RE: Leucophyllum frutescens

All the Leucophyllum species are perfectly adaptable
to coastal California/mediterannean conditions, but
most bloom better with sufficient summer heat, and are
keyed in habitat to the summer monsoon rains which
trigger profuse bloom.  I have also heard that timed
irrigation as Joan DeFato describes can be used to
trigger bloom in hot summer areas.  Since we don't get
either the humidity or rains associated with summer
monsoonal rains, they are not as showy in bloom here
as they are in Texas.  There is a great variety of
foliage forms/colors/sizes/bloom colors to choose
from, and they are particuarly useful in very severe
desert climates, as most come from the trans-Peco area
of Texas and extend into the Chihuahan Desert of
Northern Mexico.  Mountain States Wholesale Nursery in
Arizona has a great selection, and Carol Shuler's
book, Low Water Use Plants for California and the
Southwest, has a good selection of them with photos. 
Other similar desert plants which deserve more use
here in California include the Dalea species, which
are little seen here, most probably because they may
be prone to winter rot from our normal winter rainfall
in cooler coastal areas of California, without
provisions for perfect drainage.

As to taking plants out of the USA, there are no
prohibitions on taking nursery grown plants, the
regulations on your end would be what you need to
investigate.  Coming into the USA, plants need to
either be grown in a soil less medium and accompanied
by a phytosanitary permit from the nursery, or have
the soil washed off the roots and be cleaned of any
insects/eggs/disease organisms.  For small quantities
of plants, it is usually fairly routine to get things
through agricultural inspection without going through
quarantine, but it helps to have every thing properly
identified, cleaned, a plant importation permit form
properly filled out, know what is prohibited from
entry, and arrive on a weekday morning(preferably not
on a Friday), in case you should have to return the
next day to get plants through. 




__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more.
http://buzz.yahoo.com/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index