Lilacs in the Spring

Lilac has become one of the most popular of our garden shrubs. The emergence of its sweat smelling blossom in May is a sure sign the summer is just around the corner. Many of the lilacs being grown these days are specially breed varieties that offer a range of flower colors from white, through pink or blue, to deep violet. The original lilacs had pale pinkish violet flowers the color now called lilac.

 

Lilac belongs to that small group of plants that are so familiar in Britain that people mistakenly assume they are native. In fact, most lilac species are native to Asia, with just a few species being found in Eastern Europe. All lilac species are members of the same genus, Syringa, which is itself a member of the olive family. Like other members of this large family, such as privet, ash and forsythia, lilac grows extremely well in the British Isles. One great advantage is that it is tolerant of both acid and alkaline soils. Indeed, on a small scale lilac has become naturalized in this country. The earliest species of lilac to be introduced in Britain and still the one most commonly grown here is the common lilac “Syringa vulgaris”. This species is native to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The word lilac comes from the Persian word for bluish lilac or nilak. It was first appeared in Western Europe I the 16th century and was introduced to Britain in 1621 by the naturalist John Tradescant, who later became King Charles I’s gardener.

 

In appearance, the common lilac is typical in many ways of most Syringa species. It is a shrub or occasionally a small tree, growing no higher than 8m. Usually, it it has several stems growing from the base although there may be just a single slim trunk. The bark is smooth and grey. The leaves are mid green, smooth surfaced and have a characteristic heart shape. They are folded along the central vein so that when seen in cross section, they are shaped like a V. The leaves can grow to a length of 15cm.

 

The flowers emerge in May on pyramidal panicles about 15 to 20cm long. On common lilac, the flowers are not surprisingly, lilac colored but on other species of lilac they can vary from white to pink, mauve, blue or deep purple. The panicles may also be much longer on other species, sometimes reaching a length of 45cm. The flowers are followed by the fruits. These consist of flattened capsules that split, each releasing two winged seeds; they ripen in October.

 

Soon after the common lilac reached Britain the first of many lilacs native solely to Asia was discovered. This was the Persian lilac “Syringa laciniata”, named after the country in which western botanists first discovered it growing. In fact, it has been cultivated in both Persia and India for centuries. The Persian lilac in much smaller than the common lilac, rarely reaching more than 2cm in height. It is unusual among lilac in having leaves that are lobed rather like those of an oak. It produces violet purple flowers in May.

 

The Persian and common lilacs were crossed several times in attempts to produce a superior lilac. The most notable success came in 1795, when once Monsieur Varin, the Director of Botanic Garden at Rouen in France, produce a hybrid that was named Rouen lilac “Syringa x chinensis”. This is a handsome shrub, still popular among gardeners. It grows to a height of 4.5cm and bears large compound panicles of lilac colored flowers in May. At this time of the year, the whole bush may be covered with flowers.

 

Moreover, during the 19th century, many more lilac species were discovered and brought back to Britain as botanists began to explore the Far East. The famous plant hunter, Robert Fortune, discovered Syringa oblate growing in a Shanghai garden in 1856. Unluckily it does not flower well in this country because its blossom appears early in the year. Often, a spell of warm weather in early spring induces the flower buds to grow, only for them to be killed soon after by a sudden cold snap.

 

Despite its frequent failure to flower well, S. oblate soon proved itself to be a useful source from which to breed hybrids and varieties. Many of the beautifully colored lilacs grown today are crosses between the common lilac and S. oblate. Much of this work was done by the French horticulturists Victor Lemoine and his son Emile in Nancy during the 1870s’. Several of the far eastern species of lilac resemble small trees rather than shrubs. For example Syringa pekinensis grows to a height of 6m and always has single trunk. In June its spreading branches are covered with a profusion of cream colored flowers borne on small panicles 7 to 12 long. This species was discovered in northern China at the end of the last century.

