Pink Sturt's etc. was Re: Summer is a comin'!
Moira wrote:
>I remember at one time they used to graft Sturt's pea on to some sort of
>Cotula, but interesting to see they now prefer C puniceus. Makes sense,
>being a close relative.
Yes they used to used Colutea arborescens here as well. It imparted a
degree of hardiness and wet tolerance to a plant that is notoriously
incapable of handling much moisture. Clianthus puniceus makes more
sense although in the light of previous discussions about its short
life, it does raise questions about longevity. That said, I suspect
anyone who keeps it alive for more than a couple of seasons will have
good reason to be proud of themselves!
Oh, I went to a 'proper' nursery the other day and in a large cold
greenhouse, there was an enormous C. puniceus 'Alba' with a thigh
thick 'trunk' and extending out 10 feet in all directions. Apparently
it was about 7 years old and is heavily pruned every year after
flowering. Although it was nearly over, you should have seen the
sheer volume of flower.
>I wonder how free-flowering the pink form is. I am a little suspicious
>of these colour variations after growing a pink Vallotta for upwards of
>ten years without a bloom, finally seeing somewhere it was very shy and
>almost impossible to get into flower. I threw it out in disgust!!
The information I have is that it flowers more or less continuously
for 10 months of the year and responds well to cutting back after
flowering. I believe the idea is to market it here as a 'pot plant'
and provided it is given a sunny window and kept free of the dreaded
red spider mite, it should be OK.
>> A 2ft high 'seedling' Gardenia
>> jasminoides sent to me from Spain
>This amazes me, after trying over the years to keep different Gardenias
>alive in my glasshouse only to see them eventually waste away. I am
>tempted to have one final fling and just treat one rough to see what
>happens.
I leafed through an old book by Stirling Macaboy the other day. In it
he virtually advocates giving them the meanest of treatment in pots on
the balcony - but he was talking from Sydney, Aus. Since it can get
pretty chilly there in winter, it really should come as little or no
surprise that there are cold tolerant forms.
>> 'New Zealand Iris' - Libertia grandiflora. ....
>I must say, in most garden situations I would rather have L grandiflora
>any day. L peregrans spreading habit make it a real thug in all but
>suitably confined conditions and I have so often seen it out of control
>in a bed and coming up all over the place.
Yes, I've given it to much lavish treatment in the past and it has
proved decidedly untidy with me. I prefer the tight, clump forming
habit of grandiflora and it really does pay good rent for the space
taken up with at least 3 months of flower. Last year it threw a dozen
or so spikes in late August as well, extending the flowering well into
early November
>The best use of it I ever saw was a narrow bed on the top of a low stone
>retaining wall. It completely filled its stone "box" and in the poor dry
>conditions was quite spectacular, I must admit.
I suspect the leaf colour was at its brightest. I have a almost
identical situation, but have it filled with South African
mesembyanths, Euryops, various cacti and clumps of Bilbergia. I might
push a slip of this in here and there to see how it copes. It should
prove interesting weaving its way about the other plants.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
