- Author: Trisha E Rose
- Author: Lowell Cooper
I am writing this blog note from Rte 89 on the way on a road trip from Hoover Dam to Glacier and back to Benicia by the end of the month. Can't get a picture but to describe the plant in question is the best I can do. This is the third year in a row I found a volunteer amongst my roses. While I was busy ruminating about what it might be , it grew. And grew and grew. I became convinced it was a rogue giant sunflower. It never flowered. I cut it down when I began to feel like the leaves would swallow my house. But it grew back. One major stalk abou 2" across. A minor pup only 1". When we left on our road trip, the plant was at least 12' tall with leaves the size of a baby blanket. No flower, ever. I submit this as a teaser: what is it? Next time I will submit it with a picture. Call me stumped.
- Author: Karen Metz
When I was growing up I remember being intrigued by studies that seemed to show that plants grew better if played certain types of music. I know several gardeners that sing or talk to their plants. (I know I have threatened a few plants; perk up or you are going to the compost pile!)
It doesn't seem to be too much of a stretch to wonder what would happen if we read to our plants. It would be a way to combine my two loves: reading and gardening.
Of course, if I decided to read to my plants, I would have to be very careful with the book selections. The reading list could include Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling or The Arbor Day Lady by Mary Hellings. Flower Children and Wild Flower Children by Elizabeth Gordon would be good choices. And we could add Jack and the Beanstalk by Benjamin Tabert and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
However there are some books that should probably be banned from our reading program for plants. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter might be too frightening. How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell would be too depressing. Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and The Bad Seed by William March might just give them the wrong ideas.
One of my favorite gardening quotes is by Cicero; if you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. I couldn't agree more. Plants and books have given me so much joy. Even if this combination idea doesn't work out, it's good to know I will never have to choose between them.
- Author: Melinda Nestlerode
It was not a head-over-heals, love-at-first-sight affair between lantana (Lantana sp.) and I. In fact, I was only vaguely aware of it for years. My interest began to grow several years ago, when I saw lantana growing tenaciously out of the cooled lava rock formed after an eruption of Kilauea Volcano on the big island of Hawaii. I become more intrigued when I saw it growing in both India and South Africa. What a prolific and adaptive plant it was, to be in bloom in tropical Hawaii, yet also during the cold, dry winters of northern India and Johannesburg.
My love for lantana came into full bloom this year, however. As most of my plants began to show the effects of this summer's unending heatwave, the lantana in the area seemed impervious to the heat, and, actually appeared to be thriving. I am particularly taken with ‘Dallas Red', which blooms in a shocking burst of various hues of deep burgundies, oranges and yellows. I've snatched up as many pots of lantana from the big box stores as my yard (and credit card) can absorb while the plants are in flower, and I can verify their color.
My garden is a revolving patchwork of plants, leaning increasingly heavily toward drought tolerance and pollinator attractors. Lantana meets both criteria. The blossoms attract birds and butterflies. The plant requires little to no water, once established, and overwatering will actually decrease the abundance of blooms.
Not everyone is as enamored with lantana as I am. India, Australia, and South Africa have been attempting eradication efforts of this “invasive weed” for the last two hundred years. The countries have used fire, mechanical, chemical, biological and combination methods to control the spread of lantana, to no avail (http://www.conservationindia.org/articles/lantana-in-india-a-losing-battle).
Sunset states that Lantana camera and Lantana montevidensis are the two species used in hybridizing. While all of my plants are identified as Lantana camera, L. camera grows to 6' tall and L. montevidensis grows to 2' tall. The information accompanying my plants describe some of them as growing 3' to 5', and others growing 1 ½' to 2', so I assume my lantanas comprise a cross section of both species.
I'll be pulling out a thirsty, unhappy gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), an annoyingly prolific jasmine (Jasminium sp.), and some just-try-to get-rid-of-me fortnight lilies (Dietes iridiodes) in order to make room for the lantana. I'm excited to plant them, now that the weather is cooler, and our (fingers crossed) winter rains will help develop their root systems. If all goes well, I'll be whispering sweet nothings over my beautiful lantana plants next summer.
- Author: Jenni Dodini
While helping to set up the entry garden at the fair, I was happy to see several pots of fringe flower shrubs emerge from the van. I have had one in my yard for years and love it when it blooms, especially when the wind blows the flowers around. I first became aware of this plant at work, year ago when I noticed the flowers on a breezy day. The landscaper was nearby so I asked her "What's this plant?" (Over time, I came to find out that the landscaper is also a Master Gardener in Contra Costa County.) Anyway, to shorten the story, I went on a mission and found them, and you know the rest already.
The Chinese Fringe Flower, the Loropetalum chinense, is a member of the witch hazel family and is native to Japan, China, and the Himalayas. It grows well in USDA zones 7 to 10 and is cold tolerant down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also drought tolerant, once established. It can grow up to 5 to 10 feet in height, depending on the variety. There is also a variety that is a dwarf that only grows to about 18 inches tall. There are 2 basic forms, the one with white to pale yellow flowers with green leaves, and the one with pink flowers with leaves that vary in color from bronze red when the leaf is new to olive green as the leaf matures. There are many varieties and cultivars on the pink flowered plant listed, but not as many of the white flowered one. They like slightly acidic, organic rich soil, but can also grow in clay. (This is good news in our area!!) They like full sun to partial shade. Mine is shaded in the afternoon by a big old walnut tree but gets full on morning sun. However, if you look around while out and about, you can see them all over, doing well in the full sun pretty much all day. They liked to be pruned in early spring. And then have a light dose on slow release fertilizer, and you can use the one you use for your azaleas and rhodies. It blooms in March and April and off and into fall. As you can see, mine is blooming right now, and is doing pretty well in a pot, that it may have rooted through the bottom of after all this time!