 

Further, during the 19th century one further species of European lilac was found to place alongside the common lilac. It was discovered in 1830 growing in Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe by the Baroness of Josika. It is now known as the Hungarian lilac “Syringa josikaea”. This lilac is not one of the most attractive but like Syringa oblate, it has proved to be a useful source for hybrids and varieties. Many of the finest modern lilacs were raised from this species by Dr Isabella Preston, who worked in Ottawa, Canada during 1920’s. One of the most popular of her hybrids is Bellicent a large arching shrub with clear pink flowers trusses about 25cm. Which appears in May? Traditionally, lilac used to play an important role in folk medicine, the flowers and bark being used to reduce fevers. Lilac must have made an unpleasant medicine since it has an extremely bitter taste. The wood from a lilac shrub has few commercial uses nowadays, though in Victorian times it was used for decorative inlay work.

Gloxinia or Sinningia speciosa

This is a very beautiful plant when in bloom, and this is when you are apt to receive it as a gift-a cluster of large bell shaped flowers rising out of a circle of large, dark green fuzzy leaves. After Gloxinia blooming goes into a dormant state during which the leaves and stems die and there is nothing left but a little, flattish tuber. The stunning Gloxinia is a genus of three species of tropical rhizomatous herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae, primarily found in the Andes of South America but Gloxinia perennis is also found in Central America and the West Indies, where it has most likely escaped from cultivation.

At this point most people throw the thing away, not realizing that they can keep growing it and re-flowering it for decades. Gloxinias come in many vibrant colors mainly in red, purple, pink and white some are spotted or edged with contrasting colors. You can purchase a gloxinia at any point in its life. It it’s in bloom you can see what the flowers look like of course but often it is easier and less expensive to purchase a tuber in midwinter, planting it about ½ inch deep in a soilless mix. Water it sparingly while it is starting to root, then keep soil evenly moist but not soggy while the leaves appear. Try not to get the leaves wet. Gloxinias will do well in a room, whose temperature is normal or cool, but the air should be fairly humid, and the plant should have bright light but not direct sun. Like other members of the gesneriad group, which includes African violets and streptocarpus, gloxinias do well under fluorescent lights give them 14 to 16 hours per day. Feed with a balanced or high phosphorus fertilizer once a month while plants are growing.

Moreover, after bloom stop feeding and gradually stop watering. When the leaves turn yellow and the plant goes dormant you can either leave the tuber in the pot or repot it in a slightly larger one, then store it in a dark, cool place about 50degrees, keeping the soil almost dry until a few months later when new growth starts. Or you can dig up the tuber and store it in peat moss for at least forty five days.  Then place it in barely moistened peat or a soilless mix when you want it to start growing, just as you do when you buy a new tuber. New plants can be propagated by dividing the tubers just when they show eyes, making sure there is an eye for each division or by taking leaf cutting. Gloxinia is a perennial flowering plant, but many hybrids are grown as annuals.

Golden Chains of Laburnum

The spectacular springtime show of yellow flowers gives laburnum its common name is “golden chains” or “golden rain”. But the laburnum also has its dark side, for it is one of the most poisonous trees growing in the British Isles. Like so many of the more colorful trees that grow in Britain, the lovely laburnum is not native to this country. It comes from the mountainous areas of central and southern Europe and was familiar to the ancient Romans. A great naturalist, Pliny the Elder, described it as a “tree from the Alps” with hard white wood and long yellow flowers which bees will not touch. He was right that honey bees are not attracted to this tree, because its flowers do not produce nectar. But the wood is not white; the sapwood is butter yellow and the heartwood is a dark chocolate-brown. Nevertheless the name laburnum is derived from the Latin for white sapwood.

