Foliage Follow Up/New Acquisition/Thank You Linda!



I've been looking and hoping to find this plant, or one similar, and there it was, waiting for me.  Leucophyllum candidum 'Thunder Cloud'.  Leucophyllum frutescens is the one I've been seeing.  'Thunder Cloud' has violet rather than the pink flowers of L. frutescens, and is said to be a more compact grower.  The foliage is also more distinctive.  It is also said to be prone to rot:  beauty has its price.  I'm hoping the light soil and sharp drainage here will compensate. 
I love silver foliage!

See Digging for more fabulous September foliage. 

Update:  Tuesday,  the dregs of tropical storm Linda met up with a cold front pushing in from the gulf of Alaska, and gave us over and inch and a half (38 mm) of rain!  Thank you Linda!  


Further update:  10/8/2015.  I'm wondering if my Leucophyllum is really L. zygophyllum 'Cimmaron', due to the distinctly cupped foliage, which is how that species is described.

Comments

  1. Love the rain-dappled macro shots. (One of the reasons, I suspect, the damper PNW gardens blawg so well; bright but suffused and indirect light, dust-free foliage, and deliciously glossy and darkened hardscape.)

    I thought I'd found the ideal leuc foliage in L zygophyllum, but the powder-y, cupped leaves on that sucker are MARVELOUS. Great find.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes the summer light is so HARSH here--I noticed the difference as soon as I took my first photo in Portland. The light in The UK is also marvelous for flowers and foliage and the landscape--would J.M.W. Turner have been the same genius at capturing light if he'd been painting in California?

      They just planted a L. zygophyllum 'Cimmaron' in the Desert Garden at the Huntington and if I see one for sale I am going to grab it. But until then 'Thunder Cloud' is sterling.

      Delete
  2. Woo-HOO!! We're parched here, with nothing in sight, but so happy for you and your plants!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you get some too, so you can go outside and hear all your plants singing with joy. I swear I could hear mine doing so.

      Delete
  3. I love Leucophyllum in all its incarnations. The one I have, L. laevigatum, is extremely slow-growing, at least in my garden. Linda brought me just 0.78 inches of rain but I managed to collect about 200 gallons of it so that's something!

    Everything is on target for Friday. I expect DM around 11am and the others just a little later, depending upon traffic, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder why they are not more common here--just starting to become so recently. Drought is bringing us not only challenges, but also gems.

      Delete
  4. I've been thinking about your fountain. Have you made any headway? A concrete bit on a drill would give enough drainage?

    I've never appreciated Leucophyllum until reading your blog. Here in Phoenix they are everywhere, but they are almost always pruned too much. I'm falling for them! You've changed my outlook!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, still dithering about calling someone. A drill unless it is a hammer drill is not going to get through several inches of reinforced concrete and another inch or so of tile and mortar. It really needs to be cut.

      I'm just starting to notice the Leucophyllum myself--I was admiring a neighbor's beautiful specimen a few months ago and was astonished when she said it was there when they bought their house about 1968!!!

      Check out the way one Leucophyllum (common name is Cezio--do you use that in AZ?) is pruned on this post of Pam's -- it is down towards the end of the post, but such a beautiful garden you will enjoy the post anyway if you have not seen it yet. http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=35001

      Delete
    2. You know, I haven't seen that term, cezio. They seem to refer to them as sage erroneously, or ranger. I always, always see them over pruned; meatballs, gumdrops, lollipops. So I prefer them practically untouched, but appreciate Pam's photos.

      I think that fountain as a planter when you do tackle it, is going to be awesome.

      Delete
  5. I think that common name might be cenizo, which is Spanish for 'ash grey' (cenizas = ashes)..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Always interested in your thoughts.

Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.