Sunday Best – Another Rose
Six on Saturday: More Impressive Roses
Again, it makes sense at the end.
1. Rain dampened the landscapes for the first time since last spring. It was not much and did not last for long, but was fun while it lasted. Actually, it was barely more than drizzle and made only a few tiny and grungy puddles. Pavement had not been rinsed in months.
2. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile confirms the end of summer by finishing bloom and necessitating deadheading. One last bloom looks silly and lonely at the center of this big colony. It may be cheap and common, but lily of the Nile happily blooms for months.
3. Pelargonium X hortorum, zonal geranium has left the building. The Post Office looks better without its shabby planter boxes that were so predictably bashed by parking cars. Some believe that we must replace them with other prominent potted plants. I disagree.
4. Rosa ‘Sheer Magic’ rose was actually labeled as such. I misidentified another rose that was blooming last week as such because I thought that it looked about right. I found the label afterward. This is the only one of four recycled roses that retained its original label.
5. Rosa, rose is one of the other three recycled roses that did not retain its original label. It looks as if it is about to bloom red. Perhaps I will get a picture of it for next week. Any color would be nice from roses that were not expected to survive an untimely relocation.
6. Rosa ‘Proud Land’ rose is not one of the four relocated roses, but is from my own rose garden. It was too pretty to not show off. I planted it with two others in about the winter of 1984 or 1985. Although I did not choose it, ‘Proud Land’ is likely my favorite red rose.
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/
Rosemary
Sprawling ground cover forms of rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, that get only a foot or so deep are the most familiar. Taller upright types that can get to six feet tall can be quite sculptural. There are several shorter shrubby types in between that can be allowed to grow wild or shorn into tight hedges.
All rosemary is densely foliated with small narrow leaves not much more than an inch long. It is used as an herb because it is so aromatic and flavorful. Tiny flowers bloom in various shades of blue through winter and spring, and sometimes again in autumn. Stems that root where they touch the ground can be dug and moved as new plants.
Shear Abuse
Rosemary happens to be one of the many plants that is perhaps too versatile to be respected. Low ground cover forms and sculptural upright forms are probably at their best without much attention. Shrubby forms can instead be shorn strictly into neat formal hedges.
The problem is that most rosemary eventually gets shorn and deprived of natural shape and texture, whether it needs it or not. Those that should be upright and sculptural become rounded over like bean bag chairs. Ground cover forms without their naturally soft texture are like flattened hedges. Those that should be shorn are seldom shorn properly for confinement, so become distended and obtrusive.
The many different kinds of juniper are similarly disgraced. Instead of becoming sculptural small trees, Hollywood juniper and Eastern red cedar more commonly get shorn into nondescript shrubs. Shrubby types get shorn so often that their appealing textures are never appreciated. Only a few of the densely foliated and compact junipers are conducive to formal shearing.
Shearing is certainly practical where formal hedges are desired, and for plants that have sufficiently dense and finely textured foliage. Yet, it is still important to shear such plants properly. Hedges should be slightly narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, so that lower foliage gets good sun exposure. Vertical surfaces are acceptable; but hedges should not be wider on top and narrower on the bottom.
Hedged or shorn plants should not be allowed to sneak out of their confinement to become obtrusive to usable space. For example, hedges along a driveway should not become so deep (from front to back) that they occupy usable space where cars could otherwise park. They function just as well if three feet deep as they would if they were eight feet deep!
Most hedged plants that should not have been hedged can be salvaged with a bit or work. Unfortunately, the process can be quite involved and makes the shorn plants unappealing while they recover. Overgrown privet hedges can simply get cut back to bare limbs (late in winter) and allowed to sprout back. They should be cut back farther than they need to so that new growth has room to expand.
Overgrown photinias are not so tolerant to severe pruning, so need to be cut back selectively to allow sunlight into the interior. The largest and most obtrusive growth can be cut out completely at first, as long as some lower growth remains to sustain recovery and shade interior stems. As new growth emerges from within, more of the overgrown outer growth can get removed until it is replaced.
Alternatively, overgrown photinias, as well as oleanders, osmanthus, large junipers and some pittosporums can be allowed to grow wild on top if their obtrusive lower growth gets pruned away. Such overgrown plants often have appealing trunks within. The only problem is that hedges pruned up into rows of small trees do not obstruct lower views as they may have been intended to do, unless they get pruned up only on one side.
Remember that shearing is not the only option. Properly pruned plant are allowed to grow into some spaces, but not where they will get in the way. Natural growth habits should be exploited instead of oppressed.
Too Much Yucca
Yucca whipplei, which is now also known as Hesperoyucca whipplei, was the first species of Yucca that I met in the wild when I relocated to San Luis Obispo in 1985. Although it is too unpleasantly spiny for me to recommend it for home gardens, it is my favorite species of Yucca.
The only specimen of Yucca whipplei that inhabits our landscapes produced a few seed pods two years ago. I dried the seed and sowed them last year. I would have been pleased if a few germinated successfully. Instead, hundreds of them are now growing! Again, I grew too much of a good thing.
