CORNELIUS NURSERIES, INC.
Garden Notes
April 4, 2003
You Asked:
Azaleas - Sun or Shade?
Perilla 'Magilla', not a Gorilla
April is National Orchid Month
Join the many that are discovering the beauty and ease of growing Orchids. Now that it has become a popular and more general decorating trend, Orchids are more affordable and more available than ever.
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We are offering this new look in our occasional Garden Notes newsletter for this Spring season. We hope that you like it and that you will consider writing with your gardening questions and concerns.
The PlantMasterAzaleas - Sun or Shade?
We are regularly presented with this question at this time of year when Azaleas are blooming ferociously around Houston. They are "in your face" gorgeous and you see them in both sun and shade. When I received the following e-mail question, I thought that I'd share it with you:
A neighbor and I are having an argument over azaleas needing a lot of sun. I say they need shade. Who is right? -- Hazel
Technically you are both right. When our growers produce our Azaleas, they are grown in full sun. BUT - they are watered at least once a day and probably liquid-fertilized every other day combined with slow-release granular fertilizer that is incorporated into the soil mix. Once we receive these plants, we know that we cannot replicate this growing condition, so we place them under our shaded areas. We water them every day until they are sold, and if we have plants that go through the season unsold, we prune them and fertilize them after they bloom. This way, they produce leaves that are accustomed to a more shaded environment.
When our customers buy our azaleas, we recommend that they be planted into shaded areas. There are several reasons for this. Azaleas are not native to Houston. Where Azaleas grow naturally, they can be found in shaded forests and at the forest edges where they receive some sunlight but plenty of shade. Some native species receive the proper mix of water, nutrients and climate that they can grow in full sun. But the typical Azalea that we offer for Houston landscapes is classified as a woodland plant.
Also, since so much of Houston is built underneath large Live Oak trees and Pines, we have plenty of shade to contend with. Since Azaleas are right at home in this type of environment, we try to explain to our customers that they will perform very well under these trees, and they do. One more elusive reason that we recommend this is that we know that most of our customers don't have the time or the inclination to give Azaleas the culture that they received from our growers or from our staff here at Cornelius. Planting them in the shade reduces the stress on the Azaleas so that they can survive without the amount of care that was given to them in their growing stages. With proper planting and mulching, pruning and fertilizing, Azaleas thrive in Houston's urban landscape.
Now, if you or your neighbor wanted to plant an Azalea in the full, direct sunlight, you can choose the right variety and it will do fine. We recommend the larger-growing and larger-flowering Indica varieties like Formosa, Judge Solomon, GG Gerbing, George Tabor and maybe some of the older, heirloom varieties. Their care differs mainly in watering and fertilizing practices since they will dry out very fast in our summer heat. Mulching is also very important to reduce the weeds that compete for water and nutrients in the sunny landscape. Replacing the nutrients with a more vigorous fertilizing schedule might also be necessary.
You asked and there it is. Thanks, Hazel.
(back to top)Daylily Rust - a new challenge
I've read many articles over the past year or so relating to the outbreak of Daylily Rust (Puccinia hemerocallidis)
in the US. It is alarming and when I received the following industry notification this week I felt that we needed to share it with you."Daylily rust put daylily breeding back as much as 30 years, said Bill Bodnaruk, dir. of production at Jon's Nursery in Eustis, Fla. Virtually all of the modern varieties, with traits such as large, full, picotee, shiny flowers, are susceptible. It will take years to develop new varieties with these ornamental traits and rust resistance. Before discovery of the disease in the U.S. in 2000, Jon's had 600 daylily varieties under evaluation and 65 in production. The number of daylilies the nursery is now offering has been reduced dramatically, and the evaluation program has been essentially dropped."
--Todd Davis, Editor, NMPRO Magazine
If you are a Daylily grower or aficionado, here are some links that might help you understand the scope of this problem:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/npb/daylily.html
http://www.daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/daylily_rust.html
http://doacs.state.fl.us/~pi/enpp/pathology/daylily-rust.html
http://www.ncf.ca/~ah748/rust.html
Florida has named their Plants of the Year. One plant is a possibility for our warmer seasons here in Houston, and it's very unusual.
The Queen's Wreath, or Sandpaper Vine, is a large growing vine with bright, lavender, star-shaped flowers. Give it plenty of sunshine and room to ramble.
