Re: Fall Bloomers in Berkeley, CA



 Moira Ryan wrote:

> david feix wrote:
> some of my fall favorites are just starting to bloom.  A large clump of Nerine bowdenii is  a dazzling > irridescent pink contrast to the green foliage all
> > around it, and the lavender pink towering Tree Dahlia/Dahlia imperialis is soon to join it.

>
> David
> I read your list with interest, as some of the flowers were very familiar to me though others not grown here. The tree Dahlia is also sometimes seen in our
> gardens,
> but I have never had the urge to grow it myself as I don't find the relatively small flower compared to the mighty length of stem particularly appealing.
>

Moira,
I think placement is everything (almost).  Here in hilly San Francisco, it is common for what is the ground floor at one end of a house to be the 2nd or 3rd
floor at the other end.  For months, I have been waiting with anticipation as the Dahlia imperialis' massive stalks slowly inched there way towards the level
of the 2nd+ story kitchen windows, knowing that come November, the arching panicles of 5 inch pale lavender dahlia blooms would be ready to open, dangling
right in front of the window.  Now that they are here, (a little early this year) one prays that the winter will be a mild one, so the flowers don't get all
blown to hell in one of those violent rainstorms we often have.  With luck they should last for two months.  Last year, a shaded Berkeley dahlia was still
blooming in April.  Since the stems regrow from the roots each year, they don't impose all summer, only reaching their maximum height in October.  They
slowly force their way (with a little help) through a Jasminum growing on a neighbor's fence; the twining jasmine vines provide a bit more resistance to the
occasional strong winds.   Throughout the winter, until the leaves are dead a nd blown away, their brilliant green form provides a nice contrast to our gray
winter skies.  The new shoots are extremely vulnerable to snails - other than that the plant are relatively pest-free.  Now, if only they were fragrant  .
.  .  (have smelled a slightly fragrant variety, but haven't been able to obtai one.)
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