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Six on Saturday: Chuck’s Grandparents

‘Charles Grimaldi’ is likely the most popular angel’s trumpet. It is very vigorous and very fragrant, with cheery yellow bloom. I plugged several cuttings last autumn, but then very unfortunately neglected to protect them from our unexpectedly and unusually cold frost. Of only two survivors, one grew so splendidly that it is now prominently displayed in the landscapes, rather than ignored in the nursery. It has an amusing history. (The first two pictures are not mine.)

1. This pair of ‘Charles Grimaldi’ angel’s trumpet might be familiar to those who watched television in the early 2000s. They were prettier while GreenArt managed the landscape back then. They are gone now. This was the best picture that I could find of them online. The third specimen that was omitted after it was delivered now inhabits Brent’s garden.

2. This omitted third specimen of ‘Charles Grimaldi’ angel’s trumpet is more impressive within Brent’s Dreamscape at the Jungalow. A picture of its bloom represents its species in the Sunset Western Garden Book from several years ago. It is the source of my copies.

3. This copy grew more than six feet tall from a cutting that I plugged last winter. Its can sits on the bottom of its big urn. Its bloom was too pretty to leave unseen in the nursery.

4. Bloom, which began only recently, will not likely continue much longer. The specimen might return to the nursery for winter, and then be installed into a landscape afterward.

5. A comparably tall copy of an unknown cultivar with orange flowers is about to bloom. Unfortunately, the weather will likely become too cool for these buds to finish blooming.

6. Young banana trees are likewise too striking to leave unseen within the nursery. Their cans were placed within more appealing pots within the landscapes at least until winter.

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/

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King Palm

King palm prefers frostless climates of Southern California.

Where it grows wild in rain forests of eastern Australia, the piccabeen or bangalow palm, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, is a strikingly elegant tree that gets to about fifty feet tall on a clean, slender trunk. The six to ten foot long feather fronds (pinnate leaves) form a light but distinctive canopy about ten to fifteen feet broad. Smooth green petioles (leaf stalks) encase the upper few feet of crownshaft, eventually peeling away cleanly to reveal the smooth trunk as it grows below. A juvenile king palm does not bloom, but eventually flaunts adulthood with softly pendulous ‘graduation’ tassels of profuse but tiny purple tinged white flowers.

Locally, this palm is known more commonly as the king palm, and does best as a large houseplant or where it is protected from frost. Outdoors, it seem to be happiest close to the San Francisco Bay where it is somewhat insulated by all the water, but can unfortunately get smacked about by the wind there. A mature tree is somewhat more tolerant to frost than a young tree is, but can be damaged or even killed if it gets cold enough.

King palm fortunately does well in the partial shade of larger adjacent trees or buildings that might shelter it from frost. However, it can not be pruned down for clearance from higher trees, ceilings or any other overhead obstruction (including utility cables), so should be planted where it has plenty of room to grow vertically, or where no one will mind it getting removed when it gets too tall after many years.

Unlike most other palms, king palm does not transplant easily when mature. It has no problem getting planted from a pot to a larger tub or planter, or into the ground. Once in the ground though, it is there to stay.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 10 Comments

Autumn Foliar Color Takes Planning

Some Norway maples are colorful through summer, and then turn yellow for autumn.

Spray paint is no way to get good autumn color in the garden. The healthy rich green king palm out front would look ridiculous and be very embarrassed, not to mention unable to breath, if it were painted yellow, orange and red, like the sweetgum trees that will soon be getting so colorful in the neighborhood now that the weather is getting cool.

Just like every other feature in the garden, autumn foliar color takes proper planning. Most of the plants with the most impressive autumn color happen to be substantial trees, so are not as easy to accommodate in as many situations as flowering annuals are. There are a few smaller shrubby plants and perennials that provide autumn foliar color, but almost all are deciduous, so defoliate to leave bare branches through winter.

Boston ivy (which is not really ivy) is probably the most colorful of climbing vines. It is a bit too aggressive for small spaces though, and damages painted surfaces and just about anything that it gets a hold of. It is best on concrete walls, which is why it is so prominent on freeway soundwalls and overpasses. Grapevine and wisteria are only moderately colorful.

Currant, crape myrtle, pomegranate, smoke tree and redbud are a few of the shrubby plants that provide good color in autumn. Crape myrtle and Eastern redbud are actually more commonly small trees. Many of the Japanese maples with good autumn color are small trees that stay smaller than most shrubbery.

Sweetgum, Chinese pistache, flowering pear and maidenhair tree are the best trees for autumn color, though maidenhair tree turns only bright yellow without the oranges and reds that the others get. Where well exposed, Japanese persimmon is comparable to Chinese pistache. Fruiting pear, apple, apricot, plum, prune and almond trees are not quite as colorful.

