Posted on by tonytomeo · 9 Comments

New Mouser

Rodents departed when she arrived.

Darla, the former mouser here, relocated to a more domestic lifestyle in Santa Clara during the unusually stormy weather and flooding last winter. She is getting rather elderly, and has earned a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately though, rodents of all sorts arrived immediately after her retirement.

Mice and rats infested the buildings while gophers and ground squirrels infested exposed ground outside, including the recovery nursery. Rodents of some sort ate the tops off a few of my banana plugs, and chewed the base of my cup of gold vine. Another chewed into a bag of seed for mixed erosion control vegetation, and made a mess of it.

Then, the rodents seemed to leave as suddenly as they arrived. Even tree squirrels became scarce. At about that time, we noticed, on rare occasion, what seemed to be a stray kitty. I thought that the kitty must live nearby, and would eventually return home. It avoided us, but never completely left the area for long.

The kitty appears to be rather grungy because of its color pattern. I recently learned that this particular color pattern is known as tortoiseshell, and that almost all kitties with this tortoiseshell color pattern are female. I hope that she is not offended if my assumption of her gender as female is inaccurate. She is quite small and lean, with a thin tail that is kinked at the end. I intend to get a better picture of her to share with neighbors, just in case someone is missing her.

A bit more than a week ago, this kitty seemed to become a bit more interested in human activity here. For the first time, I offered her a bit of something that she might enjoy. Because there was no kitty food here, I gave her a small can of tuna from the galley. She enjoyed it so much that I got her some real kitty food. She now comes for it to the meeting room daily after the crew leaves. I have been able to get a bit closer to her daily, and petted her briefly for the first time a few days ago. She purrs quite loudly when petted, although she also seemed to be rather nervous. She prefers interaction with Rhody, who now chews her ears. I invited her into the hallway because it gets somewhat cool in the evening, but she does not want to come inside.

Because I believe that her presence here convinced the rodents to relocate, I would prefer her to stay if she has no other home to return to. If she only wants a bit of food from me, this could be a mutually beneficial situation. If so, we should determine what her name is.

Posted on by tonytomeo

Alocasia or Colocasia? II

Alocasia or Colocasia or both?

While it seems that anything can be found online, it is baffling to see what can not be found online. Horticultural concerns seem to be particularly lacking. Perhaps those who enjoy horticulture innately dislike the internet. Perhaps they are merely too busy in their gardens to bother getting online too much.

‘Pele’s Smoke’ has been one of the more popular cultivars of sugarcane for home gardens for quite a while, but I can not determine how wide its canes are. Eucalyptus pulverulenta and Eucalyptus cinerea seem to have traded their names since the 1980s, but now, no one seems to know which is which, or if either ever was the other. No one can explain how seed from sterile banana cultivars are available online. Anyone can say anything. There is no accountability.

Alocasia and Colocasia are as baffling now as they were when I mentioned the difficulty with choosing between the two about a month ago. I am still inclined to procure Colocasia gigantea for a riparian landscape at work. However, I am now inclined to also procure Alocasia macrorrhiza. Both are quite appealing. I think that I would like to grow both within the same landscape so that I can compare them later. It would be easier than trying to compare vague information about them that I can find online. Realistically, since I would grow them from corms, both are quite inexpensive. If necessary, I can later relocate whichever is less appealing than the other.

This would not be my first occasion of not relying on the internet. I am working with ‘Pele’s Smoke’ sugarcane presently, and will be pleased with it regardless of how it behaves. I grow both Eucalyptus pulverulenta and Eucalyptus cinerea; although by mistake, since I procured one because I thought it was the same as the other. All of the cultivars of banana that I grow were procured as pups or plugs, since I do not trust seed. Ultimately, I will be pleased with both Alocasia and Colocasia.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 6 Comments

Six on Saturday: Self-Replication

Kwanzan flowering cherry is spectacular as it blooms for early spring. Only one inhabits our landscapes, and of course, it is dormant and defoliated until next spring. I took these six pictures of it anyway, to demonstrate that it is deteriorating fast, but could be able to replace itself before it succumbs to decay completely. Unfortunately though, it will likely be removed before it is able to do so, so that we can install a purple leaf plum within this particular situation instead. I only assist with this self-replication process because of the very unlikely possibility that replacement with another different tree may never actually happen. It has been delayed for years.

