Tag Archives: Abbie Jury

Plant Collector: Tropaeolum tricolorum

The dainty climbing delight of Tropaeolum tricolorum

The dainty climbing delight of Tropaeolum tricolorum

It does not, alas, have a common name but give yourself a huge pat on the back if you immediately identified it as a member of… the nasturtium family. I guess if you took the common nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and scaled it down, you might see a faint similarity. Or maybe not. The flowers are tiny but oh so exquisitely detailed and abundant. Shaped perhaps like a 2cm long Chinese lantern with a tail or spur, they are orange red, tipped navy blue with a yellow frill. Tricolorum (or tricolor) means three coloured, of course. The lobed leaves are similarly dainty.

This is a plant from Chile and Bolivia which grows from tubers resembling baby potatoes. It is dormant in summer and autumn, coming into growth in winter and putting on its peak flowering in early to mid spring, after which it dies down very quickly. It is a climber so it needs something to cling to but because it is so light and with a short season, it doesn’t smother any plants it climbs up. We grow it in abundance in two of the narrow beds beside the house which are always problematic because they are so dry beneath the eaves. It has not been as happy in woodland areas so we think it needs good light levels. It certainly does not want to be in wet conditions or it will rot out when dormant. T. tricolorum should not be confused with its thuggish cousin, the red Tropaeolum speciosum which seeds down and is reputed to be a noxious weed in Scotland as well as being a problem in some NZ gardens. Any plant that can be a weed in Scotland and New Zealand is dangerous. We have never seen our tricolorum set seed although there are internet references to growing it from seed. We find it increases gently from the tubers. There are, by the way, over 80 different species in the nasturtium family, all from South America.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Yates Vegetable Garden by Rachel Vogan.

There must have been a secret memo that went around NZ publishers of gardening books and most acquiesced. Henceforth, gardening books should be chatty, friendly, folksy wolksy and not too technical. This book fits those criteria, as have too many other recent publications. So this book is probably adequate and user-friendly for absolute beginners. By the time you have enough experience to spot the shortcomings, you will probably have learned enough not to need it any longer. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is from the same mould as the earlier Yates Garden Guides which were the bible for NZ gardeners over many decades, just as the Edmonds Cookbook was the kitchen stalwart. This is not. Aubergines are listed under E (for egg plant). Sweetcorn can be grown in old recycling bins and dropped over to the neighbours to look after if you are going away for the weekend. Melons can be sown as late as January in warm climates (Bali, perhaps?). Product placement by the sponsor is intrusive.

Maybe one day soon, NZ publishers will realise it takes quite a bit of experience and knowledge to be able to sift through information and distil it down to its simplest, most user-friendly form. Friendly enthusiasm is not sufficient.

(Harper Collins; ISBN: 978 1 86950 928 6).
First published in the Waikato Times.

Plant Collector – Camellia chrysantha

Indisputably yellow - Camellia chrysantha

Indisputably yellow - Camellia chrysantha

It is a camellia and it is indubitably yellow – bright yellow. Camellias don’t only come in pink, white and red. There was huge excitement in the west when the yellow camellias started to become available out of China in the early 1980s and they are certainly a curiosity though hardly great garden plants. Our specimen of C. chrysantha is now about 4 metres high and 4 metres wide. It took many years before it started to flower and even then, the flowers are few, far between and rather small. What is more, the flowers face downwards, well hidden amongst the foliage. I had to pick these to get a photo – don’t be thinking this is how they look on the bush. But even the fat yellow balls of buds are interesting. We have other yellow species which are not flowering yet, after about a decade! So these are plants for the curious collector and the plant breeder rather than the home gardener.

Nuccio’s Nursery in USA has apparently done a lot of work breeding new cultivars using the yellows but we have not seen any of the progeny in this country yet. That said, with its big, glossy, heavily textured leaves (called bullate foliage) C. chrysantha is a handsome plant in its own right for large gardens, even if it is shy on flowering. In this day and age, you are not likely to find it offered for sale in this country though it is around in camellia collections if you are determined to track it down. Grafting is the best option for getting your own plant. It does set seed, apparently, but we have never seen seed on our plant.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Trees for Small Gardens

The handsome Queen Palm (Syragus romanzoffiana) comes with a warning

The handsome Queen Palm (Syragus romanzoffiana) comes with a warning

While I am a big garden specialist, gardening across hectares, not square metres, I have spent enough of my life selling plants and dispensing advice to understand that trees are problematic on the tiny urban sections that have become the lot in life for most people. I still think trees can be an option in small gardens or courtyards where a bit of height and form can give stature to an otherwise closed in space.

Worry about width, not height. I call it the footprint – how much space it takes up. Many people think that Magnolia Leonard Messell is a good option for small gardens because it only grows about 3 metres high. True, we have a specimen that is coming up to 30 years old and it isn’t much more than that – but man alive, it must be getting on for 5 or 6 metres wide. That is a lot of space. In fact it is about the same footprint as our large specimen Magnolia Iolanthe and nobody in their right minds would plant that in a tiny garden.