Several of the North American and European maples are remarkably colorful, but do not hold their foliage as long as sweetgum does. Silver maple and box elder (maple) happen to be less colorful than the other maples. Various poplars and locusts, as well as tulip tree and black walnut can almost get as bright yellow as maidenhair tree does.

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Horridculture – Rats!

Darla would not have allowed this!

Darla would be very disappointed. Rodents were not a problem while she was here. Since her retirement, they have proliferated. I do not mind if they get into the compost or even the trash. The problem is that they now inhabit portions of the shop buildings and the nursery where we grow a few items for the landscapes.

They are rudely bold about their infestation too. They know that I can not catch them like Darla would, so they are in no hurry to evade me if I encounter them while working late. They ruined a bag of seed for erosion control vegetation. Although the top of the bag was wide open, they chewed through the bag so that the contents spilled out onto the floor.

Worst of all, they chewed the tops of a few of the more unusual items within the nursery. They ruined a few of the Heliconia that I brought from Brent’s garden, and then chewed the tops off of two young banana trees. All affected specimens should recover, but I am very annoyed by the damage nonetheless. I do not put so much effort into growing such vegetation just to feed rude rodents! Besides, the banana trees are of an uncommon cultivar. I am concerned about others that are quite rare.

Rats would not be such a problem if only they were not so rude. There is plenty of vegetation, including blackberries, for them to eat within surrounding forested areas. They insist on coming inside to damage important vegetation instead. That is why I do not feel at all guilty about putting traps out.

Ultimately, I should be more diligent about hiring a feral kitty to dissuade rodent infestation. I have not yet heard back from the agency that procures employment for such feral kitties.

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Lantana

Lantana exudes a pungent foliar aroma.

Bloom continues as long as warm weather continues. Within warm exposures within the mildest of climates, it does not stop for long. Within cooler climates, Lantana camara may already be decelerating its bloom. Although remarkably resilient to arid warmth, it can be vulnerable to frost farther inland. Once established, lantana does not require much water.

Umbels of several tiny tubular flowers are about an inch and half wide. Individual flowers bloom progressively inward from the edges of their umbels. They are typically yellow, but then fade to orange, red or pink. Blooms therefore develop yellow centers within orange, red or pink edges. One cultivar is uniformly bright yellow. Another fades to creamy white.

Old fashioned lantana can eventually grow six feet tall. Congested old specimens might respond favorably to coppicing after winter. After coppicing, new growth can grow six feet high within its first season. Modern cultivars are generally shorter and relatively compact, and a few sprawl. Their very slightly raspy foliage is pungently aromatic when disturbed.

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Aromatic Foliage Attracts And Repels

Scented geranium supposedly repels some insects.

After their invention in ancient Rome, window boxes became overly prevalent in Venice. They contained herbs and vegetables where space was limited within such urban areas. Their produce was close to kitchens, and more visually appealing than nearby buildings. Several window box herbs produced aromatic foliage for more than culinary application.

The popularity of window boxes preceded the availability of affordable window screens. Mosquitoes were a nuisance within the swampy ecosystems around Venice prior to that. Therefore, besides their obvious usages, window boxes also sustained aromatic foliage. Such foliage, which was mostly also culinary herbs, repelled some troublesome insects.

Just as flowers attract pollinators with fragrance, some foliage repels insects with aroma. Some aromatic foliage intends to repel other large consumers, such as rodents and deer. Any potential consumers know that flavor is likely as objectionable as associated aroma. Ironically, some flavors or aromas that are unappealing to them are appealing to people.

Culinary herbs are perfect examples. Their strongly flavorful and aromatic foliage is quite repellent to insects and wildlife. However, it is an asset both for culinary and horticultural application. Some such herbs have cultivars for either culinary or landscape application. Trailing rosemary is a groundcover that has slightly milder flavor than culinary rosemary.

Several cultivars of lavender are popular for home gardens even if not for home kitchens. Their aromatic foliage is as delightful as their foliar color and bloom. The foliar texture of fennel is as striking as its foliar aroma. Thyme is both an herb and an aromatic, although irregular, ground cover. Mint and oregano are a bit more casual, but likely more aromatic.

Some of the most popular aromatic foliage has no culinary application, though. Its aroma more than justifies its cultivation. Scented geraniums and sages are remarkably diverse. Although most are quite pretty, a few are simply very aromatic. Most aromatic foliage can not disperse its aroma like floral fragrances. It requires some sort of disturbance to do so. Warmth with humidity enhance typical foliar aroma.

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What Is This?! III

Could it be lychee?

Prior to the identification of Hibbertia scandens last week, another mystery arrived. I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but as with the previous mystery, I thought that I would have identified it before I felt compelled to mention it here. Unlike the previous mystery though, I did not recognize it as something that I had encountered in the past.

Someone with whom I work, who is not so horticulturally oriented, brought it from one of the homes that he was working at. It had been left by a former tenant. Initially, I thought that it was merely a can of otherwise unused media in which a common bay laurel seed had germinated. However, it is not a bay laurel seedling. Also, contrary to how it appears in the picture, it is remarkably centered within the can, as if intentionally plugged there.

