Leucadendron Archives - Oceanside Garden

Gardener’s Log – September 2021

The first signs of fall are here. I am sure every gardener has a few tell-tail signs that they use, but one of the plants for me has always been the cyclamens, and in particular Cyclamen hederifolum. The bright little pink flowers push through the surface, just as leafless as any of the naked ladies.

A new one of those this year is Lycoris radiata, the spider or hurricane Lily. Its bloom spikes are 10″ to 12″ and much larger. The blossoms are quite a striking red.

As for trees, the first to start turning are always the dogwoods – Cornus ‘Venus’. They start to color up by the beginning of September, putting on their orange, then red and finally burgundy cloak. The only thing that stops their display being magical is that every leaf turns on its own schedule, meaning that the tree is a combination of all colors and not a single bold display.

Start of the Rainy Season

We have still to have the first rain of the wet season and much of the garden is looking totally parched. That rain is expected later this week and they say it could be 1″ to 3″, so quite a soaker. Let us hope that it starts gently so that it can properly wet the soil, because sand resists water.

Update – the rains came and we had 2.5″ – and at least some of it soaked in, but the soil still remains quite dry.

Lots of work over the weekend got the area between the Garden of the Giants / Whimsey Way and the next-door forest area cleared and planted. Some Woodwardias have gone in along with an Enkianthus, candelabra primulas (Primula beesiana), and other plants that should provide some interest throughout the year. They were selected to provide a transition to the more natural area, rather than a last hurrah. Everything was selected as being deer resistant, but our local deer aren’t very smart and cannot read labels. Over time, their aching tummies will tell them, assuming the plants survive.

Update – the deer have decided that they like Onoclea sensibilis – the Sensitive Fern

La Nina is supposedly forming in the tropical Pacific this year and that traditionally means a cooler and wetter winter. Given the dryness this year, that will certainly be a change, and most of the Gondwanan plants will probably appreciate it. It does mean that I will have to take special care to bring sensitive plants in for some protection because it may mean some arctic blasts.

Looking Back

Talking about Gondwana, my Facebook account reminded me about a photo I posted a year ago. The rock walls were still going in. I decided it would be nice to do a side-by-side to show the plant progress in a year.

It looks as if the Banksia specioca, that I grew from seed and was doing so well in Gondwana, has very rapidly croaked. The tips of the new growth curled and then the whole plant has yellowed. I am not sure it will re-shoot from the base when moisture becomes abundant, or if that is the end of story. It will be a shame if that is the case.

The rains did indeed come, and all the plants are much happier. It takes a lot of rain to completely re-wet our soil. After 2 1/2″, one of the outdoor moisture sensors is saying that the soil is at 76% saturation and the other one remains at 12%. My guess is that most of the water ran off in that area rather than soaking in.

Seed Starting

The latest batch of seeds arrived from South Africa this week and so there has been lots of activity getting those started. Most of the seeds are for somewhat diminutive bulbs and will take 3 years before they get to a blooming size. The others are seeds of Protea cynaroides, Protea lepidocararpodendron, and a yellow hybrid Leucospermum.

These need a little more pre-treatment before sowing. Some like a hydrogen peroxide treatment to loosen the other coating and then soaking in smoke water. I am trying to germinate them in a sterile condition by having them against a damp paper towel. That way I can immediately see if they germinate or if there are any fungal problems. That can be a significant issue because they may well take 3 or 4 months to germinate.

Gondwana Extension

Gondwana got a small extension. On the extreme left side, when looking up the hill, the juniper was pushing into the Grevillea and the retaining wall behind that had never been finished. That was corrected and then the nest tier above that was partially put in and the soil dug. Getting rid of all of the Salal root is important because that has a habit of sprouting for many years to come and I don’t want to be pulling out those roots after Protea family plants are in place. Three new plants were added – Protea eximia, which I grew from seed, Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’, and Leucadendron ‘Jester’. The variegated leaves of Jester should provide a good tie into the red flowers of Robyn Gordon and the bright yellow of the foliage across the stepping stone path into the conifer forest.

Leucadendron 'Jester' — Leucadendron ‘Jester’

Aloe Plicatilis

What a difference a year makes. I was going through plants looking to see what needed potting up and realized how much the Aloe plicatilis has growth since I got it earlier this year. The first picture was taken in February and the second in September.

