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Seeds, Cistus

Thanks Renee and Jim for the addresses of California natives seed
suppliers.

For South-African seeds contact :

Rod and Rachel
Silverhill Seeds
PO Box 53108, Kenilworth
7745 Cape Town, South Africa

Do you know of the Restio family (Restionaceae) in South-Africa ? The
restios are an extraordinarily large family of plants which look half Stipa
half Juncus. There are very few grasses in South-Africa, but the "Fynbos"
is just full of different restios,  from the tiny ones between the rocks to
the large dramatic silhouettes like Rhodocoma gigantea. They bloom in nice
colours of cream and orange, which can completly cover a hillside. The
funny thing about restios is that if you try to sow them, nothing happens :
you can pour boiling water on the seeds, try with acid, put them in the
fridge, still nothing. The secret is not to burn them, like for some
california natives : no, you have to smoke them, and then you have a 95 %
success. When my daughters look at me near the chimney with seed trays all
around, throwing bunches of Pistacia and Laurus and Cistus ladanifer on the
fire with fierce eyes, they think I'm going crazy again : well no, I'm just
preparing the new seeds I bought from Silverhill !

Seed suppliers in Europe : 

Sandeman Seeds in England, fax : 1798869400
and also
Agbina P.O. Box 7, Moscow 105023 Russia (very large catalogue)

The Cistus which is said to be the hardiest is Cistus laurifolius, which
grows in the mountains of Southern Europe, to 2000 m in altitude. It has
medium white flowers and distinctive foliage, green when it is young and
becoming ash grey when it is older. Very hardy will be the different
hybrids coming from Cistus laurifolius : C. x ledon (hybrid with C.
monspeliensis), C x costei (with C. salviifolius) and C. x cyprius (with C.
ladanifer). C. x cyprius has beautiful very large white flowers, with blood
dotches at the base of the petals. 

Renee, if you visit South of France in April don't miss on the Riviera the
Botanical Garden of Menton and the Mortola Garden right at the Italian
border. Then please don't stay on the Riviera where you have only buidings
and palms and buildings. No, go for walks in the mountains behind Grasse
(Grasse is lovely) or near Aix en Provence. If you like Cistus the best
places are Saint Chinian (near Beziers) and the very nice Fontfroide
Monastery (near Narbonne) : you will find there Cistus crispus, C albidus,
C. monspeliensis, C populifolius, C laurifolius, C. ladanifer (many
different forms) C salviifolius, and incredible hybrids between all those. 

Yes Claudio, I have quite a lot of cuttings of Cistus, but seeds are easier
to send.They germinate easily, in a sandy soil, not to wet. Do you want to
try a few species ? 

Olivier
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