Re: Kennedia coccinea

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From: david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Kennedia coccinea
To: "Medit-Plants" <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 6:27 PM

Deborah,
That sounds like it would be an interesting combination for this plant!  If you are in need of more orange/coral/purple flower colors in combination, you might also think of adding some Chorizema to the mix, also in bloom about now.  I forgot to mention that Jo O'connel's nursery down in Ventura would be a good source for more obscure Kennedia species, see her web site/link:

http://www.australianplants.com/plants.aspx?id=1550

K. coccinea may want more supplemental irrigation to get it going than the Dodonaea needs, so it might take some TLC to get this established at the base of an existing Dodonaea.  The one Kennedia species I am most familiar with, and the one that is the most aggressive in size is the black flowered K. nigricans, which is probably a much harder plant to abuse, but the flowers aren't as showy from a distance, more for the person who likes black flowers...  I think any slower acting fertilizer that is not too rich in nitrogen or phosphorus would be suitable for Kennedia, my implication is that they are easy to burn with a fast acting fertilizer.

Locally, The Dry Garden Nursery in Oakland, Ca. usually stocks the Kennedia coccinea or the Chorizema, but they are also available from Suncrest Wholesale Nursery or San Marcos Growers Wholesale Nursery.