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Mirror Plant

70510As the old fashioned larger mirror plant, Coprosma repens, fell out of favor through the 1990s, several more colorful varieties of a more compact species of mirror plant, Coprosma X kirkii, became popular. (The ‘X’ in the name indicates that it is actually a hybrid of two specie.) Without getting much more than two feet deep, it spreads out laterally like dense evergreen groundcover.

The color is not from bloom, but from the very glossy foliage. It can be variegated with white, gold, red, pink or bronze, or completely brownish bronze. Some varieties stay very shallow. Others can be shorn into low hedges like Japanese boxwood, only shorter. Although mirror plant does not mind partial shade, foliar density and color is best with full sun exposure and occasional watering.

Most modern varieties are known by their cultivar names, without their specie names. For example, Coprosma ‘Tequila Sunrise’ lacks the species name of ‘X kirkii‘. Such omissions might be the result of confusing hybridization with Coprosma repens, for rounder leaves. In other words, some cultivars may be of ‘questionable parentage’. Some are just dwarf cultivars of coprosma repens.

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Deciduous Rhododendrons

P80509They are not a myth. They are quite real. So are the related and similar deciduous azaleas. There are certainly not as popular or as diverse as the familiar evergreen cultivars, but they have their place.

Like the popular evergreen cultivars, deciduous rhododendrons and azaleas have been extensively bred so that they are more spectacular than their ancestors in the wild. They lack the purples and blues of the evergreens, but they compensate with bright oranges and yellows that are uncommon among the evergreen cultivars, as well as reds, pinks and whites. Some of their colors are bright and fiery, while some are more relaxed. Compared to evergreen rhododendrons, the flowers of the deciduous rhododendrons are smaller, thinner, and suspended in smaller trusses. However, these smaller trusses are often significantly more abundant, and are flashier as they bloom before new foliage develops in spring.

Deciduous rhododendrons and azaleas are not grown for the foliar color in autumn, but where autumn weather is cold enough, their foliage can color somewhat well. It is mostly clear yellow, but can sometimes turn orange before falling away cleanly, leaving neatly bare stems through winter.

What deciduous rhododendrons and azaleas excel at that their evergreen counterparts can not compete with is their fragrance. Many are moderately fragrant. Some are VERY fragrant. It is rare that such showy flowers are also so fragrant. (Most flowers rely on one technique or another to attract pollinators.)

Now that the evergreen rhododendrons are blooming, our few deciduous rhododendrons are just about finishing. Visitors often ask about the fragrance, since they do not expect fragrance from rhododendron or azalea flowers, even though they can see little else blooming in same area. These flowers are so popular that we would like to plant more near windows of meeting rooms.P80509+(The article from my weekly gardening column that is typically posted on Thursday was posted yesterday, which is why this article, which is more appropriate for Wednesday is posted today.)

Posted on by tonytomeo · 12 Comments

‘Emerald Green’ Arborvitae

80516The many cultivars of arborvitaes of home gardening have been so extensively bred and selected that only the foliar texture resembles that of their ancestors. ‘Emerald Green’ which is also known by its Danish name ‘Smaragd’, is a cultivar of arborvitae that was developed from the white cedar, Thuja occidentalis,which grows wild from Minnesota to New Brunswick, as a forty foot tall tree!

‘Emerald Green’ grows quite fast while young, but should get no taller than about fifteen feet, and no wider than about four feet. It is one of the best columnar arborvitaes for tall hedging. Although they can be shorn, they are so dense and uniform that they are at their best if only occasionally trimmed of stray stems, or to keep taller specimens from getting too much taller than shorter ones.