1. This flowering cherry tree has been deteriorating for the past several years. Several big limbs have died, leaving its canopy disfigured and lopsided. Its right half is nearly gone.

2. Only shiners remain where some of the major limbs that died were removed from the trunk. If this tree were to survive any longer, these shiners would decay before they heal.

3. Incidentally, this tree is not grafted. Suckers from the roots are indistinguishable from growth of the canopy. Bark of exposed roots is indistinguishable from bark of the trunk.

4. Therefore, this sucker is genetically identical to the original tree. The roots have been generating suckers for several years. All but this one were removed. Instead, it is bound.

5. The binding stake is nailed to one of the major limbs of the original canopy, as well as to a big root below. Damage to the limb is unimportant. It will be removed soon anyway.

6. The bound sucker is now more than six feet tall. It could develop branches to begin to grow as a new tree next year. It could stay as a replacement after removal of the original.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 4 Comments

Horridculture – Cyclamen (deferred from Wednesday)

Cyclamen are too expensive to be as disposable as they are.

Cyclamen persicum is a popular cool season annual. It is known simply as cyclamen here because it is the only common cyclamen that is available. It might be known as florists’ cyclamen where other species are available. Red and white are the most popular colors because cyclamen are associated with Christmas. Cyclamen can alternatively bloom with various tints and shades of pink, salmon pink and purplish pink. Some bloom with two-toned color or picotee margins. Cyclamen really is a delightful perennial.

Yes, perennial. Like many garden annuals, cyclamen is actually a perennial. It can survive in the garden for many years. It merely goes dormant through warm summer weather, and then resumes growth as weather cools during autumn.

Not only is it a perennial, but it is an expensive perennial. It is too expensive to be so disposable. So-called ‘landscapers’ do not mind. Disposable annuals are lucrative for them. Besides, even where cyclamen can perform as a perennial, it is not colorful throughout the year, and even in season, it is not as colorful as it is for its first season away from the nursery that it originally grew in.

Other species of Cyclamen that are available within other regions are becoming available here as well. Their bloom is sparser, with only light pink or blushed white flowers. They are grown as perennial wildflowers that bloom for autumn or winter, when not much else blooms. Although not as garish as common florists’ cyclamen, they are appreciated for their perennial performance.

The few florists’ cyclamen that we install at work bloom somewhat reliably only until spring. Because they were grown within ideal greenhouse conditions, they do not adapt immediately to landscape conditions. By spring, many are already beginning to rot. Those that survive their summer dormancy may become perennial.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 3 Comments

The Hedge on the Ledge

Perhaps no one will notice.

I can explain. Firstly, I should mention that this is an industrial building at work, not a home garden; so no one else cares what it looks like. Secondly, although this building is outfitted with an abundance of external electrical lighting, it lacks external electrical outlets. Thirdly, I brought a ‘Double Mahoi’ banana tree back from the Los Angeles region less than a month ago, so divided its pups at the most inconvenient time, as autumn weather was getting cooler. Fourthly, I should stop numbering all these individual statements, and get on with a simple explanation of this visually unappealing contraption.

The banana tree went to its permanent home already, where it can hibernate through winter. However, its pups languished and immediately began to deteriorate here. Because they will not grow much until warmer weather after winter, their rudimentary corms can rot faster than they can recover from their division. Therefore, I purchased an electrical heating mat to warm their media from below, and accelerate root and corm growth. It was not a pleasant purchase, since I object to reliance on such technology, but that is another topic for later.

I did not want to extend an extension cord too extensively from a window to the nursery benches on the deck to the lower right in the illustration above. I thought that this shelf would be less obtrusive. Perhaps I should have thought a bit more about it. I successfully extended and obscured an extension cord for the fountain on the mountain, but again, that is another topic for later.

Now that it is installed directly outside the window, without the need for an extension cord, the shelf fits the heating pad reasonably well, and suspends eight #1 cans with three 4″ pots nestled in between.

