So far, my favourite plant acquisition this year is Serruria florida (Blushing Bride).
It's a member of the proteacae and thrives in poor, dry soil: I have it in a pot with an Australian Native potting mix and I water it sparingly.
It is not only an attractive plant, but also has a great story behind it. Earlier this century, the plant was considered extinct in the wild, mostly due to overpicking by humans: the delicate, papery, pink-white flower was prized in Victorian era bridal bouquets. And then there was a bushfire in the Franshoek mountains, and seeds that had been lying there for decades were germinated. Now the plant grows in the wild again.
My second favourite acquisition is Loropetalum chinense var rubrum[updated link]. It's just gorgeous.
Viv
6 comments:
Evidently GardenWeb doesn't allow you to deep link to images - when I click on your second link I get taken to GardenWeb's logo instead of a picture of a plant.
How large does the Serruria florida grow? Pot-sized, I guess, but a big pot or a small one?
I was too busy around spring this year to get adventurous with the garden, so the only plant that was new to me was celosia -- hardly adventurous; it did pretty well and looks nice, but the descriptions of it weren't very accurate (or else I misunderstood them) so I didn't place them for maximum attractiveness.
Silly old Gardenweb.Try http://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/A06/BQ30/treelist/Filename1061.htm
The Serruria florida by repute grows to about 1.5m by 1.5m in ideal conditions. Mine is about 60cm high by 40 cm wide, so in a medium pot at the moment. I'll aim to repot it annually.
Viv
Ooh...I like that Serruria. If it's suitable for Sydney, somehow I doubt it would do well in southern New England. Oh well. It's still pretty.
As it would need to be in a pot anyway, having the serruria as one of those plants out on the patio for the summer and overwintering inside should be possible, as long as you've got it in a freely draining sandy pot mix. But I guess the dilemma for New Englanders is just how many overwintering pots can one fit inside one's house?
Viv
I guess the dilemma for New Englanders is just how many overwintering pots can one fit inside one's house?
Virtually none, in my case. For a house that's almost all windows, we don't have many sunny spots suitable for a plant to stand. All my indoor plants have to be pretty shade-tolerant.
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