Disanthus cercidifolius
- To:
- Subject: Disanthus cercidifolius
- From: H* D* B* M* U*
- Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 10:23:21 -0400
>> Is anyone out there growing Disanthus cercidifolius? It sounds like
>> quite an interesting plant, but I'm curious about its pickiness with
>> regard to cultural situations.....
My Disanthus cercidifolius, planted about thirty years ago, has never
encountered cultural
problems here in my zone 7a Maryland garden 13 miles northeast of the United
States Capitol. It
is in semishade, and would be about 15 or more feet tall if I did not cut
back to the ground the longer stems. They tend to "arch over", so that
above ten or eleven feet their weight cause them to lean over and become
almost horizontal at about the eight-foot level. For some years I had a
garden bench under the resulting canopy. The need for change caused me to
move the bench elsewhere, and today I cut the branches off at ground level
once they get to the point where they start to bend drastically. There are
always five or six or more upright trunks. For years I thought of it as a
tree with multiple trunks,
but this thread makes me realize that it can just as easily be thought of as
a shrub, and probably more desirably so. Until the end of August it is a
bright green, with only an occasional red, red-purple or red-orange leaf.
Now, in early October, there are still only about a half-dozen colored
leaves, that I can see as I look down on from the upstairs window by my
computer. But soon, when colder weather arrives, they will all change, of
course, and it will become, briefly, the spectacularly-hued tree/shrub
described in garden books. I bought it because at that time I liked to try
plants that I'd never grown before. I find that once I've grown something,
I lose the urge to replace it, unless it was truly splendid. It grows in
neutral soil, and has been pest- and disease-free all this time.
Harry Dewey, Beltsville, Maryland
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE WOODYPLANTS
