I'm still on a list from our former neighborhood where people sell/give away things. Mainly for THIS reason. One of them posted that they had trimmed their firespike plants and had the cuttings laying out, free for the taking. Many times I miss the timing because someone will post something for free while we're at the farm or at work. But this time, the email came while I was driving near the neighborhood.
I made a u-turn and drove by...
I made a u-turn and drove by...
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| Firespike cuttings |
This is what they had out, a pile of cuttings. They said they are easy to multiply by just sticking in the ground and watering. Why not?
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| Propagating firespike |
They'll also root by just putting in water. So when I got them to the farm, I sat down on the porch, got a bucket of water and started trimming the ends (fresh cuts for water absorption). I got them all trimmed and cleaned up and put them in the bucket. I had to leave them last week but when I went back this weekend, they were fine.
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| Planting firespike cuttings |
So before the rain came, I dug some holes, stuck them in, filled in with dirt and watered. Thankfully we have more rain in our forecast later this week so they'll get some water that way too.
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| Firespike plant, image courtesy of Wikimedia |
This image is what they should look like when fully grown. They are apparently very popular with hummingbirds and bees, are drought tolerant and can handle both sun and shade...WIN, WIN, WIN!
Hey, if they are truly this easy to propagate, once they are established, we'll have an endless supply to put all around the farm and they are kinda pretty!
Hey, if they are truly this easy to propagate, once they are established, we'll have an endless supply to put all around the farm and they are kinda pretty!
Anyone every grown the Firespike?
Oh, how pretty I love those.
ReplyDeletelucky you being at the right place at the right time
My timer on the stove was going off so didn't finish what I was going to mention.
DeleteWhat I wanted to say was; when cutting the end of stems like that or even cutting ends of flowers, etc, cut at an angle and it will soak up more water and get roots started much sooner than just cutting straight across.
The Firespike plant is Gorgeous and great hummingbird plant as well. Lucky you. Nice to get free cuttings like that to plant out at the farm to have something different for the bees, butterflies and even the hummingbirds. Now you will have to get yourself a hummingbird feeder as well to put close by to your new planted plants.
Information on growing:
Deletehttp://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/firespike/firespike-plant-information.htm
http://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/firespike.html
I have never even seen or heard of these. It appears I am 50 miles too far north to grown them. Too bad! They are beautiful. you really did get lucky.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they would grow in Canada?
ReplyDeleteVery lovely. Not at all what I imagined them to look like.
ReplyDeleteExcellent score.
ReplyDeleteThey are a lovely plant and as you can see by the cuttings they get a bit 'leggy' so keep them a bit bushy when they start to grow, just a couple of light trims then leave them to set flowers.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to have a variety of flowers for the little creatures who are busy at the farm.
I would love to have some of those! I am going to have to check some of the local nurseries to see if they have any. I try to plant things for hummers, butterflies, and bees.
ReplyDeleteWow those are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWow, in the right place at the right time! Great score! Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI have something similar to this called a Firebush. It also has red spiky flowers. I planted it to attract hummingbirds to my yard.
Another name for them is the Fire Cracker Bush, at least in my world. I've seen them in lots of places in the Houston area. My best friend has several of them in her backyard. Good luck in growing them, I look forward to seeing the results! <3
ReplyDeleteAnother name for them is the Fire Cracker Bush, at least in my world. I've seen them in lots of places in the Houston area. My best friend has several of them in her backyard. Good luck in growing them, I look forward to seeing the results! <3
ReplyDeleteWell now, we have a speckling of hummingbirds here and bees are needed for the garden. I'll have to look into getting firespikes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the step-by-step! I live in Florida and these plants grow really good here. I had taken some cuttings so that I could plant in a new area of my yard, and I potted them and placed the pots in a covered plastic container. It's been two weeks and they look awesome, but I wasn't sure how long it takes for them to root. Your article has helped me decide that they must be rooted.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and happy farming!! :-)
I did the same thing 20 years ago. Now I have firespike everywhere and so do my gardening friends. (Odontonema Strictum)is the botanical name.
ReplyDeleteThey also have lavender and pink varieties. Enjoyed your post.
Should they be staked when first planted? A couple of stems are leaning over.
ReplyDeleteProbably wouldn't hurt. Once established they are bushy and not as leggy as early on. Ours, sadly, didn't make it. We think they were eaten by something (deer? some goats that once had regular, but unknown to us, access to the yard?). We'll try again when we get the house redone. But yeah I tend to stake things when I'm not sure, especially if it's windy on a regular basis etc. Good luck!
DeleteI live in Sarasota, FL and had a beautiful bushy large red fire spike for 20 years and 2 volunteer red fire spikes that popped up in perfect locations. About five years ago, my original huge red fire spike suddenly bloomed purple fire spikes. And then one of the volunteers bloomed lavender and the third volunteer bloomed a deep, beautiful magenta. All are beautiful, but I no longer have a red fire spike so I guess I will ask somebody in my Butterfly Club to give me a cutting or two. I have no idea why they decided to change colors.
ReplyDelete