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Galactites etc.

Jane Stanley wrote:- 

>I've found that both the more common purple-flowered Silybum and
>S.m.'Adriana' grow much better with me when treated as annuals.For some
>reason the few self sown plants which appear in autumn are always
>weedy.Perhaps if I sow in spring but don't allow them to flower I would
get
>an impressive over-wintering rosette?

Sowing in spring could have one of two effects - it might cause them to
develop extra large rosettes as you suggest, or they might bolt and be
extra puny. My preference would be to sow them in June or July, about the
same time as the foxgloves are seeding. They should then build up a
good-sized rosette but have no chance to bolt.

Personally, I dislike S.marianum - the winter rosttes are spectacular but
it's a terrible weed when it gets round to flowering - insignificant
flowers atop a dreadful spiny mass.

Now on to better things...

>And talking of weedy plants..also in 95 I grew one plant of Galactites
>tomentosa.I found this so weedy and unimpressive that I pulled it up when
>it was in flower but when I was in England in April 97, I saw two plants
>which had self seeded in pots in a polytunnel..the nurseryman told me
that > these attractive rosettes of beautifully marked leaves were
Galactites
> tomentosa.Thinking I must have had something else initially,I scrounged
> some seeds from a friend in the summer..result...weedy looking plants
just  > the same as my first attempt and nothing like the ones I'd
admired.I'd have > decided that it was my cultivation but a couple of
nights ago I was
> searching for other information and .I came on a photo of Galactites
which > was just as uninspiring and as weedy as my own plant.

Although it is similar in general idea to Silybum marianum, this is (to my
mind) a far superior plant - much more floriferous and graceful. However,
I do have to say that the ones on the web site looked a bit weedy and
uninspired. There are two points here; first, like Silybum, it is probably
at its most beautiful a a winter rosette. These are comparable in size to
a foxglove, ranging from about 6" to maybe 18" in diameter. They may be
killed by hard frost in winter, and ours usually only survive partly
sheltered by shrubs or by a wall.

When it decides to flower, this plant sends up a single, branching stem to
about 24". The rosette dies off as it does this, and much of the beautiful
foliage effect is lost. It then produces a succession of mauve-purple
flowers until it dies (the picture on the web doesn't quite reflect the
true colour of the flowers, as is common for photos of flowers in this
colour range). This has its own beauty, but it is important to have it
against a suitable backdrop. Green is no good at all - I find they are
much more effective with stone, gravel or drying grass (mine grows with
quaking grass) in which case it doesn't look nearly so weedy. Bees
(including solitary bees) and butterflies like to visit the flowers.
However, like many winter annuals, it gets steadily tattier as summer
progresses, and I pull up the dying plants once they have set seed.

Jane - I have quite a good form in my parents garden at home. I _may_ have
some seed - if not Email me in early March and I'll try posting you some
babies.



Tristan Hatton-Ellis
South West England
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