At long last, the flowers have opened on Hakea laurina.
Nice. The plant is still in its nursery pot. I thought I'd let it grow some roots before planting it, because I lost H. petiolaris which I planted immediately after purchase, before it had much of a root system. Also I wanted to actually see a Hakea flower in person before unintentionally killing another Hakea. Mission accomplished.
Also at long last, I hired out some hedge trimming.
Shortened the Metrosideros excelsa 'Gala' adjacent to the pergola by about five or six feet.
Neighbor's oak tree hanging over the fence about 10 feet now only hanging over the fence by about two feet. It was interfering with the Ligustrum hedge. Evened up the Syzygium screen. Hard to tell by the photo, but the shortest ones on the rig t of the photo were left alone, and the tallest, on the left of the photo, were cut back the most. Easier to see the Pittos and three 'Springfire's are now shortened a little more to let the veggie/cutting garden get more winter sun. Before:
Of course there's always some tree-trimmer induced damage. No one is ever going to care about your plants the way you care about your plants. That is the reality of gardening.
Speaking of damage, the wind has been off and on. I moved some Stock and Snapdragon seedlings into the ground, where they've struggled to survive wind with humidity levels under 10%.
Not so good:
That's the best one:
The garden overall is pretty hammered by the wind. A beautiful rose here and there on a bush stripped clean of foliage by the wind--that sort of thing. A few nice surprises besides the Hakea... Unknown white TB Irs sent up a stem:
Nice flower cluster on the Globularia hybrid:
How attractive the Helianthemum 'The Bride' has become!
The 'Cherry Mocha' Lagerstroemia has a bit of autumn color.
Especially cheering, because the 'Dynamite' Lagerstroemias out front seem to be declining. They didn't fully leaf out this spring despite our excellent winter rain. They and the Acer palmatum 'Oshio Bene' are worrying me.
My Hakea is blooming too ! I bought it in April at the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale. I'm hoping it's somewhat protected location will allow for it's survival -San Marcos says hardiness 20 to 25 which are not unheard of temps here overnight. So far 3 mornings in a row of high 20/s but Hakea is unscathed. You reminded me of Helianthemum- I always mean to pick up a couple but it seems to go by the wayside. Now it's added to my plant list that I always carry in a little notebook in my purse.
ReplyDeleteWell there's always a row cover--might it give you a degree or two more? Wasn't sure about the Helianthemum but it was 50% off--so might as well try it. It looked pretty bad at purchase but has improved a lot in the ground.
DeleteNow off to look at your latest post... --hb
YEAH FOR HAKEA! That is very exciting news, will you ground it in the spring? I love the fuzzy Globularia, so cute.
ReplyDeleteI hope to get the Hakea planted before the winter rains get going (hopefully they do get going). The flowers are prettier than I expected--so I hope I can get it going. --hb
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about the crape myrtles and the Acer - maybe El Nino will give them a boost. Yay, for the first Hakea flower! It looks as though there are many more flowers in the queue too. I got my first Hippeastrum bloom but no other surprises here.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see what happens to the little trees--it's an opportunity to try something new if they continue to decline.
DeleteCongrats on the hakea bloom! Amazing how the leaves resemble bay laurel leaves, hence "laurina." No wiind here, which means lots of frosty mornings...
ReplyDeleteWas excited to see one open--thought they were going to dry up and fall off--lovely surprise.
DeleteTo me the leaves look more Eucalypt than laurel--texture is very hard like a Euc. Maybe when it is planted in the ground it will be more green and laurel-like.
Yay fro Hakea laurina! I love all parts of this plant, while knowing absolutely nothing about it... except it not hardy for my zone. Those amazing faintly stripe leafs, their bluish color and yes, the blooms. I hope it dose really well for you in the ground.
ReplyDeleteGlobularia hybrid has a fun flower! I don't remember seeing it before. New?
Chavli
I didn't know much about Hakea either--did a bit of reading of what I could find on the internet. Nectar provider for nectar-feeders--what else matters?
DeleteGlobularia x dubia new a year or two ago. It took a while to get going and that's the first decent photo of the flowers. --hb
The Hakea makes me think of my native Buttonbush which is three years old and still hasn't flowered. So I am enjoying your little flower ball. I have been having my box and yews pruned by someone other than my husband for a few years now. She is a horticulturalist and is so thoughtful in her work. This winter major tree pruning will happen. Big bucks that only we can see where they were spent.
ReplyDeleteIs that Cephalanthus occidentalis? It is native to parts of California as well--though not in my part. There's a place in the Central Valley called Buttonwillow. The Hakea flower balls do resemble the Cephalanthus.
DeleteHere, too, the tree trimming with chainsaw-wielding guys climbing via ropes and the like is very expensive. The crew here were mostly able to use pole pruners standing on the ground, safer for them, less expensive for me.
The oak I'm planning to have laced out a bit next summer. The advice for native oaks is to never remove more than 25% of growth, and prune in July-August when the pest as well as tree growth activity is lowest. I'm looking at more like 10%. We'll see what's what next summer.
Yikes! 10% humidity plus wind and I thought it was dry here. Poor plants. Hopefully you rains will start soon and provide a little more humidity. The Hakea was well worth waiting for. Will this become a tree or shrub?
ReplyDeleteYou know it's low humidity when the inside of your eyelids stick to your eyeballs from being so dry. A front went though--no rain but at least the humidity is way up.
DeleteThat Hakea is generally a shrub at 3 to 4 meters tall and wide but takes pruning or limbing up as a small tree. Seems ideal for my garden, if I can just not accidentally kill it.
Love that hakea! I first saw those blooms during a visit to the Taft up in Ojai. Such a cool plant.
ReplyDeleteIt was a delight to see the flowers!
DeleteAh, that Hakea flower is adorable. The buds are pretty cute too, reminding me of an exotic, spidery Chrysanthemum flower. Helianthemums are are fantastic little flower. I just planted a bunch out this fall.
ReplyDeleteThe Hakea buds before they open are remarkably like Camellia buds. Quite a surprise considering the very different climate they evolved in. Thanks for mentioning your experience with Helianthemums--I'm totally unfamiliar with them. I'm looking forward to seeing how 'The Bride' does this spring.
DeleteCut them back hard after they bloom. Otherwise they turn into ugly, short-lived, straggly messes. Even then, I don't get them to last much beyond 3-4 years. They are worth it though.
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