Re: Melianthus disasterous
- Subject: Re: Melianthus disasterous
- From: Jaen Treesinger R*@bengal-cat.com
- Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 14:51:03 -0700
mine gets a total of 12 inches high....
At 10:43 AM -0700 4/16/03, Sean A. O'Hara wrote:
At 05:28 PM 4/14/2003, Jaen Treesinger wrote:
Speaking of Melianthus, I never heard any opinions on my very blue
dwarf Melianthus here . . . with the purplish stems....any guesses
or sources?
jaen
Jaen -
I do not know it to be dwarf, but I do know of this selection from
our local plantsman Roger Raiche (Heronswood Nursery description)
that sounds similar to your plant:
Melianthus major 'Purple Haze'
"Roger Raiche's excellent seedling selection of this most
sensational of all foliage plants, carrying a magnificence of
scallop-edged powdery-blue-with-a-lavender-rinse pinnate foliage
along orgasmically purple-suffused stems rising to 6 ft. In early
spring, should the stems survive intact during the winter, curious
cones of red-purple flowers rise forth terminally on long red-purple
necks. Fuller sun the better and a warm position in sharply drained
soil a must in z7 if you wish it to return."
Since Heronswood mostly grows this plant in containers, they may not
be aware of its ultimate size (or lack of size) and may be assuming
it is of 'normal' size. How dwarf is your dwarf? Do you recall
where your plant came from? What color are the flowers?
Nan mentions her leggy plant falling over after a rain - yes, this
would be the reason to keep it pruned back to a smaller size. Also,
given this treatment, the leaves tend to be larger and of better
quality as well (the main reason most people grow this interesting
plant).
Regards,
Seán O.
h o r t u l u s a p t u s - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
Seán A. O'Hara fax (707) 667-1173 sean@support.net
1034A Virginia Street, Berkeley, California 94710-1853, U.S.A.
--
Jaen Treesinger
Bengals from the RainForest
.......amazingly smart, incredibly fast and just gorgeous!
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