Re: Mysteries

Thanks to you and Moira for the information.  Unfortunately, I am not sure
of the species at all. It just seemed to match the description in an old
copy of Bailey's 'Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture', the only book I
have the genus listed in at all.  The flowers are definitely purple
though.  It is certainly possible that it is S. atropurpurea, for all I
know.

I think I will send a short note to Derry  Watkins, in case she could
maybe identify it later on this year, if I can get a good picture and send
it to her.  We have at least some common interest in plants for heat and
drought, although our definitions may be a little different (We had
38C--100F today and noone is considering that hot at all for this time of
year).

If there is anyone in the US who might be able to identify it, I'd be glad
to send a small plant. I have quite a few in rosepots at the moment. It
bloomed a little back in April, and since then has shown no sign of
flowering. Maybe the days were short enough still back then to trigger a
little bloom.  (Salvia leucantha does that: blooms a little in the spring
if it wasn't frozen back too hard--then stops when the days get long and
really blooms in the fall).

Living at the far distal end of the tree of learning (i.e. the boondocks
of rural California) it can be amazingly difficult to get plants
indentified. Not having a personal library or a public library or a
university closer than 3 hours drive is not helpful. There's a phenomenal
horticultural library at Strybing in San Francisco, but that is 5 hours
freeway driving from here.  These internet 'conversations' mitigate that
isolation a lot, thanks.
--
Gary Matson     Far Northern California
http://www.plantstogo.com
Adapted Plants for Hot Summer Climates

Tim Longville wrote: (snipped)

> Then Gary's mystery. I can confirm what Moira reported via Beth Chatto
> about Strobilanthes atropurpureus - at least, I can confirm re.
> appearance and (slightly surprising) level of hardiness - though it
> doesn't get any drought here so I can't confirm its equanimity with
> regard to same. It gets full sun and moist but well-drained soil here
> and says Thanks and romps away. It's the only Strobilanthes sp I've
> grown but I see that S. violaceus, S. attenuatus and its ssp S. a.
> nepalensis, S. dyerianus and even Gary's possible S. anisophyllus are
> available from nurseries in the UK. Gary: if you're sure it's S.
> anisophyllus but need and can't get any more info. about it, try an
> e-mail to the only UK nursery stocking it - Derry Watkins's Special
> Plants. The address is: derry@sclegg.demon.co.uk. Mention my name if
> you feel you need an intro - Derry's an old 'plant friend,' a high
> quality nurserywoman and a real enthusiast for her plants - I'm sure
> she'd be happy to tell you what she knows about its requirements. She
> tends to specialise in S. African plants/plants generally suited to
> heat and drought and this may well be one of'em.
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index