Re: euphorbia chameleon
Marge, I recently heard that the Plant Finder now lists E. a 'Purpurea' as
the proper name and E. a 'Rubra' as a misnomer; they are one in the same.
----- Original Message -----
From: Marge Talt <mtalt@CLARK.NET>
To: <shadegardens@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 9:51 PM
Subject: Re: [SG] euphorbia chameleon
> I'm not Claire or Yvonne, but FWIW, I've now had 'Chameleon' for 2 years -
> doing quite well in our horrible drought with minor extra water. Planted
> in my one sandy spot (good drainage) in dappled shade/sun. My experience
> with euphorbs, in general (with exception of E. myrsinites), is that they
> really don't like to dry out, they just want good drainage. E. myrsinites
> refuses to grow anywhere but in my sand bed and the gravel drive...it
> *really* wants sharp drainage. All my plants are in some kind of shade,
> probably the max. sun any get (again myrsinites) is four hours...
>
> E. amygdaloides 'Rubra' or purpurea (same plant) is probably my
> favorite...love that plant. It has seeded quite happily in a good deal of
> shade and also grows well with up to 4 hours of sun in amended clay soil -
> still good drainage - that does get concrete dry in spots in summer. Was
> euphoric in raised bed of spent potting soil with mid morning sun and
> thinks it hit heaven when it seeded into an area that is about 2 feet of
> rotted wood chips. It is sometimes rated hardy for your area, but mostly
> for z 6...I interpret this as making it in favorable micro climates in z 5
> and maybe with protection? Well worth trying. I find them relatively
> short lived - each plant going for about 2 or 3 years before dying out on
> me - but leaving hordes (well, not hordes, but enough) seedlings to carry
> on. Foliage is so wonderful and it turns nearly black purple in
> winter...flowers compliment it marvelously and even after they fade, the
> bracts keep right on trucking until at least end of June and later on some
> plants before flowering stems need to be removed.
>
> Did 2 articles on Hardy Euphorbia not too long ago, complete with photos
of
> both of these (as well as others) and more info. on them...might be of
> interest....URL to first one is:
http://suite101.com/article.cfm/222/21316
>
>
> 'Chameleon' is in the second part. This genus is one of my favs (as if
you
> couldn't tell). Well worth trying, even where they marginally
hardy...give
> a protected site and hope for a decent winter. I find the seedlings are
> hardier than mature plants; even when we've had horrible winters and I've
> lost many mature plants of the less hardy kind, there are always a few
> babies hiding under leaves or other plants to replace them with.
>
> As Dan Hinkley of Heronswood said "you can't have too many
> euphorbs"....true...true...
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@clark.net
> Editor: Gardening in Shade
> current article:Vines - Part 1
> http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/222
> All garden topics welcome page:
> http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/3425#top5
>
> ----------
> > From: Kay Dye <Kdye1@AOL.COM>
> > Date: Monday, August 09, 1999 8:23 AM
> >
> > Claire and Yvonne,
> > I have tried Euphorbia 'Chameleon' two times now and have lost it.
Could
> you
> > tell how you are growing it, what exposure, etc? My first one got too
> much
> > sun and dryness, I think. But I don't know what happened with the
second
> > one. I want to try it again, so maybe you could help. Thanks.
> > P.S. I got another Euphorbia this year from Robyn's Nest called E.
> > 'amygdaloides '
> > Rubra' which is holding on, but doesn't look happy. I'm thinking maybe
it
> > needs to be moved into a shadier location, since it is in pretty much
> full
> > sun. Have either of you tried this one? It's zone 6, which may not work
> for
> > me, but I gave it a try anyway.
> >
> > Kay Dye, Edelstein, IL Zone 5
>