This is exciting because I thought its growth was going to be a lot slower. I am not sure if that is its first branch developing in the center.

Weather Summary

This has been the end of a long dry spell and over the last few days of September we picked up about 4″ of rain to give us a total of 5.13″ for the month. However, that still left us with a deficit as compared to last year when we had 6.90″ and 8.99″ the year before. Temperatures were cooler by 3.2 degrees and along with that, winds were considerably higher accounting and more westerly – which explains being cooler.

General

Becoming a Plant Collector

I admit, I am not a traditional gardener. While I share some common motivations with other people, like finding gardening to be therapeutic, relaxing, a reasonable level of exercise, excuse for getting out of the house, etc. – I also see gardening as a challenge.

Gardens around the World have often seen the garden as man exerting control over nature – the more formal, the more controlled, the better. That is not me.

Gardeners are often corralled into using certain plants because that is what everyone else uses, so they are plentiful in the garden stores and that creates a self-fulfilling circle. That is not me.

Do I like a challenge – certainly, but not in the manner of trying to fight nature. I do not want to spend hours and dollars trying to modify my soil as we are told to do all the time in books, magazines, and TV programs. Oceanside Garden has very sandy, impoverished soil that holds almost no water.

Becoming a Collector

I have become a plant collector, but what is the point of a collection if it isn’t somehow special or has a certain level of difficulty associated with it? Perhaps no one initially expects to be a plant collector, but when you become hooked on something, it becomes a passion.

I am a believer in giving nature every opportunity to survive in a World of climate change. Nature evolves on its own. Plants can either move slowly towards the poles as the climate warms or seek out higher elevation. They can also become more tolerant of the changing conditions. But that takes time and climate change is moving at a pace never before seen on this planet. Evolution, quite frankly, doesn’t stand a chance right now. I can help with that.

Many of these factors drove me to look at a family of plants from South Africa. They have a climate very similar to mine on the coast, the plants are very happy in the type of soil I have, they are difficult to find in this country and plants from South Africa are under extreme threat right now. Not only climate change but also development of their habitat.

South Africa is one of the seven floral kingdoms of the world and the number of species in that kingdom exceeds the total number of species in the whole of the Northern Hemisphere. Those plants can’t gravitate towards the pole because there is only sea between it and Antarctica. Could they survive and thrive in Oregon? They grow in California and Hawaii, but they are both much warmer climates than here on the Oregon Coast.

I did have a few proof points. They do grow in San Francisco that tends to much cooler than most of California. There are some that exist in botanical gardens as far north as Seattle, but I am sure they are highly pampered. Then I found a nursery in Portland that did have a few members of the family in the genus Grevillea. That got me started. They not only survived in my garden – they thrived.

The Start

How perfect – a plant that loves impoverished soils, blooms almost year round, doesn’t need watering in summer, doesn’t need to be fertilized, highly attractive to birds, bees and other wildlife, disliked by deer, and very pretty!

That is when the collector in me kicked in. I wanted more. Not just Grevilleas but the other members of the family – all the way up to the amazing Protea. If you have ever seen one of these flowers you will know what I am talking about.

I started to import seed from South Africa and Australia, New Zealand and places in Europe that had similar climates. These are not easy seeds to germinate, and plants take years before they get to blooming size. That did not deter me. I did manage to find a few somewhat mature plants available online and gobbled those up. Earlier this year, I also discovered that UC Santa Cruz had an importation program with Australia to bring some of their hybrids and cultivars into this country for trials in California. I was a gardener in a plant store. You have never seen a car packed with so many plants heading up I-5.

But through all of this a few big questions remained. Does my garden have enough heat to get some of these plants to set flower buds? I also do not have any plantable areas that have full sun in Winter. Neighboring trees cast a lot of shade when the sun is not that high in the sky. When I asked in online forums, they were skeptical.

Early Success

One of the genera, Leucadendron, can be grown purely for their leaves, which are often multi-colored or variegated. Many of the Leucadendrons I have were cuttings obtained from florists stems. Just after Easter I noted that one of them had a single flower on it. Leucadendron’s actually have very small flowers and are surrounded by large bracts. That means they tend to be “in flower” for a long period of time and that one blossom is still on the plant in June.

