Monday, April 27, 2015

Okay, you get one more chance...

Some of you may remember my frustration with the uber sexy Yucca Bright Star, aka Yucca gloriosa var. recurvifolia 'Walbristar', aka poster child for a severe case of yuccacne every spring. I had declared "no more!" and banished it from my garden. Then I saw one planted up in a Hover Dish Planter at the DIG Nursery booth at the 2015 NWFG Show...

The wheels started to turn. Great drainage and air circulation...maybe, just maybe. And it just so happens I've got a pair of hover dish planters! I wanted to use the limon Dolga dish for this experiment so the lovely painted ferns from last year had to come out...

And that gorgeous Yucca, it was surprisingly hard to find once I "needed" one...but I finally did.

This is the whole cast of characters.

For height, and danger, an Opuntia basilaris hybrid, picked up at Xera nursery after the Pac Hort/HPSO lecture. Truth be told I'd already paid for one and then Evelyn Hadden put this one back. I traded mine out for hers right away, it was a stellar specimen...

I found this multi-headed Aeonium at The Gardener's Choice in Tigard, OR. It's the same place I found the Yucca. I hadn't planned to include anything not hardy but confronted with a big plant at a great price I thought what the heck!

I started with the Opuntia and quickly discovered I'd bought a monster. There were actually two plants in the pot and they were both so top heavy I couldn't keep them from tipping over. Finally I thought up a solution. I cut down the sides of small plastic pots and also cut the bottom out. That way I had something to smash their roots into and to grab ahold of and position in the dish planter. Plus it made them more stable.

It worked and I can only hope it's a long term solution (meaning it doesn't compromise their drainage). Other key points to remember, should you find yourself working with an Opuntia up close and personal. Wear a long-sleeve shirt, and another underneath. That way as soon as you reach glochid saturation you can peel off the top layer. Also, use tongs! Tongs are lifesavers. Finally...old gloves. This is not a great time to break out your newly purchased pair. Use old ones, ones you won't mind instantly tossing with this project is complete.

And speaking of complete, here's the group after planting. Don't you love the glamorous interior of the garage as photo background? This was the only place I could find to hang the dish at working level. Oh and yes, I had to add the Senecio radicans, for a little drama. Also not hardy, maybe I'll just cut the strands and the Aeonium and winter them indoors. The Yucca and Opuntia can stay in place.

I didn't plan to add a gravel drop dressing, but that soil mix is just too ugly don't you think? So yes, I did. Of course nobody but me will know it's there!

Here's the finished creation...

The greens of the dish and the door aren't a perfect match but I think they'll do.

I like it!

There are a couple of blooms ready to pop on the Opuntia, that will be fun. And I'll be watching that yucca to see if I finally stumbled upon a recipe for success...

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

42 comments:

  1. Like it....love it! It looks fabulous!! Great colour combination and looks wonderful near the front door!

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  2. Oh, I hope this solution works for you at keeping the Bright Star looking good. I love the whole shebang. I bought a multi-headed black Aeonium recently too, to go in a mixed pot. I've seen them in a few nurseries this spring, I wonder if some grower had a bunch this year to sell.

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    1. You're probably right about the aeoniums - how is your yucca doing?

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  3. This is one awesome arrangement. Über cool plants and a sassy container to boot. Plus, you hung it high so people aren't likely to touch the opuntia.

    Yucca 'Bright' Star seems to be more available down here. I've seen it in several nurseries lately. Usually you guys have the better selection :-).

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    1. And usually it's everywhere! I think my issue was a combination of "when you want it you can't find it" and maybe people getting wise to the fact it doesn't really hold up well in our climate. (thanks for the kind words)

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  4. It looks simply beautiful, Loree. Your home looks wonderful and so very stylish. Maybe you should come "do" mine.

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    1. Thank you, and puh-lease...I've seen enough photos of your place to know it's pretty darn stylish. You're not fooling anyone!

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  5. Looks great! I'm a little concerned about it long-term though -- does Y. gloriosa form as big, tuberous roots as Y. filamentosa does? I could see it becoming a bully there maybe.

    BTW, it's got to be a bit heavy -- how'd you hoist it up that high?

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    1. Don't think long term Alan, live for the moment! But seriously yes, it probably does. However since this yucca has never done anything for me but go into a slow decline I'm not worried. Worse case scenario it's all too successful and I pull everything out and redo it in a couple of years.

      As for hanging it I had help from the tall strong husband.

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  6. Looks very good, container, plants, house are all very cool. Love how the silvery senecio ties it to the mailbox.

    I tried a bright star yucca here and it got too wet so I can imagine the challenge growing it there.

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    1. Thanks Shirley, sorry you've had similar results.