From its native countries, laburnum was slowly introduced to the rest of Europe and reached in Britain in the 2^nd half of 16^th century. The first laburnum to be introduced to this country was the common laburnum (laburnum anagyroides). This was followed about 30 years later by another species laburnum alpinum, which was found to grow much better than the common laburnum in the harsher conditions of Scotland. This laburnum is now known as the Scotch laburnum. A third laburnum, now more widely planted than either of the other two, is Voss’s laburnum (Laburnum x watereri). This is a hybrid between the common and the Scotch laburnum and is in many ways superior to them, particularly in its flowers. It also has a narrower crown, which makes it popular in small garden. All laburnum species flourish in the British Isles; indeed, they have become adapted to the British climate better than any other introduced tree. Not surprisingly, both the common and the Scotch laburnums became naturalized soon after they were introduced helped also by the fact that both species set seed abundantly. The best place to see a naturalized laburnum is in wild hilly country.  

Apart from some differences, laburnums resemble each other closely. They are small trees, growing no more than 9cm high which is why they have long been popular as street trees and for planting in small town gardens. The bark is smooth and olive green sometimes turning brown with age. The trunk is slender, seldom exceeding 30cm in diameter. The leaves are unusual in that each consists of three short stalked leaflets laburnum is the only tree commonly grown in the British Isles to have this leaf arrangement. The leaflets are up to 8cm long; their upper surfaces are pale green and smooth, the lower surfaces light grey and hairy, however hairless on the  Scotch laburnum.

Moreover, laburnum is a member of pea family and this is shown in the shape of its flowers. These consist of five bright yellow petals arranged in typical pea fashion one large standard petal two wings and two more connected to form a keel. The flowers are borne on long pendulous racemes that vary in length from 15cm to 30cm. On the Scotch laburnum the racemes are bit longer than on the common. But they are also narrower and the flowers are more widely spaces. The Scotch laburnum blooms later around the end of June, which is about three weeks after the common laburnum. The flowers of Voss’s laburnum combine the best features of the other two; its racemes are as long as those of the Scotch laburnum, but the flowers are larger and more densely borne, like those of the common laburnum.

All plants in the pea family have their fruits borne in pods. In the case of the laburnum, these pods are slender, hairy and light green when immature. They turn brown and lose their hairs as they ripen in July and August. When the pods are ripe they twist and split along their margins, forcing out the small hard seeds these are black on the common laburnum and brown on the Scotch laburnum. One or two seeds at the stalk end of the pod are often left behind if the twisting action was not strong enough to force them out. If the tree is growing in the wild this has the advantages of spreading out the interval at which the seeds are distributed, and so increasing the chances of a seed finding conditions favorable for germination.

Although the laburnum is widely planted for its beauty it is nevertheless, an extremely poisonous tree in all its parts roots, leaves, flowers and seeds. The seeds are particularly poisonous and every year there are cases of young children falling ill after eating them. There are also a few cases of cattle being poisoned after browsing on the pods, though rabbits and hares seem to be unaffected. The poisonous nature of laburnums is another reason for the popularity of the hybrid Voss’s laburnum. As well as having prettier flowers than either of the other two, it produces far fewer seed pods and so attracts children less. The seeds themselves and other parts of the tree are just as poisonous as on other laburnums, however. As described above, that all parts of laburnum, especially the seeds are highly poisonous. Symptoms appear an hour after ingestion. The victim suffers from a burning sensation in the mouth, nausea, severe thirst, abdominal pains, sweating and headache; in severe cases death follows. However, it is very rare chance that children eat a lethal quantity of seeds approximately 15 to 20. Nevertheless, immediate treatment by a doctor is advisable eve if only one or two have been eaten.

