On 27/9/07 22:20, in article
, "Dave Poole"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:

We thought first of P. tobira but we've only seen P.
tobira as hedging in hot climates such as the Balearics. This was very low
to the ground - ground cover, in fact.

There are numerous forms of tobira, including those that have low
spreading growth, rarely exceeding 1m at maturity. 'Wheeler's Dwarf'
eventually forms a metre high, spreading mound, but spends its early
years much lower.

That must be it or a close cousin. There were no flowers on it, which
didn't help, so perhaps they appear earlier in the year.

Grevillea robusta we've never seen
before and having Googled it, I do wish we'd seen it in flower.

It is rarely seen as more than a year old seedling for 'spot' bedding-
out in this country and was far more common 25 years ago than it is
now. Allowed to mature beyond its silky-leaved juvenile stage
(commonly known as the 'Silk Oak'), the leaves become leathery with
more exaggerated 'teeth' and the plant develops characteristic rather
angular branching. In its native Australia it makes a sizeable tree
carrying very showy, one-sided racemes of orange flowers. I've grown
it here with some success, but the branches can sheer off in squally
winds.

Not likely to survive with us though!

We knew the
Ficus rang a bell but it wasn't playing our tune but you've got it. The
gardener at the hotel had no idea what it was but said it didn't fruit.
Does that sound right? All these plants would be no more than about 3 to 4
years old so will it fruit when it's mature?

The Ficus was only introduced to the pot plant trade from S. E. Asia
about 10-15 years ago and it has proved very successful for 'office
landscaping' in cooler climates. It appears to be claiming popularity
from the more familiar 'weeping fig' - Ficus benjamina and does not
exhibit that species' tendency to periodically drop all of its
leaves. The small figs produced on mature specimens are inedible. It
makes a nice specimen 'tree' quite quickly. I had one in a pot that
went from 20cms. to 1.8m in about 2 years.

We spent a long time puzzling over this one. In shape and droopiness, it
made me think a bit of a peach, although we knew it wasn't that. These were
being grown on a single trunk and varied from 5 to 8 feet tall.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'