Plant ID: Lavatera?

The other day a coworker and I were walking by a tree pit near where we work and saw a plant that caught our eye. Knowing that he had not planted it, my friend was curious to know what it was and how it got there. The plant stood a few feet tall and maybe two feet wide with a great palmate leaf and smallish pink flowers.
The above picture is a bit blurry (I apologize) but you can see that the flower looks a little bit like a Hibiscus. When you study plant morphology and systematics you learn detailed characteristics specific to different plant families. Seeing this flower I could tell right away it was a member of the Mallow family, Malvaceae. The next time you take a careful look at the ornate center of a Hibiscus flower you will see that the stamen, the male reproductive part of a flower with their anthers and filaments of pollen, wraps completely around the pistil, the female reproductive part of a flower with it's protruding stigma designed to receive pollen. Therefore when I saw this cup-shaped flower an it's unique center ("prominent staminal columns" if you wanna get geeky) I knew it had to be some kind of mallow. But from there we were stuck. I took a few pics with my camera phone and hoped I might be able to figure it out.
So thanks to my reference library and a little down time I was able to learn that there is a great genus of plants in the Malvaceae family called Lavatera. Known mostly as tree mallows the genus includes over 20-25 different species of flowering plants found on every continent except Antarctica. Some are more woody and can get to be large shrubs while others stay smaller and more herbaceous, maintaining softer green branches and stems. One of the latter of the two kinds is Lavatera trimestris, which is what I think this guy might be. Well, that or a close relative or bred cultivar in any event. An easy to grow annual native to the Mediterranean most books describe it as growing three to four feet tall and up to three feet wide, a definite match to this mysterious garden volunteer. Commonly called annual mallow there are a number of different cultivars of L. trimestris these days, all of which have slight variations of these delicate pink flowers. Certainly I could be wrong, but this seems like a pretty logical match and so far is my best guess. Certainly if anyone out there has an opinion one way or another I would love you to comment and share your thoughts.

So then the question is, how did it come to be in this space if my friend didn't plant them there this spring? An interesting thing about a bunch of the European and Asian plants within the Malvaceae is that even though they are hardy to warmer zones and climates I have found that their seed can still sometimes over-winter and survive in the right situation. I first noticed it with a great plant called Abelmoschus manihot, commonly called aibika. Grown in annual displays in a garden where I used to work the curator and I would be amazed over numerous years to see that some of the Abelmoschus seeds that formed in fall and fell across the path into the perennial beds germinated and became their own glorious 5-6 foot plants the following spring and summer. Abelmoschus is only considered hardy in USDA zones 10-12 so here in New York (a Zone 6b or 7a) the plant itself clearly cannot make it through our frozen winters but the seed we assessed must have a tough enough seed coat that in a protected spot they can still germinate when the warmer seasons return. Of course it is perfectly possible that someone else had some of these seeds and broadcast them in this tree pit without us knowing, but now I wonder if perhaps the plant was grown there last year or the year before and this years crop was thanks to some magnificently durable little seeds that were able to tough it out amongst the leaf litter. Or maybe it was grown in a nearby spot and like the Abelmoschus seeds they happen to make their way to this sunny protected spot where the conditions where right for germination this spring. In any event it will be great to continue to monitor this spot and see if the Lavatera comes back again next year, or even migrates to another part of the landscape.

Plants and their determination to grow and thrive even in challenging climates, fascinating and inspiring on so many levels.

Plant of the Week: Leonotis leonurus

All summer long I am asked to ID plants for people. As a public horticulturist I enjoy and take great pride in educating the masses but that's not to say I don't still get tired of repeating the same short list by the season's end. That's a Dahlia, that's Gomphrena, that's Canna which is not the same as a canna lily, and so forth and so on. But the ID question I've gotten more than any other the last week or two is linked to one of my all-time favorite annuals so I had to share.
Leonotis leonurus is commonly called lion's ear.
This fabulous plant is native to South Africa (Zones 10-11) and is therefore just an annual option for us here in New York. But the durable stems and lance shaped leaves and these unbelievable orange, tiered blossoms I will never tire of and never hesitate to spend money on, even if only for a few months time.
Plant leonotis along with your annuals in spring and in full sun watch it grow to be a few feet tall and wide and full of flower by late summer. It might take a little while to get situated and bloom for you but trust me, so worth it!
Above you can see that near a little dappled shade the flower is not quite as prolific but the plant still packs a valuable punch.
After all the tending and care, I can't tell you how much I love the small fuzzy orange blossoms that emerge slow enough for you to really appreciate every aspect of this South African gem. The late summer contrast of the rich green leaves and the bright poppy orange that explodes forth - Ooooh weee!
Leonotis leonurus, you're welcome! ;-)

