Re: the early summer blues, (and purples/lavenders)

--- Tim Longville wrote: > > The first was the description of his Francoa > sonchifolia six feet tall > and lavender.I always get the Francoas even more > mixed up than most > other genera but I'd thought of F. s. as the one > which here is around > four feet tall with flowers white stained pink. No? > Climate-change or > confusion (mine)? After your questions on the Francoas, I decided to compare them at one of our local nurseries, Berkeley Horticultual Nursery, here close to my house. They have 3 species for sale; F. ramosa-white flowers with medium coarse pale green foliage to perhaps 2~3 inches across and 4 inches long, and not much lobed, bloom spikes to 2-3 feet tall; F. appendiculata- darker green and much smaller, more congested/lobed foliage to perhaps 1.5~2 inches across and 3 inches long, rose pink verging on lavender flowers on spikes to 2~3 foot tall, and what I have in my garden bought as F. sonchifolia, but labeled by Suncrest Nursery as a hybrid, with much larger, coarser foliage to 4 inches across by 6~10 inches long and much lobed, and bloom spikes 3~6 feet tall, flowers are in fact a deep rosy pink over a white center/background, but "read" as lavender from a distance. This one may be especially tall in my garden due to growing in fairly deep shade, and getting extra daily moisture as runoff from the misters in the Japanese Plum tree above, which I run for several minutes 3 times daily in summer to wet down all my epiphytic Tilandsias, Rhipsalis, Orchids, Ferns and Orchid cacti which are planted along the horizontal limbs of the tree. This extra daily spritz bath apparenty delights the Francoa, as it does grow to rainforest size and luxuriance in my garden. Where it has escaped and self sown in full sun in my neighbor's backyard with more limited irrigation, it is much more restrained with 2 foot tall flower spikes, although much more numerous and densely blooming. You are welcome to seed, as it is extremely easy, and I have my suspicions as to its being a hybrid, as it does come true from seed, no variability in the offspring... > > I have had, and may still have, both F. ramosa and > F. appendiculata as > well, and even 'Rogerson's Form' of whichever > species it was! - but > they've all sunk into an anonymous amorphous mass, > all of which look > so much alike I'm darned if I can make even a rough > guess as to which > is or may be which. Can anyone clarify? And are > there any other spp > worth trying? I have found that F. ramosa did much better for me in sandier soils of my old garden next to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It has died out for me several times here in my heavier clay soils of Berkeley. It did seem to repeat bloom over several months in San Francisco as compared to perhaps a month for F. sonchifolia. I don't know of any other varieties being commony grown here, but they thrive in the fog belt along the coast here. > > The second was the mention of Dianella intermedia. > I'm interested in > trying this, since I v. much enjoy the dianellas I > already grow. > David, could you describe it in mouth-watering > detail and convince me > to approach Gary Dunlop (the only UK nurseryman, I > think, who stocks > it), cheque-book in hand? > Tim Longville > The Dianella intermedia is much more restrained/refined in appearance than the more common D. tasmanica, which can grow to 5 feet tall and across in well watered gardens here, or stand complete summer drought and full sun and remain compact at 2~3 feet. D. intermedia has foliage which reaches perhaps 2 foot by 3 foot across, narrow, dark green grass like foliage, tolerates full sun or deep shade, and has similar deep purple blue berries not quite pea sized, in much more abundant quantities than D. tasmanica. It is very tolerant of aggressive surface rooting trees, (mine is growing at the base of a Morus alba street tree), and is a few weeks away from really coloring up. The flowers are rather uninspired, (the typical small blue and yellow flowers), but the berries are really quite showy. It is almost impossible to use as a cut flower without losing half the berries, so locate out of the path of small children, large dogs, wind or marauding raccoons! Again, you are most! welcome to seed when ripe, although you might prefer live plants if easily available, I would certainly recommend the plant, and cold down to 25F doesn't seem to phase it, nor is it as demanding of moist shade as D. ensifolia appears to be, which turns yellow and suffers from thrips in too much sun in my garden. warm regards, David Feix


Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year!
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index