Why Southern California gardens love these hardy, colorful plants

It often happens to maine that I spot a works from a definite botanical household and past a abbreviated clip aboriginal spot 1 of its relatives. This gets maine reasoning astir each the different plants successful that household that I person known. Call them horticultural friends. The astir caller works household of this benignant that I encountered was the spiderwort household (Commelinaceae). Spiderworts are truthful named due to the fact that “when the stems of spiderworts are cut, a viscous stem secretion is released which becomes threadlike and silky upon hardening similar a spider’s web, hence the communal name,” according to missouribotanicalgarden.org.

“Wort” is an aged English connection meaning “plant,” derived from an adjacent older Germanic connection meaning “root.” More than a 100 works families person “wort” arsenic a suffix, specified arsenic liverwort, lungwort, and bladderwort; parts of these plants were thought to lucifer the organs associated with their names and, according to the past content successful the Doctrine of Signatures, would cure ailments of those organs. Spiderwort is antithetic successful this respect since the archetypal portion of its sanction does not notation to a assemblage part.

My spiderwort brushwood began the different time erstwhile I was walking successful the vicinity and came upon a beauteous statement successful a constrictive planter betwixt a obstruction and the sidewalk. It consisted of agaves and a spiderwort known arsenic purple bosom (Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’). Purple bosom has purplish foliage that trails on the ground. I saw this purple bosom specimen successful an east-facing planter with a weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) histrion overhead. This is cleanable vulnerability for it since it thrives successful greeting prima during the summertime and benefits from acold extortion during the winter. Purple bosom is somewhat frost-sensitive, though a mature works burnt by a frost connected its outer leaves should past nighttime temperatures beneath 32 degrees.

At night, it is ever warmest nether a histrion with dense foliage specified arsenic a weeping fig. This fig oregon Ficus is typically grown arsenic an indoor level works wherever tons of airy is available; outdoors, it whitethorn endure successful a hard frost but volition mostly marque it done Los Angeles winters unscathed. In an unfastened exposure, the vigor of the sun’s rays absorbed by the crushed during the time radiates upwards and escapes into the entity during the night. However, an overhead histrion with dense foliage specified arsenic this 1 volition not let the vigor to escape, to the payment of the plants below.

In a superb operation of plants, the purple bosom I gazed upon meanders astir 2 low-growing agave species. One of them is Agave ‘Blue Glow,’ a hybrid, which reaches lone 2 feet tall. Its bluish leaves are edged successful a code of purple that precisely matches that of purple bosom foliage. Artichoke agave (Agave parryi var. truncata) is the companion agave successful this planter. It is besides debased successful stature and its grey colour is simply a fitting complement to the adjacent bluish and purple. Both agaves are hardy down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit if not colder. These agaves are besides fantabulous choices for containers owed to their dilatory maturation complaint and minimal h2o requirement.

To admit the diverseness of the Agave genus, I urge visiting the website at smgrowers.com. Type “Agave” into the works database hunt container connected the precocious left-hand country of the location page. You volition beryllium taken to a database of 194 Agave taxon and varieties, whose images travel up erstwhile you click connected the names of the Agaves connected the list.

And past I was driving done Westwood the different time and took the accidental to sojourn the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens. This is 1 of the hidden gems of Los Angeles wherever exotic plants are concerned. Because of the botanical fare connected display, overmuch of it not to beryllium recovered anyplace other successful California, 4 visits a twelvemonth are justified, 1 successful each season, to marque definite nary of the flowers are missed. On this peculiar visit, I was dazzled by a bluish ginger (Dichorisandra thyrsiflora) inflorescence.

Blue ginger is not a existent ginger, contempt the resemblance of its flowers to those seen connected definite ginger species. In fact, it is simply a spiderwort. Its flowers past for months and whitethorn look passim the year. Sensitive to cold, bluish ginger is commonly grown arsenic an easy-care indoor works for agleam light. In the mode of spiderworts generally, it is propagated simply by taking cuttings astatine slightest 4 inches successful length, removing the bottommost leaves, and placing the cuttings successful a solid of water. The flowers of bluish ginger whitethorn persist for months and the works whitethorn bloom connected and disconnected passim the year. Readily disposable from online vendors, bluish ginger is somewhat pricey but worthy the concern erstwhile you see that you tin propagate it without trouble and you volition person arsenic galore bluegingers arsenic you privation for protected plot spots and interior decoration.

Speaking of blue-flowered spiderworts, I would beryllium neglectful to place the tropical dayflower (Commelina benghalensis), alleged since its flowers slice aft 1 day. Although considered a weed, it is highly ornamental with heavy green, ovate leaves and entity bluish flowers. Worldwide, however, tropical dayflower is simply a highly destructive weed, having a terrible interaction connected harvest production. Like astir weeds, tropical dayflower is edible and its leaves whitethorn beryllium steamed and consumed arsenic a vegetable. Although not particularly tasty, it is relied upon successful tropical countries arsenic an exigency nutrient root during periods of famine. In tropical regions of Africa and Asia, its sap is utilized successful treating burns and sore throats.

Two years ago, a researcher noticed that a adjacent comparative of tropical dayflower (known arsenic spreading dayflower) had foliage that was blighted with a leafage spot fungus. The affected leaves were taken into the laboratory wherever the fungus was extracted and cultured until a capable quantity was produced for spraying connected the spreading dayflower. Through usage of the fungal spray, important containment of the dayflower was achieved.

Although this merchandise is not yet disposable for commercialized use, and it is not known whether it would beryllium effectual connected different dayflowers, it is tenable to presume that specified products are portion of our future. Pathogenic bacteria, works viruses, and microscopic worms (known arsenic nematodes) that provender connected leaves, roots, oregon seeds person already been introduced arsenic biologic power agents for halting the proliferation of definite weeds.

Biological weed power is not new. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Chinese brought nests of yellowish citrus ants into mandarin orchards to power caterpillars and beetle borers. And contiguous the Chinese usage different kinds of ants to deter insect pests successful atom paddies and sugarcane fields.

An Australian communicative of biologic power of an unwanted works is likewise illuminating. By 1925, the build-up of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-nitida) had go treacherous and hundreds of quadrate miles of premier grazing onshore had been consumed and made inaccessible by the thorny cactus. In a hopeless effort to dilatory its spread, a lepidopterous prickly pear cactus pest from South America was shipped to Australia. Soon, its larvae began to feast connected the succulent pads of the cactus. Today, lone 1% of the archetypal prickly pear cactus remains.

Tip of the Week: White velvet (Tradescantia sillamontana), a Mexican native, is simply a highly drought-tolerant trailing spiderwort taxon that craves fast-draining ungraded and bully light. It is perfect for hanging baskets that are infrequently watered since its hairy foliage insulates it from summertime heat. Its pinkish flowers are a bonus. Hairy angiosperm spiderwort (Tradescantia hirsutiflora) grows little than 2 feet gangly with bluish flowers and spreads generously passim the garden. Both of these spiderworts are easy propagated successful h2o from stem cuttings.