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Six on Saturday: Abandoned

These are a few plants that survived where my former home was abandoned, and where the new home is to be built. Some of them had been here since 2006 nineteen years ago.

1. Cereus peruvianus, night blooming cereus is from Brent’s former Miracle Mile garden balcony. I do not know why it is so spiny now. Maybe it is angry about being abandoned. Aeonium arboreum, common houseleek is from another friend’s garden near Monterey.

2. Crassula arborescens spp. undulatifolia, ripple jade, as well as the pinwheel aeonium below, remain unidentified. These names that I present here are merely guesses of their identities. Anyway, I procured this from a jobsite that I worked at in Hayward years ago.

3. Aeonium haworthii, pinwheel aeonium came from the same garden that the common houseleek came from near Monterey. The slope that it is attached to is actually too steep to stand on. Yucca recurvifolia, curve leaf yucca is from an old jobsite in Boulder Creek.

4. Aloe arborescens, candelabra aloe came from the home garden of an old friend in the East Hills of San Jose. It is higher on the same steep slope as the pinwheel aeonium and curve leaf yucca. It should grow better and produce pups for dividing with a bit of water.

5. Pelargonium graveolens, rose geranium impresses me most because it survived for so long, like the other perennials, but is supposedly not as resilient as they are. I found this in an old home garden in San Francisco, although I believe that it is common elsewhere.

6. Iris pallida, Dalmatian iris is important because it is from the garden of my maternal maternal great grandmother in Oklahoma. I acquired it when I was about four. Crassula ovata, jade plant was from my former home in town, where I lived after the earthquake.

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 · 18 Comments

Six on Saturday: Purple?

Purple is not as easy as white. White is either white or not white. Purple can be bluish or reddish. I am not totally certain if all Six of these are purple or lavender, which is merely pastel purple.

1. Lavandula angustifolia, English lavender blooms, as its name suggests, with lavender floral color, which is really just pastel purple. It looks blue to me, though. I do not know what cultivar this is, but it has survived here longer than lavender should be expected to.

2. Phlox paniculata, garden phlox also blooms lavender, although it looks pink to me. It is a feral progeny of the already feral garden phox with pure white bloom that I posted a picture of last Saturday. Although white is my favorite, I find this odd variant appealing.

3. Lobularia maritima, sweet alyssum also resembles its white counterpart that I posted a picture of last week, but is not a progeny of it. It is a common garden variety, although I do not remember its name. It survived through last winter for another summer season.

4. Lantana montevidensis, trailing lantana survives within a badly neglected landscape. It really is worthy of consideration for other sunny and warm landscapes here. Lantana camara also performs well in an adjacent landscape, and was recently added to another.

5. Penstemon gloxinioides, beard tongue blooms sparsely for now only because it is new in this particular situation. It grew from several rooted bits that were separated from old specimens as they were cut back last winter. These might produce similar bits next year.

6. Petunia X hybrida, petunia is always reliable for bright color through summer. These have been growing somewhat slowly this year only because the weather has been so mild and even weirdly cool sometimes. Gophers consumed quite a few in a landscape nearby.

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 · 19 Comments

Six on Saturday: White Again

Giant bird of Paradise may not look so good in its picture, but started the trend for these Six for this Saturday. White is my favorite color.

1. Strelitzia nicolai, giant bird of Paradise did not pose for a good picture, but impresses with its fancy bloom nonetheless. It bloomed nicely last year too, just three months after getting relocated from another garden. It is still canned, so is not even in the ground yet.

2. Nerium oleander, oleander reminds me that, contrary to the mild weather, it really is the middle of summer. This particular oleander was so overgrown and shabby from bad pruning for many years that it was coppiced. It worked so well that we could do it again.

3. Pelargonium X hortorum, zonal geranium is a short term perennial, but provides too many replacement cuttings for extinction. I do not know how long it has been here, but I do enjoy propagating it now, not just because it blooms white, but also because it is easy.

