The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Trees and Shrubs => Topic started by: John J on August 09, 2015, 09:49:55 AM
-
Ever since I first encountered the Pineapple Broom at Capel Manor College it has been at the top of my Want One list but so far I have failed, for a variety of reasons, to acquire one. At that time it went under the name of Cytisus battandieri but has since been reassigned to Argyrocytisus battandieri. Anyway, whilst in UK last week I came across a fairly small specimen that had been consigned to the 'Bargain Basement' area of one of the Garden Centres we visited. So, I bought it, cut it down to transportable size and stuffed it into our hand luggage, along with a selection of much smaller items and bundles of seed packets that my wife had accumulated over our 2 week stay. It has now been repotted and with some TLC and a bit of luck will take and grow and eventually produce those amazingly scented flowers that caused me to walk the long way round on my way to the car park at the end of the day just so that I could smell them.
-
I LOVE this plant, John, and have tried it a number of times, but alas it does not like us , or myself, or the place. I saw huge specimens in UK last June, blooming as if there is no tomorrow, in what I would define as hight moisture cool temperate areas (not far from Alasdair's) ;), so I doubt it will ever accept our completely different conditions. Actually, it is not a mediterranean plant, but rather, a mountain dweller for temperate gardens. One reads Morocco and immediately thinks of the Imperial cities, the terracota hues, the yards and the desert oasis, but really this broom comes from the high Atlas mountains where it grows in oak and cedar forests at heights of 1500 - 2000 m, and it does want cool climate. Not for nothing it is hardy is Scotland and North US!
So our very light soil verging to dusty, that does not retain humidity, the level of insulation (pizza-oven style), and very very hot summer days are not really the thing.
-
I know what you mean, Alessandra, I was very pleasantly surprised when we went on the MGS Morocco trip last year and found that my preconceived image of a hot, dusty, desert-like country was way off the mark. Up in the mountains we had rain and sleet and it was very cold at times. As for our plant, I'm keeping it in the pot and nurturing it while it recovers from its ordeal and will plant it out later in the year when the rains and the cooler weather arrives. The spot I have picked out for it is in the shade of some mature trees that have intermittent irrigation during the summer so, hopefully, the humidity level will be a little higher. The soil has been improved a bit over the years due to the fallen leaves and I'll improve the water retention even further with a mix of manure, compost and leaf litter before planting it out.
Looking forward to meeting later this month. :) (The smiley is at the insistence of our 4 year old granddaughter in response to the one you put into your message!).
-
I am trying with a plant too. I can water as often as needed and therefore I am hoping for the best. I bought it from a nursery in the north of Italy where summers are as hot as ours in Rome but winters are much colder. It arrived heavily cut back with only one or two leaves but made about 6 inches of growth on three branches during our very hot summer. Fingers crossed.
Having said all that, all that I had read before buying it concurs with Alevin's comments. Plus, I have never seen one growing in the south of Italy (surely somebody would be growing such a wonderful shrub if it were possible?) and I first saw it in gardens in Brussels which is not the hottest spot in Europe even on a good day (pace any"Brusselèèrs" reading this :))
Wish John and myself good luck.
-
I too love this plant and grew it in the UK. I brought one to Italy when we came 17 years ago and it survived for two or three years. Apparently it had been grafted onto Laburnum stock as I continued to get Laburnum growth from the remaining roots for several years. The only specimen I have tracked down in Italy was too poor and expensive to consider buying but I am still hoping to grow it again sometime. Davis, you were supposed to be helping me I this - any luck in that direction :) :)
-
How encouraging to read that other gardeners are also trying to push the gardening boundaries by growing tender plants in hot places and tropical ones in cool climes. Years ago while in Lucy , Jamaica, I fell in love with Ixora coccinea and Quisqualis indica. I was able to acquire them after a good search. The Ixora was replaced every year. I gave up on it a few years ago. On the other hand the Quisqualis is still around and flowers but not profusely. I had many failures which I shall write about on a different thread later but I am not discouraged. I am still trying to get hold of a Calycanthus floridus, Clerodendrum ugandense and Dombeya.
-
Hi Umbrian,
I brought 3 small plants back from the uk with me last Christmas. In spring they quickly became infested with red spider mites. I sprayed them with neem oil but, stupidly, I added double the dose of oil through lack of concentration and they perished, suffocated in oil. Will get some more for you when I am over in the UK later this year.
-
Hello to everybody after a very long absence. No, I wasn't in prison. Just moved house and it took 4 months to get the phone and internet reconnected. To understand why, it will be sufficient to look at my profile and discover which city I live in. That's my whinging over and done with. Now to the good news.
Re Cytisus battandieri. It remained in its pot over winter and was planted out in the shade of some trees a month ago. The flower buds (2) had already formed while it was in its pot. This week I was rewarded with this flower spike and a second is developing now. So, so far so good. True, we have had a very wet and mild spring and the summer may be touch and go. Foliage is very sparse. Fingers crossed.
Umbrian, I didn't get back to the UK over Christmas due to my house move but when I do I will get you a Cytisus battandieri if possible. Who knows, I might be able to get some cuttings on the go if mine starts to send out side shoots
-
Welcome back David - you didn't do too badly really, four months......
Am green with envy re the Cytitus battandieri but well done and hope to get one some way or another very soon. You deserve something to gloat about :)
-
David,
I echo Umbrian's comments above. Good to see you back and I am also envious of your success with the Pineapple broom. Mine, the one that I started this thread with has survived the winter, is in the ground in the shade cast by mature trees and is getting some water from irrigation provided to a nearby fruit tree. It is beginning to put out fresh new growth and with yours flowering at an early age I am hopeful without being overly optimistic. Enjoy yours, I can almost smell them from here. ;)
-
Yes, it's great to see you back, David (and on your "standard" jasmine, do many of the flowers have six petals instead of the normal five, or just the odd one?)
-
Just to let you know, my plant didn't survive the summer :( How about yours John?
-
David, sorry to hear about the demise of your plant. Ours survived, just, and is beginning to show signs of life. We're keeping fingers crossed for more buds to appear and hoping for it to establish a little more strongly this year.
-
We have a very large specimen we have grown from a small plant. It is now in a 80 litre pot, but it will need re housing into a 120 litre at least .... I use extremely poor soil, very free draining , sandy an calcareous and fertilise occasionally with seaweed fertiliser at half strength. When the heat is up, it needs watering on a daily basis in these conditions. I will post some pictures of the plant in flower if I can find them.
Best Regards
Corrado (gardening, i.e. the arms) & Rina (appreciating the garden, i.e. the inspirer)
-
Hi Cerg,
Green with envy I had a look at your profile to see where you garden. But you don't say! Where are you? What kind of climate do you have? If it is similar to Rome I will think about giving it another go :-)
-
Re my last posting. I did finally get another Pineapple Broom for Umbrian but we haven't managed to meet up. It has been in a small pot for over a year now. All of the taller growth died back but it is constantly sending out new side shoots from low down. Encouraged by this I bought a second specimen last November and that is still in its pot waiting to be planted out. I will put it in an even shadier spot than the last one. How about yours John and Cerg? Are they still with you?
-
Hi David, unfortunately our plant did not survive last year's summer.
-
Sorry to hear that John. I have the one from last November sitting waiting to be potted out so I may as well try. I wonder if it is worth letting it flower and then cutting it down for the summer and letting it sprout anew in the autumn. Obviously it will never grow much but even as a little bush which flowers every April it would be worth having..