By the time this explanation posts at midnight next Sunday morning, the largest of the four ‘Double Mahoi’ banana pups, which incidentally is already in the process of generating another rudimentary pup, might be exhibiting a slight bit of accelerated growth. The two smallest of these four pups were cut back to their corms, and the third will likely get cut back also, so will take a bit longer to exhibit growth. All four are arranged in the front row at the bottom of the illustration below.

The three 4″ pots that are nestled in between the #1 cans contain tissue cultured plugs of ‘Gran(d) Nain’, ‘Cavendish’ and ‘Orinoco’ banana. With all seven pups and plugs of banana neatly arranged on the heating mat, remaining space accommodated a few cuttings that should also benefit from the warmth of the heating mat.

The four #1 cans in the rear row at the top of the illustration below contain cuttings of passion flower vine and cup of gold vine. The passion flower vine to the right of center is unidentified, but ‘Constance Elliot’ is to the left of center, with a single cutting of ‘Frederick’. Almost predictably again, that is another topic for later. Nine cuttings of unvariegated cup of gold vine to the far right are shabby because they were superficially damaged by minor frost earlier. Six cuttings of variegated cup of gold vine are to the far left.

Although shabby, they do not look so silly from inside.
Posted on by tonytomeo

Too Late To Divide Cymbidiums

New floral shoots appeared almost immediately after the former bloom finished.

Cymbidium orchids perform quite well here, and seem to be happier with a bit of neglect. Actually, those with a tolerable bit of foliar blemishing or discoloration bloom better than those with exemplarily healthy and vigorous foliage. Those that get everything that they supposedly want, such as coarse chunks of fir bark to disperse their roots into, and regular application of fertilizer, are likely to produce an abundance of healthy foliage with only moderate bloom.

Only two cymbidiums inhabit my garden. I gave all others away many years ago. I acquired one of these two from a neighbor in the early 1990s, and have divided many copies of it since then. It remains potted within a bunch of leafy debris that I raked from my driveway under a massive valley oak many years ago. I suspect that the debris has decomposed to soggy muck at the bottom of the pot, although it remains friable on top, where I only rarely add a bit more leafy debris. I am not so keen on its simple pink bloom, but I continue to grow it because it has been with me for so long.

The other cymbidium was a gift from a colleague here. It originally grew ‘properly’ in a pot of coarse fir bark, but was removed from its pot many years ago, and left to die on top of a pot of potting soil that something else had already died in. It grew unattended there for a few years before coming here. It has bloomed splendidly and annually since its arrival. I want to divide it, but have not managed to do so between bloom phases. Its bloom continues for so long, that by the time it finishes, the next bloom phase is beginning. Fortunately, it is not too overgrown yet.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 35 Comments

Six on Saturday: Springtime

Flowers bloom throughout the year here. I featured bloom this week to avoid the topic of minor frost damage that I should have protected vulnerable foliage from. Frost is minor here, and does not occur every year, but it occurred here prior to some other regions this year. However, this bloom can imply that it is springtime.

1. Osteospermum X hybrida, African daisy should bloom most for spring, but can bloom randomly whenever it chooses, and often blooms most profusely for summer or autumn.

2. Helichrysum bracteatum, strawflower is my favorite of these six because I remember it as the main cut flower crop to the east of my Pa’s home in Montara through the 1980s.

3. Salvia chiapensis, Chiapas sage is a species that I had never met before last year. They grew well through last summer, and even better with more bloom through this summer.

4. Cestrum fasciculatum ‘Newellii’, bastard jasmine has an interesting name. Of course, it is not really jasmine. It recovered slowly from gopher damage, but blooms nicely now.

5. Rosa, carpet rose is my least favorite of these six because it is so cheap and common. I prefer old fashioned and respectable hybrid tea roses that are such excellent cut flowers.

6. Iris X germanica, bearded iris should bloom for spring. Reblooming types also bloom for autumn. I have no idea what this is, but I sort of doubt that it is a reblooming variety. Earlier, it did not bloom much, so now seems to be blooming late for the first phase this year, rather than blooming again for a second phase within the same year. Furthermore, its simple bloom and slim floral stalks suggest that it is not extensively bred. It might be a simple species that is confused about the seasons here, because this climate is so mild.

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/

Posted on by tonytomeo

Horridculture – Too Many Trees (deferred from Wednesday)

Excess is expensive . . . or profitable.

