October 6 , 2011
Screening plants + what’s in a name + when to plant bulbs
The other day , I sorted through plant tags stuffed into a peck on the patio . ( I do n’t redeem every rag , or I ’d need a pot the size of it of my house ) .
I keep a running tilt of “ dream plants . ” Since this can stand for something I scribble on my hand , or a gazillion flake of report ( some retrieved from the dryer ) , I ’ve begin to type every brainstorm into a folder “ Garden tasks , ” easy to append on a whim from my computer ’s taskbar . I was feeling so proud , until I find another LONG list stuffed into my garden diary . Type , case , case . And I added five more today . Yowsers !
These day , I record acquisitions in Excel , noting date , baby’s room , and where I put it . If it ’s a passalong , I note its mellifluous inheritance . If a plant go belly up , I notice that , too . I used to do this with a penitentiary , scribble into my garden diary , and I still do some of that . But it ’s much easier to receive everything on my laptop computer .
sort through the tags remind me of failed experiments , one-year delights ( including ones I ’d totally block ) , and those I need to try out again . distribute their brittle testimony in my paw was a powerful connection to my garden journeying , far more powerful than any computer written document .
Yet , I can give thanks my spreadsheet to prompt me that it was 2009 that my neighbor seed a butterfly vine ( Mascagnia macroptera ) for me . I found it on my fencing where he can see it from two yard aside .
Although I have n’t go on it water as well as I should , it made it through these past hard years . It does attract butterfly , bees , and other pollinators . But it ’s nickname for the dried cum pod that resemble butterfly stroke .
A few years ago , CTG ’s director Ed Fuentes and KLRU fellow Mary Alice give me some from their vigorous vines . I spray painted them in Christmas colors as gifts to a few friends . They ’ve hold up beautifully !
Butterfly vine is one of the many drouth - tough screening industrial plant that Tom and Christine and Bill Reid fromReid ’s Nurseryexplorethis week on CTG .
Christine & Bill know just what to do about every place , since they are hands - on gardeners who guide their customers with individualized advice . For CTG , they bring a pick of vine and shrubs . Our eye down out with this cenizo !
Cenizo ‘ Convent ’ ( Leucophyllum frutescens ) ‘ Convent ’
Another they add along is Xylosma ( Xylosma congestum ) .
We run out of time to speak about it , but this is a great concealment for sun to part shade , uprise about 15 ’ mellow x 10 ’ wide . Berries draw in birds . It may be cold stamp for some , but the Reids had no problems these retiring two hair-raiser . ( This week , I see some planted at a butterfly depository library garden in Bulverde . They ’re acting as wind break on the overt hilltop website to slack down the lead swoosh for nectaring insects , and a place for them to attempt shelter ) .
GetChristine ’s complete list and detailsfor all the plant she and Bill brought to CTG.Reid ’s Nurseryis just 10 second east of I-35 between Kyle and San Marcos . Check them out for personal garden attention and their free workshops !
Since varieties and cultivarscan make a difference on a plant ’s performance in tough times , this weekDaphne explains the differencebetween the two . Essentially , a variety occurs naturally when a plant hybridize with another in its genus and species . You ’ll see the word “ var ” on a tag , like this one .
Genus : AquilegiaSpecies : chrysanthaVariety : hinckleyana .
But these days , you could also see works tags with the initials “ c.v . ” That point that the plant is a cultivar , which means that man were ask in its creative activity . Per Daphne,“And just like other man - made items , companies need to protect their investiture , so cultivar are patented , meaning that no other party can multiply or deal that flora until the patent of invention has drop dead . ” You may see “ Plant Propagation Prohibited ” on some tags . gardener and insects may propagate the plant , but agriculturalist can not !
Very often , you ’ll see cultivars with individual quotation marker like Cenizo ‘ Convent salvia ’ ( Leucophyllum frutescens ) ‘ Convent ’ .
Genus : LeucophyllumSpecies : frutescensCultivar : ‘ Convent ’
Daphne ’s plant of the week , Euphorbia ‘ Diamond Frost ’ , is an example of a trademarked cultivar , bring out by Proven Winners .
normally deer resistant , ‘ Diamond Frost ’ is an first-class low - growing , drouth - tough plant for part shadowiness . It blossom from the minute you institute it until first frost . Some gardeners can winter it in protected microclimates , but outside of Zone 10 or 11 , it is considered an annual . Mine does die in winter , but I ’ve planted tame bulbs around them . Since I ’ve leave the space , it ’s prosperous to plump some more back in April , where they can bloom with winecups to set off their foreground .
But , as Daphne notes , this is where we must adapt the industrial plant tag to grueling Central Texas sun . Although the ticket tell “ Full Lord’s Day to part shade , for us ‘ Diamond Frost ’ should be planted in shiny , filtered calorie-free , or unclouded shade . Morning sun is ok . Until this summer from you - know - where , mine were actually fine with late afternoon low-down shafts deflected by a mountain laurel .
You ’ll also see varieties and cultivars with naturalizing bulbs like Narcissus ‘ Ziva’ . This week , Trishaexplainshow and when to plantyour naturalise bulbs .
She ’s also got top for chilling the specialty bulbs and I we want to drive for the vacation .
Augie doggie ’s Pet of the Weekis Pierre , a Mini Pinscher , Chihuahua and Daschund mixture .
As a puppy , he keeps his pappa Michael Clayton interfering , but there ’s nothing he likes better then to go out and smell the flowers and chase some squirrel in the break of the day ! Now , that ’s a cute “ cultivar ! ”
On tour , see one of my Modern spiritual mentors , Claire Golden ! Long before she restored her 1920s cottage in Alamo Heights , she was dirt - deep in plants . When she fell in honey with this sometime house , she interchange supergrass in the old Spanish court with rock and an acequia that unites its diverse levels . In front , she turned a drain nightmare into a reflective ( and party meter ) destination .
Whoop on events !
Until next week , Linda
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