Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet' - great container plant for attracting Hummingbirds

Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet'                                                             S. Reeve

To say, "I am a big fan of hummingbirds" would be an understatement. If a plant has in its description, "attracts hummingbirds" chances are that plant is already in my cart. Automatic response with lightning-quick speed! I love hummingbirds and own many of the plants that they love to feed on. For hummingbirds, this plant is great since it blooms almost year-round. It does not freeze here so nothing limits this plant's ability to form flowers. It is on my deck and has been for a couple of years. It is probably three feet wide and four feet tall. 

Blooms of Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet'                                                                                   S. Reeve

This plant has a very intriguing selection name of 'Dropmore Scarlet' so I did some investigating. This plant was bred by Dr. Skinner from Dropmore, Manitoba Canada. He was a well-known plant breeder in the area and produced many garden-worthy prairie plants. Because this lonicera was developed in such a harsh winter cold area, I was surprised at how well it does in Zone 10b. It is bothersome to me that so many gardening books take care to list the lower zones a plant can grow in, but whether a plant will grow in a higher zone is not really addressed. Usually, the will say something like, for example, Zones 3-8 or 3-9, so I have no idea if it will grow in Zone 10b. A gardening limitation here is whether a plant will do well without winter cold. Many plants will not do well without an accumulation of chill hours. Fortunately, this plant does well. 

Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet' is a cross between two American species, Lonicera sempervirens, from the South, and Lonicera hirsuta, from the upper Midwest. I can certainly see the Lonicera sempervirens influence in 'Dropmore Scarlet' as it has red tubular flowers like L. sempervirens.

Lonicera hirsuta                                                                                            Photo by Peter M. Dziuk

Well known problems with Lonicera are powdery mildew and aphids. So far, I have had neither problem with my Lonicera. There are many species of mildew and they are typically specific to their host plant. Lonicera can be infected by powdery mildew fungus, in the genus, Erysiphe. Unlike other species of mildew, the genus Erysiphe has over 300 different host plants. To reduce the incidence of powdery mildew either buy plant selections that are resistant, or keep conditions around the plant discouraging for the fungus. Powdery mildew is encouraged by temperatures from 60-80 degrees and dry weather. To reduce conditions favoring its growth, plant in full sun with good airflow, and water regularly. Chemical control is not an option in my garden since I am doing everything I can to have a healthy vibrant place that welcomes all organisms. There are some selections of Lonicera that are resistant to powdery mildew, and in places where it is a problem, they would be worth seeking out. Of course, if you see an aphid infestation a hardy spray of water will knock them off, while providing a meal to ground-dwellers below. 

Anna's hummingbird on Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler'                      Wilson Brothers Gardens

I plant plants because I want to see hummingbirds and other pollinators. I feel better using plants rather than a sugar water mixture in a plastic feeder. Plant nectar contains sugar, sure, but it also contains amino acids, vitamins and other trace compounds that promote hummingbird health. 

Erroneously, I had assumed hummingbirds sucked nectar through a straw-shaped tongue. Recent studies by Dr. Rico Guevara, and colleagues, from the University of Connecticut,  show the mechanism is the forceful action of a brush-shaped tongue end with two grooves flattening against the plant and releasing. This acts as a mini-pump and the mechanical force draws nectar up to the feeding hummingbird--about 15-20 times a second! For many years it was thought that capillary action wicked nectar up to the mouth of the hummingbird, but this is a slow process that did not adequately explain how much nectar was obtained. Fascinating!

Drawing of a Hummingbird tongue by Dr. Alejandro Rico-Guevara

I love the bluish color of the Lonicera foliage. The flowers are often followed by red fruit desired by birds. Unlike some highly fragrant Lonicera species, this plant is not fragrant at all. Keep the soil moist but not wet and the plant needs full-to-partial sun. The vines twine so just provide something for them to climb on and they will do the work themselves. To encourage more flowers, prune after flowering. The books say Hardiness Zones 3a-8b, but we all know that is not true as I grow this in 10b. This long-blooming vine is perfect for the hummingbird garden as it puts out nearly continuous flowers all year long.

