Re: Libertia peregrinans

Diane Whitehead wrote:
> 
> Tim Longville complained that his Libertia peregrinans rarely flowers.
> 
> Mine has been growing for many years in as sunny a spot as my well-treed area can provide. Only well-established clumps flower, never the newer "runners", and the most I've had per clump has been two flower stems. More usually, it will be one. They set seed reliably, which I send to exchanges. I bought it for its dirty orange foliage, which it provides year-round, so the spikes of white flowers are an unexpected bonus. The only comment on it in Salmon's New Zealand Flowers and Plants in Colour is: "L. peregrinans is a creeping plant found in damp hollows among sand dunes." There is no picture of it. I didn't read this before planting, but I have the right conditions for it. My soil is poor and sandy, and I don't fertilize. It is in one of my watered areas.

Hi Diana
I have a very nice clump of L grandiflora, but have never tried
peregrinans, as in my rich well-treed garden I feel it would probably
not be happy. At the same time its very marked wandering habit puts me
off!.

I would however like to protest at your description of the leaves as
"dirty orange" as to me it looks a better colour than that - more of an
old gold maybe. I gather it colours best in full sun and dry conditions.

The best stand I ever saw was in a stone flower box at the fromt of a
very steep property. This was not just a simple erection but had two
compartments. The back one held some spreading junipers whose dark green
contrasted very well with the golden Libertia in front of them and there
was no way the latter could creep out and make a pest of itself. If it
did have any flowers, though, I never saw them in several years of
driving past.

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time
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