I can install several as a deer fence below a portion of my home garden. Although they grow only about three feet tall, deer will not try to jump over them uphill if they can not land beyond their painful foliage on the uphill side. However, if I put them three feet apart, only about twenty seedlings will be needed for approximately sixty linear feet of deer fence. That might be only about a twentieth of the hundreds that are now growing! They are still babies. I can worry about finding homes for them later.
Wax Begonia
Wax begonia, Begonia X semperflorens–cultorum, exemplifies simplicity. Its floral color is white, pink or red. Its foliage is green, bronze or dark bronze. Each floral color combines with each foliar color for a total of only nine combinations. That must be enough, though. Variants of these nine simple options, including some with fluffier double bloom, are rare.
Wax begonia is most familiar as a common warm season annual. However, it is probably at least as popular as a cool season annual. Actually though, it is a short term perennial. Except for during the coolest winter weather, established specimens may bloom all year. After minor frost damage, most regenerate efficiently. They need only minimal grooming.
Mature wax begonia should not grow any higher or wider than a foot. As bedding plants, they blend together. Individually, they develop densely ovoid form. Flowers are small but abundant. Foliage and stems are succulent, with a waxy sheen. New plants grow easily from cuttings or division. Wax begonia prefers rich medium and very consistent watering. A bit of partial shade should be no problem, but a bit too much can inhibit bloom.
Cool Season Annuals Return Annually
Warm season annuals that started late last winter should be finishing their season soon. It might seem as if they replaced their predecessors, cool season annuals, only recently. This is the nature of annual bedding plants. They perform only for their particular season. It is now about time for cool season annuals, or winter annuals, to begin another season.
There is no need to hurry, though. The several different cool season annuals operate on different schedules. Only the earliest begin as small plants now, and even they can wait. Some prefer to begin later during autumn. Cyclamen and ornamental kale can even wait until winter. Only annuals that start as seed really must do so while the weather is warm.
Besides, some warm season annuals still perform too nicely for immediate replacement. Ideally, they are only beginning to deteriorate as they relinquish their space. Sometimes, some varieties are already grungy before their replacement. This facilitates their removal without guilt. However, some warm season annuals might continue to perform until frost.
Furthermore, some annuals, both cool season and warm season, are actually perennial. They merely function as annuals because their replacement is easier than their salvage. Busy Lizzie, for example, can remain mostly dormant through winter below new pansies. As the pansies finish in spring, the older busy Lizzie can regenerate for another season.
Sweet William and various primrose are cool season annuals that are actually perennial. Both can bloom until next spring becomes too warm for them. Then, they become mostly dormant until the following autumn. Any that remained dormant through last summer can regenerate and bloom this autumn. Perhaps they take turns performing with busy Lizzie.
Pansy and viola are the most familiar and reliable of cool season annuals. Marigold and snapdragon are popular now, but only as autumn annuals. They may not perform well for winter. Wax begonias might perform almost throughout the year with grooming after frost. Stock is the most fragrant of the cool season annuals. A few short varieties are available.
Sunday Best – Rose (perhaps ‘Sheer Magic’)
Six on Saturday: Impressive Roses
It will make more sense at the end.
1. Pelargonium citrosum, citronella, like the scented geranium that I featured last week, is one of three scented geraniums here that technically remains unidentified. This name is merely a guess. It is most aromatic, but its bloom is not as pretty as that of the others.
2. Amaryllis belladonna, naked lady is not so cliche or mundane with white bloom. I am so fond of these that I separated their bulbs for relocation to a distinct colony, as well as my home garden. There are not many, so it will be a while before there are any to share.
3. Passiflora edulis, passion fruit vine blooms nicely, but with perpetually shabby foliage and clingy tendrils. Its flowers are really more purplish than this one seems to be in this picture. I have no idea what cultivar this is or even if I like it, but I want to see if it fruits.
4. Anemone hupehensis, Japanese anemone does not bloom quite as white as it seems to be in this picture. It is not exactly blushed with pink either. It is just dingy. I know that a few happier pups in more favorable conditions will eventually bloom more impressively.
5. Rosa spp., rose might not look like much to brag about, but is blooming like this after getting hacked back and removed from its original garden during the middle of summer. Its survival alone is impressive. Its bloom is even more impressive. It is not the only one.
6. Rosa spp., rose is one of the others. A third has floral buds that will likely bloom prior to next Saturday. There are four altogether, so only one is not trying to bloom yet. One is ‘Sheer Magic’, perhaps the pink one above. The other three lack identification otherwise.
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/
Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’
As spectacular as the bloom of Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is, it is actually not the most desirable feature. Solitary flower spikes grow intimidatingly fast up past second story windows, and spread out several feet wide with small but abundant pale white flowers. They are certainly impressive, but are also the final act for mature plants just before they die.
Fortunately, they take several years to mature, so provide big bright yellowish green variegated foliage for many years. The other good news is that as they die, herds of pups (known as ‘bulbils’) develop and fall from the huge inflorescences. There are far more than enough pups to replace the original plants and to share with all the concerned neighbors who witnesses the crazy bloom.
Furcraea foetida ‘Mediopicta’ is not quite as tough as unvariegated (green) furcraeas, so it can be damaged both by frost or harsh exposure to sunlight. It is also a bit smaller, staying less than five feet tall (prior to bloom of course) and seven feet wide. Too much watering can cause rot.
Tony Tomeo 