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Climber for VERY dry location
I have a bed in the rain shadow of the eaves, but where a plant can run its roots sideways a couple of feet to where there is ample water. Currently, I grow Clematis cirrhosa, Passiflora incarnata and Cyclamen coum (which love it!) It faces north-east. The C. cirrhosa doesn't flower much, and is becoming a nuisance, so I would like to replace it by something with a maximum height of 10-20'. There are wires for the first 10', so self-clinging is not required. Either evergreen or flowers. But the key is that it must be happy with NO direct rainfall! And, of course, take moderate frosts (hard by West Country standards, mild by Highlands ones). Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#2
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Climber for VERY dry location
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#3
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Climber for VERY dry location
In article ,
Janet wrote: I have a bed in the rain shadow of the eaves, but where a plant can run its roots sideways a couple of feet to where there is ample water. Currently, I grow Clematis cirrhosa, Passiflora incarnata and Cyclamen coum (which love it!) It faces north-east. The C. cirrhosa doesn't flower much, and is becoming a nuisance, so I would like to replace it by something with a maximum height of 10-20'. There are wires for the first 10', so self-clinging is not required. Either evergreen or flowers. But the key is that it must be happy with NO direct rainfall! And, of course, take moderate frosts (hard by West Country standards, mild by Highlands ones). In a similar situation in Glasgow I grew a garrya elliptica James Roof, evergreen and lovely when dripping his long pale flowers. Admittedly, in west Scotland, even a rain-shadowed eaves bed may be somewhat damper than yours, but as far as nutrition goes it had only a 6 inch strip of very poor soil between the stone house wall and a concrete path running any rain that fell on it, away from the bed. I found James very amenable to shaping so he hugged the wall tight leaving the path unobstructed. That's a thought. From the point of view of a shrub like that, the dryness is only while it is running its roots out to the water. It is next to a permeable block paved parking area. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#4
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Climber for VERY dry location
On 03/08/2014 12:12, Nick Maclaren wrote:
I have a bed in the rain shadow of the eaves, but where a plant can run its roots sideways a couple of feet to where there is ample water. Currently, I grow Clematis cirrhosa, Passiflora incarnata and Cyclamen coum (which love it!) It faces north-east. The C. cirrhosa doesn't flower much, and is becoming a nuisance, so I would like to replace it by something with a maximum height of 10-20'. There are wires for the first 10', so self-clinging is not required. Either evergreen or flowers. But the key is that it must be happy with NO direct rainfall! And, of course, take moderate frosts (hard by West Country standards, mild by Highlands ones). Tropaeolum ciliatum should do what you want. But, be warned, it is very invasive, and runs underground! Frosts above ground will damage the plants, but the tubers will survive deep underground. I grew it once, and it survived over 5 years of glyphosate. When I tried to dig it up, some of the tubers were more than 40cm down up against the footings of the house. I am sure they would have gone deeper if they hadn't hit concrete. On an unrelated matter, some time back you asked for suggestions for exotic veg. I just came across this page. http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/content...ollection.html You may have seen it, but if not maybe there is something of interest for you. -- Jeff |
#5
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Climber for VERY dry location
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote: On 03/08/2014 12:12, Nick Maclaren wrote: I have a bed in the rain shadow of the eaves, but where a plant can run its roots sideways a couple of feet to where there is ample water. Currently, I grow Clematis cirrhosa, Passiflora incarnata and Cyclamen coum (which love it!) It faces north-east. The C. cirrhosa doesn't flower much, and is becoming a nuisance, so I would like to replace it by something with a maximum height of 10-20'. There are wires for the first 10', so self-clinging is not required. Either evergreen or flowers. But the key is that it must be happy with NO direct rainfall! And, of course, take moderate frosts (hard by West Country standards, mild by Highlands ones). Tropaeolum ciliatum should do what you want. But, be warned, it is very invasive, and runs underground! Frosts above ground will damage the plants, but the tubers will survive deep underground. I grew it once, and it survived over 5 years of glyphosate. When I tried to dig it up, some of the tubers were more than 40cm down up against the footings of the house. I am sure they would have gone deeper if they hadn't hit concrete. Thanks. I need to think of that one - being an older house, the footings are only a couple of feet deep. Perfectly adequate on this soil, but it might get under them and come up through the floor .... On an unrelated matter, some time back you asked for suggestions for exotic veg. I just came across this page. http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/content...ollection.html Thanks very much. An update: Rampion - growing well, but still quite small Magenta spreen - the one surviving plant is growing OK, but is not huge Malabar spinach - now growing OK, but is not huge Yacon - growing OK, once I had dealt with the snails Achocha (fat babies) - quite good raw or pickled, but tasteless as soup Cherokee Trail of Tears and Greek Gigantes - setting well Mouse melon - growing and flowering, but the fruit don't set Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#6
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Climber for VERY dry location