Initially, I thought that it resembled coffee, Coffea arabica. However, coffee exhibits opposite leaf arrangement, and these leaves are alternately arranged. Besides, viable unroasted coffee seed is not exactly common. Now, I sort of suspect that it could be lychee, Litchi chinensis. Although uncommon, seeded lychee fruit are not as rare as unroasted coffee. Although their leaves are so closely paired among mature specimens that they seem to be oppositely arranged, they are technically alternately arranged, and more obviously so among juvenile growth. If this is lychee, it will not produce identifying bloom for a few years.

Realistically, immediate identification of this seedling is unimportant. I could have put less effort into discarding it than I put into writing about it. Therefore, I will merely give it what it needs until it grows enough for identification. I will not mind discarding it if I identify it as something that is useless. Otherwise, I can find it a home.

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Prickly Pear

I can make good use of this bit of greenwaste.

It is certainly no pear, and its particular cultivar is not overly prickly. Nonetheless, it is commonly known as ‘prickly pear’. It is also known as ‘Indian fig’, but is neither a fig, nor from India. The Mexican Spanish name for its fruit is ‘tuna’, but in American English, that seems fishy.

However, within its proper linguistic context, ‘tuna’ would be the least misleading of the common names of the fruit of ‘nopal’. ‘Nopal’ is the common name of various species of Opuntia, many of which are popularly grown as vegetables. ‘Nopales’ are plural. ‘Nopalitos’ are sliced or otherwise processed as small bits for culinary application.

Anyway, this shabby bit of nopal appeared within our big greenwaste pile at work. I find it annoying when neighbors exploit our greenwaste pile for disposal of greenwaste that is obviously not from our landscapes, as if I will not notice. Such debris often includes dirt and other crud or even trash that can not be chipped, and is almost never staged to facilitate efficient chipping.

This was quite a find though. It can be cut into six separate pieces to be plugged in between the five Arizona cypress that I installed as an informal hedge along the outer road. I would not have considered doing so if this had not appeared unwanted on our greenwaste pile. Nopal that I plugged a bit farther out, closer to the road, were shredded by weed whackers on a few occasions until they ultimately succumbed.

I already grow one unidentified cultivar of nopal for its eventual production of rich red tuna. I have no idea what this new acquisition is either, and it could be the same as what is already here, but I sort of hope that it produces yellow or gold tuna with milder flavor.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 9 Comments

Six on Saturday: Best or Worst for Last

Indian summer is now doing what it does every few years or so. It was more than ninety degrees for a second day here yesterday, and was even warmer in the Santa Clara Valley. As typical, it happened after cooling weather already started to feel like autumn. It is not a good time to relocate vegetation, which I started to do while the weather was still cool. Also, I must briefly increase irrigation. Not all of these Six are relevant to the weather or any particular theme. Actually, half are irrelevant. The last is open to interpretation. It is not a good picture, but is likely the best.

1. Water from the spigot occasionally gets slightly colorful here. Water from the streams and creek is clearer. It is a consequence of hydrant flushing. It is harmless for irrigation.

2. Unidentified ferns needed to be removed from where an old fence was replaced. I can not simply discard them. I buried them elsewhere so that they can regenerate next year.

3. Unidentified spirea was also in the way. Of course, although I do not expect much of it to survive, I relocated it also. I typically cut this spirea back to the ground during winter.

4. Marah macrocarpa, wild cucumber develops huge tubers that can weigh more than I do. This one is merely about a foot and a half long, so is relatively small, but now what?!

5. Portulaca grandiflora, moss rose is not mine, is not here, and did not give me a good picture. Nevertheless, I feel obligated to share at least some summery floral color today.

6. Rhody did not cooperate for this picture either. I can not explain how he so efficiently hid behind only one yawn. As bad as this picture is, it just might be the best of these Six.

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/

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Canary Island Date Palm

Canary Island date palm is the boldest of the common palms here.

The biggest and boldest of the common palms is the Canary Island date palm, Phoenix canariensis, which can get more than sixty feet tall and nearly forty feet wide, with a full canopy of gracefully arching deep green fronds. A young tree actually spends the first many years as a shrubby plant while the base of the trunk develops. Fronds get longer and spread broader every year until the trunk gets big enough to elongate. Vertical growth then accelerates somewhat, but the canopy gets no broader.

Most trees are female, eventually producing ornately orange but messy clusters of inedible dates. Male trees eventually get a bit taller, but are not quite as graceful and bloom with unimpressive dusty tan flowers.

Old deteriorating fronds need to be pruned away close to the trunk. Petiole bases of the most recently removed fronds are often carved into ‘pineapples’ to leave a bit of support directly below the canopy. Removed fronds leave a distinctive pattern on the trunk.