Tenerife plants.

[warbey]

I have seen quite a few Plants/Trees/ Shrubs in Tenerife and a lot in Flower.

Little mention is made generally, and the only examples of note i remember seeing

are the efforts of canarybird which. of course are excellent examples

of the Beautiful Colours and Shades native to Tenerife.


Some Years ago, when near Marbella, I smelt a superb Perfume, Late Afternoon/early Evening.


This, I was told, was Plumbago. Does Anyone know if this can be found in Tenerife?


The various shades and colours of the Bougainvillea are Everyware, and another of note is a Tree with a Mass of Orange flowers which

turn into Seed Pods almost like Giant Runnerbeans.

What are YOUR Favourate/s, and can You Illustrate them.?


I appreciate Plants grow at certain Altitudes and also the North has wetter Climate,

so, maybe there is a divide there too.

Sorry for a long Post, but is it possible to show what Natural Wonders this Lovely Island has to offer.?

[primrose]

Plumbago has Blue Flowers and is quite common in Tenerife, the plant that has a really strong perfume that I know has tiny white flowers and is called Dama de Noche or Lady of the Night it is so perfumed if you cut a tiny bit and put it in an egg cup in your living room you can smell it right through the house.. You can grow Plumbago in a heated greenhouse or Conservatory in England.

[canarybird]

Yes Primrose is right... the heavily perfumed bush of tiny white flowers which are closed during the day and open in the evening, with a heavy perfume is Dama de Noche, sometimes called Galan de Noche. Its botanical name is Cestrum Nocturnum.

I knew it well years ago from strolling out in the evenings in Mallorca and Ibiza. It's definitely one of my favourite flowering bushes, although the flowers themselves can look quite modest. But what a surprise when that exotic aroma starts to waft through the neighbourhood on a summer evening. I loved it so much I brought cuttings from my old house in Ibiza, and planted them here, so I now have three bushes growing and at this moment they are in their glory. But it is also sold here now in garden centers. When I first planted them, my neighbours asked what was that lovely scent that they noticed around 9 pm on a warm evening. The bushes are now about 10 feet tall, but are pruned down often after blooming and it's very easy to grow new bushes from cuttings, usually a stick about 2 ft long. They bloom repeatedly throughout the year. Here are two photos of the one I have in my front garden.

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous-1/i-Xm7kzmb/0/L/P1180864-L.jpg

The little flowers are closed during daylight.

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous-1/i-4x9dvDm/0/L/P1180863-L.jpg

And the red/orange flowering tree whose seed pods look like long beans is probably the flamboyant tree, also called Royal Poinciana, or Delonix Regia.
They are often seen here planted in rows along an avenue. They're also beginning to bloom now as June is month in which they flower.
Here are a couple of photos, one showing the long seed pods, often used in musical groups here as shakers, since the seeds rattle inside when shaken.

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous-1/i-q5WTX8X/0/L/P1160040%20July%202012-L.jpg

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Other/Miscellaneous-1/i-wJDCfPL/0/L/P1180865-L.jpg

Plumbago also comes in white but I haven't noticed that it has much perfume.

Canarybird

[Cousincas]

For those of us with balconies, can the Dama de Noche be grown in a large pot ?

[canarybird]

Oh yes it does very well in a large pot and is easy to grow. I have one in a pot too just as a reserve in case I need it.

[primrose]

Canarybird do you know if you can buy plug plants of Doris Pinks anywhere in the North, I sent for some from England but left them in the Garden where we lived, I have looked all over in the south but with no luck, I had a full border of them in England and they were really scented as well especially in the evening.

[canarybird]

If you are going to look for one in a garden center, just remember that some places will call it "Galan de Noche" (gentleman of the night) and others as lady of the night (Dama).
Some people also mistakenly call the angel's trumpet or brugmansia as Dama de Noche. Brugmansia has long white or pink hanging trumpet shaped flowers and very large leaves, so be sure you don't get that one by mistake, although it is also a beautiful plant but is not a Cestrum Nocturnum in appearance or scent.

Brugmansia or Angel's Trumpet:

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/LIFE/Fallwinter2011-12/i-Pg3Z3zf/0/M/IMG_0588-M.jpg

Okay I'll confess....I was so intoxicated over the scent of the Dama de Noche that I was inspired to write a poem about it (http://tenerifejournal.blogspot.com.es/2009/04/38-lady-of-night.html), and put it on my Tenerife blog.
Perhaps if you have one of these bushes flowering in your garden or on your balcony on a summer evening the scent will be so romantic that it will also inspire you to write poetry.:)

Canarybird

- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -

Primrose.....sorry just saw your post ....I haven't been in a garden center for a few weeks and I know there are some types of dianthus here for sale, but I'll make a point of dropping by a couple in the next days as I love any excuse to wander among plants, and will let you know if I see any Doris pinks. They are lovely aren't they!

[warbey]

Thankyou Ladies. You are correct with both Plants/Trees.

The Trees I saw grow in a Park in Las Americas, there may be about eight.

Thanks re Dama del Noche too. It may be a little powerful to some, but I personally will never forget it..

Its only rival to Me, is Sweet Peas which is a little more subtle..

Thanks for the Photos Canarybird.. One Picture can be worth a Thousand words......

[warbey]

4817I have a Photo of a Display, but don't know how to get it on here.

Anyone prepared to help.?]4816



Limited success. One picture is of Palm Trees, and the Other is from an Hotel in P.D.L.A.

[Tickey]

Stralitzia is the orange (crane flower) in the display but can't think of the name of the other one - sorry

[primrose]

The red one is Anthurium. Also known as little boy plant.I will leave you to work that out.

[canarybird]

I had my camera at hand just before it was totally dark the other night and got a photo of a branch of Dama de Noche with the little flowers open.

They look quite different by day, as you see above in the other photos.

Dama de Noche in darkness when flowers open:

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Gardens/Home/i-r6JkzM3/0/L/P1180899-L.jpg

[primrose]

I had my camera at hand just before it was totally dark the other night and got a photo of a branch of Dama de Noche with the little flowers open.

They look quite different by day, as you see above in the other photos.

Dama de Noche in darkness when flowers open:

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Gardens/Home/i-r6JkzM3/0/L/P1180899-L.jpg

That's such a good photo you can almost smell it and thanks for reply about Doris Pinks.

[warbey]

AQnother one or two4822

[warbey]

48274827


did it work.?

[canarybird]

Yes Warbey, a lovely example of a young Flamboyant tree.

[primrose]

48274827


did it work.?

Yeh. Look forward to seeing some more now. that's a good photograph.

[warbey]

Thanks. Ive been a keen Amateur for Years and have plenty of all sorts

I thought it would help promote the GOOD things of Tenerife.
so, more Tomorrow, I hope...

[warbey]

48414840483948384837
Hopefully a few more from the South ...

[melm]

48414840483948384837
Hopefully a few more from the South ...

Good pictures Warbey I just love the plants in Tenerife

[canarybird]

Most of the flowers and plants you see here are not native to Tenerife or Canary Islands, but rather come from other warm parts of the world such as South America, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies and Africa to name a few. The Canary date palm (Phoenix canariensis) (http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Other/Tenerife-North-Weather-2/i-JVccwxf/0/M/P1080692%20july%202%20am-M.jpg) however is native to Canary Islands, as are many small plants seen up in Las Cañadas del Teide, including the tall the Red Tajinaste (http://www.pbase.com/canarybird/image/80038355). Bougainvillea is native to South America. The local small Cavendish canary bananas are supposedly native to China and Vietnam where they were a cultivar from a greenhouse.

[warbey]

]Which is why I was careful with the Thread Title..