Re: Trees for Medit. area
- Subject: Re: Trees for Medit. area
- From: J* M* <j*@earthlink.net>
- Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:34:51 -0800
on 11/29/04 10:52 AM, Joan DeFato at xlibris04@earthlink.net wrote:
> Nan,
> I must say that I am very lost without the Arboretum library to back me up.
> However, a white jacaranda is listed in the Sunset Western Garden Book as
> 'Alba' under Jacaranda mimosifolia.
Joan,
And WE are lost without you and your library! I have often said that no one
is indispensable, but you are the exception to the rule. Your unique
combination of vast knowledge, superb research skills, unflagging
cheerfulness, and willingness to help anyone with even the most difficult of
problems is irreplaceable! I know that you certainly have earned a rest,
but I wish you would quit lazing around the house, unretire, and come back
to work where you belong! ;-)
Nan and Elly,
Although rare, there certainly IS such a thing as a white Mimosa. It is
particularly lovely and well worth growing if you can find one with pure
white blooms.
Because most legumes are practically impossible to propagate from cuttings
or grafts, jacarandas in the trade are grown from seed, so there is seedling
variation. Some of the so-called white mimosas are a rather dirty-looking
pale grayish lavender. Growing them from seed, you can never be certain
what you will get until they bloom. A few years ago, I saved and planted
seed from a very desirable deep violet tree that I admired greatly. I kept
the seedlings potted and grew them on for years until some of them produced
blossoms. When about half of them had bloomed, they all turned out to be a
wishy-washy dull grayish lavender that was almost invisible against a smoggy
May sky, which is their usual background when they come into full bloom in
Pasadena. I never did get the color I was after. So I strongly recommend
that anyone who wants a good jacaranda should pick it up when it is in
flower. (A good policy for almost any flowering tree or vine, since there
are so many misnamed plants in nurseries today).
I had no problem getting the seed to sprout. I potted up the (very fresh)
seed, and made sure it was kept watered. When the weather got into the 90s
(F.) it all came up. In the wild in northern Argentina and Bolivia and
southern Brazil, the trees bloom at the end of the (relatively) dry season,
and the seeds mature when it is hot and wet. Perhaps Elly's seeds never
achieved enough heat to germinate. In cool areas, I would try putting it
on a heating pad or on top of a radiator or refrigerator.
As one would expect from their conspicuous flowers, jacarandas are
insect-pollinated. The big black Valley carpenter bees love them, and make
quite a racket when they buzz the pollen. As long as the blossoms have been
sufficiently well pollinated to produce fruit, the resulting seed should be
fertile.
John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9 Sunset zones 21/23
