What's Blooming: Tropical Hydrangea

Malachite butterflies on Tropical Hydrangea blooms

What’s Blooming: Tropical Hydrangea
by Kelly Kellow, Horticulturist, Gardens on Spring Creek

When the snow comes to The Gardens, outside plants are in their winter slumber. But, in the Butterfly House you can find plants that are in full bloom, making it a sweet, summer-like oasis.

There is one special specimen in the flight house that is blooming just in time to chase the winter chills away. Its giant, light pink spheres hang from the tree like shooting stars that smell like buttery cake batter – a true delight during the cold winter months!

Dombeya x walichii (DOM-bay-ya) or Tropical Hydrangea is in the Malvacea family and has large pendulous umbels of light pink flowers and large bright green leaves that have short hairs, giving them a velvety soft texture. It is native to East Africa and Madagascar and does not handle temperatures cooler than 30 degrees Fahrenheit, making it only suitable for tropical regions. It is perfect for our Butterfly House, with its high humidity and steady warm temperatures – much like what you would find in Florida or southern regions of the U.S.

A Swallowtail butterfly on a Tropical Hydrangea bloom

Dombeya is a fast-growing tree or shrub and can add up to 36 inches of growth a season. On average, it grows to be 25 feet tall and 20 feet wide. When Dombeya starts flowering, butterflies will find the sweet-smelling large flowers very attractive. The flowers have a long bloom period and are important to the butterflies because they are rich in nectar during months when other plants are not blooming. Some plants bloom during the summer and will only grow vegetation during the winter. However, other plants, like Dombeya, bloom in the winter and grow during the summer. This is an important – and intentional – feature for our Butterfly House so that there are natural flower blooms all year round, in addition to the artificial nectar like rotting fruit, sugar-water cups and sponges we provide.

Every part of the Dombeya tree has some type of importance to the butterflies including the very large, bright green leaves that have been a lounging favorite. You can find them hanging upside down on the underside of the leaves or lying flat on top – a great plant for hiding, roosting and basking in the sun! Malachite, Mexican Blue Wing, Spicebush Swallowtail and Zebra Long Wings are some butterfly species that can be found lounging, feeding, and roosting all hours of the day on the tree. The Tropical Hydrangea tree is delightful for all visitors – whether walking or flying – during these cold winter months.

Enjoy the Butterfly House for half off admissions through February 28! Reserve your tickets today at fcgov.com/gardens/admissions.

Hornworms by Brionna McCumber

Gardeners in Colorado may find large green caterpillars with an iconic horn on their plants every summer—these are hornworms! Tobacco hornworms ( Manduca sexta ) feed on common garden crops, often leading to conflict with humans. These very hungry caterpillars are defoliators, damaging plants such as tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. While the caterpillars use crops as a food source, which could be seen as negative, the moths provide a critical step in reproduction for the plants via pollination. Carolina Sphinx Moths ( Manduca sexta ), also called Hummingbird moths, are the adult form of hornworm s. They are known for their unique ability to hover mid-flight. Combined with the use of a special elongated proboscis, these moths are especially important for plant species with long tubular flowers that other pollinators cannot access or pollinate. The Gardens on Spring Creek Butterfly House wants to highlight the importance of these specialized pollinators in our...

Color Theory by Chelsea McLean

By understanding the basics of color theory, gardeners can have a greater impact without more work. Let’s start with a refresher: you may remember that the primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. Mix these together in different formulations and you get the secondary colors orange, green, and purple. On the left side of the color wheel are the cool colors, the ones that inspire calm and tranquility. Opposite these are the warm colors that excite and buzz. Mix in your neutral colors – white, black, and grey – and you get tints, tones, and shades. Working with these foundational concepts is where things start to get exciting. The most dramatic color combinations are those that sit opposite one another on the wheel, like my personal favorite of tangerine and violet. Referred to as contrasting colors, be sure to choose highly saturated colors for contrast plantings as muted colors will only reduce the intensity. Perhaps a monochromatic planting is more your style. When I’...

Growing Poinsettias at The Gardens by Kelly Kellow

Did you know The Gardens on Spring Creek grows and sells poinsettias every year? We asked Greenhouse Horticulturist Kelly Kellow about her process of bringing these vibrant and memorable blooms to fruition . Timeline is key! Kelly: From the time of planting to the time they are sold, the poinsettias grown in our greenhouse are on a strict schedule to produce that perfect and beautifully colored plant that everyone is looking for during the holidays. There are three types of poinsettias to choose from: long season (10–12 weeks to develop), medium season (8–9 weeks), and short season (6–7 weeks) . Medium season poinsettias work best for me here at The Gardens. The first thing I do before I buy poinsettia plugs is to pull out the previous year's calendar to remind myself of the prior season's schedule . Then, I begin to make my plan and buy my plants. Working backwards from when I want them ready for selling, I count out the weeks and cr...

The Gardens on Spring Creek

Search This Blog