« on: November 13, 2011, 07:38:51 AM »
I suffer the usual problems when it comes to composting (ie finding the correct balance between heat and moisture) and mulching, finding sources of sufficient quantities of OM without having to pay large amounts for it. So when I find plants that don't need to be cossetted and literally thrive in poor soil they're worth their weight in gold. My daughter and son-in-law built a house on a slope and part of the property has a 2 metre retaining wall. On top of this wall is a narrow planting strip that was backfilled with all the sub-soil and debris from the foundations etc. I did nothing to improve this 'soil' but planted into it such things as; Eriocephalus africanus, Euphorbia veneris, Chrysanthemoides incana, Eremophila maculata and Asteriscus maritimus. The photos show the results a few years later. All the plants have performed 100% better than the same plants in my flat field with the reasonably fertile soil. The only thing they have going for them is excellent drainage when it does rain!
John, or anybody else who grows E. africanus: Do you have any problem with it becoming a nuisance through self-sowing?
I ask because
this very informative page indicates the seeds germinate freely.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2011, 07:42:17 AM by MikeHardman »
Logged
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England
