Verbena

I have various Verbenas but only one varigated one, purple with white edges on the petals, but one stem has come up pure white! :confused: Any ideas?

 

I can't see the image LoL (maybe not uploaded yet) but it could be a sport. If it stays white and is otherwise 'interesting' you could try taking some tip cuttings off the branch

 

I can see it but have been re-organising my photos and think I've lost the link ... I'll try again here ....



.... so much for trying to be organised! :eek:

 

As Frogesque says - its worth cultivating - you could have a winner on your hands.

Are all your Verbenas truly perennial with you. I overwinter Verbena Rigida and the small hybrids under glass. But the small hybrid ones always seem to die on me, or do nothing the following year.

In the same vein, are Petunias hardy with you. There are a number of such plants, that we are told are tender perennials, but better grown as annuals. I am never sure if this is to avoid the effort of overwintering them, or whether it is because they are not as vigorous the next year and fresh stock flowers better. Pelargoniums make very fine large plants if you overwinter them.

 

Hi, PeterS! Yes, the Verbenas overwinter here and I do have light frost a couple of days in January/February. I just cut them back a couple of times a year to bush them out more. This is my first year with this varigated one .. it's in my "frost tunnel" as I call it .. a path from our gates (double open metal bars :eek: sounds like a prison!).

I can't grow a Petunia here for love nor money, they get straggly and sticky after a couple of months, very unattractive! I've got two such specimens at the moment which will soon be disposed of.

I also have difficulty with Pelargoniums. The giant ones, a metre tall, are okay. I've got single pink and single red outside the gates on the lane. I saw a lavender one a few months ago but didn't nick a piece! Will have to go back. The small variety don't take well to the constant heat. Ones in pots barely have leaves let alone flowers. The only ones thriving are in the shade with only early morning and late evening sun.

T'other half and I always have a laugh when a plant says "likes full sun" ... what? English sun? Portulaca are great but are not hardy. I'm definitely doing things here by trial and error ... with a lot of errors, I'm afraid! :(

 

Very interesting LofL. I always assumed that things like Pelargoniums would do well out there. In the UK our problem is mainly winter cold and wet, but looking at some US sites I see that their problem, like you, is the heat. Perhaps that was the trouble with your Cleome.

 

What about Salvias. i have just grown some for the first time from seed. I now have about 14 different kinds. Most come from hot places. I was reading a book on Salvias, which said that some hardly flower in the UK, because it is not hot enough.

 

Boa noite, PeterS! Forgot to say earlier, I alsp have a double deep pink big Pelargonium.

Agree, could have been the problem with the spider plant .. and I think they are so beautiful and graceful!

Salvias ... these are my thing at the moment. I bought one, a pink/reddish colour one (gardening is new here, seriously, there are no "names") tow years ago and it's gone mad! I hack it back every couple of week and it bloooms, and blooms and blooms .. must take a piccie ... and, of course, the smell is ace1

I've made a border around a ballustade which I call "Scarborough Fayre". I've got my Rosemary (see my Algarve Garden) then three Thymes (wild, lemon and normal), five Salvias (Sage) purple, white, pink, white, purple, to make a small hedge ( in my frost "tunnel" and two parsleys (curley and lfat) which ???? whoever eats ???

All of these herbs require DRY conditions, very little water, perhaps the parsley a wee bit more.

 

L of L, what books are you reading, if they are they UK ones then they will be written for UK growing conditions.
Trouble with some of the plants from the dry regions of the world is they tend to grow when the weather is warm and damp, ideal in a normal UK summer. We can then let them go dormant in the winter and keep them dry, your hot dry summers force them into dormancy, but if you get some slight frost in winter, then perhaps its not warm enough for them to grow in winter.
Its just a thought.

 

Ah, I've found you again ... I lost you a while ago when my Sis rang.

I have a stack of books .. a lot of Dr Hessayon .. but my favourites are ...

Madeira (now re-labelled Plantas e Fores de Madeira e Portugal) ISBN 972-9177-20-1 and my favourite of all ... Pocket Gardening Encyclopedia, ISBN 185 0657 313 ... my absolute "bible", an Aussie book I think! Anything but pocket, 1000 pages!
I'm letting my secrets out now! :eek: Brilliant .. buy it if you can .. it's your sort of book!

 

My favourite is "Conservatory and indoor plants" by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix Volume one and two, its got a lot of stuff you could grow outside.

 

Thanks, Pete, noted .. but see if you can get my "Aussie" book ... I don't think you'll be disappointed! List price was �£15.99 and I think I managed to pick it up for about �£7. The Madeira/ Portugal one would be just up your street .. only problem with it is it's in five languages and doesn't give descriptve thingamebobs (garden techo). :D

 

L of L

If Salvias are your thing - there is a specialised Salvia forum in the US (perhaps more your type of climate) that I keep an eye on. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/salvia/ There is also Robin Middleton's Salvia site. http://www.robinssalvias.com/

I was looking at Robin's site last night, and there are some salvias in warmer climes that start flowring in March and go on to December ! That's my kind of plant. But its not hot enough here.

 

Hi, PeterS. Wow, Robin's site is mind-boggling ... I never thought there could be so many! I've put the site in my favourites so I can take time to try to identify mine! Mine bloom for at least that length of time, but to be honest, I can't remember the the one I bought two years ago not being in bloom!