Re: cal.natives in the med was Hebes and other things...

--- "f. cardama" <ban@eresmas.net> wrote:
> and wonder why our Ceanothus and Manzanita's are not
> > > more widely grown outside of California and
> England.
> > > >>
> > >
> > > I am a beginner here in Greece, but I think the
> > > reason is:  they are not available here
> 
> In my experience they donīt do well here.
> the ceanothus (evergreen ) go chlorotic. havenīt
> tried manzanita but my
> sources mention it as needing a low ph.
> 
> fremontodendron is available in spain . have seen it
> a lot in nurseries but
> I havenīt tried it after my bad experience with the
> ceanothus.
> I keep one growing but have to administer a lot of
> iron chelate to keep it
> green.
> francisco

Francisco,
You should definitely try the Fremontodendron if you
like it, as this is not a plant that requires acid
soil.  Fremontodendron 'California Glory' is one of
the most showy cultivars, and can become a small tree
here.  Fremontodendron has also been crossed with the
Monkey Hand Tree/Chiranthodendron pentadactylon.  This
is an everblooming even larger tree sized plant that
would probably do well in the mediterannean as well. 
Romneya coulteri would probably also do well for you,
but it seems to be equally well adapted to cooler and
wetter climates as well, witness how invasive it can
become in England.  

There are definitely Manzanitas/Arctostaphylos species
adapted to higher ph soils as well, and I can
recommend A. densiflorus 'Howard McMinn' as being an
extremely easy cultivar to grow here throughout
California.  Another native which you might find
interesting is the deciduous Ribes sanguineum and
cultivars.  This large shrub will take shaded woodland
conditions or full sun, and has beautiful white or
pink hanging clusters of flowers in mid winter.  Some
of our native Salvias are also very easy, and S.
clevelandii is a favorite of mine for the foliage
fragrance alone, as well as the interesting flower
spikes, which have much the character of your Phlomis
species, in having whorls of flowers separated by
stem.  The smell of this plant is one of the
charateristic fragrances of the coastal chaparral
formations of southern California.  Salvia leucophylla
'Point Sal' is another easy to grow and tough native
Salvia which has almost white foliage and spreads to
cover a large area, up to 20 feet across, and stays
fairly low at 3 to 4 foot tall.  These Salvias will
both survive here in coastal California on natural
rainfall alone.  

I find it surprising that Ceanothus doesn't do well
for you, as much of the native habitat here in
California is slightly alkaline rather than neutral or
acidic.  I have never noticed chlorosis as a problem
with the hybrids planted in northern California
gardens here, which is not to say that it doesn't
happen, it's just that they are generally so
indestructable here, as long as they are not
overwatered in summer, and have good drainage in
winter.  Many species of Ceanothus grow on steep,
rocky slopes, although others are native to redwood
forests or coastal bluffs, so the conditions they will
handle are rather diverse.  Many of the coastal
species and hybrids are not so well adapted to summer
heat, and can be short lived in the hotter inland
valley areas of California, or need to be grown with
some summer shade to survive.  Maybe some of our
southern Californian members could recommend hybrids
and species more adapted to heat and higher ph
soils... 

As we have so many mediterannean species to try here,
it is a shame that the reverse isn't always true. 
Although I am quite sure that California would benefit
from having even more choices in native mediterannean
species to choose from, as my travels through Crete
alone acquainted me with an incredible variety of
species that I have never seen here in the trade.

Good luck with your efforts,
David Feix 



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