SHARING SECRETS: Seeing Red
- k-england
- Feb 28
- 5 min read
Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! March 2025.
This month’s question:
What tree, flower, cactus, fruit or other garden product is the RED which gives you a Happy Valentine!
Vincent Lazaneo claims…
...My "Can Can" carnations have been covered with red blooms since November. I started them from seed last spring. They prefer cool temperatures and probably grow best in a coastal area.
Debra Lee Baldwin of 92026 shares…
...Kalanchoe luciae (paddle plant, flapjacks). When positioning Kalanchoe luciae in the garden, do keep in mind it needs sun in order to redden. Otherwise, it stays blue green with leaves slightly blushed or margined in red. It also looks fabulous when backlit. Early morning or late afternoon sun makes it come alive.
But wait! Debra isn’t the only one...
Lorie Johnson of 92084, also celebrates with…
...Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are red delights in my garden: Kalanchoe luciae ‘Flapjacks’. They are planted in full sun on both sides of our driveway and are waterwise requiring water once a week. Unfortunately, snails 🐌 love them, but they haven’t been a problem this year due to lack of rain 🌧️.
Tere Trout of 91941 makes her surprises herself...
...I enjoy painting rocks and placing them in the garden for pops of color. For Valentine’s Day I painted a bunch and hid them around the neighborhood for people to find on their morning walks.
Gerald D. Stewart of 92084, suggests…
...Bougainvillea 'Raspberry Ice' has broadly white leaf margins, and raspberry red bracts. The bright white variegation contrasts well to highlight the red flower bracts. There are two places on the property, planted long ago, with them, now about 20' across, and probably 10'-12' tall. They are a perfect example of Valentine's Day celebration, just as they were for celebrating the Christmas season.
The only important planting information would be that when planting bougainvilleas, dig the hole first, then CAREFULLY remove the plant from the pot, not allowing the roots to become bare rooted. For that reason, I usually don't plant a bougainvillea soon after purchase, but wait months to assure the roots are well established before removing the plant from the pot.
Ida Rigby of 92064, contemplates…
...My red Valentine plant is spider net grevillea (Grevillea thelemanniana). Not only is it a Valentine’s Day red bloomer, it’s also my Christmas red garden decoration and celebrates spring with red blossoms well into April. It starts to bloom in December and blooms well into April here in Poway.
It’s an indestructible evergreen that lives on the seasonal rainfall here, is totally neglected, lush green and covered with blossoms and buds even this year with our 0.16 inches of rain. I will water it this year, perhaps more for me than for it, if we do not get any measurable rainfall. The individual flowers last and last and the blooms keep coming. Of course they attract hummingbirds. I have two; both ignore our frosts, stay green and keep blooming.
They are also happy to be cut back and vigorously regrow. I’d love to have a forest of them, but there are so many plants that call and so little space.
Sue Fouquette of 92020 responded…
...Anthurium, I’m featuring a potted one outside our kitchen door.
From Wikipedia:
The genus is native to the Americas, where it is distributed from northern Mexico to northern Argentina and parts of the Caribbean.
Mollie Allen of 92064, proclaims…
...I can't find the best photo I have of my camellia in full bloom; however, it is budded and beginning to bloom now. It grows on the north-facing side of our house and has been faithfully blooming every February for the past 28 years. The bees were enjoying it today! It requires very little care, just regular water, minor pruning and dead leaf removal underneath.
Debby Dunn replied…
... My Christmas cactus and mandevilla are tied for that red love! I have moved twice in two years. Both the Christmas cactus and mandevilla are in pots and have been a bit moody. I guess the secret is the same as real estate... "location, location, location!"
Wikipedia helps with this, “Schlumbergera is a small genus of cacti with six to nine species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. These plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats that are generally shady with high humidity, and can be quite different in appearance from their desert-dwelling cousins. Most species of Schlumbergera have stems which resemble leaf-like pads joined one to the other and flowers which appear from areoles at the joints and tips of the stems. Two species have cylindrical stems more similar to other cacti.
Cathy Tylka of 92026 is happy about The Mother of a 1000!
...This plant is called "Mother of Thousands”, scientific name Kalanchoe daigremontiana. It's a succulent that produces numerous small plantlets on the ends of its leaves, which can easily detach and grow into new plants.
Joselle Spinoza of 91942 adds...
...For sure it's my Grevillea 'King's Celebration'! It is so big and happy, and the hummingbirds love it - as do the tiny songbirds, interestingly. (There must be some small insects they enjoy; it's hard to tell what they're going for!) I encourage everyone to try this plant. Just know that it gets much bigger than the label suggests, easily 9'h x 12'w, and that's with trimming 1-2x/yr.
Karen England of 92084 comments...
... red roses! 🌹🌹🌹Besides Dr. Huey (For the record, I planted a different grafted rose originally, but the Dr. Huey root stock that the rose was grafted onto is all that remains. I know I’m not the only one this has happened to, but I may be the only one who has kept the good Dr.) I have some intentionally planted red roses too; a Dublin Bay climbing rose, a Fourth of July climbing rose, and a Scentimental bush rose are some of my favorite reds.
(Left) Dr. Huey, like you couldn't tell!) (Middle) Dublin Bay. (Right) Fourth of July.
Question for next month:
It’s March and almost Easter. Sometimes you look out your window and see a wonderful plant, flower or tree, which you are so happy to see, and you have a Room with a View! What is yours?
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