Re: Crinodendron hookerianum

Hi,Tristram,
As an appendage to your, erm, "experience" at a well known South West
nursery (adjacent to the A38 perhaps?) I imagine William Lobb of Cornwall
and Messrs Veitch of the famous Exeter nursery who introduced Crinodendron
hookerianum to these parts are probably spinning in their graves.

Never the less an excellent plant which like Dave we've found to be fairly
comfortable by the coast here. One thing I do though, is a little judicious
pruning to it in order to keep plenty of juvenile growth coming along. The
large specimens in gardens hereabouts,  Trewithen Gardens (nr Truro) for
example, can look a little too woody after a while, which inevitably
detracts from the flowers.

Try nurseries such as the aforementioned Trewithen or Filan's Plants at
Buckland Monochorum. I'd also suggest Vallea stipularis as being another
worthwhile aquisition from South America suitable for your conditions, by
the sound of it.

kind regards, Mark
(enjoying the blooms on Acacia dealbata - an alternative Christmas tree)

Mark Brent, Lamorran House Gardens, St. Mawes, Cornwall, U.K.

> I must tell you an amusing story. Armed with all this advice, I
> took a trip this Sun morning to my local garden centre
> (incidentally, with a reputation as one of the biggest and most
> prestigious in the SW of England) where I enquired whether they
> had a specimen or could get one for me. The assistant sucked her
> teeth and called over someone further up the hierarchy. I
> repeated the question to him and I didn't reckon the blank look
> he gave me a good sign. He then consulted a large tome lying on
> the desk and, after consideration, informed me that it was a
> tropical plant and clearly unsuitable for the conditions
> hereabouts; did I want to grow it in a conservatory? No, I didn't
> but I thanked him for his advice. Could he get one for me? No, he
> said, none of his suppliers would have one.
>
> I returned home and found at least six suppliers on the internet
> in a matter of minutes. If this is the sort of expertise and
> service that supposedly top grade nurseries come up with, one is
> left in a doleful mood.
>
> On consideration, I think the problem is perhaps one of
> perception and lack of imagination. We are used to growing a very
> limited and restricted range of plants in the UK and, with a few
> exceptions, the nurseries and plant trade here follow and connive
> in that. The truth is entirely different. Milder, mainly westerly
> coastal, parts of the UK have a unique climate that allows very
> little frost but adequate rainfall all year. That should give us
> the opportunity to grow a vast range of plants that the industry,
> and public, hasn't even begun to tap yet.
>
> There has to be more to a gardening life here than buddleja,
> weigela and deutzia.
>
> Thank you again for the input and encouragement,
>
> Tristram
>
>
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