The tiny evergreen scale leaves are tightly arranged on vertically arranged flat foliar sprays. Foliage is quite dense, and softer than that of most other conifers. A bit of shade is tolerable, but too much compromises foliar density. Bloom is barely noticeable, and seeded cones are not much to look at. The shaggy ruddy brown bark is handsome but seldom seen on well foliated specimens.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 10 Comments

San Francisco iris

P80505KThere really is a bearded iris that happens to be named ‘San Francisco’. It is related to ‘Los Angeles’, but not ‘San Jose’. (I really want to find a copy of ‘San Jose’ for my own garden!) Both ‘San Francisco’ and ‘Los Angeles’ are white with a slight blue highlight, and an even slighter reddish edge that is easy to miss. I can not remember which one of the two is whiter than the other, but the whiter one may lack the reddish edge altogether.

The San Francisco iris I remember is something completely different. It is a native west coast iris, Iris douglasiana (or douglasii or any other variation of ‘douglas‘ that any particular botanist happen to prefer) that happens to be endemic to the coastal region of San Mateo County south of San Francisco, and was probably endemic to San Francisco County as well. It would be difficult to identify the entire range, because San Francisco iris is merely a variety, rather than a species. The species has a much larger range. Some might say that the same species in Sonoma or Monterey Counties is also San Francisco iris, just because it happens to bloom with a similar color range.

Well, then there is the issue of the color range. Most varieties of other specie are a particular color. Those that have a range of color at least exhibit a distinct color range that is somehow special and different from everything else. The San Francisco iris does not. It is always blue, but might be any shade or hue between very pale blue and rather dark new denim blue. Not only is that a broad range of color, but it is not very distinctive from the same species hundreds of miles away.

So why do we know it as ‘San Francisco iris’? I really do not know. Perhaps it is just something for us to brag about.

Over the years, west coast iris has been bred to bloom with larger flowers with more of a color range. I am sorry that I did not get more pictures while they were blooming. Besides the more common shades and hues of simple blue, they can bloom in various shades and hues of purple, violet, yellow, gold and white. They are still as undemanding as their ancestors are, and once established, do not need much attention at all.P80505K+

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Six on Saturday: Azaleas

 

There is just too much blooming this time of year to fit it all into one Saturday. These azaleas were blooming quite some time ago, and these pictures are at least a week old. Some might be almost two weeks old. I just could not use them last week because there were still camellias to show off.

1. What this one lacks in profusion, it compensates for with large flower size. We used to grow one that looked like this but perhaps with slightly richer color. It was known as ‘Phoenicia’. It was a bit too garish for my taste.P80505
2. These flowers are smaller, but seriously more profuse. In fact, they are so profuse that, like #4, #5 and #6, the foliage is barely visible behind so many flowers. It is garish too, but I rather like this particular flavor of color.P80505+
3. Okay, so they are not as profuse, but they are such an excellently bright red. It looks like ‘Ward’s Ruby’ to be, but I can not be certain. All these azaleas look so different in this landscape than in production on the farm.P80505++
4. Not much foliage could be seen through these glowing flowers. They are more profuse than they look. They just do not seem so profuse because they are not dense. I do not know which cultivar to compare this one to.P80505+++
5. ‘Coral Bells’ has very profuse and very densely arranged tiny flowers. They form a layer over the exterior of the plant. Although I would say that these are more pink than coral, this cultivar is unmistakably ‘Coral Bells’.P80505++++
6. ‘Fielders White’ is the best that I saved for last. They are perfectly white medium sized flowers that are profuse enough to almost obscure the foliage, but not so profuse that the perfect form of the flowers is obscured.P80505+++++
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 · 16 Comments

Periwinkle

70503Like so many of the easiest to grow plants, periwinkle, Vinca major, is too easy to grow. It has become an invasive exotic (nonnative) weed in many moist riparian environments. It can get rather weedy in home gardens as well. This can be an advantage if it happens to fill in for bald spots in areas of other ground cover. It is a disadvantage if it overwhelms or competes with other plants.

It is hard to believe that such a seemingly innocent plant with sporadic but delightful light blue flowers amongst rich green foliage has such unpleasant potential. The radial flowers are about an inch or maybe two wide, and bloom almost all year except for winter. The simple evergreen leaves are likewise an inch or two long. The wiry stems stand a foot or two high before flopping over.

