Delphiniums at Roger's, exquisite and ephemeral, but always to swoon over:
On Sunday we attended a talk by Monrovia Director Of New Plants, Nicholas Staddon. Mr. Staddon has vast knowledge and love of plants, besides telling stories about his dog Crumpet, the blueberry-eating Westie, and his wife, Sweetie Pie, who may forgive transgressions if presented with Gardenia flowers. Large Gardenia flowers. If you get the chance, don't pass up the opportunity to hear him speak.
Mr. Staddon talked about Monrovia's new introductions, of course, including a new productive blueberry variety, 'Bountiful Blue' (fully approved by Crumpet!), and an alluringly fragrant and beautiful Sasanqua Camellia developed in New Zealand, 'Fairy Dust', but he also wandered around Roger's looking at their inventory, and wanted to point out some other cool new plants, one of which was Acacia cognana 'Cousin Itt', a dwarf weeping version of the small weeping tree Acacia cognana. 'Mini Cor' is the Australian name; here in the US it is being marketed as 'Cousin Itt'.
New baby!
It just so happened I wanted something short-growing and tough for the western slope, where I'm removing some Baccharus infested with stem borers. This Acacia is apparently very reluctant to bloom, which should mean little reseeding. There are enough invasive Acacias in this neighborhood to want to avoid that problem.
At casual glance, the plant slightly resembles the gorgeous Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa macra, only 'Cousin Itt' is a tough shrub, tolerant of both drought and full blazing sun. This plant nails it. Everything we could want.
We came home with two, half of Roger's entire inventory. If you Google up some images, well grown this plant even has something of an Asian-garden look to it, so it is visually versatile as well as tough. The usual caveats for Australian plants--perfect drainage and no phosphorus. An annual light shearing for best beauty, though if temperatures dip near 25F (-4C), the weather will do it for you.
I'll let you know how it performs. Ain't it gorgeous?
Acacia cognana 'Cousin Itt':
The more I look at it the more I'm considering them for the top of the front slope, where a huge Baccharis needs to be removed, rather than the less visible west slope. Looking around Rogers, their Restios, Chondropetalum elephantinum/ Chondropetalum tectorum(?), looks fabulous topping a slope with the Agaves and Aloes arrayed below.
Sorry about the photo quality, but the wind was howling and I was freezing cold:
Can I pair my own forlorn pot bound Restio with the two 'Cousin Itt's on the top of the slope, with Aloes and Agaves below? I may finally get my woebegone five-years-suffering-in-a-pot Chondropetalum into the ground.
No, I don't know what that gorgeous blooming Aloe is:
The 'Diamond Frost' variegated Ceonothus looked good with the blueish Agaves:
And though it has nothing to do with anything, this Grevillea was so beautiful, even in the howling wind:
12/11/13: Update on 'Cousin Itt' progress here:
On Sunday we attended a talk by Monrovia Director Of New Plants, Nicholas Staddon. Mr. Staddon has vast knowledge and love of plants, besides telling stories about his dog Crumpet, the blueberry-eating Westie, and his wife, Sweetie Pie, who may forgive transgressions if presented with Gardenia flowers. Large Gardenia flowers. If you get the chance, don't pass up the opportunity to hear him speak.
Mr. Staddon talked about Monrovia's new introductions, of course, including a new productive blueberry variety, 'Bountiful Blue' (fully approved by Crumpet!), and an alluringly fragrant and beautiful Sasanqua Camellia developed in New Zealand, 'Fairy Dust', but he also wandered around Roger's looking at their inventory, and wanted to point out some other cool new plants, one of which was Acacia cognana 'Cousin Itt', a dwarf weeping version of the small weeping tree Acacia cognana. 'Mini Cor' is the Australian name; here in the US it is being marketed as 'Cousin Itt'.
New baby!
It just so happened I wanted something short-growing and tough for the western slope, where I'm removing some Baccharus infested with stem borers. This Acacia is apparently very reluctant to bloom, which should mean little reseeding. There are enough invasive Acacias in this neighborhood to want to avoid that problem.
At casual glance, the plant slightly resembles the gorgeous Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa macra, only 'Cousin Itt' is a tough shrub, tolerant of both drought and full blazing sun. This plant nails it. Everything we could want.
We came home with two, half of Roger's entire inventory. If you Google up some images, well grown this plant even has something of an Asian-garden look to it, so it is visually versatile as well as tough. The usual caveats for Australian plants--perfect drainage and no phosphorus. An annual light shearing for best beauty, though if temperatures dip near 25F (-4C), the weather will do it for you.
I'll let you know how it performs. Ain't it gorgeous?
Acacia cognana 'Cousin Itt':
The more I look at it the more I'm considering them for the top of the front slope, where a huge Baccharis needs to be removed, rather than the less visible west slope. Looking around Rogers, their Restios, Chondropetalum elephantinum/ Chondropetalum tectorum(?), looks fabulous topping a slope with the Agaves and Aloes arrayed below.
Sorry about the photo quality, but the wind was howling and I was freezing cold:
Can I pair my own forlorn pot bound Restio with the two 'Cousin Itt's on the top of the slope, with Aloes and Agaves below? I may finally get my woebegone five-years-suffering-in-a-pot Chondropetalum into the ground.
No, I don't know what that gorgeous blooming Aloe is:
The 'Diamond Frost' variegated Ceonothus looked good with the blueish Agaves:
And though it has nothing to do with anything, this Grevillea was so beautiful, even in the howling wind:
12/11/13: Update on 'Cousin Itt' progress here:
Oh my gosh, I love the delphiniums. Too bad that we just can grow them as an annual here, just too short lived and expensive for me to plant them in my own garden :-(.
ReplyDeleteYour new shrub is very cool. Looking forward to photos when you have planted it in the ground.
I am really in awe with the gardens at Roger's nursery. They are truly stunning.
Christina