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.