Workhorse of the San Diego Garden - Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta'

I am not exaggerating when I say this plant is a workhorse in San Diego gardens. It is a great non-threatening focal point, as it is spineless and soft compared with most Agaves. This is not an Agave but an Agave relative from a large tropical area extending from Guadaloupe Islands in the Caribbean down into Brazil. This plant grows easily, looks great, and is not bothered by insects and disease. The species name, "foetida", means fetid or bad-smelling, and apparently, when the leaves are crushed it is rather stinky. 

Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta Sport'                                                                                                            S. Reeve

Few plants have this much visual interest and can grow in so many garden and climate situations. True, your garden should remain above freezing to grow it outside, but it grows in a variety of climates. It grows equally as well in hot humid Miami as it does in semi-arid San Diego. I grew them very well in pots in the sticky Atlanta summers and over-wintered them in the garage. It can grow in full sunlight and also in fairly dense shade. This makes it very useful for brightening up shady areas. 'Mediopicta' means "painted center" and this does have a white/cream striped cleanly drawn down the center of each leaf or in a haphazard pattern. Above, you see a very distinct white stripe, but in the photo below the white is diffused through the leaf. The clean striped version is a sport of the other and called, Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta Sport.' The photo of the parent plant below planted in full sun is the Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' that you commonly see in the trade.

The photo above shows a two-year-old Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta Sport' in fairly constant bright shade. Plants in the shade grow more slowly and that can be a very good thing. 

Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' in full sun                                                                                         S. Reeve

This plant in full sun is probably also 2-3 years old but has grown more densely.  It is presently about 3 feet wide and a little less tall. Give these plants ideal conditions of rich soil, full sun, and lots of water and you can have an eight-foot-wide behemoth in several years. The good thing is you can just hold off on some of the water and keep this plant smaller in size for several years. If your goal is to have thousands of baby plants, go ahead and plant in a large full sun area, with good soil, and plenty of water. In 5-20 years you will have an eight-foot-tall and eight-foot-wide specimen that is large enough to bloom. Generally, this plant remains trunkless, but it can develop a small trunk with age.

Furcraea foetida 'Medio Picta' blooming stalk                                                                           John Rusk

When the plant reaches a large size it will send up a branched stalk with thousands of bi-colored flowers loved by bees. Given the stalk is the plant's last chance to procreate, it can measure 25-30 feet tall. I have seen reports of 40 feet tall, but I have never seen one so large. A morphological feature of the genus Furcraea is the pendulous flowers compared to erect or horizontal flowers in Agaves. The flowers have a pleasing fragrance. After the flowers are pollinated, soon the plant is loaded with little individual plantlets or bulbils, thousands per plant in a procreation strategy called, "vivipary" or "live birth." Several plants do this including species of mangroves, and surprisingly, tomatoes. If you have ever cut a tomato and found baby plants inside you have seen vivipary. What makes this plant a problem is the often-times 100% survival rate of the babies. Here, in semi-arid San Diego lack of water prevents this plant from spreading, but in many tropical or sub-tropical areas with more water, this plant has become an unwelcome alien. 

Furcraea combined with other plants                                                                                                 S. Reeve

The biggest reason I love Furcraea is you get an instant focal point when you add them to a garden composition. Here are a couple of examples. One is a recently installed business park planter, and the other is a rendering for a fairly shady spot in an outdoor mall.

Furcraea in upper right of photo                                                                                                  S. Reeve

Relaxing garden at outdoor mall                                                                                                  S. Reeve

Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' combines well with so many plants that it is easy to use in garden compositions. It can even be used in quantity as a bedding plant or by itself as a focal point of a pot. It combines well with other succulents, agaves, aloes, roses, grasses, shrubs, and many other plants. The unique texture and patterning give the opportunity for all kinds of inventive combinations. Even if you have other variegated plants, as long as the variegation is a different scale you can combine them with Furcraea. This plant is a workhorse for me as it always looks clean, healthy, and blemish-free. It is also spine-free and soft so that makes it a great choice for a garden with children.

