A Bushel of Sticks on Fire

I just received this free bounty of large (up to about 4 feet tall) Euphorbia tirucalli cuttings from my sister, who is re-thinking and thinning some of the plantings in her own fabulous garden.



My intent is to re-shape these cuttings into numerous shorter, less columnar plants (while being careful with their milky sap, which is a skin irritant) and re-planting in a yet-to-be determined location(s). If you've seen Sticks on Fire at the nursery, especially Roger's Gardens, you know that good-sized specimens like this are pretty expensive - I'm guessing this photo is close to $100.00 retail worth of plants.

In fact, one of my own Sticks on Fire is ready to be "pruned" of a large cutting itself, thus supplying me with even more to re-plant. Pictures of the results will be posted at a later date.

August Bloom Day + 2

After a relaxing week traveling up the coast to Pismo Beach, its time for a mid-August garden update. The roses got active again while we were gone, and one of my favorites, Jardin de Bagatelles is in fine form, while Fame is getting ready to really show off as well.







We went kayaking at Avila Beach, and our guide explained that giant kelp grows up to 15 inches a day. The only thing that seemingly grows faster than giant kelp is an Italian Squash, as this beast appeared out of nowhere while we were gone.
























Eyelash Sage, s. blepharophylla, is blooming again. Hummingbirds flock to this blossom.

....while Andean Sage, s. discolor, continues to please with easily the best looking foliage of any salvia in my garden. I have this positioned in nearly full shade under a large juniper tree, and it thrives. In spring, Andean Sage produces multiple bracts of deep indigo, nearly black flowers that are very unusual. Highly recommended!!


Finally, how about a subtle blaze of August color from Sticks on Fire, euphorbia tirucalli, tucked among the lavender and rosemary

Problems With Ptilotus

Early this past spring, I purchased three containers of a cool looking plant at M&M Nursery, ptilotus, or Wallaby Tail, as they were labeled. I soon learned that quite a buzz was building within the western gardening community regarding this native Australian species, now finding its way into our local nurseries.

Well, several months later, I'd have to say I'm not too impressed - either that or these ptilotus (ptiloti?) are none too impressed with my gardening skills. My ptilotus looked great up until mid-June, then as you can see from the photo they all started pooping out, as this one, like a spent annual. The plant is advertised as being very drought tolerant, and mine are positioned near other drought tolerant plants that continuously thrive. I did a little research, and found that there are several varieties of ptilotus, and I'm thinking that the three I purchased were mis-labeled and may actually be the Joey variety, which is indeed an annual, not the perennial Wallaby Tail or Platinum Wallaby.



Regardless, why would they all start to die-off in mid-summer if they were annuals? It would make more sense if they croaked as the weather chilled. There's the issue of alkaline versus acidic soil tolerance, as discussed by Sunset, between the two varieties - I honestly don't know the makeup of my soil. However, I did see several specimens at Roger's Gardens a couple weeks ago that looked great, with bright green, rubbery foliage and leaves at least double the size of mine - possibly these were truly the preferable Platinum Wallaby sub-species.

Anyways, my current thoughts are that I'll probably abandon efforts to cultivate the popular ptilotus in the future, unless anyone has any suggestions as to what I may be doing wrong.

The Living Roof

If you have not seen it yet, a must see on your next trip to San Francisco is the new California Academy of Sciences, of which The Living Roof is a highlight for any gardener. The Living Roof is exactly that - the entire undulating roof of the Renzo Piano building is covered by a massive carpet of California natives. Evidently about 30 native species were tested for their hardiness to Golden Gate Park's Zone 17 climate, and 9 finalists were selected - 4 perennials and 5 annuals. The Living Roof relies solely on rainfall and fog for water. The perennials include Sedum, a native Armeria or Sea Thrift, a native strawberry and prunella vulgaris which appears to dominate. California Poppy, Goldfield and a native Lupine are among the annuals that grow on the roof. There is the occasional odd ball "alien" species, carried in by birds.

If the same Living Roof were to be developed on top of some structure here in Zone 23, I'm curious how the 9 finalists might differ from those thriving in Golden Gate Park?

Another interesting plant I saw in Golden Gate Park was a simply massive Mexican Bush Sage (s. leucantha) that was at least 8 - 10 feet tall.