Monday, September 16, 2013

Foliage Follow-up September 2013…new plants (yes, it is a sickness)

In retrospect I should have saved my post from last Monday for Foliage Follow-up, but I wasn’t thinking. Under the gun I decided to share my new plants from the Cistus Nursery 30% off sale earlier this month.

I’ve flirted with the purchase of Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Ruffles' for a few years now. I finally took the plunge, figuring it would be perfect to plant when the privet comes out next spring.

Small, gray-green, wavy leaves float above black stems on this delicately textured shrub, possibly reaching 12' in time. Tiny black flowers appear in spring, stunning against the foliage and highly fragrant as well. Best when backed by darker foliage. Site out of wind and close to a path to be admired. Sun to part sun in hottest climes with some summer water. Frost hardy to at least 10 °F, USDA zone 8.

I also grabbed another libertia, this one Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Blaze'

It’s looking pretty green right not but the description promises more… “…nearly brick-red infused with cooper-orange with more olive-green tones in summer. Very nice. Leaves are stiff and erect to 18" tall, gradually forming clumps to 1-2 ft. Clusters of 3-petaled, white flowers rise above the foliage in spring and produce attractive yellow-orange seed pods. Sun to part shade in well-drained soil with occasional summer water. Frost hardy to a bit below 10F, just below USDA zone 8. Good in containers and particularly handsome when backlit.

And an Aucuba himalaica var. dolichophylla, because I loved the extremely subtle yellow spots…

Sweet shrub to small tree with 5", evergreen leaves, long and narrow and, in this form, particularly prominent cream-yellow spotting over the dark green leaf surface -- just enough to create a texture moment. Useful in otherwise difficult conditions, from the darkest garden corners to places where root competition is severe. These can reach small tree size, but remain within the 8-10' range in the garden, easily kept smaller. Part to full shade serves best in rich soil with summer water for best appearance though some drought is tolerated. Frost hardy to just below 0 °F, upper USDA zone 6.

And finally I was sent on my way with a gift, a small Cholla, Opuntia imbricata 'Guadalupe'...

A Cistus introduction, our collection from the Guadalupe Mountains, skirting the Texas-New Mexico border at about 6500 ft. This a particularly rounded, small tree, to about 6 ft tall, with bright green stems and plum colored flowered, abundant in June and producing yellow fruit. Easy and tolerant of many conditions provided decent drainage. Frost hardy to at least -10F, USDA zone 6, probably zone 5.” 6ft tall! Oh my.

For more celebration of the foliage in our gardens visit our host for Foliage Follow-up, Pam at Digging.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction

33 comments:

  1. Great finds! That pittosporum is amazing! I've admired them at Cistus but have been wary to try again since the pkw took mine out. Maybe next spring!

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    1. I heard you whispering in my ear as I picked up that pittosporum, "PKW...death" but i bought it anyway, we'll see!

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  2. That Pittosporum is lovely, but...I don't think I'm ready to take a chance. It'll look great in that soon-to-be-cleared out spot in your garden.

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  3. I love the fragrance of Pittosporum, I hope it makes it for you. Something hardy to 10*F would not last in my winters. I did put a clear plastic umbrella over one plant and it did well that winter, but then I moved it to my south-facing house foundation thinking it would like it but it was too dry, I think it didn't make it. The jumping Chollas I knew would colonize your yard, and it seems pretty hardy. Beware!

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    1. Somehow I'd missed the "fragrant" part. Now I'm excited for it to bloom! I just returned from a few days in NM where I saw plenty of Cholla...big ones! Hopefully, someday...

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  4. I've been flirting with 'Silver Ruffles' for some time. Such a trailblazer you are.

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    1. There was one at a Cistus "tough love" sale that I passed on a couple of years ago. I've regretted it ever since. It was inevitable that I would eventually end up with one.

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  5. It was so temping to go to Cistus for the 30% off, but I just don't have any more room at the moment. Glad I can live vicariously through you. Everything you got looks fab.

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  6. The nursery certainly has your number, gifting you with the Opuntia!

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    1. Sean (owner) is a very generous man, who indeed as you say "has my number"...

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  7. Wow, that libertia is sexy

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    1. It takes a fellow plant nut to recognize that but you're so right!

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  8. I eagerly await to hear about your Privet removal...I'll let you test the waters before I remove mine :-)

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    1. I really should stop referring to it as just the privet removal and fully disclose the horrors that await..."privet, vinca and ivy removal!" (oh my)

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  9. Love that Pittosporum. I had one quite like it in my old garden.

    Libertia surprised the heck out of me with its gorgeous flowers this year! (Someone had given me one, and I was thinking of it as just a "grassy thing".

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    1. I have several friends whose libertia bloomed this year, none of mine did. Maybe this is the one! The blooms are certainly cool.

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  10. I can't quite get my head around the idea of your growing a cholla in damp Portland, but I'm sure you'll succeed. A scary plant though -- very DANGEROUS. That first plant is stunning. The wavy leaves and black stems remind me of maidenhair fern, actually.

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    1. Actually I've already got 2! They've been in the ground for a couple two growing seasons and one winter. We shall see!

      I can see the maidenhair fern similarity with the pittosporum! I never would have got that myself but now that you've pointed it out for sure!

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  11. Oh how I love that cholla! And that pittosporum is amazing! I didn't even know of it. hmm you have me lusting after new plants!!! I recently bought some great things too! My weekend plant shopping included sarracenia dixie lace, dyckia 'grape jelly', hesperaloe parviflora brakelights, a fancy new bromeliad to make my indoor life happy this F@*l (you know the one that starts in "f" and ends in "all"), and a new agave parryi 'jc raulston'

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    1. Louis it's my job to get you lusting after new plants! Glad to know I'm succeeding. Not that you need my help though, it seems. I love all of your new plants!

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  12. Fabulous plants! I love the black stems of the Pittosporum, and the promise of black flowers always intrigues me. Post photos when it flowers, would you?

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  13. That cholla is gorgeous.

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    1. And it will be even better when it's 6ft tall and the sun hits those spines!

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  14. Ooohh, I really like that Pittosporum. Why does it have to be zone 8? So far I've yet to prove Aucuba is hardy in zone 6 (at least a cold zone 6). I've deep sixed a couple of them over the years. I wonder what the secret is with that one.

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    1. Well if it makes you feel any better it's not really a safe zone 8 either (from what I hear) so I maybe playing with disaster. I've only got one other aucuba, A. japonica ‘Longifolia’ (actually 3 of them) so I'm not one to give tips on it's success but I can say it seems to be happiest where it's dry.

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  15. I just purchased that same Aucuba, too. So handsome.

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  16. How is the Pittosporum doing? I've been following one that's a street-side planting for a few years in Vancouver, BC. It looks very good.

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    1. I cannot report on the pittosporum as I fell out of love with it and it went to live with a friend who has a large garden in the country...

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