RE: Rhagodia


 ----------
 From: 	owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu on behalf of Mace, Michael
 Sent: 	Wednesday, December 11, 1996 11:48 PM
 To: 	MEDIT-PLANTS@ucdavis.edu
 Subject: 	Re: Rhagodia

 San Marcos Growers has grown Rhagodia spinescens since 1989. We discontinued
 production last year due to the lack of interest in plant by our wholesale
 customers - I am glad that Saratoga Horticultural Foundation is now
 "introducing" this plant, as it is a useful large scale groundcover shrub.

 The University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum initially introduced the
 plant under the name Rhagodia spinescens var. deltophylla. Attaching the
 varietal name "deltophylla" to this plant has been under dispute for many
 years by Australian botanists - (Although it is listed and pictured as such in
 the Flora of Central Australia pg. 53 edited by John Jessop, Reed Press, 1981)
 We reverted back to calling the plant Rhagodia spinescens after it was pointed
 out that var. deltophylla was the type, and only, specimen of Rhagodia
 spinescens.

 UCSC introduced the plant as gray foliaged groundcover under Blue Hibiscus
 (Alyogyne huegelii) but at the UCSC garden Rhagodia grew to over 4 feet tall
 and was not suitable as intended. We continued production because Rhagodia was
 recommended to us by Rodger Elliot (co-author of the Encyclopaedia of
 Australian Plants) as fire retardant plant. We established plants in the Santa
 Barbara City Fire Departments Firescape Garden (See
 http//:www.smgrowers.com\firesc.htm ), in our own demonstration gardens and
 encouraged Caltrans to plant it in at a freeway interchange the San Jose area
 (I don't exactly where this planting was or what has happened to it - if
 anybody does, please let me know). During the freeze of 1990 (18 degrees F)
 plants in containers split their stems but quickly healed over without any
 dieback - a very tough contender.  Our largest plant has grown up a 6 foot
 chain link fence, creating a gray wall within the garden that is over 12 feet
 wide - An unsupported plant along the entrance road into our nursery is now
 over 15 feet wide and only 2 feet tall in the middle. It hummocks up in the
 middle and grows out hugging the ground, much the way Ceanothus 'Joyce
 Coulter' does.
 I hope this helps those wishing to plant this tough Aussie - at least it was
 fun writing it.

 Regards and Happy Holidays,
 Randy Baldwin
 San Marcos Growers
 http//:www.smgrowers.com
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