Over the centuries laburnum wood has been greatly prized by cabinet makers for its hardness and its contrasting colors. The difference in color between the sapwood and the heartwood has given rise to what is known in the furniture trade as oyster work. These are small discs or roundels of wood formed by cutting across a laburnum branch to expose concentric rings of growth. The inner rings are chocolate brown heartwood and the 3 or 4 outer rings are butter yellow sapwood. Laburnum branches an also be cut at an angle to give oval slices. Both sorts of cut are used for decorative inlay work and veneers. Furniture carrying oyster work was particularly popular during the reign of William and Mary; today it fetches a high price at auctions. Laburnum wood is also ideal for turning work fruit bowls, egg cups and so on since it is hard, close grained and takes a high polish. Pulleys and blocks made from laburnum last almost forever, and the chanters on Scottish bagpipes are frequently made from this wood because it can be bored accurately.

Source: Charismatic Planet

 

Clivia Miniata A Prettier Indoor Plant

Clivia miniata also “Kaffir lily” grows from a thick rooted bulb. It is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clivia of the family Amaryllidaceae, native, growing in woodland habitats. It looks something like the more familiar amaryllis, to which it is related, but I think it is prettier and its clusters of orange, red or gold flowers more subtle than the huge amaryllis flowers. Flowers can appear any time from December to April, however mostly appears in March. The flowers are rising on 18-inch stalks from the tidy, dark green, strap like leaves and opening over a period of several weeks. Most plants get about 2 feet tall but there are more compact varieties.

Moreover, Clivia’s are very easy to grow plants once you understand them. They will take morning or late afternoon sun, but too much midday sun will scorch the leaves. Hence bright indirect light all is best. Give them average room temperature and humidity by day, but cool temperatures at night if possible. During the dormant period before bloom, a temperature of 50 to 55 day and night will help to induce bloom. Clivia’s like an organic soil like that used for African violets and need to be pot-bound in order to flower. Clivias don’t appreciate root disturbances; however, repotting can be done every three to five years in spring once the flowers have faded.

Repot only when the roots are crawling out of the top of the pot. A heavy pot is often necessary to keep them from tipping over. In the spring and summer season you need to keep the plants evenly moist, fertilizing every two weeks. A summer outdoors in filtered sun will do your Clivias well. Also, bring them in before frost, and stop feeding them. Starting around thanks giving, give them little no water, and if possible keep them in a cool room that gets no light in the evening. When a flower stalk emerges, bring the plant into a warm, light place and start feeding and watering it again. Moreover, plants may be propagated by removing and replanting side bulbs in spring when new growth starts.

Blanket Flower

Gaillardia common name blanket flower is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America.  Blank Flower “Gaillardias x grandiflora” is look like large daisies, with bold, bright markings like those of an American Indian blanket, in patterns of red, yellows and gold’s. Mostly grow about 2 ½ feet tall, but there are also dwarf varieties. They bloom in summer over a long period and are a good choice if your climate is hot and dry. Varieties include the mixed colored “Monarch Strain” and solids such as dark red “Burgundy” and Yellow Queen. Multicolored Goblin grows a foot tall.

 

It is resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. If you want to grow a permanent long season of bloom, blanket flower is a great choice. The daisy-like flowers are formed from early summer to early fall in a different shades of orange, red and yellow, adding up sizzle to the garden and enticing nectar-seeking butterflies.

The stem is usually branching and erect to a maximum height around 80 centimeters. The leaves are alternately arranged. Some taxa have only basal leaves. They vary in shape. Blank Flower needs to grow in moist humid areas the plants may develop fungus diseases in summer or succumb to rot from winter moisture. Moreover, you need to avoid mulching them and given them light, well drained soil, preferably on the sandy side. Gaillardias can be grown fairly quickly from seed, and will flower the first year. In spring, you watch from new shoots that may appear quite a distance from the original clump. If the center of the clump dies, discard it and replant the side shoots.

Many cultivars have been bred for ornamental use. Thus care of blanket flowers includes planting in a full sun location to keep this fast growing specimen happy. As a native plant to the central United States and Mexico, blanket flower is a heat loving flower are drought tolerant and do not like wet feet from soggy soil. Growing blanket flowers can naturalize in a meadow or field adding hues of color. Easy care of blanket flowers makes them an ideal specimen for many landscape uses.