Protea Archives - Oceanside Garden

Gardener’s Log – October 2022

What a month of extremes. The first two thirds of the month thought it was July. Almost no rain and for two days we almost hit 90F. Then the weather broke. We very rapidly descended into the type of weather that is more typical for this time of year. Rain and much cooler temps. While there was no hope that we would finish with anything like average rain for the month, it is certainly tried to make up for lost time!

Garden Progress

Marginal construction progress this month. There were a few areas that got finished off, or tidied up. One example is the pathway to the compost bins. Sand can be very messy when the ground is wet and there was a short area between the emergency supply dump and the compost bin that was unpaved. Wet sand sticks to your shoes and then gets tracked into the house, so this area was finished off. That also means that the very top portion of the staircase down on this side of the house was started.

While many people see this as being the end of the gardening year, it is also a beginning. It is when all of the bulbs arrive. While parts of the garden are being put to bed, others become part of the great anticipation of spring, making the garden the bridge between the past and the future. We garden for the anticipation of the future and the glory of today. This can be on many time scales. When we plant a tree, we are anticipating what it will look like 10 years, 20 years or more down the road. When we plant a bulb, we are anticipating what it will look like in a few months.

Bulb Planting Time

This year, one of the new garden area was clamoring for bulbs – the winter garden. For this area, I wanted all of the earliest of bloomers I could find. In went daffodils that are normally considered for indoor forcing, such as paperwhites, along with what I think are the harbingers of early spring – Iris reticulata and histrioides. I bought several new varieties for this year – half of which were planted in pots to be displayed by the front door as they start blooming in January and February, and the other half in the Winter Garden.

Iris reticulata 'Harmony' — Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’

Gardening Values

I am often asked about my gardening philosophy. Am I an organic gardener – well sort of but not quite. How about a naturalistic gardener – nope, environmental gardener – yes, but with reservations. I try and be a responsible gardener, but I am not resolute about any of them. Let me explain.

Organic is perhaps the easiest. I do not use chemicals in the garden where there is a suitable alternative. I have never used insecticides, apart from natural ones when I have an infestation that I cannot control in the greenhouse. Same with herbicides and fungicides. Fertilizer becomes a little more difficult. Proteas require a very specific fertilizer regime which is absent of phosphorous. That eliminates most natural fertilizers with the exception of kelp fertilizer – which I use a lot, but the analysis on this is 0.3 – 0 – 0.6. It is a tonic and useful for seedlings but not really a fertilizer for mature plants. I find a need a slow-release chemical fertilizer suited for this purpose.

I love to attract wildlife to my garden, so long as they don’t do too much damage. That means I attempt to exclude deer, but do everything I can to attract birds, bees, butterflies- even when they eat the plants. Do I only plant native plants – no, although I do have an area of the garden that is reserved for natives. Even then, I may go for a cultivar rather than the species, meaning that I am restricting the DNA distribution of the plant. Many of the plants I do grow are the opposite of native and in many cases are endangered plants in their natural habitats. I do try and make sure that there are critters here that can enjoy them and given the choice between two similar plants – I will generally pick the one that provides the most value to wildlife.

Being a Good Citizen

I want to be a good citizen of the planet and to me that means first and foremost – doing as little harm as I can while enjoying the little piece of it that I can influence and derive pleasure from. My attitude on this has changed over time. I would never plant something as bad for the planet as a lawn today – which I did in the past. But I perceive the planet has many needs, and it is my choice how I choose to respect those needs – I hope she agrees that I do try and show respect.

Visits

One thing I do enjoy at this time of year are the clearance sales at the nurseries. Who doesn’t love a bargain? That meant a few Mangaves at great prices, as well as some more shade loving plants, such as ferns, Pulmonaria, hellebore and more.

What’s in Bloom

The shimmery, silky pink of Hesperanthus ‘Sunrise’ has been a delight this year. This is another South African plant, but it does require a little more moisture than is available in Gondwana. The plants I tried there have fizzled, but those in pots that get more summer water have done really well this year.

