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Canna

Cannas are as foliar as floral.

Not many summery bulbs provide as much immediate gratification as Canna. They grow very fast as soon as the weather begins to warm at the end of winter. They could become a bit too invasively vigorous for some situations. Canna are almost too easy to propagate by division. They probably perform better with annual thinning, preferably while dormant.

Dormant canna rhizomes are now available from nurseries. Potted specimens should be available a bit later. Canna, though, might be as available from friends or neighbors who grow too many. They crave frequent irrigation, and can inhabit riparian situations such as ponds. Although they are not too discriminating about soil, the prefer organically rich soil.

Canna foliage is about as lush and striking as its bloom. It can be green, various shades of bronze or variegated with white, yellow or bronze. Flowers can be thin and ribbony, or big and billowy. Floral color is various hues of yellow, orange, red, pink, or rarely creamy white. Flowers are commonly spotty or blotchy. Some canna grow higher than eight feet. Dwarf cultivars bloom splendidly without growing taller than two feet.

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Pork & Beans

If it appears to be related to burrow’s tail, it is because pork & beans is the same genus.

The tender succulent foliage of pork and beans, Sedum rubrotinctum, is as squishy as it appears to be, so is safest where it will not be disturbed. Although it sprawls around without getting much deeper than six inches, it does not fill in reliably enough to be a real ground cover over a large area anyway. It can instead add color and texture in small doses between larger plants or stones. It is a nice addition to urns of mixed perennials, rock gardens and dish gardens. It propagates very easily from stem cuttings or even leaves that break off, so can be tucked into gaps in stone walls.

The plump three quarter inch long leaves resemble jelly beans more than pork and beans, since they are green where shaded. More exposed foliage is more bronzy red or brown, especially at the tips. Small clusters of tiny yellowish flowers are held above the foliage on reddish brown stems in spring.

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California Bay

California bay is not culinary bay.

Grecian bay is, as its name suggests, endemic to Greece and the Mediterranean region. California bay, Umbellularia californica, is native to California and southwestern Oregon. The two are very different. Although California bay can be useful for culinary application, it is twice as pungent. For replacing Grecian bay in recipes, half as much should suffice.

California bay also grows much larger and more irregularly than Grecian bay. With good sun exposure, it grows more than forty feet tall. Where it competes for sunlight in forests, it can grow a hundred feet tall. Domestic trees typically develop on single vertical trunks. Wild trees might develop several leaning trunks. Foliar canopies are densely evergreen.

California bay is uncommon within urban home gardens because it is so big and messy. It is more likely to inhabit rural gardens either by self sowing or by being there first. Some old trees that grew from stumps of older trees can develop basal decay. Stumps might be difficult to kill. Foliar and floral detritus inhibits smaller vegetation and seed germination. Some abhor the foliar aroma.

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Narcissus

Daffodil are a type of Narcissus.

If their bulbs were planted when they became available as summer evolved into autumn, Tazetta Narcissus and their hybrids should begin to bloom about now, a bit prior to related daffodil and jonquil Narcissus. In cooler winter climates, bloom must wait until early spring. The most popular variety, ‘Paper White’ blooms with about five or six small clear white flowers clustered on top of foot tall stems surrounded by vertical and somewhat rubbery, narrow leaves. Other varieties have white or yellow outer petals, known as the ‘perianth’, or orange or white centers, known as the ‘cup’. All are good cut flowers that are quite fragrant.

Because it is best to leave narcissus foliage to yellow and abscise (shed) naturally after bloom and as weather gets warmer, ground covers that are deep enough to conceal their deteriorating foliage are practical companions. (For example, deteriorating narcissus foliage can be stuffed under healthy English ivy, where it can be hidden without being removed.) Ground cover also keeps the soil from being bare during summer and autumn dormancy.

Mature clumps of narcissus bulbs only need to be dug and divided if they become so crowded that they do not bloom as much as they should. They are easiest to dig immediately after foliage dies back and lies on the ground, when they are dormant but still easy to find. Dug bulbs should then be stored in a cool dry place until it is time to plant them late in summer. Bulbs should be planted about five inches deep and about five to eight inches apart, with good sun exposure. The largest bulbs with multiple buds (known as ‘noses’) bloom most abundantly.

If they are happy in their location, narcissus easily naturalize, even if they do not get divided occasionally. They get most of the water they need from rain, since they are mostly dormant before dry weather in summer. Gophers and deer do not bother them.

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‘Eureka’ Lemon

‘Eureka’ and ‘Lisbon’ lemons are indistinguishable.

‘Lisbon’ lemon was the original. It is still a common cultivar for orchard production of fruit for lemon products. Because almost all of its fruit ripens in winter, it can not provide fresh fruit continuously. ‘Eureka’ lemon, which is a mutant of ‘Lisbon’ lemon, may compensate. It is not as productive in season, but only because it also provides lemons out of season.

This complicates orchard harvest, but is justifiable by prolonging the supply of fresh fruit. It is more ideal for home gardens where only a few lemons are needed at a time anyway. Besides, seasonal abundance within home gardens can become too much of a surplus. ‘Eureka’ lemons are not as richly flavorful as ‘Meyer’ lemons, but are more acidically tart.