'Tis the Season...

'Tis the season for huge dinner plate Aeoniums!  I know they are called, "dinner plate" Aeoniums so I expected a large rosette would be about 8-10 inches across. I measured this one and it is over 20 inches! Wow! 

Aeonium urbicum rosette                                                                                                                                  S. Reeve

This is Aeonium urbicum or a hybrid of Aeonium urbicum in the Family of Crassulaceae. The species is one of 36 endemic Aeoniums to the Canary Islands. Aeonium urbicum is from the Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera. There are a total of 42 species of Aeonium all from around this region. Aeonium urbicum is found on the Eastern side of the islands in barren landscapes and on old lava flows. There are several subspecies of this plant that differ slightly in morphology and flower color.

This species is solitary and often has tall unbranched stems. Many Aeoniums, like the ever-popular Aeonium arborescens branch and form shrub-like plants. This one does not. Mine has not developed a sizable stem yet, so I am wondering if this could be a hybrid of some other species? The stem is only 6 inches, but it is only a year in the ground. It was sold as Aeonium urbicum. My plant is also offsetting smaller rosettes at the ground, and Aeonium urbicum is not supposed to offset, so it looks like this could be a hybrid. My plant is offsetting at the base and it looks like it will form a dense colony of rosettes. 

This lovely plant is monocarpic and will die after flowering. It generally takes from 3-13 years for a flowering event to occur. When it blooms it produces a tower of many small flowers favored by bees. According to a study I read, this plant averages around 1,600 flowers per inflorescence. This species has one of the larger inflorescences of all of the Aeoniums. Polycarpic Aeoniums that do not die after flowering tends to have smaller inflorescences. It is a magnificent final act of flowering for Aeonium urbicum. This large flowering stalk comes at an energetic premium as the plant gives all of its resources to complete the event, and dies shortly afterward. It is thought that large inflorescences evolved in insect-poor areas to ensure pollination. Thankfully my plant is already offsetting so I do not have to worry about losing this plant if it does flower. The root system is made of fine hair-like roots as the plant itself serves as water storage. 

Aeonium urbicum Inflorescense                                                                Annie's Annuals

Right now, at Christmas, Aeoniums come into their glory and their rosettes grow to maximum size. During this time stems grow too if it is a stem-forming Aeonium. In the summer the rosettes remain but shrink in size in response to summer drought. The rosette leaves curl in toward the center forming a ball-like shape. In the summer, leaves along the stem are lost leaving leaf scars along the stem.  If you continue to supply them water, they shrink less, but they do cease growing and go dormant. They love water but need good drainage. They can also be drought-tolerant, especially if they get some shade, but look better with regular water. It is really an adaptable plant. Aeoniums do best at the coast where it doesn't get very hot but can do fine a little inland if they get water and shade. They will not tolerate frost.

Aeonium urbicum, Aeonium arborescens, Echeveria 'Cielo', Sedum adolphii 'Firestorm',
Hesperaloe 'Brake Lights, and Salvia 'Royal Bumble'   S. Reeve

I love this green Aeonium as it combines well with other succulents and provides a restful large green space in the composition. I have it growing with Echeveria 'Cielo' which also likes a good bit of water. Another reason to like this plant is it grows densely making weed germination impossible. Attractive red edges show up on the leaves at times of stress, especially in full sun. This Echeveria can stand full sun and also a fair bit of shade and do well in either situation. I have never seen pests on it. It looks clean, green, and refreshing. 

If the long stalks bother you, you can cut off the rosette head and that will root for you if given soil contact. For those with freezing temperatures, this plant grows well in pots, so you can bring it in during the winter. Keep an eye out for pests when it comes inside, as it will be understandably stressed and prone to infestation. I don't fertilize but rely on the break down of mulch to supply what the plant needs. My dinner plate Aeonium is a great Christmas gift in the garden.

