last monster that I had the pleasure of taking care of grew to nearly 4 feet across. It never put out any pups, unfortunately. My current stock of V imperialis is a little different. There are plenty of pups! I’ve got a pretty large Billbergia hybrid that has moved outside now too. With hybrids of this genus, I am completely lost. I’m guessing that there is a little bit of B vittata in there, given the horizontal stripes and upright growth.
I expect this Alocasia odora to get to monster proportions this year. 
This picture of the Vriesea imperialis was taken the day I moved them outside. Even just a few days later, they darkened dramatically and have visibly begun to put on growth! 
Billbergia hybrids are beautiful but taxonomically confusing. I wish the person who sold this one to me could have told me more than just “It’s a hybrid”.
There are a few plants that I have bought. I try to do as little of this as possible though. It’s not as fun as germinating or propagating my own plants, but it is a quick way to add new botanical buddies. I’ve really been getting into Salvia species, especially the big ones! Anything that offers nectar for hummingbirds or bees is a win in my book. The Salvia guaranitica I tried out last year did so well that I’ve germinated a few more from seed. Salvia coccinea ‘Lady In Red’ has been fun to grow for the last few years, but is pretty unreliable in winter even indoors under growlights. This year I’ve added Salvia gesneriflora, hopefully to replace Lady In Red. S gesneriflora is just as blazing red in the flower department, but much hardier in the root zone and vigorous in leaf. It will hopefully tower over me, eventually!
I have to mention a second new plant for this year. Dicliptera suberecta is another tough plant that allegedly performs well under neglect. Drought tolerant, deer resistant, and last but not least… it flowers profusely and provides plenty of nectar for our pollinators. How could I not try this one out? Being native to Uruguay and Argentina, it holds special allure for me. I have a special place in my garden for plants from South America.
A couple of these D suberecta should provide me with enough material to propagate a ton of new plants by the end of this year!
Stay tuned for more planty goodness in the coming weeks. Spring brings lots of activity to the world of Big Leaves. Thanks for checking out this page!
Big Leaves 