Final (and first!) Blooms of the New Year

~ Becky Ross Michael

After several unseasonally warm days, the temperature is now plummeting here in Texas, and the winds are howling. I’m certainly happy that I recently took a few outdoor pictures of the remaining blooms!

Becky’s Balcony
Nearby Park
Local Heritage Site
Becky’s After-Christmas Cactus

I hope that YOUR new year blossoms with health and happiness!

52 thoughts on “Final (and first!) Blooms of the New Year”

  2. We had our killing frost in October, so the annuals have gone the way of the world, and the perennials are sleeping. The geranium and African violet are thriving in the house. I hope you don’t experience any ill effects from the temperature plunge!

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  3. I especially like your blooming cactus. After three years, mine still hasn’t bloomed, although it seems healthy as can be and puts on lots of new foliage. I finally read that they require some hours of darkness for blooms to form, and mine is sitting next to a window by day and under lights next to my desk by night. In spring, I think I’ll do a split and repot, and find it a different location.

    I didn’t realize that big thing in the first photo — the Coleus with the green and maroon leaves on the right — would bloom. It’s very pretty. Are all of those inside now? I just moved most of mine inside today, apart from one Hawaiian schefflera that’s too big and heavy to haul around. It gets freeze cloth and a light bulb. We’ll see what happens.

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    1. Thanks, Linda. My Christmas cactus have taken a few years to bloom, as well, even though they grew a lot. For whatever reason, the light conditions worked this year. The only outside plant I brought in was the asparagus fern because it was doing so well. The other annuals seemed to be about at the end of their lifespan. I hope yours do well!

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  6. I spy a pretty Xmas cactus…and you have quite an array of blooms..my mango has just started producing flowers and a couple of other trees have too… my jackfruit has lots of fruit this year quite small but so many as they grow they will be vying for space methinks…Happy New Year, Becky x

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  10. Late flowers are so lovely. Reading the comments above do you not expect a cold winter? I mean can you sometimes get through without a frost? Here in Dorset the first frosts only came after Christmas! The primroses were already in bloom and seem to be coping. Lovely to see where you are 😍

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  21. It is very cold and wintery here, and will be quite awhile until any flowers bloom outdoors. But, I’m very pleasantly surprised that an amaryllis that bloomed in December has put up a second stalk and will be blooming again soon.

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  22. Such lovely flowers. I managed to keep the things I brought in in pots green, but my goodness–blooms! I hear that here on the Texas Gulf Coast we are supposed to have a big fat freeze on the sixth of February, but today is the 4th and it was 82 degrees…go figure!

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  23. Many blooms to you this year, Becky.

    Thank you for the warm & pretty pics! I needed that. It’s well below 0 here, grey and snowy.

    Second try at commenting. WP is weird lately, and Im having to re follow everyone when I make a comment

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    1. For me, the trick seems to be in the lighting. Most of the year, mine get bright afternoon sun and don’t bloom. In the fall, the light changes, and they’re more apt to bloom. But it might be the temp, too. I rarely use AC in the summer, so it’s quite warm in my place. In the fall, it’s finally cooler here in TX. That probably affects them, too. If you have plants that are reacting differently in the same conditions, however, maybe it’s the soil or container size? Obviously, I’m no expert:) It’s a challenge, isn’t it?

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