Re: Ptilostemon chamaespence

Tim, 
sorry to disagree with you!
I actually saw the plant at Sparoza, back in December,
and it really has all
the garden virtues the Sally Razelou says. It looks
like a gorgeous mound of
these narrow silvery (underneath) leaves,  almost
perfectly round in shape,
light in texture and well worth a place in a medit
garden. Sally gave me
some seedlings but alas they did not make it to Rome,
my fault (too long a
trip they had to stand, I was back here two weeks
later!). Other seedlings
and cuttings did  survive, and they grow happily in my
garden now as a fond
memory of this very nice woman who fights with a
difficult situation (an
airport is being built within sight of the gardens),
climate (greek
summer...) and budget restrictions.
I really hope to have a chance and go back to Sparoza
next time I go to
Greece, and  get some seedlings of the Ptilostemon.
What a name, though.

Alessandra

-----Original Message-----
From: tim@eddy.u-net.com
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Sent: 6/13/00 6:18 AM
Subject: Re: Ptilostemon chamaespence

I don't know this shrubby one but I grew the
herbaceous P. acer a few
years ago. Low, small to medium, green-and-silvery
thistly rosette of
no great distinction which rotted (damp) before
flowering and was not
greatly missed. Ie, I'd support everything everyone
else has said re
cultivation, at least (max sun, max drainage), but
would be slightly
doubtful about the supposed garden virtues of any
member of the genus
based on my experience of one of it (aged cynic!).

Tim Longville

I was rereading some of the older posts from months
past, and came across these from Tim and Alessandra,
and now realize that this is one of the plants I saw
growing in Crete while there this past May.  I
happened to see the same plant being propagated by
Anni Jensen of Annie' Annuals, and recognized it,
after not being able to find it in either of the local
Cretan Wildflower books I had bought.  

The plant is actually very nice, and the foliage, as
Alessandra mentions, is quite showy even when the
plant isn't blooming, having much of the appearance of
Erysimum linifolium, except more olivy in color with
the interesting reverse of silver.  For me, the real
attraction was the bloom, which was similar to other
Centaurea species, and was a soft lavender, on stems
which stood about 18 inches above the mass of foliage.
 This plant is going into the ground along with one
plant of Ebenus creticus, as a reminder of my trip to
Crete.  Now if I could just find a local source for
Petromarula pinnata, which was the other Cretan
wildflower which was so showy in May...

I love how this group is so informative, and I can
find information even from second readings of the past
postings, now that Sean O'hara mentioned that they can
be retrieved by going to
www.mallorn.com/lists/medit-plants

David Feix 

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