Cornelius Nurseries
2233 S. Voss Rd.
713-782-8640
1755 FM 1960 W
281-444-1210
1200 N. Dairy Ashford
281-493-0550
E-mail:
We’re on the Web!
...not a Gorilla
When I first saw this name, nostalgia swept over me as I remembered that Saturday morning kid fare from the mid-60s. Along with Peter Potamus, Punkin Puss and Mush Mouth, this name held long forgotten memories. So when I realized that the intent of this name was to recall those memories as well as to give gardeners the tools by which they could pronounce the names correctly, I knew that I had to see this plant.
I'm glad that searched it out. One glance would tell you that it was a Coleus, but you'd be wrong. In fact, we've already received plants from growers who think that this plant is a Coleus. In fact, it is a new version of a very old garden plant, one from our Grandmothers' gardens. The old-fashioned Perilla looks like purple basil, the herb. While it is edible, it has other uses as well. One web site that I found outlines many of these uses and shows photos, too
(http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_noframe.html?Peri_fru.html)
Look for 'Magilla' very soon at all three of our stores, and also look for your grandmother's version, too.
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Christmas is hardly behind us, strictly speaking, and here we are with an article about Poinsettias. For those of us in the business of growing and supplying these Holiday favorites, it is a year-'round process.
Each year the Poinsettia industry evaluates the newest varieties from breeders around the world and compares them with existing varieties. This process yields new and interesting varieties regularly. Some of the new introductions are very subtle, but others can be extraordinary. Here are some of the standouts of NEW varieties for this upcoming year.
'Winter Rose' Marble - One of the more interesting "families" of Poinsettias has been the curly, rose-like 'Winter Rose' series. It all started with the red, now there are other colors. This pink & white marble (pictured above) is the latest addition, so look for it beginning this year in limited supply.
'Carousel' Pink - Another novelty variety, the 'Carousel' red was very popular when it first appeared a couple of years ago. Severely crinkled bracts identify the 'Carousel' from other novelty varieties, and the presence of bright green in the colored bract is also very attractive. Pink 'Carousel' sounds like a winning addition.
'Merlot' - Dark burgundy flowering Poinsettias have dominated the tests recently, and this introduction seems to be one of the more standout dark colors yet. With dark green leaves, the dark burgundy bracts are nicely displayed under the even darker newer bracts. Lots of comments from the reviewing audience.
Keep your eyes open and let us know what you think when you see them this Christmas.
(back to top)2003 is shaping up to we an Award Winning year for plants. Societies and Councils around the world and the country have announced their favorites. We've already talked about the All-America Selections in previous newsletters, so here are some new and interesting plants.
Perennial Plant Association - This year's Perennial Plant of the Year is Leucanthemum 'Becky'. Looking like a large Shasta Daisy, this 3-foot tall perennial has a long life and produces large single white daisy flowers with bright yellow centers. It blooms from June-August and is hardy in Zones 4-9. An added bonus is that it attracts butterflies to the garden.
American Hosta Growers Association - These interesting perennials have really made a home here in Houston, even if they aren't totally perennial in our climate. They product large and colorful varieties of leaves and reward us with pastel lavender or white flowers. This year's Hosta of the Year is 'Regal Splendor'. It can attain 36-40 inches tall with 10- x 5-inch pointed blue-gray leaves that have wavy white margins. Its flower stalks can reach 5 feet tall.
All-American Daylily Selection Council - Even with the spectre of Daylily Rust haunting this genus, these new introductions (actually from last year) have proven to be hardy and adaptable to much of the US. 'Judith' has glowing pink blooms and won in the Exhibition Category. 'Leebea Orange Crush' has uniform foliage and slightly ruffled orange blooms. It performs nicely in mass plantings. 'Bitsy' is one of the longest-blooming varieties in the 12 years of testing by this council. 2-inch blooms of lemon yellow.
The 2003 Winners were announced last year, but the availability will be very sporadic this year. 'Frankly Scarlet' has 4-inch red flowers and 'Plum Perfect' has 3 1/2-inch plum-purple flowers with indigo eye zones.
(back to top)Thanks for reading this edition of our Garden Notes.
Happy Gardening!
The PlantMaster