Plant of the Week: Cynara cardunculus

Cynara cardunculus is commonly called a cardoon. Originally I learned it as an annual and fabulous textural addition to container gardens and summer annual displays. ...but recently have learned it is a sensational marginally hardy perennial to definitely consider a strong garden contender.
The large lobed leaves are usually the reason people choose cardoons. This picture doesn't entirely do justice to the tomentose (botanical for "fuzzy with tons of short wooly hairs") gray-green leaves that really stand out, both in terms of texture and size. In full sun, which is really what they must have, Cynara will grow 4' x 4' in the course of a warm summer.

this is one from Battery Park a few years ago

Some references mention that they can get to 8' x 8' but I doubt that would ever be possible around here. Usually when I have seen cardoons they are just used as a great foliage plant. But this year not only did this cardoon come back for the third year, it got bigger than ever and put up this amazing flower spike.
Native to the Meditteranean, the FLORA Gardener's Encyclopedia lists this plant as hardy in USDA zones 7-10. Over the years I have come to consider this part of NY where I am (Long Island, New York City) to be a zone 6b or 7a and I think this further supports that to be true. I am already very excited to see what happens next year. Will it come back again? Will it get taller than the 5' or so you see here? We'll see!
Plant Cynara cardunculus in full sun with regular irrigation, use surrounding plantings to protect for best chances of the plant coming back year after year. The gray green foliage contrasts really well with red foliage plants. Oh, and if you think this looks like an artichoke, or have heard people call Cynara artichoke, you are right on. Cynara scolymus (or the Scolymus group of Cynara cardunculus depending on the reference cited) is the globe artichoke that grows in zones 8-10 which we eat as a delicious veggie, the immature flower buds harvested and cooked to be paired with your best hollandaise sauce for dipping. Mmm, guess I'm hungry, that made my mouth water!

Summer Containers 2010

Every year I like to do something different with my containers out front. The first year, in 2007 a few months after we moved in, I completely underestimated the amount of sun the summer stairs would receive. That year I did simple pots of New Guinea impatiens and they fried! After a vacation out of town a local woman made a special point of knocking on our door (after church!) to tell my love how terrible our plants looked and how poorly we tended to them. Krissy evaded the woman's arrogant rant, and I was extremely thankful that she didn't mention that her man, the one responsible for said terrible pots, was in fact a professionally trained horticulturist. Hey, no matter how much training you have it still takes years to understand your site. So for 2008 I went totally tropical using plants I knew would want the sun and hotter temps. There were a lot of bright foliage plants like croton (Codiaeum variegatum pictum) and the focal point was an orange hibiscus that bloomed strong all summer long. The pots were smaller and dried out too quickly so I learned I had to increase the size of the pots. If you think about it larger pots will equal larger volume with relatively less surface area so they won't dry out on you as fast. In 2009 I had fun incorporating annuals and some sun loving houseplants together into a very poppy display. However I guess I did a little too good of a job because by the end of summer a couple nice pots full of hot orange and deep purple petunias had somehow upped and walked themselves to someone else's home. Fancy that! ...eh, thieves suck. Which brings us to this year. I went to get some new terra cotta pots for the front stoop and I guess I was excited because I ended up doubling the amount of containers I'd had in years past, going from 5 to 10. Due to the theft in '09, and based on the plants I was able to get my hands on for little or no money I opted to go back to focusing on foliage and texture for the summer season. There is a bit of everything, annual to tropical to perennial, from yellow to green to red, small to medium to large, but somehow it seems to work for me.


