Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Melianthus Chop

You may remember photos of a lush Melianthus ('Antonow's Blue') from a recent post.

Its tall stems were weighted down by the snow and ice we had in early January, but they popped back up quickly.

Lots of new foliage pushing out...but...

It was time to chop it all off...

Why? Well look at those branches. They're 6-7 feet tall, mostly bare. My garden is small, if this thing can grow that tall in a single growing season just imagine what it would look like this summer. Nope. Not going to happen.

It's this tall now.

But fear not, there is already new growth, see the green nubbins? I've done this every spring but one, that year we had a mild winter and I could see flower buds forming, plus the plant was smaller then.

I did toss a few leaves over that new growth, we've had some cool nights predicted and I didn't want to shock it with it's new exposure.

Hard to believe that area to the left of the palm, and the right of the Loquat, was full of Melianthus just a few minutes prior. Of course a smart blogger would have taken a photo before she started chopping, sorry, didn't even occur to me. There are a few from late September here, if you're curious..

I'm sure the Magnolia laevifolia will enjoy the increased light and air circulation.

I'll enjoy being able to see those cinnamon buds.

Look there's a nice trunking Yucca back there too!

And a hidden Hellebore, which really isn't a tragedy because I know it's back there and cut bits to bring into the house. I can never bring myself to cut from the Hellebores that I can see out in the garden, preferring to enjoy them in place.

After cutting back the Melianthus monster I also discovered the Correa backhouseana is blooming away, unappreciated. Well, it was unappreciated, now it's very much appreciated.

The little caps left behind after the flower falls are terribly cute.

There's one other thing I discovered hiding, this one wasn't near the Melianthus, but in a different part of the garden – hidden by Hakonechloa (Japanese Forest Grass) that also got the chop. Curculigo sp. JSM...

Strange name right? From Far Reaches Farm (where I got mine): "Ornamental species of unknown hardiness collected by Josh McCullough in North Vietnam. Broad pleated leaves with yellow six-petaled flowers clustered near the leaf bases. A lot of the plants coming out of the mountains there are proving hardier than thought. This would likely survive in a mild garden here but surviving and looking good are two different things. Best to treat this as the outrageous container plant that is bringing it inside for the winter. A cool sun room is fine. This carries an aspect of tremendous refinement and would cause any container designer to salivate."

It's been in this spot for a couple of years now, so it's seen the low 20's, snow, and ice. I would love to move it out where I can see it better (cause it's cool!) but I don't want to lose it. Ah the difficult, never ending, questions that a gardener has to deal with...

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

40 comments:

  1. Very nice post. I especially like the first three melianthus photos and then the story that goes with them and all the little treasures discovered underneath. Fine work here.

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  2. It's almost always a difficult decision to prune this way -- at least the first few times. Then it becomes automatic. If you're like me though, losing all of that foliage hurts for a little while at least.

    Love the Magnolia laevifolia color!

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    1. I think my timing was such that there's no hurt. I thought about it for a week or so and was ready to make the change. I don't miss it at all and I'm enjoying the different view. Of course knowing it will come back makes it easier!

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  3. I love a fearless, but knowledgable, pruner. Good job!

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  4. That is such a gorgeous plant. I keep thinking I should grow it in a container and then I remind myself that my garden is already too much work. As to taking before photos, I just made a note on my calendar at the end of April to be sure to take pix of all the plants I ordered online. I want to compare how they arrive, are packed, size of plants vs. price etc. I know I will be so excited I will want to start ripping them open. But I want to be more studious so I know who to order from again. And of course, perfect blog material.

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    1. That's really smart (tracking your new purchases) and I look forward to seeing your plants as they arrive. My company, plant lust, is just starting down the mail-order road. We've done a few trial runs and it's really interesting to me to see how different companies pack their plants.

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  5. Does Melianthus 'Antonow's Blu'e come true from seeds or just plain green? I'm asking cos the only way to get hold of this sort in Europe would be seeds imported from the USA.
    Thanks

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    1. Oh I wish I knew pf, I'll try to find out from knowledgeable friends. You're the one asking about seeds from my Metapanax/Nothopanax delavayi aren't you? Sadly no seeds have developed...

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    2. Oh what a pity. I will try to live without it.
      I'm jyst rying to bring some more beautiful plants to our rather boring European garden world.