One can not see the forest for the trees here. Actually though, there is no forest, but only too many trees, surrounded by vast pavement. A wide roadway is beyond these trees. A driveway is to the left. A parking lot is to the right. Not much space remains in between for so many trees.

A honeylocust is in the foreground to the right. It mostly obscures a crape myrtle in the background. To their left, and slightly to the right of the center of the picture, there is a red maple. To the left of the center of the picture, there are three Eastern redbuds. That is six trees confined to an area that is about as spacious as three parking spaces. The picture is not of good quality, and because it is a few years old, I can not remember many more details about it.

The honeylocust and the crape myrtle are components of the original landscape of the shopping center that this landscape is associated with. Alone, they are both quite practical for this particular landscape, and would not be too crowded. The red maple and three Eastern redbuds were added for the ‘upgraded’ landscape of the adjacent business establishment. Not only are they much too crowded to grow and develop healthy form, but they also encroach into adjacent traffic signals, and obstruct illumination of their corner of the adjacent parking lot.

Furthermore, they contribute little more than problems to the landscape. Red maple provides nice foliar color for autumn, but is obscured by the other trees. Eastern redbud could bloom nicely for spring, but is too brutally pruned for clearance to do so.

Unfortunately, these crowded trees were more profitable than smaller plant material would have been for the so-called ‘landscape company’ that installed them.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Abutilon

Bloom may become more scarce with cooling weather.

Abutilon X hybridum grows wild from seed within some of our landscapes. Although not prolific enough to be naturalized, dispersion of any viable seed seems odd for hybrids, since most hybrids are sterile. Of course, I do not know for certain if their ancestors were actually Abutilon X hybridum. They could have been other simple species of some sort. Besides, the name seems to apply to any cultivar of unknown parentage, including a few that are not actually hybrids.

Furthermore, even those that are generally sterile hybrids only needed to produce a single viable seed to start the process. Such a seed would likely grow into something that is more genetically stable, and therefore less sterile than its parents. Regardless of their supposed genetic stability, or because of their lack of it, their individual floral color is delightfully variable.

I am no more certain about the common name of this genus, species or group of hybris, which I know simply as flowering maple. Some know it as Chinese lantern. A few may know it as Indian mallow or parlor maple.

I am not so keen on the flowering maple, or whatever it is, for refined landscapes. However, the landscapes here are not so refined, and some are quite rustic. They benefit from the relaxed style, sporadic bloom, and open form of whatever this is.

Bloom is always sporadic, but is a bit more abundant during warm weather. Conversely, it can get scant while the weather is cool through winter. I am impressed by the few flowers that continue to bloom on this particular specimen. So are the hummingbirds. Bloom will likely become more scarce now that the first mild frost occurred last night. Also, foliage may get sparse until warmer weather next spring initiates regeneration to continue the seasonal cycle.

Posted on by tonytomeo

Frost

Before

This elephant ear was happy and healthy as the sun set last night. As the sun rose this morning, it was sagging from frost damage. The picture that was taken prior to damage posted here (at my previous ‘Six on Saturday’ post) at midnight. Frost likely occurred shortly afterward. The picture that was taken after damage was taken only a few hours later.

Frost does not happen frequently enough to get much consideration here. When it does happen, it is not severe. This particular frost was only thirty- two degrees. Nonetheless, I should have sheltered the elephant ear. It would not have taken much effort to do so. I could have simply moved it over a few feet, so that it would have been under an eave. A few other species were likewise worthy of shelter. A few, though, should not even be grown here. The most practical means with which to avoid frost damage is to refrain from growing species that are vulnerable to it.

Fortunately, the elephant ear and all other species that were slightly damaged by frost early this morning should recover efficiently. Elephant ear typically loses its foliage through winter, and regenerates foliage for spring anyway. No more frost is predicted for the next week.

I am glad that I do not need to contend with the sort of frost that kills vulnerable species completely. The possibility of such weather would be much more limiting.

A pair of bougainvillea that I planted last autumn actually succumbed to frost last winter. Although bougainvillea commonly loses foliage and perhaps a few small stems to frost, basal stems should not have succumbed. I wanted to get them into their landscape during autumn, so that they could benefit from cool rain through winter, and be ready to grow in spring. Their replacements will get planted in spring.

After