The autumnal bulbs have been putting on a grand display. Autumn Crocus, Colchicums and Cyclamen have been adding pops of color all around the garden.

One plant I picked up in the nursery sales is a new one to me – Lisianthus. The blossoms look something like a rose although it is on a succulent type of growth. These are apparently somewhat difficult to grow, so I may be treating it like an annual, but it sure has put on a marvelous display for 3 weeks now and is still going strong.

In addition to plants that are in bloom, many of the Grevillea are packed with buds that are bursting to open. ‘Coastal Gem’ is one such example that is becoming a beautiful carpet in the corner of Gondwana. It is difficult at times to believe that this plant is only 2 years old. I am sure it will look even better as it cascades down over the rock wall.

Grevillea lanigera 'Coastal Gem' — Grevillea lanigera ‘Coastal Gem’

Weather Summary

As I said in the opening paragraph, it has been a month of two extremes. The high this year was a lofty 89.8, compared to 67.8 last year. The lows and averages were comparable. We did manage to get 6.55″ of rain this year in a little over a week. That compares top a much more even rainfall last year that totally 12.5″

Weather - October 2022 — Weather – October 2022

Calendar

Gardener’s Log September 2022

With the end of September, autumn is upon us. The evenings have more of a nip to them. My first signal is the blooming of the cyclamen and happened about 10 days ago.

Garden Progress

At this time of year, attention is focused on preparing for winter rather than new construction. That means not a lot of progress to report this month. Lots of propagation been going on – especially for plants that are a little tender. This ensures that in the event of another hard freeze like we had in February, not all will be lost again.

A significant improvement has been added to the website. There is now an overall garden plan, that is clickable. It may not be the prettiest drawing, but it does allow you to see each of the areas of the garden. There is a brief description of some and more in-depth description and progress report on others. Each of those pages has a list of the plants currently in that area.

Work has started on clearing the dense growth of Holodiscus in that area that will become Nature Island. While it is a native, the Holodiscus completely dominates that area. While it blooms in summer with puffs of white, it is fleeting, quickly goes brown and the seeds everywhere. Birds do like to eat the seeds, so not all of it will be removed. In addition, this plant readily regrows from the base.

The main trees that will take their place are Vine Maples. These are not only native but a variety with different leaf colors have been chosen. Being deciduous, it will allow for more underplanting than would have been possible with the Holodiscus (almost nothing survived under that – not even Salal!)

A lot more to go yet, but it has certainly changed the character of the area as it was an impenetrable visual barrier before.

Visits

Had a wonderful visit to Dancing Oaks nursery in Monmouth. You can read all about it here and we did come home with quite a few plants. In addition to everything that was on my list, two plants that were grown from seed that Fred, one of the owners, collected and imported from Tasmania. These will both become large trees, which we don’t really have room for, so I hope they do well in pots. They were Leptospermum glaucescens, the blue-green tea tree, and Notelaea ligustrina, the silkwood.

HPSO Plant Sale

The next day, we had fun at the Salem Hardy Plant Societies fall plant sale located at Sebright Gardens. We picked up a whole bunch of interesting plants, including a number of natives that are destined to go into Nature Island.

We got there at the crack of opening time. I did a very quick first walk around all of the exhibitors. I know that there will be some plants that disappear immediately and that was certainly the case with Carex pyllocephala ‘Sparkler’. After acquiring one of only three available, the number of people who came up and asked what is that, and where did you get it? It is easy to understand why – it certainly does grab your attention.

