On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:14:36 +0000, Sacha wrote:

Pam Moore19/2/04 7:46

I've listened again to GQT having taped it.
Bob's "Plant of the week" was;
Osmaronia aka Nutalia aka oso-berry
He says it flowers now, weeks before the ordinary flowering currant.
I did a quick Google and found it under Burncoose Nurseries.

Pam in Bristol

In the books it's listed as Oemleria syn. Osmaronia. It is Oemleria
cerasiformis (Indian plum, Oso berry). A deciduous, upright, then arching
shrub that forms dense thickets 8' x 12. Leaves are narrowly oval and dark
blue-green. It has nodding clusters of small, fragrant,, bell-shaped, white
flowers in early spring, then small plum-shaped, purple fruits. This is
according to the RHS Encyclopedia. Burncoose sells them for £9.00 each plus
about £9.00 carriage.

Osmaronia is native here. In fact, the lane leading to my house
has some, though fewer since a misguided neighbor cut a lot of
them down.

Indian plum is pretty much the first shrub to flower in the
spring, though Chaenomeles 'Contorta' gives it a run for the
money. However, it is not a very distinctive plant. Do not waste
space on it unless you have space to spare.

I also take issue with the RHS description: the leaves are a
rather pale green, at least at the time of emergence. To call it
"dark blue-green" is overly creative word-smithing.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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