Plant Notes

May 2007 Plant Notes

Agapetes "Ludgvan Cross" (ERICACEAE)
Grown by Kerry Barrs in Woodside.
This is a hybrid between A. incurvata and A. serpens, epiphytes from the Himalayan foothills. Long, arching stems up to 4 foot high grow from a large, woody tuber. Five-sided, 1 inch long, urn-shaped flowers hang along the stems in clusters of up to 6. They are pinky-cream with dark crimson, free-form chevron markings and dark crimson sepals. "Ludgvan Cross" prefers bright shade, will tolerate some sun, and is an excellent container plant. It can be grown in the ground if you can give it very good drainage. Be sure to leave the top of the tuber exposed.

Clematis "Josephine" (RANUNCULACEAE)
Grown by Barbara Worl in Menlo Park.
"Josephine" is an interesting clematis with an interesting history. It is a sterile hybrid with fully double flowers whose sterile stamens are modified to look like petals. These petal-like structures unfurl over an incredibly long 10+ weeks. At the mid-point of this process, the flower has a creamy, pale green pom pom sitting in the middle of a lilac pink, fluffy ruff of "petals", all of which sits atop a large, normal looking, 6-8 petaled clematis flower. The petals and sterile stamens are lilac pink with a dark pink mid-stripe and some touches of green. The color is paler and greener with more shade or cooler temperatures. It is deciduous, blooms from late spring through summer on year-old wood, grows to about 10 feet, and wants the usual clematis conditions of sun, cool roots, and well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. Originally, Josephine Hill bought it as an un-bloomed seedling and kept it for 3 years before it finally flowered. After many years of trying to ID it, she contacted Raymond Evison, a clematis expert, who determined it to be a new cultivar and introduced it under its official name, Clematis Evijohill, at the 1998 Chelsea Flower Show. Now we can all rationalize taking home those mystery plants. The next one just might be a gem like Josephine's clematis.

Drimiopsis sp. (HYACINTHACEAE)
Grown by Judy Wong in Menlo Park.
These are deciduous, South African bulbs. Judy's has basal, fleshy leaves with dark green, leopard spots and, in late spring to summer, spikes of white flowers similar to grape muscari. It prefers light shade and only occasional water. It is perfect for containers and is grown as a house plant in colder regions.

Hosta sp. (LILIACEAE) Plaintain lily
Grown by Elizabeth Garbett in Los Altos Hills.
Unlike Josephine Hill, Elizabeth thought she knew what she was getting when she picked up a hosta at Costco. The package was labeled "Sum and Substance" so she was expecting that huge hosta with huge, heart-shaped, wavy, deeply ribbed, gleaming, chartreuse leaves. What she got was significantly smaller with dark green variegation on the leaf margins,a very nice hosta, but not "Sum and Substance".

Iris sp. (IRIDACEAE)
Elizabeth Garbett brought a bouquet of gold, white, purple, and purple/white, tall, bearded irises. Her irises bloomed especially well this year and she gives credit to the extra-cold weather we had this winter.
Barbara Worl brought blossoms of I. "Harlow Carr", a small iris to about 2 feet tall with purple-veined gold flowers, and its yellow sport which grows to about 3 feet. Both will re-bloom when the old flowers are removed.

Lonicera etrusca (CAPRIFOLIACEAE) Etruscan honeysuckle
Grown by Barbara Worl.
This is a large, evergreen to semi-deciduous, scrambling, sprawling shrub from southern Europe. In late spring and sporadically into fall, it blooms with whorls of nicely fragrant, pink-blushed, creamy flowers that age to yellow. Red berries follow. It thrives on heat, tolerates dryness, and needs a firm hand armed with good pruners to keep it controlled.

Orlaya grandiflora (APIACEAE) White lace flower
Grown by Barbara Worl.
This easy to grow annual came from Annie's Annuals and is sometimes described as looking like a cross between Queen Anne's lace and a lace cap hydrangea. It is common in vineyards, olive orchards and dry, grassy fields in the Mediterranean region of Europe. It has finely cut foliage and umbels of white flowers from late spring to fall. The lacy effect is created by the outer petals of the outer rank of flowers growing about 8 times longer than the rest. It is a good border filler and an excellent cut flower. On the flip side, it can be weedy and appears on many official lists of weedy plants.

Pittosporum brevicalyx (PITTOSPORACEAE)
Grown by Barbara Worl.
Of 3 seeds brought back from China, Saratoga Hort received one from which they built a stock and evaluated this plant for ornamental use in California. Barbara got hers from Jeff Rosendale. It is a very attractive, large shrub with a dense, rounded crown; glossy, dark green leaves with a little wave to the margins; and clusters of very fragrant, small, yellow flowers. It grows in full to part sun and tolerates some drought. Too bad it has not been more widely available.

Rebutia heliosa x albiflora (CACTACEAE)
Grown by Leslie Dean in Mountain View.
Leslie bought this beautiful little cactus at the San Jose Cactus and Succulent Society's spring sale. If you have never been to one of their sales, you are missing a good thing. The parents of Leslie's plant are small cacti from the eastern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia. It has small heads about an inch across and, as they multiply, these will form a mound about 6 inches high. Funnel-shaped flowers rise on stems from the lower part of each little globe and cover the whole plant with large, soft apricot blooms. There are lots of small, silvery spines too, but they lay flat over the surface making the plant relatively safe to handle. It wants full sun, low water, and sharp drainage.

Rosa sp.(ROSACEAE)
Grown by Virginia Kean in Redwood City. Virginia thinks roses liked our cold winter as much as the irises did and she brought us a collection of beautiful ones. Two were English, or David Austin, roses. "Fair Bianca" (1983) is pure white with pink buds and "Claire Rose" (1986) is delicate, blush pink. Ralph Moore of Sequoia Nursery in Visalia is considered the "Father of Miniatures". Virginia had two outstanding miniatures bred by him. "Twister" (1997) is a climber with double, dahlia-like blossoms with clear red stripes on white. "Earthquake" (1983) has fully double blooms with red stripes on lemon yellow. A sport of "Earthquake" is a vigorous climber with the same flowers. "Madame Hardy" (1832) is a wonderful, white Damask rose and is said to be the perfect rose of its type. "Henri Martin" (1863) is a Moss rose with semi-double, bright crimson blooms. "Gros Choux d'Hollande" (big Holland cabbage) is a soft pink, very old Bourbon rose.
Barbara Worl also had roses for us. R. wichurana variegata is a large rambler/climber with single, white roses and foliage nicely variegated with white. R. roxburghii normalis is a large, deciduous shrub with single, pale pink flowers in spring. It has prickle covered hips that turn red-orange in fall. R. r. plena has deeper pink, double flowers.

Jackie N. Doda

References: Am. Hort. Soc. A-Z Encyclopedia, Botanica, Flora, Sunset Western Garden Book, and various websites.