Posted on by tonytomeo

Sustainable Plants Need No Introduction

Lemon bottlebrush is resilient and sustainable.

Neglected gardens demonstrate sustainability more effectively than maintained gardens. They display that which survives with minimal intervention. Also, that which requires too much intervention does not survive. Weeds are obviously too sustainable. They seem to survive anything. Desirable annuals are the opposite extreme, so do not survive for long.

Sustainable horticulture, excluding weeds, has become a fad. Unlike most fads, though, it is actually quite practical and sensible. In theory, it is horticulture that requires minimal intervention. It excludes what requires impractically intensive cultivation. Native species that grow wild, for example, are sustainable. Overly demanding tropical species are not.

A common problem with such fads is their marketability. They are too easy to exploit. Any commodity might be marketed as sustainable, whether or not it actually is. Sustainability sells. Realistically, in lucrative marketing, sustainability is unsustainable. It compromises any later needs for subsequent sales. Planned obsolescence is actually more lucrative.

Modern cultivars are not necessarily more sustainable than old cultivars. Simple species are generally more sustainable than their hybrids. Extensive breeding can cause genetic deficiencies. Variegation compromises vigor, and can revert. For example, New Zealand flax is generally sustainable. However, some of its variegated cultivars commonly revert.

Again, native species are technically sustainable. They can survive without irrigation or intervention. However, in gardens that receive generous irrigation, some are susceptible to rot. Therefore, they are less sustainable for such situations. Also, some native species are not good options if combustibility is a concern. Sustainability involves many factors.

Many of the most common and passe plants happen to be the most sustainable. That is why they are common and passe. Lily of the Nile, African iris and many yuccas are some of the most sustainable perennials. Juniper, oleander and lemon bottlebrush are among the most sustainable woody shrubs. Realistically, there are far too many examples to list.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 15 Comments

Six on Saturday: Just Some Random Flowers

Some of these might be redundant to earlier posts. I am still somewhat disheveled from last week. I should recover next week.

1. Pelargonium X hortorum, zonal geranium makes another appearance, but in another color. At least I think that this is a new color here. I can not be certain. We have several.

2. Salvia guaranitica ‘Amistad’ friendship sage is a bit new and trendy for my taste, but it sure is pretty, and popular with hummingbirds. Incidentally, someone else selected it.

3. Lagerstroemia indica ‘Twilight’ crape myrtle is another species that I would not be so keen on if it were not so pretty. It has many attributes, which is why it is overly popular.

4. Osteospermum ecklonis, African daisy blooms in several colors here. All of the others have single flowers. This is the only one that blooms with these odd semidouble flowers.

5. Lathyrus latifolius, perennial pea is a naturalized roadside weed. It certainly is pretty, though. I think that it usually dies back by now, but is doing so a bit slowly this summer.

6. Hydrangea macrophylla, bigleaf hydrangea is blooming with exceptionally big floral trusses. I should have put something else in the picture with it to demonstrate its scale.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 6 Comments

Morning Glory

Morning glory can bloom until winter.

Popular garden varieties of morning glory are descendants of various species of Ipomea. Too many species are involved to classify such varieties briefly. Perennial morning glory, particularly the blue dawn flower, can be invasive. Most others perform as annuals, so do not grow long enough to be invasive. However, they can self sow to become numerous.

Although it might self sow and grow in any soil, morning glory prefers rich and loose soil. It also prefers regular irrigation, and will wilt if its soil gets too dry. Roots disperse deeply, so dislike pots. Morning glory in pots typically stays smaller than the same in the ground. Morning glory grows best from seed, which should go into its garden at the end of winter.

Some annual varieties of morning glory can climb ten feet high. Some grow only four feet high. They are delightful on picket fences. Their cordate or lobed leaves are about two or three inches wide. Their simple circular flowers are about the same width. They bloom in rich hues of blue, purple, red, pink and white. Some types have stripes, streaks or spots. Several exhibit central star patterns.

Posted on by tonytomeo

Flowers For Late Summer Bloom

There are plenty of late flowers.

Most flowers bloom within their particular seasons. Many bloom for spring. Fewer bloom for winter. Only a few bloom randomly throughout the year, generally while the weather is warm. Several bloom specifically for late summer or into autumn. All have their particular reasons for blooming when they do. It is all about pollination and dispersal of their seed.

Most flowers bloom in spring to maximize the time for their seed to develop before winter. Some of these may begin to bloom even before early spring, in late winter. Many rely on wind for pollination, so are unconcerned about pollinators. Those that attract pollinators are bigger, more colorful, or perhaps fragrant. They wait for pollinators to become active.

Many flowers that bloom randomly throughout the year are actually from milder climates. Some are from tropical climates. Within their native ecosystems, they can disperse seed at any time. Also, their pollinators are as perpetually active as they are. Angel’s trumpet, for example, only stops blooming for cool winter weather. it is presently blooming nicely.