4. Lobularia maritima, sweet alyssum has been here a bit longer than expected also, but is not as perennial as zonal geranium. It was planted as a warm season annual early last summer. Because wax begonia is growing around it, it will not be replaced, but removed.

5. Begonia X semperflorens cultorum, wax begonia has been doing remarkably well now that it has its planter boxes within planter boxes to exclude aggressive redwood roots. It has been growing slowly but surely since last summer, so it now needs no replacements.

6. Phlox paniculata, garden phlox self sowed from an unknown source several years ago. It continued to self sow with such vigor that we thought it could become invasive. Then, it unexpectedly became docile, and now grows only where it is an asset to the landscape.

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 · 15 Comments

Six on Saturday: More Unexpected Surprises

Several of these Six were featured here before, and some only recently. They continue to surprise.

1. Musa ingens, oem, or giant highland banana, produced two pups. This is the larger of the two. Although I was told that this is oem, I am not certain. It behaves like the species in some ways, but not others. For example, oem should only occasionally produce pups.

2. Heuchera sanguinea, coral bells does not look coral to me. This looks like simple red. I think of coral as more orangish pink. Is that correct? I can not complain, since I prefer this color. Some of the fancy foliar cultivars here bloom with colors other than coral too.

3. Canna X generalis ‘Cannova Mango’ canna and feral Antirrhinum majus, snapdragon that I posted pictures of two weeks ago are blooming even better together now. Why are some of the best flowers as unplanned as these were? Perhaps I should unplan for more.

4. Helenium autumnale, tickseed was yellow last week. This is literally the same flower. Is this new color orange or red? Was it supposed to be this color, or is this what happens to yellow flowers as they fade? I will need to see how the other two varieties bloom later.

5. Passiflora caerulea ‘Constance Elliott’ passion flower smells like pineapple guava, but only briefly. Its fragrance is gone before I can get someone else to confirm the similarity. The garishness of this bloom does not last very long either. This flower is wilted by now.

6. Rhody rarely cooperates for pictures. He should though, since he is who we all want to see here for Six on Saturday. I would post six pictures of him weekly if he would allow it. Perhaps I should have gotten a picture of Heather too. She cooperates more for pictures.

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 · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: Unexpected

Horticultural dysfunction can be, from one to six, annoying, frustrating, very infuriating, entertaining, confusing and pleasantly surprising. Much of this is more natural than it is dysfunctional.

1. Arundo donax, giant reed is not as giant as expected. Four potted specimens look like big grassy weeds amongst these lily of the Nile. They will be removed if they do not grow as fast as they famously should. They are here only temporarily for this summer anyway.

2. Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ creeping rosemary is not as prostrate as expected. I thought that it would cascade more limbry from the top of the wall rather than become fluffy but barely pendulous shrubs on top of the wall. In a row, they look like Soul Train.

3. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile are expected to bloom for summer. Here on the edge of a trafficked walkway, they are too tempting to kids with sticks. Fortunately, their evergreen foliage is a nice border even without bloom. We try not to be too discouraged.

4. Agapanthus orientalis, lily of the Nile is trying to bloom a bit more than expected, by fasciation. Perhaps it is trying to compensate for the destruction of so much other bloom nearby. Ultimately, a fascinated bloom will be no more substantial than a normal bloom.

5. Echinops sphaerocephalus, globe thistle is unexpectedly solitary. This is the first that I have grown since my second summer after high school, so I do not remember how they typically bloom. Yet, I expected a branched bloom stem. Maybe that is what it does next.

6. Helenium autumnale, sneezeweed was expected to bloom later in summer. This is the first for me, so I can neither complain nor question its timing. Two other varieties bloom red and orange. They, the globe thistle and others came from Tangly Cottage Gardening.