If You Think You have a Black Thumb Start with Felicia amelloides

If happiness were made into a plant it would look like Felicia amelloides. It just looks like it is smiling all of the time, and not one of those little lip smiles either, but big fat irrepressible toothy grins all day long. "Felicia" means "happy" in Latin so they thought it was a happy plant too.

Felicia amelloides                                                                                                                                       S. Reeve

If you say you have a black thumb and kill every plant you own, try this one. It really is a "no-brainer." It has a wonderful growing habit. It is a neat and tidy little mound of foliage and flowers without pruning or training. The flowers are either blooming or unnoticeable when they are finished and fade away. This plant blooms all of the time! It is so funny sometimes, I go outside and nothing else is really blooming, but there is Felicia with her riot of cheerful flowers, blooming her head off! 

    Felicia amelloides                                                                                                                                       S. Reeve

My plant is 27 inches across and 16 inches high. The flowers are about 4-6 inches above the foliage which is about 10 inches tall. The plant is gradually increasing in diameter. This plant requires no staking. Flowers are held aloft on strong stems that stay upright. Flower petals or ray flowers are an intense shade of blue-lavender, a rare and welcome color in the garden. There is no gradation in the color of the petals, they are a solid matte blue color, and about the size of a 50 cent piece. Bees love blue flowers, and this is no exception. As a member of the Asteraceae, the compound flower head or capitulum provide an easy-landing platform of ray flowers with yellow disk flowers in the center. This plant is the "7-Eleven" of flowers with fast and easy access to nectar and pollen. Felicia, like many members of the Asteraceae are pollinated by bees also called melittophily. Individual flowers in the flower head are small and their nectar is easily obtained by short-tongued bees and small flying insects, so this is a popular plant! The flowers close at night and on overcast days. Like similar members of the Asteraceae, this plant employs a pollination strategy designed to prevent self-pollination called "plunger pollination." The pollen matures earlier while the stigma is unreceptive to encourage cross-pollination with other plants. It is called plunger pollination because the unreceptive stigma/style pushes the pollen from the fused anthers up through the tube formed by the anthers, so visiting insects can take it to other plants.

   Felicia amelloides with honey bee                                                                                                 S. Reeve

There are 79 species of Felicia in South Africa with 84 species in total. Felicia amelloides is a common coastal plant in South Africa. For a plant that flowers almost constantly it is remarkably long-lived. I have read reports of 15-year-old plants, but five years seems more typical. It is a tough plant too, and one of the few able to live under native oaks. 

 Felicia amelloides                                                                                                                                       S. Reeve

Stems and leaves are covered in short stiff hairs and have a sandpapery feel. Leaves are opposite, variable in form, from elliptical to spatulate, and have entire margins. After pollination, the flowers shrink back into the plant and form seeds. This means the dried flowers are not readily visible while the beautiful flowers are held high. Below is a ripening seed head with feathery pappus waiting to carry the mature seeds on the wind. This plant starts easily from spring cuttings.  

   Felicia amelloides                                                                                                                                     S. Reeve

If the summer is hot the flowering can slow. At any time the plant gets too big or has an abundance of dried flowering stems, it can be cut back to encourage more flowers and a better growth pattern. I just grab a handful and trim it. This is very easy to do. Highly fertilized plants do not bloom as well. Also, this plant does not do well in humid hot summer weather but prefers semi-arid locations with sandy, well-drained soil. It is hardy down to 20-25 degrees F. So if you are frustrated in your attempts to successfully grow plants, give this one a try.

The Raver Series of Arctotis- You can't go wrong with any of them!

I am a disciple of plants. What spurs me to write about certain plants is my intense admiration and love for the good performers in my garden. I feel the need to share with people the names and identities of these heroes in my garden. Hopefully, someone else will plant them and love them as much as I do, and be transported by their beauty, and delighted every time they see them in their gardens. 

This is Arctotis 'Pumpkin Pie'. It was the one that started my affection for this series of hybridized Arctotis.

