Melianthus minor
- Subject: Melianthus minor
- From: E* W*
- Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 22:45:52 -0800
Jan,
This year for the first time I saw Melianthus minor in Bay Area nurseries
from San Marcos Growers, Santa Barbara.
I just checked their web page and it is listed/described. I would check
with your local nursery that orders from San Marcos Growers. Melianthus
minor flowers are not as showy as Melianthus major but the black oozing
fruit are spectacular! Melianthus is good example of a genera that we don't
pay much attention to because it commonly is only known for one species but
in reality there is another garden worthy member. There are so many genera
that need more garden attention such as Buddleja beyond B. davidii , Cuphea
beyond C. ignea, Dahlia beyond the hybrids and back to species/primary
hybrids, Kniphofia beyond the typical orange flowered forms, Nepeta beyond
N. x fassenii, Phlomis beyond P. fruticosa, and Origanum beyond O. 'Kent
Beauty', just to name a few. Perhaps Medit Plant members may wish to share
their list of under appreciated garden genera.
Ernie Wasson
Cabrillo College
Central California Coast
Jan Smithen wrote:
> Nan Sterman wrote:
>
> > Hello David and Jan,
> >
> > Since you two are the most excellent of medit plant gurus, I would
> > like to ask a question of you both. Do I need to cut back Melianthus
> > major? If so, when and how much?
>
> Hi Nan - Melianthus major
>
> You've hit on one of my favorite foliage plants for a mediterranean
> climate. It's large, glaucous, blue-green serrated leaves are one of the
> best foils for all those fine textured, silvery leaves in a
> mediterranean climate garden. Let those temperate climate gardeners have
> their Gunnera manicata, their Rheum palmatum that the magazines gush
> over, we can grow this South African native and produce really
> magnificent foliage on a really dry soil tolerant plant.
>
> You really don't have to cut back your Melianthus at all, especially if
> you enjoy it's interesting rusty flowers in spring. I've seen 12 foot
> tall branches in bloom at the back of a border in a Pasadena garden that
> our member, John McGregor manages. He stakes the floppy branches to keep
> them upright.
>
> But, if like me, you want the very largest leaves possible, you'll have
> to do some very hard "stooling" or coppicing. I do this hard cutting
> (to the base) in early fall, so the plant has some time to make new
> growth before winter cold. I then go through the vigorous new shoots
> that soon develop and thin some of them out so the remaining ones have
> room to spread. Unfortunately this treatment leaves me without bloom,
> but I value its foliage so much I'm willing to do this.
>
> In addition, you must cut down (and out) overly tall, flopping branches
> that continue to develop through the growing season, of course leaving
> the ones that are well placed. This is easy work; the hollow stems cut
> easily with a pair of loppers.
>
> More that once, I saw a smaller version (Sunset lists Melianthus
> minor?) in interesting borders in southern France. Can some of our
> members there tell us if this plant is commonly available for them?
> I've never seen it offered here. It's too bad, 'cause it would be a
> great plant for our Southern Calif. (increasingly) smaller gardens.
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Jan Smithen,
> Upland, California
>
> jansmithen@earthlink.net
> Sunset zone : 19
> USDA zone : 10
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~jansmithen/
>
> Visit the Los Angeles County Arboretum
> Victorian Rose Garden website at:
> http://victorian-rose.org/
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