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 · 10 Comments

Six on Saturday: Not Yet Summer Bloom

Too much is blooming now for pictures of foliage, bark, trees, vines, shrubs or any other horticultural subject matter. I got these pictures before yesterday, so they are technically still spring bloom.

1. Gladiolus X hortulanus, gladiolus looks silly alone. It was the first to bloom. All others are in small colonies that developed from reliably perennial bulbs, which were originally components of a mixed batch. I would not have expected any to be so reliably perennial.

2. Lavandula angustifolia, English lavender has similarly lasted longer than expected. It was already a few years old several years ago, when I predicted its natural demise within two years. A feral specimen of Spanish lavender coincidentally grew from a seed nearby.

3. Antirrhinum majus, snapdragon is also feral. All within its colony bloom white. Those of another feral colony all bloom yellow. However, the parents of both colonies bloomed with mixed colors of the same variety. I can not complain, but I wonder what happened.

4. Celosia argentea, plumed cockscomb blooms with these red, orange or yellow flames. The chartreuse foliage in the background is coleus. They are a good example of why I do not procure annuals at work. I have difficulty with such striking color, texture and form.

5. Abutilon X hybridum, Chinese lantern is an awkwardly lanky shrub that will not stop blooming. I would like to prune it down to perhaps improve its density, but do not want to interfere with its bloom schedule. It has been here for many years, and might be feral.

6. Canna ‘Cannova Mango’ canna is not my favorite cultivar, but has too many attributes to discredit. It begins blooming before any other canna here. It blooms more abundantly than any other canna here. I know of no one else who dislikes this color as much as I do.

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 · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: Making Up For Lost Time

A few late bloomers are making up for lost time. Hydrangea, although late, is somewhat earlier than it typically is. Bluegum is not blooming, but contributes its own sort of color with bark.

1. Eucalyptus globulus, bluegum remains canned because it grows too big too vigorously to go into the ground. Ultimately, it will likely need to be destroyed. For now, it provides both aromatic juvenile foliage and pretty adult foliage. It also has pretty watercolor bark.

2. Yucca recurvifolia, curve leaf yucca is known as Yucca gloriosa var. tristis now. What was wrong with its former botanical name? Its boring common name should be changed instead. Anyway, I am impressed that it is blooming so soon after relocation last winter.

3. Hibbertia scandens, guinea gold vine grew like a weed from a cutting last year, and is now beginning to bloom for the first time. This is the first of many flower buds to unfurl. Its bloom was expected, but its profusion is unexpectedly impressive. It remains canned.

4. Hemerocallis fulva, daylily was similarly expected to bloom and is similarly blooming with unexpected profusion. I have no idea what cultivar this is, but I suspect that it may be the straight species. We grow just one other daylily cultivar, and it is relatively docile.

5. Begonia semperflorens-cultorum, wax begonia had languished for years in its planter box full of aggressive redwood roots. It now grows much more happily in its new planter box within its old planter box, which is elevated on cinder blocks above an empty space.

6. Hydrangea macrophylla, hydrangea typically blooms later on axillary stems because I prune the terminal buds off with winter dormant pruning. My concern was that, if I left the canes intact as I should, they would flop over. They are flopping, but it was worth it.

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 · 12 Comments

Six on Saturday: Going Bananas Again

Banana trees have grown slowly through the oddly cool weather of spring. They are only now beginning to slowly recover from last winter.

1. Ariolimax columbinanus, banana slug is obviously unrelated to bananas, but seems as if it should not be. It is about as big as a small banana, but fortunately does not consume much viable vegetation. It prefers redwood detritus. It is rarely out during arid weather.

2. Actinidia deliciosa, kiwi vine is obviously as unrelated to bananas as a mollusk, but is something that I want to show off. These remaining three of five original cuttings are my second attempt to grow a male pollinator for a female vine that grew here two years ago.

3. Musa ingens, oem or giant highland banana produced a pup that grew big enough for separation. A smaller secondary pup remains attached as a potential replacement for the primary trunk when it finishes, but additional pups will likely develop through summer.

