Sky Pencils and Plumbagos
 

We bought many, many Sky Pencils, i think they're called, from Monrovia -- tall and narrow shrubs that look like they belong in a formal French or Italian garden. We lost a looot of $$$ because all but one died. Has anyone had luck with these in this zone? We live in Austin.

Monrovia's rep said they should work, and they weren't placed in full sun. They were also watered regularly with the sprinkler system. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Also, has anyone noticed that delicately-colored flowers like plumbagos look like their colors are not very vibrant when they grow in an area that gets a lot of sun? I wondered if the sun sort of "fades" colors in some flowers?

Thanks very much,
teresa

teresa wrote:
Monrovia's rep said they should work, and they weren't placed in full
sun. They were also watered regularly with the sprinkler system. Any
feedback would be appreciated.

He was trying to sell you their product even though it's not well suited
for our area. A great alternative if you want that columnar look is to
use Will Fleming yaupon (Ilex vomitoria 'Will Fleming').

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 03:13:26 +0000, teresa
opined:


We bought many, many Sky Pencils, i think they're called, from Monrovia
-- tall and narrow shrubs that look like they belong in a formal French
or Italian garden. We lost a looot of $$$ because all but one died. Has
anyone had luck with these in this zone? We live in Austin.

Monrovia's rep said they should work, and they weren't placed in full
sun. They were also watered regularly with the sprinkler system. Any
feedback would be appreciated.

The key word here is "should." The optimal word when spending a lot of money on
expensive plants is "will" do very well. Should is very strange for someone at
Monrovia to say and you "should" get your money back. This plant likes these
conditions:
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Newintro/skypenc1.html

Austin has, for the most part, shallow, calciferous soils with very high pH
values. Anyone who would recommend this shrub should refund your money.


Also, has anyone noticed that delicately-colored flowers like plumbagos
look like their colors are not very vibrant when they grow in an area
that gets a lot of sun? I wondered if the sun sort of "fades" colors
in some flowers?

Thanks very much,
teresa

Yes, there are flowers which are better suited to morning to early afternoon sun
and will fade if in full sun, all day.

Victoria





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Thanks to you both for some helpful advice. I think I'll try talking to Monrovia and see about getting our money back!
teresa