Re: Lobster Claw
Tim wrote:
>Well Dave, the only thing that springs to mind is that Clianthus puniceus
>is a fairly short-lived shrub. I have never succeeded in growing one for
>more than five years maximum (of course that may just be me).
My last one - the white form - 'Alba' lived throughout the 12 years I
was at my old house and improved year on year. I did have problems
keeping the straight species alive when I lived in the Midlands which
is nearly 200 miles north of here, but that was due to frost damage
since their winters are very severe compared to here.
> I know 3 years is not very old, but 8 feet is
>quite big, and if it has been flowering well, that may be the reason it is
>now dying back - it has done its dash.
Hmm... the other one was well over 12ft across and 8ft high - from a
distance it looked like some abstruse white Wisteria when in full
flower. I dunno Tim, I'm not so sure that it is suffering from 'old
age'. Unless of course 'Alba' is stronger than the straight species.
This selective and occasional die-back is almost as if the new shoots
were being chewed up with red spider mite. However, although I've
already got white fly all over the Abutilons out there and a major
scale problem on one or two palms, red spider out of doors here is a
great rarity on account of the very high humidity. The last time I
saw it on any plants in the garden was in 1996 when we had
temperatures approaching 90 every day for ages despite quite vigorous
'cooling' sea breezes.
>This species is almost unknown in the wild now, with perhaps only a dozen
>or so plants left in just one part of the country, near Lake Waikaremoana
>in the North Island.
This I didn't know. Sounds as though it is approaching extinction in
the wild, how come?
>In New
>Zealand it is known as the Kaka Beak (Kaka is a New Zealand parrot with a
>beak that is, of course, shaped exactly like a C. puniceus flower).
This I did know - my other main interest which often takes over from
plants is keeping parrots.
I think I'll drench the Clianthus with fungicide to see if that will
help - it certainly can't do any harm. If the worst comes to the
worst, I've got a few young one knocking about somewhere and there
looks to be quite a reasonable set of seed.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
