Plant Notes

WHS Plant Notes for March, 2009 

Camellia japonica 'Magnoliiflora' (syn. 'Hagoromo') (THEACEAE)
Grown by John Hammerschmidt in Los Altos: 

	Camellia japonica "Magnoliiflora"

This is an old cultivar dating back to at least 1886. It is an upright grower to 10-12' tall. John has to prune his to keep it at 10'. From December through February, it has a heavy bloom of elegant, 5", semi-double flowers in delicate, blush pink. The foliage is glossy, dark green. John also brought a flower from a seedling, presumably of 'Magnoliiflora' since it's his only camellia. It had grown tucked away and unnoticed untill it was old enough to flower. Just starting to bloom now, it is always much later than its parent and the flowers are smaller with a few random streaks of red. John's children have named it 'Candy Stripe' (a name that unfortunately has been taken already by a white camellia with red stripes). 'Magnoliiflora' is a very tough camellia. It may look better with some attention, but doesn't need it at all. It's one of several camellia cultivars that have continued to grow and bloom in an abandoned garden in north San Diego County where they have recieved no irrigation, fertilizer, or other care since 1967.

Inga edulis (FABACEAE) Ice Cream Bean
Grown by Katie Wong in San Jose: 
Katie brought one of the Hot Plant Picks for the SF Flower and Garden Show. It is a large, dense, fast-growing tree to 60+ ft. tall. It grows naturally in swamps and on the banks of rivers and lakes in the Brazilian Amazon but has been in cultivation in Central and South America since pre-Columbus. It is used for fuel, building material, food, erosion control, to improve soil fertility since it produces nitrogen fixing root nodules, and to shade crops like cacao, coffee, and bananas. It has interesting compound leaves with a winged rachis and large terminal leaflets. In spring it is covered with terminal clusters of poofy, white flowers that are bundles of long stamens. The fruits that follow are 3+ ft. long, ribbed, cylindrical pods that are lined inside with a moist, white, cottony pulp that tastes like vanilla ice cream. The pulp is eaten out of hand or used to flavor desserts. Seedlings are cold tender, but established trees are probably hardy to about 28°F. It is easily grown but needs regular irrigation.

Malus floribunda Siebold ex Van Houtte (ROSACEAE) Japanese Flowering Crabapple
Grown by Barbara Worl in Menlo Park: 
Its beauty and disease resistance make this one of the best crabapples. It is a deciduous, small tree that grows 15'-25' tall with a broad, densely-branched canopy. In spring, just as the leaves emerge, clusters of deep pink buds open to fragrant, pale pink flowers that mature to white. In late summer, it has pea-sized, golden fruit that the birds enjoy. It will not tolerate drought but is otherwise easy to grow in any soil that drains well. After failing twice to get one established, Barbara succeeded by planting this one in a raised bed about 40 years ago. It's an excellent choice as a lawn tree.

Osmanthus delavayi (OLEACEAE) Delavay's Osmanthus
Grown by Barbara Worl: 
This slow-growing, evergreen shrub has the largest flowers of all the Osmanthus. It grows about 7' x 10' with graceful, arching branches and produces profuse clusters of fragrant, white flowers in early spring. It's easy to grow in sun or shade, in any soil, with little water. Barbara has been growing hers in a container for 10 or 12 years.

Paeonia x 'Early Scout' (PAEONIACEAE) Peony
Grown by Jon Craig in Los Altos: 
Edward Auten, one of the premier peony hybridizers in the US, bred this hybrid of P. lactiflora 'Richard Carvel' and P. tenuifolia and introduced it in 1952. The American Peony Society made it their Gold Medal winner in 2001. It's a small, nicely rounded bush that's usually around 18-24" high. Like its tenuifolia parent, it has stoloniferous roots and old plantings can become very broad. It has dense, cut-leaf foliage though it's not as finely cut as that of tenuifolia. The leaves emerge reddish in spring and mature to deep green. It's classified as a very early bloomer. By early April, it bears lots of 3", cupped, single blossoms that are very dark red with a large cluster of bright yellow stamens. They're held just above the foliage on strong stems and tend to bloom en masse so the cycle isn't long but is intense. A 9 year old plant can have up to 50 flower stems. Herbaceous peonies die to the ground in winter and need cold winters to bloom well. They want full sun or some afternoon shade. They tolerate any soil from sand to clay as long as it drains and has lots of organic matter. They prefer regular water but tolerate some dryness, especially in clay soil. They're said to be deer resistant. Unlike most peonies, 'Early Scout' establishes quickly and increases rapidly.

