Re: Good plants?

Here in Spain, Quercus rotundifolia and Acer monspessulanum are lately more available in nurseries and garden centers than they used to several years ago. And they are here to stay. Present in the wild in most of our country, this two species perform wonderfully in any mediterranean garden.
 
I suspect the reasons why they are not frequent in Californian nurseries are:
 
1. Quercus rotundifolia is a very slow grower. A seedling takes many years to reach a good size for sale.
 
Here in Spain, if you are willing to spend a good amount of money, you can buy a mature tree with a trunk girth of about 18 inches. This trees are specimens transplanted from the wild, usually beacuse of road construction or similar human activities. Trees with much smaller girths are produced in nurseries, but are still rather expensive.
 
2. Acer monspessulanum may not be usually available in the trade in California probably because it has not been advertised enough (or not at all?). It seems in the USA the nursery trade is very trendy, and what is "hot" are the latest new hybrids and cultivar selections, and the strait "Genus species" plants are usually forgotten. Ole' monspessulanum isn't a trademark or an award winning cultivar or a rare species in the wild, and that can be sometimes a problem if you want to sell maples. This is something that has always surprised me: why a tree with nice flowers, good fall color, drought tolerant and with very pretty leaves doesn't get a fair advertising, even where it is native. It is a very nice adition to any garden, not only in mediterranean climate areas but also down to zone 6 areas. It seems here in Europe this is starting to change, and now a good number of nurseries offer it, from seedlings to trees with a girth of 10 inches. I am sure that a new life is waiting for it in the USA too and will be eventually more available.
 
Fran de la Mota
Miraflores de la Sierra
Madrid, Spain
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Joe Seals
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 1:36 AM
Subject: Good plants?

I think that most of us have swooned over the plants illustrated in many good books about the native plants of Mediterranean climates.
 
And many of us ask, “Why has that not been available at my garden center?”
 
Being in the hort industry for some years, I have seen some of these interesting plants come in to the trade.  And many o! f them go out almost as quickly.  The reasons, I know, are many; some good, some suspect.
 
Yet I still find interest in the many wild plants that SEEM to have potential as garden plants.  So I find myself stating “That should grow here” and then asking “So why isn’t it?”  And I figure somebody knows -- who better than the exceptionally intelligent and worldly members of the Med Garden Society.
 
I have a LONGGGGG list of plants that ! I’ve wondered about.  Beginning with this baker’s dozen (all Med Basin natives):
 
 
Quercus rotundifolia
Celtis tournefortii
Helleborus multifidus bocconei
Clematis flammula
Clematis campaniflora
Paeonia cambessedesii
Crataegus laciniata
Genista cinerea
Acer monspessulanum
Acer sempervirens
Daphne oleoides
Daphne sericea
Cistus clusii
 
What do you all know about the availability in the trade of any of these, somewhere?  What do you know about the garden performance:  Does it grow easily without much special care; does it grow too easily, possibly becoming a weed; and, most importantly, does it actually look good enough for most landscapes (not just in a “collection”)?
 
Maybe you happen to know why they have NOT been in the larger-scale commercial trade.
 
I have a feeling that many of these plants already have been discussed in this forum; I just may be re-inventing the wheel on this concept.
 
Thanks,
Joe


Joe Seals
Santa Maria, California --
where the weather is always perfect
and my NEW garden will soon be blooming and full of birds and butterflies
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