Plant of the Month for April, 2012

Trifolium rubens 'Red Feather'

 (try-FOH-lee-um ROO-benz)

General Information:

This is a clover, but not just any clover. It is the most ornamental of all Clovers and definitely worth adding to your garden. Best of all, your friends will never guess what it is.

Red Feather is easy to grow and does not spread. It has huge, purple-red flower heads that are silver when in bud and are borne on long stems. The plant makes a nice clump and looks good all summer. The flowers are peculiar in that each stem has two flowers, one larger than the other. The large one opens while the smaller one is still developing. Just as the large one is finished flowering, the second open starts to open. The result is a longer bloom time for the plant.  

Trifolium rubens; photo by Robert Pavlis

It is great for attracting hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. It makes a good cut flower.

The name for this plant is a bit confusing. It is listed as T. rubens, T. rubens ‘Red Feather’ and as T. rubens with a common name of Red Feather Clover. Jelitto Seeds considers the term Red Feather a marketing name. I have tried the so-called named variety and the straight species. Both look the same to me. I suspect that the variety ‘Red Feather’ does not actually exist – they are all just the species. In any event, this is a must have plant.

 Trifolium rubens; photo by Robert Pavlis

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 60 cm (2 ft)

Bloom Time: mid summer

Natural Range: Central and south Europe

Habitat: Grows in grassy places next to forests and forest glades

Synonyms: none

Cultivation:

Light: full sun or part shade                              

Soil: normal, well draining to sandy soil, pH: 6 – 7.5

Water: draught tolerant                        

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8

Propagation: division in spring, comes true from seed and blooms first year after germination.  

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): available regularly

Germination Tips:

Sow @ 4°C.

Contributions to this page were made by: Robert Pavlis

Plant of the Month for December, 2013

Tetraneuris herbacea

 (tet-ruh-NYUR-iss her-BAY-see-a)

General Information:

Tetraneuris herbacea, better known by it’s old name Hymenoxys acaulis, is an unusual Ontario native that is easy to grow and makes a great addition to any rock garden.

Tetraneuris herbacea; photo by Robert Pavlis

This poor plant has had quite a few name changes. It is very similar to a plant called Hymenoxys acaulis which is found in desert like conditions in the USA Midwest. H. acaulis has dull green leaves that are hairy. The species we are discussing here was renamed to Hymenoxys berbacea to distinguish it from H. acaulis, the former having bright green leaves and almost no pubescence. More recently the genus name has been reverted to the old genus name of Tetraneuris. Other synonyms are listed below.

T. herbacea also has a colourful set of common names including; Lakeside Daisy, Stemless Rubberweed, Sundancer Daisy and Manitoulin Gold.

Tetraneuris herbacea; photo by Robert Pavlis

The plant is considered threatened on both the federal (Canada) and Ontario Species at Risk lists. It is therefore illegal to collect any plant material from the wild without a permit.

In the wild this plant grows in a very specialized environment called an alvar. Alvars are naturally open rocky areas where the thickness of soil is very thin (a couple of cm). The plants are therefore growing in full sun, and very dry, not unlike alpine soil conditions. In cultivation the plants grow very well in a sandy soil mix either in the ground or in troughs. Even though they are very dry in nature, they seem to enjoy more moisture in cultivation.

T. herbacea is self-incompatible, meaning that two different clones are required to produce viable seed. The plant also reproduces vegetatively via side shoots. Plants produced by side shoots will not pollinate their mother  or sister plant. When two or more populations exist, the plant does reproduce by seeds fairly easily.

The foliage is very attractive all summer long, and the plant requires little care or watering. It blooms for quite a long time, and can re-bloom in the fall.

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 8 cm (3in), flowers at 15 cm (6 in)

Bloom Time: early summer and again in fall

Natural Range: Illinois (now extinct), Ohio and Ontario

Habitat: alvars, rocky shoreline

Synonyms:  Tetraneuris acaulis, Hymenoxys acualis, Galardia acaulis, Actinea acaulis, Actinea berbacea,

Cultivation:

Light: full sun

Soil: sandy, well draining

Water: dry

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4– 9?