On the top stair planted with the annual Alternanthera that provides green to purple-red foliage is a Begonia I brought out from inside. The alternanthera will continue to grow and spill over the side of the pot in time, along with tiny white flowers soon to begin. Begonia maculata 'Wightii' is a sensational begonia with white polka-dots on the leaves. I hacked it back hard before moving it out so it is coming back slowly and looking pretty peculiar. A few begonias in the mix this summer are kids from inside and ultimately they'd be happier being more sheltered and protected but whatever, they are holding on fine and providing enough of a look. They're annuals for us here so destined for the compost pile this fall they might be. That is basil in the center, Ocimum basilicum, and so far it has been able to keep a nice low profile. On the other side the pink-silver leaves of Begonia 'Sinbad' I've always admired.
On the left side of stair four is another Sinbad begonia. That one I have had for a few years, and too cut it back hard this spring, but it always looks full and fantastic by the end of the season. The right two pots have a total of five different colored Korean chrysanthemums. They will bloom mid to late fall and I have no idea what color they will be, but their big daisy-like flower will undoubtedly be a great late season surprise. In front of the pot with only two plants I stuck another Begonia chunk, this one a rich dark foliage begonia that I can't remember the name of. Like I said, it's kind of a hodgepodge but it works.
Another of the alternanthera and the dark-leaved begonia are at the left side of the third stair. In the center is Teucrium, the medicinal herb known as germander. A tight little plant with fine texture germander will put up small spires of pink blossoms in full sun, but has yet to get going for me this year. And then on the right is the big light green badboy, Hosta plantaginea. This plant likes to get huge so kind of funny to pot it up, but the white flower spikes that are forming now are so strong and sweet and fabulous that I had to try it. The metal awning overhead and associated runoff has left a few rust stains on the leaves but I don't mind so much.
This Jasminium on the left was offered by a friend last year who couldn't figure out where to put it in her garden. Obviously the fresh, bright yellow foliage is something, so I quickly took her up on the offer. I have no idea what species or cultivar it is. The annual salvia in the center is Salvia 'Cherry Blossom' and the spikes of white and pink flowers are very ornate, though I have found they aren't lasting very long on my hot little stoop. In both of those pots the Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' I had actually written off. The dormant corms of the plant had been inside on the windowsill all winter so I potted them up with the same sort of "oh, whatever" kind of attitude. The little shot of purple definitely helps, not to mention I forever love how the foliage of oxalis retracts and closes up at night. So the big perennials on the lower right of this years display are Boltonia asteroides, the late summer blooming garden favorite. Like the hosta these plants like to get big, but I figured the experiment of seeing how they do potted up was worthwhile. I wondered if they might stay smaller with a more confined root space. Yeah, not so much, as I've already pruned them back a couple times. As the name would imply they too will have daisy-like flowers in a month or two, white with a yellow center, and very charming. Last but not least is one of my favorite cascading evergreens for containers. Juniperus procumbens 'Nana' is a creeping juniper that doesn't grow fast but can still get to a good size over many years. It'll be time to repot that one soon enough, as it too is one of the stoop veterans.
So there you have 'em, summer containers 2010. Cheers,

Two Annuals of Note: Coleus and Verbena cultivars

I've been so busy between work and wedding planning that I haven't had the time for as much garden photography, but I had to share these quick shots of two new annual faves.

Coleus 'Dragon Tongue'

Verbena 'Lavender Grace'

Dahlia gallery

For all the annuals that we enjoy in our summer gardens I find that people always gravitate towards dahlias. Here are a few recent shots to show some of the fabulous variation of flower, leaf, and habit. Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion'

Dahlia 'Karma Fuschiana'


Dahlia 'Fascination'


Dahlia 'Karma Prospero'

Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff"


Dahlia 'Bishop of York'

Dahlia 'Onesta'

I turn to Flora: A Gardener's Encyclopedia (Timber Press, 2003) for some factoids:

Dahlia:
-named after Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl (1751-1789)
-member of the aster family (Asteraceae)
-native from Mexico down to Columbia
-pinnate to tripinnate foliage, hollow cane-like stems
-wild species usually have single flowers, newer hybrids come in wide range of size, color, petal count

-grow in full sun to some part shade for best flower and growth
-grow in rich soil and water and fertilize freely
-an annual for us here in New York, but often the tubers can be overwintered successfully

nice combo

Earlier in the day the light was hitting the pink Astilbe in such a way that it really glowed. By this point in the day the Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' was taking more of the attention with its fabulous yellow sprawl. The fine foliage to the left is an annual, Ammi visnaga 'Green Mist', a new one to me this year. I suppose cosmos could work too, as well as some other fine leaved options in the 2' range. The evergreen backdrop is hedged Ilex crenata. I liked this little vista today.