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    3. Hey I don't know if you'll see this but I think I was wrong. I noticed some dark bits at the top of one of the "branches" I think I have seeds! (Metapanax/Nothopanax delavayi). Email me! spiky plants at gmail dot com.

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  6. All that glorious green + flowers, thank you Loree! Only the tips of my yucca can be seen out the kitchen window under our new 10" blanket of fresh, fallen snow! Well, there is Fat Albert...

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  7. My Melianthus wasn't nearly that big but it also got the chop. I was sad about it but, you're right, it springs back pretty much instantly. Unlike you, I didn't find any hidden plants afterwards but the Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' next to it is definitely happier.

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    1. It did a pretty good job of remaining upright and not hiding the ones in front, until the snow and ice fell. I think I might need to move that Yucca, it's too beautiful to only get to see for a few months.

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  8. Crouching Yucca, Hidden Hellebore? Lots of fun discoveries revealed by the big chop, painful as it may have been to see that gorgeous foliage go. Curculigo sp. JSM is very handsome!

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    1. How is your Curculigo sp. JSM? I meant to ask in the body of the post but forgot.

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    2. Mine, still living in a pot and brought inside in winter doesn't look as gorgeous as yours.

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  9. Nice unveiling...reward for fearless pruning (I think Linda calls it the Chelsea Chop). Magical lighting for the Magnolia shots.

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    1. Funny, I thought of Linda while I was doing this. I wanted to reference that name but since I wasn't doing it during the Chelsea Garden Show (I believe the name is a sort of mnemonic device for remembering when to chop) I decided it would be a bit of a stretch.

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  10. My Melianthus 'Purple Haze' has evolved into a different pruning schedule. When I grew the straight species, a giant here, I cut it back in late winter, early spring too -- didn't care much about sacrificing the flowers, and they always seemed to come anyway. With PH I've been cutting it back in mid-summer, when it gets heavily infested with whitefly, probably from low water. There's enough growing up around it by then that it's not missed. So its best season is when it's cool, then cut back July/August. PH is definitely a dwarf too -- would probably make a great container plant. Nice chatting melianthus pruning with you!

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    1. Interesting. I've been contemplating the purchase of PH, good to know you think it would be happy in a container, since that's probably where it would have to live!

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  11. I cut my melianthus back in April/May and it reaches around 5ft a year. That way a have a chance of flowers appearing. I plant around the base of the plant to hide the legs

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  12. I love the Magnolia laevifolia buds too, and the Correa backhouseana flowers!! I like Melianthus so much, but I don´t like when the branches are long without leaves. It is great to be able to prune it that way.

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    1. Aren't those Correa flowers wonderful? I wish that plant were reliably hardy here, but I'll enjoy it as long as I can.

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  13. I think that your Melianthus views 'Danger Garden' quite differently from you! :) Bravo on the bold coppicing. Those magnolia buds are heavenly and I love the Curculigo. I've admired it on the Far Reaches website since I first laid eyes on it.

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    1. I kept it (the Curculigo) in a container for the first year, but it just never looked happy. Much better in the ground.

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  14. Gasp. It takes trust in the future to whack like that.

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  15. Oh, poor Melianthus! But look at the lovelies uncovered by cutting it down. I was surprised when you told me it rarely lost its leaves in winter. For some reason I had assumed Melianthus usually lost its leaves or was killed to the ground. Someday I'll find a spot for one, and I'll let it get as big as it wants (unless it's in a future garden that is also small, then I'll cut it back mercilessly).

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    1. Patricia reported that her 'Purple Haze' was mush after the snow and ice. I wonder if that's because it's less hardy, or because hers is out in the open, and a younger plant? The M. villosus has not yet received this treatment but I'm thinking it probably should. The tall stem that got a little flattened by the stupid cat next door also is looking pretty ragged after the cold.

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  16. Wow, that's brave! I'm always worried I'm going to kill something doing that. Finding that yucca was great though. It deserves to be shown off...

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  17. Melianthus gets way too big and tall here--better kept mannerly by a little chill and a chop back.

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  18. I just cut mine to the ground also. It sailed through last winter and bloomed, but it was so tattered and leggy. Can't wait for the full lush new growth!

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    1. "tattered and leggy"...that about sums it up. Here's to a new season of growth!

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  19. Good work. In gardening we must be ruthless.

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