RE: adlumia fungosa, ampelopsis, etc
- To: "'perennials@mallorn.com'"
- Subject: RE: adlumia fungosa, ampelopsis, etc
- From: S* S*
- Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 15:48:58 -0800
MOST HELPFUL -- thank you so much.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kristl Walek [g*@istar.ca]
> Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2000 3:39 PM
> To: perennials@mallorn.com
> Cc: garnorth@istar.ca
> Subject: Re: adlumia fungosa, ampelopsis, etc
>
>
> Susan wrote:
> <Thanks Kristl -- don't consider it self-promotion, but helping with a
> source, which I truly appreciate.
>
> Do you have any further comments on either plant? Does the adlumia
> reseed well? Is it easy to start from seed? Can you direct
> sow? Thanks
> for any help. I will check out your catalogue.>
>
> The Adlumnia fungosa is one of our most popular seeds both retail and
> wholesale. In fact, this year the demand for it by nurseries
> throughout
> the world has been quite astounding- so I imagine you will be
> seeing it
> more regularly in the trade. Many good comments have already
> been made.
> This is a subtle woodland plant with lovely ferny foliage and while it
> performs well in full sun I find the (already pale) pearl pink flowers
> look washed-out and less effective in this position.
>
> We have it scrambling over some of the tall stumps of sugar maples we
> left standing after the ice storm. It is interesting to note
> that while
> it is a tendril climber, in the wild it is most frequently found on
> shady woodland slopes, acting like a groundcover.
>
> It is a biennial and self-sows copiously. However-- there is something
> important you must be aware of if you are to establish it as
> a permanent
> resident of your garden, which it eventually will become. And it is
> this: unlike so many biennials which are easy, warm germinators, this
> species requires cold to germinate. Translated, this means that unless
> you plant it for the first TWO years when you are seeking to establish
> it, you will not have it permanently.
>
> I believe I need to explain this further. Assume you grow it from seed
> this winter. You plant those seedlings out this coming spring. This is
> not a plant that will EVER flower the first season, or in
> fact show any
> signs of being a climber at all. It simply stays as a neat rosette of
> ferny foliage, no matter how early you set it out in the garden. That
> rosette will winter over to flower (and produce seed) the second year.
> However, here is the hitch....that seed that falls will only be that
> same-self low rosette of foliage the following year. You will have no
> flowering plants that season. So, in other words, for you to get into
> rhythm and have this plant self perpetuate, you need to set out
> seedlings both the first year and the second year, allowing the first
> batch you grew to self-sow its flowering year. I hope this is clear.
>
> Even if you find plants to purchase, you will have to
> purchase them for
> two years running. Better to grow them from seed!!!!
>
> As Doug Green has mentioned, there are a number of Ampelopsis
> (Porcelain
> Vine) species, and we have carried the seed of many of them over the
> years (aconitifolia, humulifolia, with a few others in the works right
> now). In the garden, the differences between them usually
> comes down to
> foliage. They are all tendril climbers. A. brevipendunculata
> (native to
> Asia) and its variegated form "Elegans" are the ones most
> commonly found
> in the trade. I agree with Doug that this is an extremely vigorous
> climber & should be watched.
>
> It also self-sows with abandon, requiring cold to germinate. It will
> normally flower and produce berries it's second year from seed.
>
> As I mentioned earlier, the variegated form comes largely true from
> seed, requiring a year to fully manifest it's variegation. Many of my
> variegated seedlings are in fact much more striking in their
> variegation
> than their vegetatively propagated mom. You can simply choose to keep
> the plants exhibiting the best variegation..
>
> We grow most of our species in full sun, but they do equally well in
> part shade and the variegated form looks better there.
>
> The flowers are entirely insignificant- they will come and go without
> notice; and notwithstanding its rampant habits, I could not live
> without this plant in the fall garden- there is nothing that
> carries my
> late season like the absolutely beautiful berries of this plant. I am
> not sure if it has been mentioned that they are shimmering shades of
> porcelain blue, turqoise and amethyst-purple, often all at
> once. Michael
> Dirr has commented that this plant is perhaps unrivaled by any other
> woody plant in vitality of color.
>
> I hope this has been helpful. Now back to stuffing catalogue
> envelopes.
>
> Cheers.
>
>
> Kristl Walek
> Gardens North Seed
> 5984 Third Line Road, N.
> North Gower, Ontario
> Canada K0A 2T0
>
> Phone: (613) 489-0065
> Fax: (613) 489-1208
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
>
NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender indicating that fact and delete the copy you received. In addition, you should not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Thank you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
