Ampelopsis and Gardens North
At 06:38 PM 1/6/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>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.
>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.
That would indeed be a relief.:-)
>We grow most of our species in full sun, but they do equally well in
This is the delightful part and the part that bears pointing out. This
plant has *not* been hardy for me but Kristl is about 60 miles North of me
towards Ottawa and technically colder than I am by 1/2 zone. It is possible
that the clones I've received from RBG have not had the cold hardiness of
Kristl's stock. (which just goes to show where I should obtain my next
plants):-)
This is all by way of pointing out two important things.
The first is that seed of plants has a lot of genetic variability when it
comes to winter hardiness. I know Kristl pushes the line with a lot of her
plants and it pays off for her (at least she's going to sell me some of
that damned vine this year);-) Constant selection from winter survivors
creates a different genetic plant. In the case of the Ampelopsis,
particularly one with a more striking variegation, this would be a new
cultivar and *not* 'Elegans'.
The second is an unsolicited opinion about Kristl and Gardens North. Having
been a customer almost from her humble (she's no more humble about her
plants than I am) :-) beginnings, I can tell you 2 things.
1) - she has good seeds that I often relied on for my former nursery.
2) Her seeds are not expensive enough. As a former nurseryman interested in
making a profit, I've told her for years that she sells them too cheaply to
the general public.
If you don't get her catalogue - do so.
Sigh, now I'm going to have to grow something else this year.;-)
Doug
Doug Green,
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