Pandorea pandorana 'Golden Showers' (BIGNONIACEAE) Yellow Wonga-Wonga Vine
Grown by Barbara Worl: 
Barbara got her plant from Elizabeth Garbett. It's a vigorous, woody, evergreen vine that will climb 20'-30'. It is native to eastern Australia and is a naturally occurring color variant of the species. It has compound leaves with 5-9, very glossy, ovate leaflets. It blooms in large, pendant sprays of 1" long, tubular, golden yellow flowers with variable bronzy-maroon shading. It flowers over a long period starting in very early spring. This cultivar will grow in full sun but performs best with some shade, rich soil and year-round moisture. It should be hardy to about 25°F after it's established. It makes lots of seeds that germinate freely, but the seedlings won't be the same color form.

	Primula x pubescens "Gigantea" Primula x tommasinii "You and Me Red Laced"

Primula spp. (PRIMULACEAE) Primrose
Grown by Virginia Kean in Redwood City: 
Virginia brought recent selections from a couple of old primrose types in cultivation since the 1500's. They both prefer morning sun and moist, rich soil. They are clump forming perennials and should be divided every 4-5 years or when they stop performing well. P. x pubescens 'Gigantea' (Garden Auricula) is a larger-flowered selection of this old, naturally occurring hybrid of P. auricula and P. hirsuta. Umbels of bi-colored, flat-faced flowers with white to yellow centers bloom on 8" stems for about 2 months from February into April. They are held just above the rosette of smooth, mid-green leaves. Apparently, Garden Auriculas are very tolerant of soot and air pollution which made them hugely popular during England's Industrial Revolution in the 1800's. During that era, there was an explosion of selections of new colors and refined forms. P. x tommasinii 'You and Me Red Laced' (syn. P. x polyantha) is a hose-in-hose type, often called Elizabethan primrose, in which the sepals become petaloid so the whole arrangement looks like two identical flowers with one nested in the other. This is a naturally occurring, unstable mutation that pops up every now and then. The 'You and Me' series was introduced about 5 years ago by Czech horticulturalists who developed a seed strain that stably trasmits the trait. No small feat considering people had been trying since the 1500's. The flowers are very fragrant and bloom in umbels on 8-12" stems that hold them well above the large, rough, basal leaves. They bloom for 3 or 4 months beginning in February with some scattered bloom the rest of the year. The 'You and Me' series comes in 8 colors. 'You and Me Red Laced' has scalloped, bright red flowers with a thin, silver edge and yellow center.

Rosa (ROSACEAE) Rose
Grown by Barbara Worl: 
Rosa banksiae var. normalis (1807) is covered with clusters of single, white flowers in spring. It's usually evergreen here, pest and disease resistant, and easily grows to 20'+. It is thornless though so you can prune it without bodily harm.

	"Grandmother's Hat"

Barbara also showed a rose that she grew from cuttings of a shrub she would pass going to the store. It blooms from February to fall with large, fragrant, lavender-pink flowers. For years, she called it 'Grandmother's Hat' but thinks it might be Rosa 'Cornet' (1845), a hybrid perpetual.

Trachycarpus spp. (ARECACEAE)
T. fortunei, Chinese Windmill Palm, Chusan Palm
Grown by Katie Wong in San Jose: 
Hardy to at least 10°F, this is considered the hardiest trunked palm and is the most widely grown palm in the US and UK. The trunk tapers down from top to bottom and is covered with a loose mat of dark brown fiber that sloughs away at the bottom of older trees to reveal the ringed trunk. It has a head of fan shaped, dark green leaves that are silvery underneath. They're about 3' in diameter on 3', toothed stems. It flowers in June with male and female flowers on separate plants. It grows moderately fast to 25' tall, requires rich, well-drained soil and regular water. It's native to southeastern China where it's an important source of food, fiber, medicine, and building materials.

	Fan Palm

 
T. wagneriensis, Fan Palm
Grown by Kerry Barrs in Woodside: 
This is sometimes considered a variety of T. fortunei. It is hardier, maybe down to 0°F, and has smaller, stiffer leaves making it less susceptible to wind damage. Kerry thought it was going to be a dwarf. Fortunately, it makes a good container plant because that's where it is going to stay.

Viburnum x burkwoodii (ADOXACEAE) Burkwood's Viburnum
Grown by Barbara Worl: 
Barbara has been growing this beautiful shrub for 45 years. It is 10'-12' high and wide with periodic pruning. In late winter, it produces 4", domed clusters of pink buds that open into tubular, white flowers with a wonderful, spicey fragrance. It has glossy leaves that are semi-evergreen or completely deciduous in some years. The deciduous leaves turn purply red before falling. It is tolerant of most soils but prefers moist, humusy sites in full sun.

Jackie N. Doda

References:
Am. Hort. Soc. A-Z Encyclopedia, Botanica, Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of CA, Fern Grower's Manua, Flora, Sunset Western Garden Book, and lots of websites.