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote: On an unrelated matter, some time back you asked for suggestions for exotic veg. I just came across this page. http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/content...ollection.html You may have seen it, but if not maybe there is something of interest for you. Thanks again. It's interesting, but deceptive. I have grown some of those, failed with others and know enough not to bother with yet others. Here are some examples: Acmella oleracea - "an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation"? Watch out! That's a sign of a neurotoxin and, without further evidence, more than very occasional use might be seriously harmful. The same applies to any plant grown for its medicinal benefits. I would be a bit chary of eating runner bean flowers without further research. Feijoa sellowiana - I didn't know that it wasn't self-fertile, but I doubt that you would get much fruit, anyway. Mine is flowering now - the flowers are edible and, unusually, sweet. Asparagus pea - I have grown it, and it was far too high in tannins. But my mother did, and it was OK. I suspect that you need a culinary variety. Oca - it doesn't grow brilliantly with me, as it doesn't start growing tubers until short day-lengths, and dies at the first hint of frost. Tedious to grow but very pleasant. But MOST of them would be marginal even in a warm greenhouse, because they need at least subtropical conditions. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#7
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Climber for VERY dry location
On 04/08/2014 09:20, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , Jeff Layman wrote: On an unrelated matter, some time back you asked for suggestions for exotic veg. I just came across this page. http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/content...ollection.html You may have seen it, but if not maybe there is something of interest for you. Thanks again. It's interesting, but deceptive. I have grown some of those, failed with others and know enough not to bother with yet others. Here are some examples: Acmella oleracea - "an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation"? Watch out! That's a sign of a neurotoxin and, without further evidence, more than very occasional use might be seriously harmful. The same applies to any plant grown for its medicinal benefits. Reminds me of a pharmacognosy practical I did as part of a pharmacy degree. We were asked to try one of the diagnostic tests for aconite root - touch it on the tip of the tongue! I can still remember the tingling and numbness that lasted several minutes. I wonder what Elf'n'Safety would have to say about that today... Feijoa sellowiana - I didn't know that it wasn't self-fertile, but I doubt that you would get much fruit, anyway. Mine is flowering now - the flowers are edible and, unusually, sweet. I grew this in Sussex and it flowered regularly. Then one year it produced around a kilo of fruit. These had a rather strange flavour, but did make some very interesting chutney. It never fruited again (only once in a dozen years). I'm now growing another one in south Hampshire, and will be interested to see if that ever sets fruit, although it's still too young to flower at less than a metre high. It seems to depend on the strain as to how self-fertile it is (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/feijoa.html). -- Jeff |
#8
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Climber for VERY dry location
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote: Feijoa sellowiana - I didn't know that it wasn't self-fertile, but I doubt that you would get much fruit, anyway. Mine is flowering now - the flowers are edible and, unusually, sweet. I grew this in Sussex and it flowered regularly. Then one year it produced around a kilo of fruit. These had a rather strange flavour, but did make some very interesting chutney. It never fruited again (only once in a dozen years). I'm now growing another one in south Hampshire, and will be interested to see if that ever sets fruit, although it's still too young to flower at less than a metre high. It seems to depend on the strain as to how self-fertile it is (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/feijoa.html). Ah, interesting. Mine is less than a metre high, but in a pot, and pruned to keep it within bounds. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#9
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Climber for VERY dry location
"Nick Maclaren" wrote
Jeff Layman wrote: Feijoa sellowiana - I didn't know that it wasn't self-fertile, but I doubt that you would get much fruit, anyway. Mine is flowering now - the flowers are edible and, unusually, sweet. I grew this in Sussex and it flowered regularly. Then one year it produced around a kilo of fruit. These had a rather strange flavour, but did make some very interesting chutney. It never fruited again (only once in a dozen years). I'm now growing another one in south Hampshire, and will be interested to see if that ever sets fruit, although it's still too young to flower at less than a metre high. It seems to depend on the strain as to how self-fertile it is (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/feijoa.html). Ah, interesting. Mine is less than a metre high, but in a pot, and pruned to keep it within bounds. Stick with it and eat your heart out Nick.....so many fruit.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmAVb1lpHB4 :-) -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
#10
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Climber for VERY dry location
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... In article , Jeff Layman wrote: Feijoa sellowiana - I didn't know that it wasn't self-fertile, but I doubt that you would get much fruit, anyway. Mine is flowering now - the flowers are edible and, unusually, sweet. I grew this in Sussex and it flowered regularly. Then one year it produced around a kilo of fruit. These had a rather strange flavour, but did make some very interesting chutney. It never fruited again (only once in a dozen years). I'm now growing another one in south Hampshire, and will be interested to see if that ever sets fruit, although it's still too young to flower at less than a metre high. It seems to depend on the strain as to how self-fertile it is (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/feijoa.html). Ah, interesting. Mine is less than a metre high, but in a pot, and pruned to keep it within bounds. Regards, Nick Maclaren. Have you tried Bomarea? B edulis is the one that's easy having tubers it will cope with dry periods and it dies down to the edible tubers for winter so is perfectly hardy. Take a look at http://pushingtheborders.com/phpBB/v....php?f=4&t=475 -- Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella and Lapageria rosea cvs http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk |
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