Dahlias, apparently bee pollinated

A fellow horticulturist named Fred recently wrote me asking what bee populations I had seen around the city this spring and summer. He was concerned their numbers were down drastically this year as he hadn't seen too many in the gardens of his private clients. Apparently they are present though, and loving the annual dahlias planted around the city. ...granted, he is concerned about honey bees and not necessarily bumble bees like this one, but either way, I thought the shots were pretty. And I love capturing the romance between the plant and the pollinator. Makes me think of watching the David Attenborough series The Private Life of Plants in horticulture school. There was one episode entitled "Flowering" that dealt with the topic of pollination, and the footage was mindblowing as a developing horticulturist. Who wouldn't love to be an explorer traveling around the world to make such discoveries. Hmm, I should get my hands on that series. Talk about some killer botanical photography and video, complete with Attenborough's thick accent and safari garb. Yup, priceless.
Full dahlia gallery to be posted soon, once I finish IDing the bizillion cultivars I have on my camera!

summer containers 2009

This year I was originally thinking about planting tropical hibiscus in my containers out front because we had one that did so well last year. Over the few years of landscaping our front stoop I have come to realize we actually get a good dose of morning and early afternoon sun. With the success of the hibiscus last year I pretty much came to assume I can pull off full sun loving annuals. However, when I finally took the time to run around town the one thing I didn't find was the hibiscus I was hoping for. Some retailers had them in stock but they looked too neglected and beat up. I had a certain color scheme in mind and it just wasn't coming to fruition. So, as any horticulturist would, I bagged the idea of what it was that I exactly wanted (if you think about it a very human-centric approach to landscaping which can often get you in a pickle) and instead began looking through what was available, seeing if I could find a decent match (a much more logical approach).

Of all places I actually got a good idea at the Home Depot. They had mixed containers of annuals pre-made and sitting outside to be easily gobbled up by the slightly less adventurous, more instant gratification garden enthusiast. One had a dark purple petunia paired with a bright orange marigold. Hmm, I thought. I continued to roll my cart along, slowly cogs began to turn. I bet I could do something like that but better.

When learning color and composition of garden design you learn about how you can pick a few dominant colors to be your guide and base your design and plant selection on those. Often you might try and pick a few colors that work easily together because whether consciously or not they are comfortable to the eye and easy to digest visually. These might be colors on the same side or close to each other on the color wheel. Then perhaps you figure out a contrast color from the other side of the color wheel as well so you have some contrast and variety and something sparks a slightly more complicated aesthetic chord throughout your design. I love contrast in the garden so I often lean towards super pop.

I had a few plants already in place out front and a few houseplants that I bring out for the summer. So I already had green (remember, green is a color in the garden!) foliage on the chrysanthemums in two different pots, and silver with a little shot of red on the succulent kalanchoe and the begonia I cut back hard before bringing out. Kind of a funny combination but in the same pot as the green germander is a Tradescantia which will produce silver/green fuzzy leaves that I hope will trail down. I decided on a color scheme of green-silver-purple(-a touch of red) with orange as the contrast color. And I give to you the arborboy summer containers for 2009.
On top to the left we have the Begonia 'Sinbad' which should push out new wing-shaped foliage in silver and purple/red to go along with the Kalanchoe on the bottom step and the trailing Tradescantia (to the right on the stair above the bottom), planted in the same container as the green Teucreum (germander). Above the Kalanchoe the Juniperus procumbens 'Nana' will continue to slowly pour out silver and green foliage year-round that will eventually begin cascading down the steps. On the top right I am hoping Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' will be protected enough and continue to do well, (it might want more shade to be happiest), but matched with the Petunia 'Supertunia Royal Velvet' you have great strong shots of purple up and down throughout the layout. And finally the poppy Tagetes (marigolds) are scattered throughout the pots and layers to provide that little bit of wow. In the big rolled-rim pot and below that with the marigolds the Korean chrysanthemum will bloom late in fall once the petunias and marigolds are on their way out. There you have it, green, silver, purple, orange. We'll see how everything does as the summer goes on. Remember too, horticulture is always a learning process no matter what your skill level. Enjoy.

