FW: Russelia



-----Original Message-----
From: Pamela Steele [p*@re-taste.com]
Sent: 30 July 2007 09:53
To: davidfeix@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Russelia


Dear David

Thank you for your response.

I have 5 Russelias, 3 creamy yellow and two red. Some of them mostly the
yellow variety look a bit sad in that the flowers are dying off ( they seem
to have shorter flowing period than the red) and I was wondering if a prune
would freshen them up. I dont want to control the size at the moment.  Is
'light tipping' just cutting off the dead flowers? I keep the roots damp as
I read that is important. But I haven't been fertilising them other than
throwing some long acting pellets in Spring. (Do you have and advice on the
fertiliser percentages of NPK.)   We don't have frost here. I live in the
Marina Alta on the Costa Blanca in Spain and the garden is a typical dry
rocky one with many Pinus halepensis running down towards the sea.
I look forward to your reply.

Best wishes


Pamela

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
[o*@ucdavis.edu]On Behalf Of david feix
Sent: 30 July 2007 05:42
To: pamela.steele@re-taste.com; Medit-Plants
Subject: Re: Russelia


Pamela,
You don't mention the reason why you want/need to
prune it...  I usually just do light tip pruning to
shape/control spread when it is in active growth but
not in full flower/bud.  This would typically be in
spring under our conditions.  Russelia seems to grow
best with regular water/feeding/warm temperatures, and
would typically only get pruned to control size where
I use it.  If the plant has been abused by lack of
water or fertilizing, a good heading back won't
necessarily encourage fresh new growth unless it gets
this.  I wouldn't prune in colder months or during
possibility of frost, as the plant typically doesn't
do much at all if it isn't warm enough to encourage
new growth.  Cuttings start very easily in summer, if
you are interested in getting new plants established,
and stems will often root in well watered gardens with
mulch.

I've also found that this plant really appreciates
regular feeding to encourage best blooming, and is not
a plant that I can ignore in this respect and expect
it to look its best.
--- Pamela Steele <pamela.steele@re-taste.com> wrote:

> Shall I prune my Russelia equisetiformis?. If so,
> when?.  Any information I
> find on the web about pruning it, is conflicting.
> I hope someone can help.
> Thanks
>
> Pamela
>
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