Do you know?

by Leslie Cox; Monday; January 13, 2025

Photo by Coolings Garden Centre

Do you know…

…what the letter “x” means in a plant name? (Example: Salvia x superba)

That single letter indicates to horticulturalists and avid gardeners the plant is a cross between two different plant genus species. Unfortunately, the name following that “x” does not tell us which two species were used to make the cross…or hybrid as the new plant will be classified as in general terms.

But sometimes we can be fooled as some nurseries drop the important “x” when they are making the plant labels. Inadvertently in most cases, I am sure.

One such example of this omission is Salvia superba. As a result of the “x” being dropped from its name in most instances, its exact parentage has become muddied over time. One source says the parents of Salvia x superba are Salvia sylvestris and Salvia villicaulis while another source claims the parents are Salvia sylvestris and Salvia amplexicaulis. Still others lump Salvia x superba in the Salvia nemerosa group which is a dwarf type of salvia nowhere near the 39-inch (1 m) height of S. x superba.

And to further muddy the waters…you can also find plants labeled as Salvia ‘Superba’ which would typically indicates that plant is actually a unique cultivar of salvia and not a hybrid at all.

Small wonder gardeners have problems keeping plant names straight. In the past, it was the Latin name rather than the common name which would accurately identify a plant. Now it seems at least some Latin names can be confusing as well.

I envision it will come down to the genetic biologists to keep our knowledge base straight in the long run.

Quote of the Week

by Leslie Cox; Sunday; January 12, 2025

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem,
they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth
superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster.
The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance
to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”

~ Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

This week in the garden

by Leslie Cox; Saturday; January 11, 2025

The weather has been decently mild this week, for this time of year. Temperature highs have been ranging from 8 to 10 °C (46 to 50 °F) with some sun breaking through the clouds once the morning fog has cleared. The bit of rainfall we have had has largely happened in the evening and/or overnight. Perfect conditions to get outside and wander around the garden, as well as to start breaking our winterized bodies back into shape.

On a couple of walkabouts, I noticed more of my Primula vulgaris plants with developing buds and open flowers. Also really thrilled to see flower buds on my Helleborus x ballardiae ‘HGC Pink Frost’ and Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘Walhelivor’…two plants my mom gave me when I was developing my front garden. (You might know ‘Walhelivor’ by its trade name IVORY PRINCE.)

I am also super pleased with how my Asarum maximum…common name Panda Face ginger…is looking this week. Mind you, it is in a pot and tucked under the protective branches of my red rhodo in front of the house. Such a placement also provides a great windbreak for the ginger from the prevailing SE winds.

Panda Face had been residing in my garden, enjoying pride of place right in front of the living room picture window and doing well in the ground for about four years. Although…it never did produce any flowers in that time period. Eventually, however, the roots from the Acer campestre…European hedge maple… on the other side of the path began to choke the life out of Panda Face and some of the other plants in that bed.

I spent a week on the rescue mission…digging up plants, detangling their roots from the maple roots and removing as much of the matted maple roots as I could from that bed. I did put almost all of the plants back in the bed with fresh soil amendment and fertilizer and they have performed better since.

Time will tell whether things will improve in that bed now the ailing Acer campestre has been removed. That was our spring project last year, taking out the maple and two other ailing trees on the property. And after that herculean job, John and I have decided our tree removal days are permanently behind us. Whew!