Re: shade flowering vine/mini "raised bed"
- Subject: Re: shade flowering vine/mini "raised bed"
- From: C* P* L*
- Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 17:28:42 +0000 (UTC)
- Distribution: local
SSaxton@schwabe.com writes:
>Another suggestion is schizophragma hydrangeaoides (sp?) 'Moonlight.'
>It flowers looks a bit like a climbing hydrangea, but the leaves are shiny,
>small leaves that are a tad silvery to reflect light. Mine is under a 100
>year old Doug fir and holding its own.
Excellent suggestion! I love this plant, although mine is a little
slow-growing and seems to want to grow along the ground instead of
upwards. :) Although this year it has finally started to grow upwards
on the trunk of the oak tree at the base of my driveway.
Another one that I like for more confined spaces is Schizophragma
hydrangeoides 'Brookside Little Leaf'. It's essentially a dwarf form
of Schizophragma with tiny little leaves about the size of a quarter.
I have one planted at the base of the 20' bald cypress in my backyard.
A favorite, but little found shade plant for is Lonicera prolifera. It's
very similar to Lonicera sempervirens except that the flowers are lemony
yellow and the foliage is much bluer. In fact, this one is grown more for
foliage than flower. One other nice benefit is that it's a native plant
(unlike L. sempervirens), even found here in Illinois.
Every year I plan on taking cuttings from mine, and every year I forget. :(
>A suggestion: In really tough areas like this, I use a huge pot that
>tolerates outdoor conditions, with NO BOTTOM. It is basically like a "mini
>raised bed," allowing the plant to get established before it really has to
>compete with the tree roots. If it can compete, fine. If it wants to stay
>in the pot and be a smaller plant, that's fine too. Try it, you'll like it!
Excellent idea, too!
What materials work best? I imagine that ceramic pots would crack, but
flexible plastic is probably OK. What about those foam pots?
I remember reading that putting a length of rubber hose in a pot will also
help reduce cracking since the rubber will give way before the edges of the
pot will.
Chris
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