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Re: Sisyrinchium & Aristea

Hi Cheryl --

I'd be happy to trade some aristea for a bit of 'Greyhound Rock,' if that
works for you.  Dividing sisyrinchiums is no problem, as long as the clump is
big enough; as I say, I got tons of them from a few 4-inchers, and the new
clumps are just about filling the gallon pots.  One thing I've noticed is that
S. bellum blooms for a longer period (all summer and into the fall, in fact)
if you keep them watered.  In the wild, of course, they dry out by June or so
(and stop blooming), but unlike many summer drought-adapted plants (like your
irises), these guys don't seem to mind the additional water.  

(The downside of this is that their foliage becomes increasingly attractive to
deer as everything else gets progressively dryer and less succulent, so if I
keep them in my garden this summer, I'll probably put them in the area that
doesn't get summer water, just to keep the deer off them.  None of this
applies to S. striatum, though, which the deer seem to ignore no matter how
much it's watered.)

As for the spot you have in mind for the aristea, I guess it would work.  They
seem to thrive on plenty of water year-round (I think in South Africa they're
wetland plants), so I don't think rotting would be a problem.  If the
afternoon sun is too intense you might get some leaf burn, though.  Plants
growing here in full sun tend to have pretty ugly foliage, but they keep on
flowering and the clumps get bigger, so I guess it's not hurting them.  Mine
are in morning sun/afternoon shade and the foliage is gorgeous, maybe even
more of a feature than the flowers.

Anyway, if you want to try to work out a trade let me know -- I could probably
get over the hill sometime in the next few weeks.

I'm copying this to the list in case anyone else has ideas or input.

Phil

--------------------------------------
Date: 1/29/97 8:31 PM
To: Phil Stevens
From: Wayne Renshaw
Hi Phil,

>Yeah, my Rocky Points did fine in one-gallon cans in spite of the frost.  I
>have about fifteen of them that I made up from four parent plants that I got
>(in 4" pots!) last spring.  I'm curious to learn more about the
>"Grey-something" version.

Okay, I tracked down the 1 gal. pot I got the mystery sis. in--just for you!
(Well, it's good to write the info down before the label fades.) Here's the
blurb from Yamagami's:

Sisyrinchium bellum 'Greyhound Rock'
BLUE-EYED GRASS--clumping bulb, deciduous with summer drought.
Bears small, sky-blue flowers in spring & early summer. Sun to part shade,
little or no watering when established.

I haven't seen the flowers yet, so I don't know how they compare to the
species. The foliage seems even "grassier" than normal blue-eyed grass.

>I don't really know the nurseries over there.  I know several in Santa Cruz
>that carry Aristea.  On the other hand, I have three quite large clumps that
>I'll be dividing this spring -- perhaps we could arrange a trade.

Sounds good! I don't know if I have anything of interest, other than the
aformentioned 'Greyhound Rock' but if you'd like some of that, I can try
to figure out how to split it (I'm a bit of a novice at that). I'd think it
would be better to wait 'til summer to divide it, though--what do you
think?

Do you think the Aristea would do well under a Modesto Ash with
afternoon sun? I've got a Dietes thriving in a spot next to that, and
a Iris douglasiana on the other side, but the I. douglasiana that was
in this spot died (possibly too much water/too many roots/planted
too deep?). It kind of rotted at the base, all the leaves turned red-brown,
then fell out. I've got another spot close by that hasn't had that
kind of history, if the general situation would work for Aristea.

Actually, a woman who works at one of my favorite nurseries
over here is on Medit Plants now. I'll check with her to see if
they carry Aristea, as well.

Thanks,
Cheryl

Cheryl and Wayne Renshaw
Santa Clara, California
renshaw@best.com
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