Once stems lay down, they develop roots where they touch the ground, and form new plants that repeat the process of producing upright stems that flop over. Without confinement, there is no limit to the trouble they can get into. Fortunately, it is not a fast process. Cultivars with white or purple flowers, or variegated foliage are more complaisant. Periwinkle is neater if mown as winter ends.

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Avens

80509Wow, this is quite old school. Is it making a comeback? That would be nice. Avens, which is also known as Chilean avens, Geum quellyon, is an old fashioned perennial relative of the strawberry. Instead of producing fruit, it provides handsome yellow, red or coppery orange flowers that look something like small single, semi-double or double anemones, but can bloom through most of May.

Although perennial, avens do not last forever without some degree of help. After the first season, most of the slightly ruffled and hairy foliage dies down during the colder part of winter. New foliage and bloom develop in spring. After the second or third year, and every few years afterward, mature plants should be divided before or after bloom. Pups are more vigorous than the parent plants.

Happy avens gets as high and wide as a foot and a half. Much of the height is in the branched floral stems, which might need to be staked if they get too heavy with bloom, or are in a breezy spot. Most of the mounding foliage is basal. A bit of shade is tolerable and actually preferred to hot situations. Soil should be rich and well drained. Avens plays well with others in mixed perennial beds.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 5 Comments

Wisteria

70426The popular wisterias that bloom so profusely before their new foliage appears in spring are Chinese wisteria, Wisteria sinensis. Others specie are rare. The impressively longer floral trusses of Japanese wisteria are not as abundant, and bloom late amongst developing foliage. American and Kentucky wisteria are more docile small vines, but their floral trusses are both short and late.

Chinese wisteria is also the most fragrant and the most colorful of the wisterias. Lavender is still the most popular and traditional color. White, pink, sky blue and darker almost purplish lavender are also available. The floral trusses, known as racemes, get from half a foot to two feet long. Double flowered cultivars never became too popular because the fluffier blooms are not as elegant. The aggressive vines can reach the tops of tall trees. They rarely strangle limbs or young tree trunks, but have the potential to do so. They are more likely to crush fences and lattice. Wisteria really needs sturdy trellises and specialized pruning for confinement. Vines that grow from seed may take many years to bloom. The pinnately compound leaves turn pale yellow before falling in autumn.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 10 Comments

Flowering Dogwood

80502Flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, seems like it should be more popular here than it is. It blooms spectacularly in April. The foliage can color nicely in autumn. Mature trees are proportionate to medium sized or smaller suburban gardens. However, the limiting factor to their popularity in the local climate is that they are understory trees that prefer to be in the partial shade of larger trees.

They certainly do not need to be shaded all day. Nearby trees or tall buildings that shelter them during the hottest part of the afternoon might be sufficient. Foliage that is too exposed gets roasted by hot sunshine or drying breezes while the weather is warm, especially if exposure is enhanced by glare from nearby walls or pavement. Otherwise, flowering dogwood is not overly demanding.

The abundant white, pink or rarely brick red bloom is actually comprised of modified colorful leaves known as bracts. Each cluster of tiny green flowers is surrounded by four upward facing bracts. Simple paired deciduous leaves develop after bloom. The leaves of some cultivars are variegated with white or yellow. Mature trees can reach upstairs eaves but typically stay lower and broader.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 17 Comments

English Daisy

70419Once it gets into a lawn, English daisy, Bellis perennis, can be very difficult to get rid of without leaving bald spots. The thin but tough rhizomes creep along the ground, producing rounded leaves that get no longer than two inches. Mowers barely scratch the surface. English daisy seems to prefer partly shaded areas to drier sunny spots. Although invasive, it can be pretty in informal lawns.

The inch wide white flowers with yellow centers bloom in phases throughout the year. They are least abundant during cool winter weather, and most abundant about now, as weather gets warmer in spring. Garden varieties have more clumping growth, and slightly larger white, pink or rosy red flowers, all with yellow centers. Some have plumply double flowers. They are grown as flowering annuals, but can perform for a few years as light duty perennials.