4. Musa itinerans var. xishuangbannaensis ‘Mekong giant’ banana also produced a pup. It is still dinky and now seems to be blinding out without a new leaf within its latest leaf. Another pup is only beginning to appear. I hope that more pups will eventually develop.

5. Musa, banana of an unidentified species and cultivar is recovering slowly from winter. It was here through last summer, so, unless it is a dwarf, it should be bigger by now. The shabbier specimen to its far left is Musa X balbisiana ‘Blue Java’ or ‘Ice Cream’ banana.

6. Rhody is who everyone who reads my Six on Saturday really wants to see. I have been negligent in posting pictures of him. He is not exactly easy to get a good picture of. Even this picture should have been centered better. Obviously, he knows his fans do not mind.

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 · 17 Comments

Six on Saturday: Neither Rhododendrons Nor Roses

This is an intentional attempt to eschew the most obvious options.

1. Tanacetum parthenium ‘Aureum’, golden feverfew is the only of these six that I know the cultivar of, but only because it is the only cultivar that I am aware of with such sickly chartreuse foliar color that passes for golden. Its little daisy flowers are splendid though.

2. Dianthus caryophyllus, mini carnation is one of those cool season annuals that never gets removed at the end of its season. It neither flourishes nor dies, so has been here for several years. It will probably die back partially now that the weather is getting warmer.

3. Pelargonium X hortorum, zonal geranium may seem to be cheap and common, but it has been very reliable. Besides, I happen to be fond of them. They were some of the first perennials that I grew during my childhood. This and others like it are modern cultivars.

4. Alstroemeria spp., Peruvian lily was the first large scale cut flower crop that I worked with during the summer of 1986, while I was studying horticulture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This and a few cultivars at work seem to be as old fashioned as those from 1986.

5. Lilium auratum, Asiatic lily was a gift from a neighbor while its bulbs were dormant a few winters ago. It was not expected to perform as well as it has. Not only has it become reliably perennial, but it has multiplied so much that I must eventually dig and divide it.

6. Cornus florida, flowering dogwood is the last dogwood to bloom so late. This could be because of distress associated with its relocation last winter. I do not remember when it bloomed last year, or if it should bloom as late next year. I suppose that we will see then.

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 · 20 Comments

Six on Saturday: Bark

Bark was actually not Rhody’s suggestion. It was simply a convenient theme while it was difficult for me to get out to take other pictures. These are six trees that I worked around yesterday. I could recycle this theme for native species.

1. Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood is the Official State Tree of California, and the tallest tree species in the World. Although native, this particular specimen was grown in a nursery, and is the cultivar ‘Soquel’. It was installed into its landscape likely after 1989.

2. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, dawn redwood is the only of three species of redwood that is not native to California. It is also the only deciduous redwood. Sequoia gigantea, giant redwood, is also represented by a young tree, but I did not get a picture of its bark.

3. Prunus serrulata, flowering cherry seems to be the cultivar ‘Kwanzan’. Perhaps shade from surrounding redwoods, birches, sweetgums and dogwoods interfere with its bloom profusion. Individual flowers are a bit smaller than they should be for typical ‘Kwanzan’.

4. Betula pendula, European white birch has distinctly white bark, but also exhibits dark brown or black furrowed bark at the bases of large trunks. I tried to take pictures of both for contrast, but the white bark seemed too gray. I could have gotten both in one picture.

5. Liquidambar styraciflua, sweetgum bark goes through different phases as it matures. Young twigs initially exhibit smooth bark. Then, their smooth bark develops corky wings that grow as the stems grow. Somehow, mature bark shows no evidence of former wings.

6. Cornus florida, flowering dogwood is supposedly easy to identify by its ruff bark. I do not get it, though. Of these Six, only flowering cherry has more finely textured bark. This particular tree does not bloom so well, but produces spectacular foliar color for autumn.

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/