Re: Psoralea pinnata

Greetings,

    Many thanks to all who responded.

    What I wanted was a small tree for a scrubby area
    (where the garden transitions into open field) so the
    legginess doesn't bother me. And it sounds like it is
    flexible about water if I don't need it to look lush.

    As for tenderness, oh well, too late now. It's here,
    it's going in. :-)

-- Irene.

david feix wrote:
> 
> A very adaptable plant here in California, where it
> does seem able to deal with normal garden conditions,
> and is not overly dependent on heavy watering in
> summer.  It will let you know rather quickly if it is
> becoming drought stressed by rapidly losing lower
> branches and getting leggy much faster than it does in
> normal conditions here.  I've had it grow equally well
> as a permanent container plant, in beach sand and
> heavy clay loam, handling them all with ease, as long
> as they got regular summer irrigation.  I've had
> plants last 10 to 12 years before they got so big and
> gangly that they were best removed.  It can get 18/20
> feet tall if not pruned.  Regular tip pinching to
> encourage bushiness is always wise, especially to
> remove the abundantly set seed which if allowed to
> remain often results in bare branches in the vicinity
> of seed if not removed.  
> 
> It has only occasionally seeded itself around, and
> does need irrigated conditions to self sow.  It was
> interesting to see how plentiful this is all around
> Cape Town, always growing in the wettest spots
> available.
> 
> I don't think this will be a good plant for Napa
> Valley however, as it has no resistance to frost below
> 25F, which kills it to the ground.  It can be rather
> heavily damaged at 28/29F here in the SF Bay Area. 
> There seem to be forms that bloom over a longer season
> and are especially fragrant,(what is being sold
> through San Marcos Growers in Santa Barbara), while
> the first plants I had were not at all fragrant,(from
> Strybing) and only bloomed in late May/June.  In my
> opinion, it is a great small tree or very tall leggy
> shrub, it doesn't lend itself to formal settings or
> being hedged, it has a certain wild quality and
> appearance of a pine tree in foliage and when not
> blooming.  A very fast grower, it can grow 4 feet in a
> season with good water.  In habitat it was often to be
> seen growing with Podalyria calyptrata and P. sericea,
> two more moisture loving, quick growing pea family
> members.
> 
> > > Irene Kuffel wrote:
> > >  > Hello all,
> > >  >
> > >  > I made an impulse buy of a psoralea pinnata
> > this
> > > weekend, and now, in
> > >  > researching its care on the web, I see that it
> > > shows up in a few weed
> > >  > compendiums, though without any information as
> > to
> > > exactly how it is
> > >  > invasive. (Wouldn't it be nice if nurseries and
> > > plant sales provided
> > >  > online access, so one could google _before_
> > > buying. :-)))
> > >  >
> > >  > It's native to S. Africa, and does seem to be
> > > cultivated in Australia
> > >  > and NZ, so perhaps some of you in the So.
> > > hemisphere can advise? Is
> > >  > it only invasive in wet lands? I'm nowhere
> > close
> > > to streams, and plan
> > >  > on putting it in a fairly dry area - will it
> > > flourish on low water?
> > > 
> > >   Irene
> 
> 
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