‘Eureka’ lemon trees, even on dwarfing understock, can eventually grow fifteen feet high. They are generally not quite as wide as they are tall. Their nastily sharp thorns are stout. Vigorous stems develop much longer and potentially dangerous thorns. Foliar fragrance is mild, but can be delightful during warm weather. Glossy evergreen foliage is aromatic when disturbed by lemon collection.

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Iceland Poppy

Native California poppies are nothing like this.

Because winters here are so mild, Iceland poppy, Papaver nudicaule, gets planted out in the garden in autumn to bloom through winter and into early spring. Where winters are cold, bloom must wait until after winter, whether plants are put out in autumn or sown from seed as winter ends. Iceland poppy prefers good drainage because it is out in the garden during the coldest and rainiest time of year, but is otherwise not too demanding. Picking the flowers and removal of deteriorating flowers (deadheading) promote continual bloom. 

Circular flowers up to three inches wide in shades of orange, yellow, pink, white and nearly red hover up to a foot high on wiry and hairy stems. Prominent fuzzy stamens are bright yellow at the center of each flower. Some varieties have brighter colors and taller stems. The hairy and deeply lobed leaves form basal rosettes about five inches wide.

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Coral Bark Japanese Maple

Defoliation reveals impressively red bare twigs.

Bloom is probably the favorite component of home gardens. Foliage is likely the second favorite component. Japanese maples are popular as much for their form as for any other characteristic. The intricate textures and autumn color of their foliage is likely secondary. Coral bark Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’, is even a bit more distinctive.

Relative to other cultivars of Japanese maples, its foliage is not remarkable. Actually, it is more vulnerable to foliar scorch with arid warmth. Its form is not overly remarkable either. For coral bark Japanese maple, the bright red bark of its young twigs is its primary allure. It is obscured by foliage for most of the year, to be revealed by defoliation through winter.

Coral bark Japanese maple is an understory tree, so can tolerate partial shade. With full sun exposure, it particularly dislikes arid wind. It can grow as tall as twenty feet, or might stay as short as ten feet. It naturally produces many long and limber stems with shiny red bark. Severe pruning to promote growth of such stems is likely to ruin its sculptural form.

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Coral Bells

Coral bell foliage is as pretty as its delicate flowers for which it is named.

Even though their delicate trusses of tiny hanging flowers on one or two foot tall wiry stems make good cut flowers and attract hummingbirds in spring and early summer, coral bells, Heuchera micrantha, is more often grown for its colorful foliage. Contrary to their common name, the flowers (of this species) are more often pale or greenish white anyway. Their foliage can be all sorts of shades of green, gold, tan, brown, bronze, and purplish. The rounded and lobed leaves have somewhat raspy tomentum (hairs) and can be about two and a half inches wide. ‘Ruffles’ has more ruffled and deeply lobed leaves. ‘Palace Purple’ is a very popular cultivar with distinctive deep bronze or purplish foliage.

Mature plants can be divided in spring to make more plants every few years or so. Where protected from frost, division can be done in late autumn. Coral bells can also be propagated by cuttings. Rich soil and good exposure are preferred; but partial shade is best in warm spots.

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Almond

Almonds are stone fruit without fruit.

Is the pronunciation of the “al” of almond comparable to that of “salmon” or “palm”? That is about as controversial as the pronunciation of pecan. While pecan is related to walnut, almond, Prunus dulcis, is a stone fruit. That can be controversial also. Unlike other stone fruit, its mesocarp develops as leathery hulls instead of edible flesh. It is fruitless stones.

Like other stone fruit trees, almond trees need maintenance while dormant during winter. Bare root trees that are now available should be in the ground before their spring growth. Established trees need winter pruning before warming spring weather stimulates bloom. Almonds ripen for late summer though, after plums, apricots, peaches or other stone fruit.

Almonds are not as heavy as other stone fruits, and need no gentle handling. Therefore, winter pruning of almond trees may not need to be very aggressive. Such trees can grow as small shade trees with splendid white spring bloom. It is easier to shake unreachable nuts from tall trees than to pick them anyway. A few old fashioned cultivars need compatible pollinator cultivars.

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Eastern Redcedar

Eastern redcedar is actually a juniper.

Like the majority of cedars, Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana, is not really a ‘cedar’. According to its genus name, it is a juniper. That may be why it is less common here than within its native range. Even in its native range, most grow wild rather than in cultivation. Junipers gained an unfavorable reputation after becoming overly common decades ago.

Eastern redcedar has traditionally been more utilitarian than merely aesthetic. It can be a delightful Christmas tree, either cut or potted. While old cedar closets are native incense cedar, cedar chests are Eastern redcedar. Baton Rouge derived its name from a red stick demarcation pole. Indigenous people traditionally used Eastern redcedar for such poles.

Wild Eastern redcedar trees are variable and range in height from fifteen to fifty feet high. Cultivars develop compact conical or columnar form. Some are grayish or golden green. The small evergreen foliar scales, particularly juvenile foliage, can be somewhat prickly. The rusty red to grayish brown bark can display a handsomely fibrous or shaggy texture. The ‘silicicola‘ variety of Eastern redcedar is rare.