New White Kurapia

Lippia nodiflora 'New White'

Lippia nodiflora 'New White' in October 2018. Photo: SK Reid.

Summary

DAVIS- Northern California

As noted in the Methods, all plants were trimmed to a 1-meter circle at the end of June. The average plant width subsequently attained by October for the standard Kurapia in Davis was 363.5 cm (143.1 in.) with an average height of 21.8 cm (8.6 in.); ‘New White’ had an average width in October of 255.5 cm (100.6 in.) and a height of 27.75 cm (10.9 in.).  There were no significant differences in relative growth  between treatments for either cultivar in any month, or when all individuals of each cultivar were compared over the entire period from July to October.

In both cultivars there were no significant differences in any quality rating between irrigation treatments in any month.

When comparing the two cultivars, standard Kurapia is significantly bigger overall (p≤ 0.01) than the ‘New White’ due to longer internodes.  ‘New White’ was consistently denser and more compact and responded more dramatically to the pruning in June by mounding up into more of a tuft than the standard. There were also significant differences in the ratings between the two cultivars.  When compiling data from July to October, the Overall Appearance rating of ‘New White’ was significantly higher than the standard on all treatment levels (p≤ 0.01), while the Flowering rating was significantly higher on the standard (p≤ 0.01). Although the flowering rating was high on ‘New White’ through August, it began to decline in  September while the standard maintained a high level of flowering through October. This is an important distinction that should be taken into consideration when choosing cultivars: if planting for the ecological purpose of providing food for pollinators, the standard is going to provide that service for a much longer period, thought its strictly ornamental value is not as high.

Kurapia New White close up in Aug 2018. Photo by S.K. Reid

Basic Info

Growth and Quality Data

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IRVINE- Southern California

The average width attained by the standard Kurapia in October was 396.3 cm (156 in.) with an average height of 17.75 cm (7 in.). ‘New White’ had an average width of 303.3 cm (119.4 in.) with an average height of 21.25 cm (8.4 in.). Both cultivars were wider but shorter than their counterparts in northern California. There were no significant differences in relative growth  between treatments for either cultivar in any month, or collectively over the entire period from July to October. The same significant difference in size between cultivars existed, though the difference was not quite as marked in Irvine.

The ‘New White’ cultivar showed some signs of stress in Irvine on the lowest irrigation treatment beginning in September, but most of the plants maintained acceptable appearance. Overall, within each cultivar, there were no significant differences in any quality ratings between irrigation treatments.

The same distinctions that existed between cultivars in Davis also showed up in Irvine: Overall Appearance ratings over the season were significantly higher (p≤ 0.01) for ‘New White’ than the standard on all irrigation treatments, while the Flowering rating was significantly higher (p≤ 0.01) in the standard than the ‘New White’, though just as in the measurements, this difference was not as marked as it was in Davis.

The height difference between the standard and ‘New White’ is an interesting artifact that appears to be the specific response of ‘New White’ to pruning, which was to add growth to the center mass before beginning to put on lateral growth again.  This is an aspect of this cultivar’s growth pattern which could be exploited by canny landscape managers who wanted a slightly taller groundcover.  However, as other studies have shown, if this height is undesirable, mowing could reduce it.

The significantly higher (p≤0.01) average overall appearance ratings in Davis (Table 3.) than in Irvine (Table 4.) may be a preference for heavier soil, or a result of the use of reclaimed water at the Irvine site. The effects may have begun to accumulate over the summer. In a sandy soil like this, we would expect the plants to recover good appearance in spring in a good rain year, since some of the accumulated salts would wash from the soil profile.