Re: Acanthus mollis - questions from questions .....

Helene Pizzi
Garden writer, lecturer and Rosarian, wrote :

(snip)
>clues...
>
>In Rome - Casal Palocco to be exact, 3km from the sea, and more or less 2
>meters above sea level<

*Are* you still above sea level, or has the land dropped/raised in the
intervening
years  ?  You show 37  (next paragraph)  for your length of time.

>has been a perfect place for growing Acanthus for
>the 37 years we have been gardening in the same small garden.
(snip)
>We eliminated the possibility of a virus as the leaves had no trace
>whatsoever of any green
(snip)
>Naturally, when the nourishment of the seed had been depleted, the - by
>then 4 - leaves browned, withered and died.<

The white color, then, is not normal/adequate for for that/those particular
seeds .....

(snip)
>Now, at the end of October 1999, I have just discovered new stark white
>leaves peeping from several seeds in the same spot.
>
>We have acanthus nearby, but the only mamma plant that seems to have
>produced these odd offspring, is a well established Acanthus mollis,
>growing in very heavy, badly drained compact clay soil.<

Have the roots of the "mamma"  finally reached a pocket of something
(salt water ? if the land level has shifted ?)  (something  "buried" ?)

> It has been there
>for years, and only the 1998 and now the 1999 seeds have sprouted white.
>Not all the seedlings from this plant are white.  About half are rich green
>and normal.> The plant shares an area with moss, Lauro nobilis an Kumquat
>and a small Clementino.
>
>My thoughts is that somehow the plant has been affected by pollution.<

Which would have accumulated in the badly drained clay soil.

>Could it be unfiltered sun rays which are causing burns to bathers and
>cataracts to gardeners?

Effect on the seeds after formation or effect on the seeds while forming
in the  "mamma"  plant.

>Could it be dirty air?

:::What new industries might have come into the area recently
:::from which your prevailing winds blow ?
:::
:::Or which ones have been there long enough to have built up
:::enough residue in your soil to affect seed formation
:::since, as you already pointed out, your soil is badly draining clay ?

>Does anyone have any Ideas?


:::Only more questions ..... ;- ) ..... ??

Toni Hawryluk
jack of all trades and master of none
Seattle, WA
tonihawr@email.msn.com
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