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Dichorisandra thyrsiflora
I have been after one for a while having admired it on Madeira in the
Autumn, today a gardening friend has turned up with one! I know very little about its needs. I am expecting it to be tender but before repotting, what sort of soil is preferred? and in this country how much sun to keep it happy? So anyone already growing this got any advice? -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
The message
from "Charlie Pridham" contains these words: I have been after one for a while having admired it on Madeira in the Autumn, today a gardening friend has turned up with one! I know very little about its needs. I am expecting it to be tender but before repotting, what sort of soil is preferred? and in this country how much sun to keep it happy? So anyone already growing this got any advice? Not growing it but from the American 'Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture' " The Dichorisandras are usually handled as warmhouse subjects, although some may be plunged in the open ground south of Phildephia. D. thyrsiflora is a satisfactory plant of unusual and interesting appearance, which requires little attention once well established, and may be relied upon to flower regularly year after year. It needs careful repotting every year at first until a good-sized pot (say 8") is well filled with roots. ... " .... and after all that it does not say what sort of compost. :( .... but from Sanders Enclopedia of Gardening - 1952 edition (bg) "Compost, one-third each of peat, loam and leaf-mould and a little silver sand. Position, pots in shady part of Stove House. Pot in March. Water freely March - Oct., moderately afterwards. Syringe daily in spring and summer. Temperature March - Oct. 75 - 85, Oct. - March 55 - 65. Propagation By seeds in Spring; division in March." Good Luck ... Jennifer |
"Dave Poole" wrote in message ... Charlie Pridham wrote: I have been after one for a while having admired it on Madeira in the Autumn, today a gardening friend has turned up with one! You lucky thing! To my mind, it is the most magnificent member of the Tradescant family and well worth any effort in getting it to grow well. I know very little about its needs. I am expecting it to be tender but before repotting, what sort of soil is preferred? and in this country how much sun to keep it happy? So anyone already growing this got any advice? The great news is that it isn't really any more difficult to grow than many of the evergreen gingers such as some Hedychiums, Alpinia and Costus. Large, well crocked pots filled with rich, coarse, humus laden, loamy compost (a mix of well-composted lawn turves, coarse grit plus a good dollop of well-rotted horse manure) do the trick, but a gritty JI No2 would probably be just as good. When growing strongly, it can be watered heavily and given weekly applications of a general purpose liquid fertiliser. Just make sure that water can run through the compost quickly, the roots are prone to rotting if conditions get stagnant. In winter, hold back on the watering somewhat, so that the compost becomes nearly dry in between waterings. If kept constantly warm (above 15C), it will remain evergreen and push up very stout, leafy shoots, that flower when 4 feet+ high. If kept just frost free in winter, it will die down and need to be kept more or less dry until new shoots resume growth in spring. I'm half tempted to suggest that it might be OK in a sheltered, well-drained spot out of doors here in the far south west. However, I must quickly add that I've not had the opportunity to try it here and so cannot make that recommendation. Hopefully, you will get a good mass of those intensely rich purplish blue flowers later in the year. I once manage to get a root from Edgebaston Botanical Gardens and grew it on for quite a few years. Would love to get hold of it again - any ideas where it can be obtained in the UK? I've not seen it offered. Dave Poole Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C. Growing season: March - November Well if I follow all the helpful advice from everyone - Watch this space! I have it at one end of the mist unit at present but I shall repot and shift it to the conservatory now I have a cleared idea of the soil requirements (especially the drainage advice) Follow up question, I presume I am not likely to get seed in this country given the lateness of the flowering and our winters? (I wont be able to keep it at 15c) I think I may have answered that for myself! Outdoor plants of Hedychium greenii rarely flower here before first frost, while ones started under cover will flower in September but no seed set (I know you don't need it with this one!) so I assume similar for Dichorisandra. -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
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