Dracaena Surprise Blooming In a Cool Room

Houseplants seem to get more attention during the doldrums of winter than any other time. Not much else is growing green now, or dare I say, flowering?

We had a surprise blooming from a houseplant that had spent its summer and part of autumn on a balcony outdoors. Once inside it was protected from the harsh weather, but it didn’t get regular watering or perhaps not enough water at some point. Some leaves have brown tips, but others are dark green and glossy. It’s in a room that’s cooler than the rest of the house. Maybe it sensed it wasn’t in the best of conditions and tried to reproduce.

I think it’s a type of Dracaena with short, wide leaves that are lance-shaped and pointed at the end. The base of the leaves overlap as they sheath the main stem. When the leaves eventually fall away, they leave behind a diamond-like pattern on the stem that is characteristic of Dracaena.

Flowering dracaena.
Dracaena flower stalk and foliage. Photo taken 11Jan2011.
Flowerstalk of dracaena.
Dracaena with many new white flowers in bunches along its flower stalk. Photo taken 26Dec2011.

A couple weeks later the flowers were still taking their turns blooming. Individual flowers are clustered into round groups.

Dracaena flowering.
Flowerstalk of dracaena. Photo taken 11Jan2011.

In the close-up below you can see the individual flowers that have already bloomed are turning brown. Flowers still blooming are creamy white.

Closeup look at individual flowers of Dracaena.
Closeup look at individual flowers. Photo taken 11Jan2011.

 

Sunflower Photos from Pennsylvania

This summer the farmer across the road planted several fields of sunflowers. We had fun watching the flowers grow tall through the month of August anticipating the big yellow blossoms. Their sunny faces were opening up and in full bloom by September.

Sunflowers on a sunny day
Sunflowers on a sunny day

Below are links to a video and archive of some of our favorite sunflower photos. The audio is an instrumental titled Warda’s Whorehouse by Phillip Glass and Foday Musa Suso from Music From the Screens.

Sunflower Photos Video

Sunflower-Photos.zip

If you ever get a chance to stand among sunflowers growing in a field en masse, take a few moments to soak in the sunshine with them. It is a very uplifting experience. We guarantee a smile!