Arctotis 'Pumpkin Pie'                                                                                                                             S. Reeve

I planted it last year from a 4-inch pot from Gourmet Grown growers. I mention them because they do not use neonicotinoids on their plants, so they are safe for the bees to put in the garden. Look at this luscious healthy foliage! The color is kind of a silvery blue that I find very satisfying. The foliage has dense woolly hairs that either creates or contributes to the silvery nature of the leaves. I am continually on the lookout for plants with blue, silver or gray foliage. They seem to unify a plant composition. This plant is now about a foot across a year later. Would you look at how dense this foliage is! 

      Arctotis 'Pumpkin Pie'                                                                              Photo by Green Acres Garden Supply

There are several selections of color forms in The Raver Series. They were patented by Proven Winners of North America LLC under Amerinova Properties LLC. They were developed by a breeding program of Graham Noel Brown of Nuflora International of NSW, Australia over a period of several years. A. 'Pumpkin Pie' was released in 2004. The hybrid series is a result of a series of crosses between Arctotis venusta grandis and Arctotis fastuosa, both South African native annuals. There are six selections with just sumptuous colors, 'Bumble Bee', 'Cherry Frost', 'Hearts & Tarts', 'Pink Sugar', 'Pumpkin Pie', and 'Sunspot'. They all have a dark eye made of black disc florets and golden-yellow ray florets in the center. As the name would suggest A. 'Bumblebee' has yellow petals with a black eye. A. 'Cherry Frost' has deep rosy burgundy petals against really gray foliage. This one seems to have the most silver foliage of all. It is a beautiful combination. A. "Hearts and Tarts' is my least favorite color, the flowers are kind of washed out looking compared to the others, a pinkish red and yellow. A. 'Pink Sugar' was the one that caught my eye first, it has the most beautiful bright pink flowers with a golden center. The petal color grades from pink to golden yellow and I find the "in-between" colors on the petals just fascinating and so attractive. You can see the wonderful and intense burnt orange of A. 'Pumpkin Pie' above. A. 'Sun Spot' is light orange grading into deeper orange on the petal tips. I also love the descriptive and perfect names for these selections. 

   A. 'Bumble Bee' and A. 'Cherry Frost' photos from Gootsjes AllPlant, A. 'Bumblebee' from Norm's Nursery, and A. 'Hearts & Tarts' from Devil Mtn.

This plant is hardy in USDA Cold Hardiness Zones 9-11. It has a dense compact habit. Silvery basal foliage is dense while the flowers emerge in a "candy cane' fashion from out of the foliage. the flower bud is upside down and curves down from the straight stem and is shaped like a candy cane. It gradually straightens until it finally blooms with a straight stem. As the bloom fades the color fades and the petals reflex backward and curl up. Look at the first photo in the upper right and upper left to see old flowers fading away.

   Bud emerging from the basal foliage in a candy cane shape from  A. 'Pink Sugar'                                S. Reeve   

Here is a close up photo of the felty silver foliage. You can see emerging buds and the dry withered peduncles of the old flowers on the upper right. The flowers wither away and become "invisible" without deadheading. I never deadhead and I still get flowers almost non-stop. It is just a flower-producing machine. Don't you love this beautiful blemish-free healthy foliage? Even if this plant didn't flower, I love this foliage. 

   Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'                                                                                                                               S. Reeve

As with many of the plants in my garden, this one needs well- draining sandy soil and would surely not grow well in dense clay. I grow A 'Pumpkin Pie' and A. 'Pink Sugar'. I am on the lookout for A. 'Cherry Frost'. The flowers open during the day and close up at night and on cloudy days. The colors just blow me away. I almost can't believe they are real, but they are.

    Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'  Bluish-pink grading into golden yellow                                                           C. A. Martin

This plant is sterile so it puts a lot of energy into producing flowers rather than seeds. The basal foliage is only about four inches high and is so dense no way a weed seed would be able to germinate underneath. The flowers rise to about 8-10 inches above the foliage so they are really prominent and exposed when they bloom. I hope you try this plant and let me know how it performs for you.