Canna similarly begins to bloom for late spring, and continues to bloom until autumn. It is from a tropical climate, so is more responsive to weather than to seasons. It could bloom as long as the weather is warm enough for it to do so. Like angel’s trumpet, it is presently blooming nicely. Several popular sages are likewise naturally native to tropical climates.

Several late summer flowers happen to be of the ‘Compositae’ Family. Their flowers are actually composite blooms of many tiny flowers. These include confelower, zinnia, aster, cosmos, blanket flower and black eyed Susan. Coreopsis, sneezeweed, cosmos, dahlia and sunflower are more examples. Chrysanthemum will become more seasonable later.

To be enjoying these flowers now, it would have been better to plant them earlier. Some are still available in bloom from nurseries. Potted dahlias are particularly nice. However, most perform best if they can grow into their situations prior to blooming. Sunflower grow best from seed sown immediately after winter. Those with big flowers need time to grow.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 11 Comments

Six on Saturday: Disheveled

Life is presently hectic here. Consequently, I did not prioritize six pictures for this week.

1. Acer macrophyllum, bigleaf maple leaf against a backdrop of sawdust looks malicious. Sadly, the tree needed to go, for a variety of reasons. Someone got some good firewood.

2. Chamaedorea plumosa, baby queen palm is reaching the saran ceiling. Now, it needs to relocate outside. The problem is that it has always been partially shaded by the saran.

3. Canna X generalis ‘Tropicanna’ canna was supposed to be ‘Alaska’. Fortunately, I got real ‘Alaska’ from another source. ‘Tropicanna’, although not planned, is a nice mistake.

4. Amaryllis belladonna, naked lady maintains some degree of modesty by being out of focus. Actually, I do not know why that happened. I am very fond of this white bloomer.

5. Heather has it made in the shade while she takes a break from rodent control. She can lounge about as much as she wants to, now that there are not many rodents left for her.

6. Rhody is difficult to get a good picture of. Nonetheless, any picture of Rhody is always the best of my ‘Six’. For this picture, he is on the porch of the home of one of his friends.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Night Blooming Jasmine

Night blooming jasmine is sweetly fragrant.

Looks can be deceiving. Night blooming jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum, does not look like much. It looks even less interesting in the darkness of night. However, its floral fragrance on warm summer nights is famously sugary and intense. Some might find it too intense. Nocturnal moths and bats are its preferred pollinators, so it is not fragrant during the day.

Because of its mundane appearance, night blooming jasmine is good in the background. It tolerates a bit of partial shade, so can be happy close to fences and buildings. It works well witin narrow spaces between houses and below high windows. Where winters are cool, it needs shelter from frost. It appreciates somewhat regular watering and rich soils.

Mature night blooming jasmine rarely grows higher than first floor eaves. It is quite easy to maintain lower, particularly if pruned aggressively after winter. Its narrow floral trusses suspend several small and narrowly tubular flowers. Individual flowers are about an inch long, and greenish white or pale yellow. Simple evergreen leaves are a few inches long, and narrow.

Posted on by tonytomeo

Fragrance Is Really For Pollinators

Angel’s trumpet is fragrant but prominent.

Many flowers are fragrant. Many are colorful. Several are both. The majority, though, are neither. That is because flowers use fragrance and color only to attract pollinators. Most flowers rely on wind for pollination, so do not need to attract pollinators. Such flowers are not so conspicuous, though. Fragrance and color are much more prominent and popular.

Most prominently colorful flowers are not very fragrant. They do not need to be. Flowers can use one technique or the other, fragrance or color, to attract pollinators. They do not need to waste resources on redundancy. Hibiscus, dahlia, sunflower, daisy, camellia and canna all lack floral fragrance. Yet, they efficiently attract pollinators with their floral color.

Most prominently fragrant flowers are similarly not very colorful. Night blooming jasmine, sweet box and sweet osmanthus produce small white flowers. Yet, they efficiently attract pollinators with their floral fragrance. Gardenia is more colorful only because its blooms are larger. Star jasmine is more colorful only because its blooms are much more profuse.

Victorian box and mock orange also bloom with fragrant but subdued flowers about now. Most angel’s trumpet blooms with fragrant but impressively large flowers in pastel colors. Hyacinth, narcissus, freesia and lily flowered both fragrantly and colorfully last spring. So did wisteria and pink jasmine. Daphne flowers are diminutive but fragrant for next winter.

Modern roses and some bearded iris are not as fragrant as some old cultivars. Many lack fragrance altogether. This is generally because fragrance had not been a priority of their breeding. Both roses and bearded iris now bloom with bolder flowers, which last longer. Roses bloom for a longer season, instead of only once. Fragrance was the compromise.

Floral fragrances are as diverse as the pollinators that they attract. This is because, like floral color, they appeal to particular pollinators. A few appeal to a single specific species of pollinator. Several flowers disperse their fragrance at night for nocturnal moths or bats. Most flowers, though, are receptive to pollinators that they do not intentionally appeal to.