(Apologies for the delay posting this. From my perspective, it posted not long after midnight this morning. Only now I notice that it did not really appear.)

Rhody is the color of ‘maple cream’. That is Valspar color 3003-4B. It is lighter that the color of a maple bar, but certainly not white. Nonetheless, some people think that Rhody is white. For these Six, it would have been sufficient. Actually, it is mere coincidence that four subjects are white, and that the two that are not are such pale pink that they are more white than Rhody is.

Incidentally, Rhody is absent for this Saturday.

1. Camellias should not be trees. The flowers of this one are too high, and the growth is too sparse. It is pretty nonetheless. It was actually taller before getting pruned down a bit last season.

2. Pink jasmine does not cooperate. It got pruned back after bloom last year, in an attempt to stimulate growth across the top of the arbor. Instead, it just gets bunched up in the top corners.

3. Trilliums are uncommon wildflowers of shady redwood forests. White trilliums are so rare that, if I could figure out how to do so, I would like to move these to a more prominent situation.

4. Star magnolia has never bloomed so well. It was originally in an uncomfortable situation, and then needed to be relocated during the middle of summer. It is recovering slowly but steadily.

5. White birches partly in a white pickup did not go far like this. A nearby neighbor wanted them removed. The two unloaded above the wall here live in front of the building to the right now.

6. Snow is extremely rare here, but sometimes happens up at Bonny Doon, where this car came from. It looks like winter! Bonny Doon is not far away, but at a significantly higher elevation.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

28 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Mostly White”

  1. I dream of seeing wild trilliums in America. They are such beautiful plants. I have good success with T. chloropetalum, albidum and kurabayashi and lesser with T. grandiflorum and others but they are coming along slowly. I was given a beautiful yellow-flowered T. chloropetalum a few years back and it is a real treasure – I’ll be posting photographs in coming weeks as they flower. T. chloropetalum is in flower at the moment.

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    1. Trilliums are popular in other regions, but do not perform well here. There are about three native species here, including one that has a huge range that extends very far to the East, but the blooms of all natives are diminutive. I have never seen exotic species available in nurseries, likely because demand for them is so limited, but possibly because they dislike the arid climates. I do not understand their allure because I have never seen them before. However, because the natives are so appreciated by those who recognize them, I would like to relocate some into landscaped areas. I happen to prefer this white species. So far, I have not been able to find them after they go dormant! They have been totally elusive! Even if I do find them, I do not know if they will survive transplant.

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      1. It might help to hear that they are a very obliging garden plant which can be lifted in full growth, split and replanted without any discernible setback. A good watering helps them resettle. So, you might chance lifting some and bringing them to your garden. Are they a protected species in the USA?

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      2. What?! They can be dug while green?! I would be willing to try that as soon as the flower fades. (It may have already faded.) They die back after bloom anyway, so I would not know how well it recovers until next year. I suspect that their rhizomes are quite deep, since I have never found one. That is normal for native perennials in this climate (with such long and dry summers). If I dig one while it is green, I can follow the foliage. No such species are protected here.

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      3. Our summers are nowhere as hot as yours and so, I imagine, the roots are never so deep into the ground. This makes them easy to lift and divide in the garden here.

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      4. Summer is not unusually hot. It is just dry. The rain stops about now, with maybe a little bit in April, and does not resume until late in autumn. Even in irrigated parts of the landscapes the ground is not as damp as some of these plants want it to be. Native plants do not mind the dry soil, but adapt to it as necessary. Some plants that are not native do so as well.

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  2. I think trilliums must be more common in eastern forests. Lovely things. I did not think they were rare, so it is likely the variety or their location–in California, I am always asking what something is because the plants are different either entirely or in variety. I have always seen them in eastern hardwood forests, usually near a creek or a river (not on the bank, mind, but within reach of a floodplain). It may be I need to do some research.

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    1. Oh, of course. There is nothing like the Eastern or Northwestern trilliums here. That is why they seem so silly to me. I have never seen one with impressive bloom. There are only about three native species here, and they do not live in chaparral or desert climates. They live in the Santa Cruz Mountains and other coastal mountains, but are sporadic. Their bloom is diminutive. I have never been able to find them while dormant, so have never been able to relocate any into landscaped areas. I would like to, because those who know them are fond of them.