Propagation: seed, offsets

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): rarely

Plant of the Month for October, 2017

Senna hebecarpa

 

 (SEN-nuh hee-be-KAR-puh)

General Information:

Senna hebecarpa is rarely grown in gardens but it deserves to be used more frequently. It is a perennial that can grow to 180 cm (six  feet) and has unusual compound leaves. Both of these features make it look more like a shrub.

Senna hebecarpa:photo by Robert Pavlis

Common names include American senna, wild senna and the northern wild senna. It is a North American legume, that hosts nitrogen fixing bacteria in it's root nodules.

The flowers of wild senna are unusual in that they lack nectaries which are normally used by plants to attract pollinators. Instead this plant has nectaries on the leaf petioles which attract beneficial insects like ants, parasitic wasps and lady beetles. instead of using nectar to attract pollinators it uses special pollen. A 2016 study by Penn State found that bees are attracted to plants that produce high protein-to-lipid ratio pollen. Bumble bees foraged preferentially on Senna hebecarpa for this reason.

Senna hebecarpa:photo by Robert Pavlis

A potential problem with S. hebecarpa is that it seeds around a bit and larger seedlings can be difficult to pull out. I deadhead mine before the seeds mature. It is not clear how big of a problem this is since the plant is uncommon in the wild, but legumes tend to be good at spreading seeds.

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 90 – 180 cm (3 – 6 ft)

Bloom Time: late summer

Natural Range: North Eastern North America

Habitat: open woodlands, moist meadows, disturbed areas

Synonyms:  Cassia hebecarpa

Cultivation:

Light: part shade to full sun

Soil: grows in most soil types

Water: likes moisture but will grow quite dry

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9

Propagation: seed, division

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): frequently

 

Germination Tips:

 

Sow @ 20°C. Seed germinates within 3 months.

 

Requires scarification. Nick or rub between sheets of sandpaper.  See https://youtu.be/icB9HrqdQqU  Seed coat of Baptisia and Oxytropis and other Fabaceae can be scarified by soaking in boiling water. See http://botanicallyinclined.org/continuing-the-sowing-in-hot-water

 

Requires soaking. Place in warm water until seeds swell, usually 24-48 hours. Discard floaters and the water used for soaking. See https://youtu.be/dhL57pqnHHQ

 

 

Contributions to this page were made by: Robert Pavlis

Plant of the Month for April, 2014

Sedum rupestre f. cristata

 

 (SEE-dum roo-PES-tree KRIS-tah-tuh)

General Information:

A well behaved, unusual sedum that always gets a comment from visitors.  Sedum repustre is a common bluish green sedum that spreads quickly, and the variety S. rupestre  ‘Angelina’ is a well-known yellowish version that is almost invasive. Sedum rupestre f. cristata looks quite different, and does not spread very quickly. It makes a great rock garden plant and stays small enough to be suitable for a trough.

Sedum rupestre f. cristata; photo by Robert Pavlis

The common name for this plant is Crested Stonecrop. This plant contains a genetic mutation that results in the growing point making wide stems, or crests. This growth is also referred to as a monstrata formation or fasciation. This happens in many plants and can affect stem growth or flower formation. I have seen it in delphinium stems and flowers. In most cases it is not a stable mutation, and growth the following year is normal. In the Crested Stonecrop, the mutation is fairly stable, and most new growths show fasciation. Occasionally, a normal stem will be produced and it is best to remove such growth. Give new growth a few weeks to develop the fasciation, since they tend to look normal when the side branch first starts to show. As it gets larger the crest will form.

Sedum rupestre f. cristata does not flower and is grown for its leaves. The plant can be easily reproduced vegetatively.

In winter the stems turn a nice red colour and the plant shrinks as it loses water in preparation for winter. In spring it plumps back up again. Rupestre means “rock loving” and indicates the fact that the plant likes a well-drained soil.

Life Cycle: perennial

Height: 20 cm (0.75 ft)

Bloom Time: none

Natural Range: Original species is from Central and Western Europe

Habitat: lowlands up to 2000m

Synonyms:  Sedum ‘tortuosum’, Sedum reflexum, Sedum ‘Monstrosa’, Sedum ‘Cristata’

Cultivation:

Light: full sun

Soil: well drained

Water: regular moisture in spring, drought tolerant

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 – 8

Propagation: division

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): never

not grown from seed

Germination Tips:

 

 

Contributions to this page were made by: Robert Pavlis