Re: Autumnal musings & Phygelius etc.
Janet wrote
>One point of nostalgia for me your mentioning Phygelius cultivars. We grew
>them so well in England, and thought that they would grow even better here,
>but both P.Cream Trumpet, and P. coccineus are being outed this autumn
>because they just do not perform well. Only sending up an occasional woody
>stem with a few measly flowers atop.
I can well believe this. They certainly prefer temperatures in the
70's and low 80's - anything sustained above that and growth becomes
very poor. I had this with 'Sensation' - during July - day after day
of upper 80's and low to mid 90's had it flagging and looking very
unhappy. Slightly cooler, wetter weather in August saw it looking
much perkier and for the past two months it has done very well indeed.
>Look out for P. Sunshine, which we introduced when in the trade in England.
>It is a Winchester Fanfare sport which has deep golden leaves. Wonderful in
>a sunny spot.
I've seen this and am greatly impressed, but unfortunately lack of
space forces me to be highly selective and brutally ruthless if a new
plant is to come in. No doubt at some stage it will get to the
'plant I cannot live without' stage, but at the moment, every square
inch has been accounted for. Climbers pose less of a problem because
I have no qualms about growing lots of them together and rather like
the ensuing 'scrap' as each tries to out-do the other. I can't wait
to see the results of mixing Thunbergia grandiflora 'Alba' and
Pandorea jasminoides - both can be utterly thuggish in their growth.
I think the long racemes of the Thunbergia will look wonderful with
the Pandorea, provided both plants can live together. I'll know by
this time next year.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
http://www.ilsham.demon.co.uk/gardenviews.html