Carex pyllocephala 'Sparkler' — Carex pyllocephala ‘Sparkler’

Another plant we did manage to get was one we first saw at San Francisco Golden Gate Park. It was Alstromeria psittacine ‘Vareigata’. We had been captivated by the flowers on this when we saw it – quite unlike most Alstromeria. When we got home and I started to investigate, it can get to be a pest because it spreads by rhizomes and event he smallest piece can resprout. Then I spotted this variegated form of it. I hope that this will weaken it a bit such that it doesn’t become so problematic – plus the variegated leaves are very attractive. I will keep it in a pot for a while to see how it does.

Alstromeria psittacina 'Variegata' — Alstromeria psittacina ‘Variegata’

We did not have time after the plant show to tour Sebright Garden. This is certainly on the list for the next time we are in the area.

Leach Botanical Garden

Later in the month we visited Leach Botanical Garden along Johnson Creek in Portland. The Leaches were plant explorers and part of the garden contains some of their discoveries. Originally called Sleepy Hollow, it has been over 20 years since I was last here. It has undergone a number of changes. Back then, the gardens were being preserved by volunteers until the city took interest in it and started to invest in it.

It now has a much larger parking area, display garden and amazing elevated woodland walk which were not present in previous visits. Many of the paths have been significantly upgraded. Unfortunately, although the bridge to the South Bank got washed away in some winter floods and has yet to be rebuilt.

In my mind, it is not a true botanical garden because it is poorly labeled, and is more just a collection of plants.

What’s in Bloom

The big excitement for this month has to be the blooming for Protea venusta. While it is not perhaps the most remarkable of all the Proteas, it is the first one that I grew from seed, imported from South Africa. It took just over 3 years to get to this stage and I am very happy.

While a little early, the first of the plants for the Winter garden – Calluna vulgaris ‘Verenka’ – has come into bloom and hopefully will continue throughout the next few months.

The late season bulbs are also blooming including Colchicum and Cyclamen.

Weather Summary

Most of September has been very dry and the garden has become quite crispy. We only had 1.51″ of rain this month as compared to 5.13″ last year. Thankfully, in the last week we had a reasonable front come through that gave us about 1″ of rain. But now we are forecast to become warm and dry again. It does look like we will really get an Autumn this year – something we were cheated out of last year.

The maximum temperature this month was a high 94.6F – perhaps the hottest day of the year. This compares to 84.7F last year. Low temperatures were similar at 58F. The average this year was a couple of degrees warmer at 59.4F compared to 57.6F

Plant

My First Protea – from seed to blossom

When I first started talking about growing Protea in Oregon, everyone told me it couldn’t be done. That was not enough to deter me. Many people grow Grevillea in Portland and even more can be grown on the Oregon Coast. There are botanical gardens growing other members of the Protea family in Seattle, and all of them seem to grow well in San Francisco – a climate not that different to here – just a few degrees cooler.

I got my first batch of seeds from Ole Lantana in Australia (no longer shipping seeds to the US). One in particular I had high hopes for – Protea venusta. Not only was it rare and endangered in the wild, but it is a high-altitude Protea, growing between 1700 and 2000 meters above sea level in South Africa.

Seeds Sown 2019

After giving the seeds a smoke treatment, they were sown in September of 2019. By May of 2020, I had a bunch of little seedlings in the greenhouse. In 2021 they were large enough to plant some of them out in the area of the garden I call Gondwana. This is reserved for plants, like those in the Protea family, that initially evolved when the land masses of the southern hemisphere were joined. Protea venusta is almost a ground cover. It is said to spread over time and can get to be about 2′ tall and 6′ or more feet wide. I planted 4 of them along the top of a retaining wall.

Blooms in 2022

Three of the plants have been doing well, while the fourth has struggled, although it is still trying. But today was a day to remember, when I got the first bloom – September 2022. That is pretty good going for seed to bloom in three years. I have to say the bloom is prettier than most pictures show. It is about 3″ across and has a range of delicate pinks to white. The little fuzzy hairs on the ends of the bracts also add charm.

In the wild, the plant is pollinated by birds, so there is a fair chance that it could get pollinated. It would be fun if I could complete the cycle.

Calendar

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.