Magnolia Burgundy Star - a good choice where space is very limited

Magnolia Burgundy Star - a good choice where space is very limited

By contrast, Magnolia Burgundy Star is very narrow and upright. After fifteen years, the original tree here is about 5 metres tall but it is not much more than a metre wide. This means it can give height and presence without casting deep shadows and taking up room.

Prunus serrula - exquisite bark and narrow, upright growth

Prunus serrula - exquisite bark and narrow, upright growth

Flowering cherries tell a similar story. If you only look at the projected height so keep to lower growers like Prunus Shimidsu Zakura or sweet little weepers like Falling Snow, you are highly likely to get caught out by the width of the canopy over time and end up either brutally hacking into it or facing removal. Prunus serrula won’t give you the mass of fluffy flowers but it has wonderful bark and an obliging habit.

Palms, you may be wondering. Some upright, single trunked varieties like the bangalow (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) or the more desirable Queen Palm (Syragus romanzoffiana) grow splendidly tall while taking minimal space. They are much favoured by landscapers for confined areas. However, they should come with a warning. They become too tall to groom so you have to let the spent fronds fall naturally and the sheath at the base of the frond is so heavy that it will break anything in its path, potentially ripping the spouting off your neighbour’s roof or causing panel damage to any vehicle in its path.

Conifers are often favoured – the narrow pencil cypress is the traditional look. Personally, I think they are a bit funereal and sombre, but others disagree. Conifers are not an area in which I have any expertise but you need to make sure that you have a variety which is not prone to red spider mite and be cautious if you think you will trim – many conifers don’t appreciate trimming and you can end up with unsightly bare patches.

Key pointers for choosing trees for small gardens:
1) Choose one that grows from a single trunk. Multi trunked and branched specimens take up a lot more room.
2) Keep to very narrow, upright growth. Shun anything with danger words like spreading, cascading, weeping or arching in the description. Think pillar-shaped (known as fastigiate).
3) Be cautious about a specimen you will have to prune regularly to keep under control. Anything over 2 metres high means you need a ladder and probably a pruning saw and loppers. It is better to plant the right sort of tree in the first place so that trimming requirements are minimal. By my definition, if it is under 3 metres, it is a shrub, not a tree.
4) Remember that it is not in the nature of trees to grow rapidly to the height you want and then to stop getting any taller. Trees that grow quickly will usually keep growing well beyond that. Small tree usually means slower grower. If it matters to you, pay the extra and buy an advanced grade specimen.

If you can find a tree with lovely bark or a seasonal flower display, then it is so much more interesting. Apropos of this, I came across a wonderful book recently by Waikato authors and tree-lovers, John and Bunny Mortimer. “Trees and their Bark” was published in 2003 but, being self published, I don’t think it received the attention it deserved. It is a delightful book, very readable with plenty of colour photos, by authors who know the topic inside out. It is still available and what is more, it is being remaindered at a ridiculously low price. I would not pass it by – it is worth having in the bookcase even if you are not in a position to plant trees. You will find the Mortimers listed in the Hamilton phone book or the white pages on line – there can only be one Bunny Mortimer.

Bunny’s pick for a small tree which can be grown on tiny sections is psuedocydonia which she feels ticks all the right boxes. You may have to get a copy of their book to find out more about it – it certainly has very striking bark as well as quince-like, fragrant fruit following on from japonica flowers. The only problem is finding it. You will probably have to grow it from seed.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Plant Collector – Prunus campanulata

It took many attempts to capture the tui in the campanulata cherry

It took many attempts to capture the tui in the campanulata cherry

The cherry trees which have been in flower in recent weeks are the campanulata or Taiwanese cherries. Sometimes you will still see them referred to as Formosan cherries which may require a lesson in history for anybody under the age of about 60. True, the colours can be a little harsh in carmine pink, cerise and sugar-candy pink tones but on a bleak early spring day, who is going to quibble about the mass of flowers which appear on bare branches? The biggest bonus of the campanulatas is their attraction to tui who feed on the nectar. Our native birds are wonderfully unconcerned about whether or not their food sources are indigenous plants. We can have upwards of 30 tui bickering and squabbling for territory in a single tree, but they don’t stay still long enough to count accurately.

Campanulata cherries are not as hardy as the later flowering Japanese types but this is rarely a problem except in the coldest parts of the country. They are also more disease resistant and healthier in our climate and don’t succumb to the dreaded witches broom which can be a problem in other types. If you plant several (and being a tree of light stature, they are easy to fit in alongside other trees), you can have them flowering in succession over many weeks which keeps the tui at home. The big disadvantage is that many forms set seed freely and germinate readily. They are such a problem that they are on the banned list in Northland unless it is a known sterile form which doesn’t set seed. If you border native bush or a national park, make sure you search out forms advertised as sterile but otherwise you just have to be vigilant with your weeding.

(first published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission)