Archive for March, 2008
Friday, March 7th, 2008
AUSTRALIAN PEA, HYACINTH BEAN
In tropical and subtropical regions, the Australian pea is a familiar vegetable and its large purple pods are processed into food for both humans and animals. We can grow the climbing bean as an ornamental plant because of its relatively small, but very lovely, purple or white flowers, and because its foliage is so beautiful. That of the cultivar Lablab purpureus ‘Ruby Moon’ is pale greyish green when it comes out, but turns deep purple as it ages. Sow the lablab indoors in March-April, or directly outdoors from mid-April. Find the warmest and sunniest spot possible for it and give it plenty of water, whether it is in a pot of nutritive soil or planted in the garden.
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Thursday, March 6th, 2008
This is a plant for those who enjoy small things, because the flowers are minute but amazingly beautiful. They are only a few fractions of inches wide, and appear to be white, but a close look will reveal flecks of orange below the three-pointed white “quiff.” They are tightly packed along the stem. As the stem grows, the flowering zone, about 3V4 in long, will move upwards, and the seed will develop below it. All this will continue until the stem is about 20 in long and flowering has ceased. That is the moment to cut off those stems, leaving a hand’s length above the ground. New shoots will develop and the plant will therefore flower from the end of June until well into September.
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Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
BLUE MARGUERITE
It is best to treat Felicia amelloides, a small shrub from South Africa, as an annual in our
part of the world. There are firms which strike large quantities of cuttings every year to meet the demand for flowering plants. These are on sale from the end of April, but it is best to buy the blue marguerite at the end of May, so that it can be put out-of-doors right away. The plant likes a lot of fresh air but cannot tolerate wet roots, especially if combined with cold weather conditions. You should therefore make sure you have a well-drained soil mixture in a container with sufficient drainage holes. Stand the container in a warm position, but preferably not in hot midday sunlight. The buds will shrivel up if the containers are left to dry up temporarily, and in the event of extended drought, part of the foliage will drop off.
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Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
This perennial is so short-lived that some people regard it as an annual. It is also transitional between annuals and perennials in the way that it is treated, because barberae is far less fond of moisture than the other species. This is what makes it so suitable for cultivation in containers, where the soil is nearly always drier and better aerated than in the garden itself.
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Monday, March 3rd, 2008
The year 1992 saw the introduction of a new plant that looks like a trailing form of Coreopsis. The shoots of this Central-American plant grow somewhat untidily, usually not a good sign in the ornamental plant world, but once you have seen how this species tumbles over the edges of pots, urns, or hanging baskets, you’re hooked. The plant is consequently having a stellar career and is now the most popular plant for balcony planters in southern Germany and Austria. It flowers right through the summer, with the stems producing fine, fennel-like foliage and ramifying continually. The shoots tend to grow very long, but they may be cut back hard, after which the plant will flower again 2 weeks later. The yellow flowers, about 1/4 in wide, attract bees and lots of butterflies.
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