Leucadendron floridum 'Pisa' — Leucadendron floridum ‘Pisa’

About a month ago, my Leucospermums started to put on their growth spurt for the year. Lots of buds started to form on them. It is often difficult to tell at first if they are growth buds or flower buds, but as they developed it was clear that on two of the plants, there were two different types of buds. I still didn’t want to get my hopes up because Protea are well known to drop their buds if they don’t like the conditions. Now, at the beginning of June I am the proud gardener of Leucaspermum ‘Scarlet Ribbon’ in bloom.

So, I can grow them, and I can get them to bloom. Two important members of the family have yet to tell me they can bloom here – the Protea and the Banksia, but I am now much more hopeful than I was. Now I know I am safe to collect more plants and that they will be quite happy here.

Calendar

Gardener’s Log – April 2021

April 1st

April is starting off with plenty of plants in bloom. A couple of the little bulbs have shown themselves in the past couple of days. One is Tritonia deusta, a very pretty small flower in a delightful orange color with interesting markings on the petals. Those markings allowed me to identify it as being subspecies deusta.

Another flower provided a little surprise. This little Gladiolus came into bloom. It was meant to be G. watsonius, but as soon as the flower opened up, I knew it was something else. A little research led me to believe that it is G. virescens. IT really is quite pretty up close, but it is not something you would notice from more than a few inches away – but not everything has to be a show stopper.

Being that it is April Fools Day, I have a conundrum for you. Which came first, the tea or the tea pot? Find out here.

April 10th

So much is blooming, budding, and growing that it is almost a struggle to keep up with everything and to enjoy that special moment that each plant or combination gives us. The Dog’s Tooth Violets opened today and in Tuxedo lane the Leucadendron ‘Ebony’ is providing a backdrop for the white Fritillaria. We watched a seminar put on by the Rut Bancroft Garden this morning titled Proteaceae and Pals. While interesting, I am beginning to think that my knowledge levels are approaching that of many experts even though I known I don’t yet have the years of experience growing them.

In the greenhouse, cuttings of Grevillea aquifolium were potted up with 100% strike rate. Not quite so good on the Grevillea thelemaniana with 50% and one that may still root. Lots of stuff coming out to harden off and I managed to keep both of our peppers alive over winter, and are now growing on strong, plus it won;t be long before we get our first tomato!

April 21st

It is always difficult at this time of year to keep the activity log going. The weather is improving and there is so much to actually do in the garden that it become more difficult to write about it. Progress has been made on the garden for the “giants.” This garden area features plants where something about them is outsized. That may be in flowers or flower stalks, trunk shape or size, leaves etc. The garden is traversed via a boardwalk which is now finished. It is trimmed and stained, plus the transition pavers that connect it to Wimsey Way are finished. A fair amount of the space has been cleared for planting and the Bauhinia is in. This tree is a bit of a gamble for us, but hopefully it will do well. It’s common name is the Purple Orchid Tree and while it could reach 35′ it will probably stay a lot smaller in this location. If successful, it will have 5″ wide blossoms in September through November.

Lots blooming right now, including the cherry and this lovely German Iris. While it is in the cutting garden, it is just too nice to pick right now and this is the first time it has bloomed.

Iris germanica 'Halloween Halo' — Iris germanica ‘Halloween Halo’

April 22nd

Yesterday I noticed a bloom on one of my Leucadendrons. This is an important plant for me because it proves that I can grow and get it to bloom in our Oregon climate. All of the other Leucadendrons that have bloomed here had already set bud when purchased, but this one came from a cutting taken in 2019 and has been grown on from there.

Weather

As the month comes to a close, we knew that April this year had been a year of extremes. We were hotter, colder and dryer than last year, but it was the rainfall that was the real standout feature – or lack of it. This year we saw a total of 1.34″ that came in 4 rain events across the month. Last year was 3.15″ spread across 13 rainy days. While that may sound like a dramatic difference, 2019 was very similar to this year and 2018 had over 10″ of rain. So, while Portland had their driest April on record, we were close to other years.