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  7. You just couldn't banish something so beautiful forever, could you? Love your solution, especially the cascading Senicio. Looks almost like a water feature! Fingers crossed that this solution works for Bright Star! I thought you were saving that space for a hanging petunia planter.

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    1. Well if that friend who told me he was bringing had ever showed up with it...

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  8. Activate the Walbristar Omega 13!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fdcIwHKd_s

    Good call!

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  9. It may be the reflection from your door, but some of the highlights seem like a perfect color match. Lots of inventive solutions here, leading up to a knockout result.

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  10. I like it a lot!!! I have a small Yucca Bright Star and it spent all the winter outside with low temperatures (around 14 F). It has turned red, orange, pink or something in between but it has no acne. I planted it in a very sandy soil...I wonder if that is what worked for it...

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    1. That's another one of the great features of this plant, the winter colors. And indeed, I'm sure your well draining soil helped a lot.

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  11. Great finds and color combinations as always. I think you are a bit of a tease though hanging it so high that short people like me would not be able to see the plants...but that is a good thing to as nobody can walk away with it. The hanging pot with its lovely residents and their natural colors bring attention to the door and house colors perfectly. I recently bought an ‎opuntia cacanapa‬ ‪and have been looking for a aeonium 'zwartkop'...not thought about putting them together...the trailing Senecio radicans makes a good spiller. Thanks for the idea of using tongs...

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    1. You'd be surprised Laurin, I'm "height challenged" myself and I can see them just fine. The fact it's out of reach of (lazy) potential thieves is a definite plus, but the reason for the height is to be kind to the mailman.

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    2. Oh yes...the mailman, very thoughtful of you!

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  12. Your new combination looks great. Thanks for the tips on working with Opuntia - a friend gave me a pad but I've been almost afraid to touch it (and I still haven't decided on a spot where it can't bite someone). What causes the acne on 'Bright Star'? I've yet to see that problem here (although now I hope I haven't jinxed myself by mentioning it).

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    1. In my experience it's the cool winter wet, something that (unfortunately) hasn't been much of an issue for you.

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  13. It looks great! And very fitting at your front entrance. I hope this does the trick for the yucca, and I hope that yucca takes dwarfing well so it can stay in that container for a long time.

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    1. In the words of Plant Delights Nursery: "This is a dreadfully slow-growing plant...slower than DC Beltway traffic. I'd plant this in the rock garden and if it ever decides to grow, move it to another location."

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  14. Very nice!
    Your garden is very intriguing.
    Love your front door too.

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  15. So. totally. awesome! The yucca is incredible (why was I not aware of this yucca?), the opuntia is swoon-worthy, the senecio, the green, the other green, the location, the location, the location... you're killing me, here. Those plants, that planter, next to the door, against the house... perfecto.

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    1. Ha, thanks Luisa. Surely Bright Star has made it's debut at nursery near you? It seems well suited for your climate.

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  16. It looks amazing, such a good combinations. Those pots are great.

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    1. Thanks S.O. - and indeed the containers are wonderful, they make it easy to put together great plantings.

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  17. I'll miss seeing your house and garden this summer and all the new stuff you're up to. Love this planter. I have to confess I have yet to bring home an opuntia -- that spells capital T Trouble for my clumsy ways.

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    1. There are softer, kinder, opuntia Denise. This one was especially difficult, short fluffy glochids that flew around at the slightest touch.

      Who knows, maybe you'll unexpectedly end up in Portland...an inspired road trip perhaps?

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  18. I love it. And your opuntia look so freaking great right now!

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    1. Thank you! You don't have any opuntia do you? Perhaps I need to sneak a couple of pads into your garden while you're off getting hitched.

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  19. I LOVE your house. I was looking at your door thinking, "man, what a great colour, and so glossy!" Then as I scrolled I realised I saw what I think is a clear door in front of the green door.. are my eyes correct? The planter looks excellent, and I need a pair of tongs, I'm not sure why I don't have any outdoor ones yet. I removed a whole lot of cacti from the garden this weekend, and gave most away. None of the nice ones, just the ones that grow like weeds. I have decided I want to keep them more contained and in pots. I was butchered by a cylindropuntia. Right through the glove by a spine, then a glochid attack kicked me while I was down. It was cruel of me, but it went in the bin for that. I love your term "glochid saturation point".

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    1. You're right, there is a clear glass "security door" (that's what my grandma called hers, I can't help but think of it like that). It's great for Lila because she can lie in front of it and keep the neighborhood in order (barking at bikers and joggers) all the while basking in the sun.

      We Portland bloggers have an annual plant swap and one year a new guy showed up with a box of cylindropuntia cuttings and tongs, smart! I quickly purchased a pair of my own.

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  20. The perfect finishing touch for your front porch. I have a turquoise Hover Pot hanging from my porch eave to match my front door!

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