Monday, August 15, 2011

Leptodermis oblonga, butterflies like this northern Chinese sub-shrub and I like it too



The flowers are smallish but they're attractive, fragrant, and once they start mid-summer, they keep on coming. Plus the plant has a structural integrity that adds a bit of calm and order amidst the frenzied summer garden. It's a tight little shrub with parallel ascending stems. Clumped together, multiple plants combine to function a a 2-3 foot tall groundcover. I only know it from this one site so I can't speak to it's tolerance of different situations, but it seems quite content here, completely unpampered in a hot sunny location. I'm going to propagate it and put in a few massed groupings that will help bring order to the

We finally had a good rain this past weekend; plants seem happy for the first time in at least two months. Irrigation is a good thing but it has its limits. We got over 5 inches of rain at home while the Arboretum received ~1.75". I would love to have reversed the amounts but couldn't figure out how to do it. Still we should be good for a while. Summer is coming to a close though it will take four or five weeks to get there. It has certainly been a trying season though mild in comparison to what much of the rest of the country has endured. Now I read that areas of Australia are experiencing unprecedentedly high temperature. Next year will be exciting.

3 comments:

Nic said...

Pretty...How hardy is it?

Unknown said...

Congratulations on the rain!

Your butterfly pictures are so beautiful. We have seen more and more Monarchs this past summer in our garden, but I wish we had more variety. I just don't think Oregon is their ideal destination.

ChrisU said...

It's supposed to be hardy to Zone 5 but as I said, I've only grown it in this one space. I know it's transitioning from collector nurseries, (eg. Plant Delights, Lazy S, Cistus, etc) to more mainstream nurseries.