Butterfly Gardening (a quick intro)

Lantana is one of my more favorite sun loving annuals for the garden

I recently got an email from a good friend who is the Executive Director of an organization in Manhattan that I am on the Board of Directors of, asking if I could help her with a new project. I thought I might as well share with you the information I put together for her. It might be a help if you have ever wanted to start a butterfly garden but didn't know where or how to start.

The question was:
We are having a work day at the ...garden mid-May. part of this day will be planting - I am going to try to get native plants that attract butterflies. this garden has a group of 15-20 preschool bilingual head start kids that walk to the garden several times a week and we thought they would like these plants and it would be educational. Any suggestions on what I should buy?

To which I answered:
A butterfly garden sounds fabulous. I can definitely suggest a number of plants. One catch is that most butterfly plants want full sun or at least not too much shade. I think I saw that garden and remember it being pretty bright, the stretch you were talking about planting, so I hope the site doesn't give you grief. Another important thing to know is that there are two kinds of butterfly plants, those that the larvae (caterpillars) feed on, and those that the adult butterflies are attracted to. In an ideal world you would have both, so that might be something to shoot for in the long run. Usually the plants that the larvae feed on are more straight-forward trees and shrubs so perhaps some of them are already planted in the space or nearby. I found a website that seemed pretty great in terms of listing the two types of plants and the butterflies attract. You might want to print up a copy or two if some of the adults really want to get into it. The link is:
http://butterflywebsite.com/butterflygardening.cfm

As far as what you should plant, here are some suggestions that I know are pretty safe. The list is a mix of some natives but also some non-natives. In the interest of time and budget I don't think you should limit yourself to solely natives at this point, although that too could be a good ideal to strive for over time. Just wanted to clarify in case anyone chimes in that some of the things aren't native:

tall plants for the back:
butterfly bush (Buddleia) - you know, shrubby, but can be pruned yearly to control size, late summer flower, purple often
Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) - 6' or so if happy, purple clusters atop in summer, likes to be well watered
perennial hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) - the big hibiscus flower you see late summer, can get 4'-6' depending on sun and water, red, bright colors
ironweed (Vernonia) - also tall and thin like Joe Pye and hibiscus, tall cluster of small purple flowers, great in fall

medium plants (many of which can tolerate dry conditions once established so that helps):
butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - a major attractor with orange flower clusters, full sun,
goldenrod (Solidago) - late summer yellow bloomers are reliable attractors, but not sure how easy to find for sale this time of year
dogbane (Apocynum) - also more of a meadow plant but perfect if you can find it, smaller white flower clusters in summer
milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) - probably too hard to find at a regula garden center/retailer
coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) - purple
black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) - yellow
bee balm (Monarda didyma) - red, white, pinkish, depending

low plants and/or annuals:
violets
verbena
lantana
cosmos
marigolds
mums

I hope that gives you a decent shopping list to work from. If you want even more suggestions I found another link that seemed pretty good, and that is:
http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/butterfly-attracting-plants.html

Good luck and let me know how it goes. -Alex

new Begonias

Begonia x 'Sinbad'

These past couple weeks I have been scrambling to save various annuals from an untimely trip to the compost pile before frost sets in. Before bringing them in I cute them back pretty hard, pruning back to just above the node(s), leaving a few stubs remaining. Thanks to the (now inside) heating up of their root systems, keeping the roots and soil slightly moist, and misting and trying to keep the humidity increased, I have seen the plants determination to maintain what us botany geeks love to call the "root-to-shoot ratio". These such begonias have been putting out tons of new growth and I am so happy to see them bounce back so well. You have to love species persistence to survive. Now the challenge is just to keep the humidity up through the winter months. Good thing I get up at sunrise every morning and can mist my new acquisitions as much as they like. And I love this one, with the comical white polka-dots:

Begonia maculata 'Wightii'