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| - Bowman's Root, Gillenia trifoliata - Echium amoenum "Red Feathers" - Campanula "Blue Orb" (I think this is relatively new but I don't think I have seen any feedback on GW) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by aseedisapromise z4.5 SD (My Page) on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 9:30
| I have had the red feathers for two years, and I think if you want a red toned plant for your xeriscape it can be a good choice. It is definitely not a formal plant. It isn't as showy as a Centranthus ruber, but there aren't so many purpley-red plants for a xeriscape. I am mostly not deadheading it and just letting it grow without interventions and it is doing a second bloom now, and setting seeds I hope from the old spikes. We did have a really wet year, so I don't really know how xeric it is. It is in the middle of where I have some perennial tulips, so I am hoping it will reseed some new rosettes around to fill out that space in the summer. We'll see if it does, and I also want to collect some seed. This is its first bloom. |
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| I have gillenia planted in several places. It's a lovely plant with an exceptionally long bloom season. Cannot comment on the other two. |
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| Thanks for the quick replies 'nina' and aseedisapromise. I had read somewhere that RF is or does behave as a biennial? 'nina', can you give me an idea on the size your "gillenia" attains in the growing season? Do you have yours in full sun or less? Might you have a picture you could post? |
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 11:27
| This year I ordered 'Red Feathers' for the nursery (okay, a bit for myself too, lol) and they were snapped up pretty quick ;-) Mine isn't doing so hot at the moment. Some of the interior is turning brown. I put it in a pretty well-draining and semi-dry area and didn't plant the crown to deep...hopefully it is still establishing itself and won't go and croak on me so soon :-P I've grown Gillenia (aka Porteranthus) for many years now and also love it. Not the showiest plant when out of bloom, but quite delicate and pretty during the spring. Great for a naturalistic type garden or for a large "filler" type plant I would say. On a side note...there is an intriguing cultivar called 'Pink Profusion' that I have been curious about/wanting to try. Not sure how pink it actually is though...probably just seller hype again, lol.
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| I fall sowed some gillenia seeds last year doing the winter sowing method with milk jugs and all of the seeds sprouted this spring. I have them in two inch pots right now for lack of knowing where to plant them. When I sowed them I was living in Ohio with my now ex boyfriend and our yard was huge, so I had space for them. This winter we broke up and I moved to Michigan with my parents and their yard is much smaller. So now I'm trying to think as to where to plant all of these guys. Some are even starting to flower in their little pots. So being they are still so young I don't have much experience with them, but if you can find the seeds, fall sow them and they will sprout easily for you. They need the warm-cold-warm cycle to germinate. Karen |
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| First of all, the identity of the Echium is very, very suspect. There is a dark red echium from East Europe called E. russicum. The members from this species differ in longevity, from short- lived perennials(some reports here) to "reliably perennial" (according to Cotswold Garden Flowers in England) According to the sources I have read, E. amoenum is supposed to be bright blue and is an annual (or biennial at the best) I had 2 Gillenias , and both of them died winter 2 years ago. |
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| woeslaw, based on what I've red 'Red Feathers' is native to the Caucasus Mountains.in northern Iran. Echium russicum comes from Russia. How red is 'Red Feathers'? Is it more of a purplish color? |
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- Posted by abgardeneer Z3, Calgary (My Page) on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 1:21
| Echium amoenum is a recognized species and it's flowers are pink/russet in colour, not blue. You may be thinking of Echium vulgare, I expect. Both it and Echium russicum are fully perennial and long-lived here, though E. russicum can apparently act as a biennial in warmer zones. E. amoenum is pretty much like a shorter version of E. russicum. |
This post was edited by abgardeneer on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 1:36
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- Posted by sandyslopes z5 UT (My Page) on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 1:55
| Echium amoenum "Red Feathers" is the only one I have. I wasn't happy with mine. It looked weedy and ratty and the color was kind of a muddy deep rose, not really red. But others have put up pics that look nicer than mine did. I don't know if it came back this year because I had trouble with sprinklers in that area and now red clover. But I won't miss it if it's gone. |
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| As always your picture is so helpful 'christin'. Those flowers look like little white butterflies! How much sun does this plant get? When and for how long does it flower? How large does it get? |
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 11:19
| -Doug, sure thing. I really wish I would pay more attention to exact bloom times, but always forget/am too busy! I did a quick search of past garden pics from '12 and it looks like it didn't start blooming until late June. Mine bloomed for about 2-3 weeks or so. It really does add a lovely frothy texture. Somehow the little petals remind me of 'Diamond Frost' Euphorbia... Mine is planted on the east side, where it gets some sun until noon or so, depending on time of the year. It gets a bit more shade than that now I think- since the neighbor's shrubs shade a good deal. I think it would likely even do better in a bit more sun, as my plant tends to lean toward the sun and needs staking. The thing would probably be bulkier and better able to support itself with more sunlight. It is around three feet or a smidge more. |
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- Posted by aseedisapromise z4.5 SD (My Page) on Sun, Aug 4, 13 at 8:27
| I think RF is kind of pinky-purply-reddish. Not really striking. The one that I bought was a non-blooming rosette which I selected on purpose at the greenhouse from among all the ones that already had bloom stalks in the pot. My thought was that if it was biennial, I wanted it to establish in my garden first, and then bloom the next year. I hoped it might be bigger that way. I did more scrabbling around and found a research paper with a picture of amoenum in its native habitat and it is called "oxtongue" throughout the paper and has a redder color in the photo than that particular common name would suggest. So I don't think amoenum is blue. Since I have only had my plant for two years, I really don't know if it is biennial or not. I suspect so from what I have read, so I am hoping to collect some seeds, and shake some around where it is growing. |
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