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      1. Ahhhhh. Well, their foliage blends in on the forest floor. Here, because the things are protected in state and Fed parks, if you don’t have access to someone else’s woods, you can get them at native plant sales in the spring (along with wild ginger).

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      2. Although I am not so impressed by the native species, I appreciate how they blend in with the forest floor. We like our landscapes to be compatible with the surrounding redwood forest. Trilliums that appear within the landscapes are welcome to stay. They just happen to appear in situations where they are not prominent. I would like to be able to relocate them to where they are more visible. I am surprised by how some of the guests recognize them, probably because the local trilliums resemble species that are familiar where the guests came from. It pleases us that guests appreciate the landscapes even if we do not understand why.

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    1. You know, even though I am not very impressed by the diminutive native species, I also feel fortunate that they inhabit regions that I work in. I have never been able to transplant them, and they are quite rare, even within their native range. (They are not as common as they are in other regions.) I have never seen those with prettier flowers. Those who are familiar with them are fond of them, which is probably why the native species are so intriguing.

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  4. I never thought of trillium as rare. Maybe they were more common when I was a child (60s) in Northern CA, because I remember seeing them regularly. I think we had a few in our backyard. No white ones though. Fortunately, I’ve never run into a camellia “tree.”

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    1. Farther north, they are not so rare. On the Central and South Coasts, they do not venture far from the coast. Within chaparral climates, they are limited to riparian situations. I suspect that they were more common in floodplains of the Santa Clara Valley decades ago, but such areas are now developed.

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    2. Camellia trees are impressive, but their blooms are out of reach. However, just out of view from this picture, other lower camellia trees are just the right height for adjacent balconies.

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  5. I love those trillium, so pretty and they do light up a space.
    Our camellias have been wonderful this year – full of bloom, heavy with them. I agree – they shouldn’t be a tree, but I lifted the crown on two of ours last year and they look ok. Plus I can plant under them this year!

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    1. The trilliums seem to be popular with those who know what they are. They are not as impressive as other species of other regions. I got the picture of this one because it is white and elusive.
      Some of our camellias work well as small trees that reach to balconies. They just look silly if sparsely branched and sloppy. The specimen in the picture got pruned down because much of the bloom was above the roof. I would like the canopy to get fluffy.

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  6. Camellias shouldn’t be trees when they are spindly like that one but are fine if it’s moist enough for them to stay leafy. I also think varieties with smaller, single flowers work better visually, the flowers are in scale with the tree. But then there are the big reticulatas… took a pic of ‘Confucius’ this week, must be 6-7m tall.

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    1. Yes, the spindly appearance is more of the problem than the height. Now that it is pruned down below the roof, I do not mind such a tall specimen against that otherwise bare wall. I just want it to be fluffier. Nearby camellias are right outside balconies, which works out well.

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    1. It seems that everyone who is familiar with trilliums likes them. I never understood the allure because they are not so impressive here. There are about three native species, and all bloom with diminutive flowers. I do happen to appreciate what lives here, because those who notice them are so fond of them.

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      2. It is very unlikely that these are species that also lives there. However, one of the three or so species that is native here inhabits a huge range that extends into some very different climates. It is the more common species that we know as the wake robin. This species with the white flower lives only on the West Coast from here to British Columbia, and also in eastern Oregon and Washington.

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  8. Beautiful whites! I agree that Trillium is very special and also the Magnolia stellata. My daphne has died which is very sad but it means I have space to plant a magnolia in the front garden at long last and I am trying to choose between this one and the pink Leonard Messel.

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    1. In our region, the white star magnolia is more of a wimpy blooming shrub. As much as I prefer it, I would not likely select one for any of our landscapes. The specimen in the picture was selected by someone else, so I am determined to keep it happy. I have never seen one get much more than about six feet tall, and the tallest ones I met were badly disfigured. This specimen is nicely structured, and recovering from relocation. I am pleased, but not expecting it to get very big. We grew ‘Leonard Messel’ on the farm, but I was none too keen on the color. However, it was much more vigorous that the white star magnolia. To me, it seemed to grow almost like a small saucer magnolia, but with big star magnolia flowers. I can see why it is so popular. Star magnolias perform better in other climates though, so I do not know how well it performs there.

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    1. Really?! I still do not know much about them, although I am now encouraged to try to move them before they die back. They are not my favorite, but others appreciate them when they find them, like a hidden Easter egg.

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