A to Z of plants

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John J

  • Hero Member
A to Z of plants
« on: March 31, 2016, 06:05:00 PM »
For a very long time, in fact several years to be honest, I have been toying with an idea but have never managed to get around to it. The idea was to identify and catalogue all the plants that we have acquired and succeeded in growing in our garden/field/orchard/whatever. Perhaps the time has come to begin this project and, to keep me focused, to share the results with the readers of the Forum.
If I approach it in alphabetical order, perhaps a letter a week (or longer for more popular letters), with the odd photo where appropriate and maybe a personal comment or two regarding the suitability, growing requirements, aesthetic value, etc of certain plants.
Any comments, suggestions gratefully received.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Joanna Savage

  • Sr. Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2016, 06:17:28 PM »
John, does this mean you are starting again from A? What a job.

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2016, 06:20:43 PM »
Some readers of the Forum may find the above post to be a little confusing. The fact of the matter is that myself and others began a thread recently listing the plants we grow in our gardens in alphabetical order. We had reached 10 pages of posts when for some inexplicable reason the whole thread disappeared without trace. It has proven to be irretrievable. Fortunately one of our Moderators, Fleur Pavlidis, had been looking at the thread on the very day that it disappeared and had the first 9 pages on her computer. She has sent me these as a Word document and I am now attempting to copy and paste them back onto the Forum. As I am a complete dunce when it comes to the technological stuff this may take some time so I ask that you please have patience and bear with me. The above post is by way of being a test run to see if the system would work.
I will be off island from Sunday for a few days as I am flying to Athens to attend an MGS Admin Committee meeting so I will not be able to devote much time to this project until I return.
Thank you for your understanding and I hope you continue to read, enjoy and, hopefully, gather information from the Forum.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2016, 06:24:10 PM »
Sorry, Joanna, your posting came in as I was writing mine above. Hopefully it will explain the situation. I am attempting to put back the whole thread exactly as it was.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2016, 07:09:17 AM »
    Re: An A - Z of plants
« Reply #7 on: February 29, 2016, 07:51:59 PM »    Quote  Modify  Remove  Split Topic

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Having committed to this project I guess the only way forward is to dive right in and see what happens.
My ultimate aim is to produce a reasonably detailed record of the plants that we have growing on our property. However, the information I post on the Forum will be more along the lines of personal observations.
So, here goes: and what more fitting plant to start the ball rolling than the symbol of the MGS; Acanthus.
We have 2 varieties:

Acanthus mollis
Very low maintenance, just needs the dead foliage and flower spikes tidying up as they die down in the summer.
Very easy to propagate from root cuttings.
Good grown en-masse in difficult areas.

Acanthus arboreus
Differs from the above as it doesn't die down in summer but remains green.
Flowers are red, not the blue of its more common cousin.
Much taller and straighter in stature but care needs to be exercised when choosing a location as the leaves are viciously spiked.
Ours was obtained from the MGS garden Sparoza in 2012.

Acca sellowiana (Pineapple guava)
Neither a pineapple nor a guava, ours were grown from seed from Chiltern Seeds in UK more than 15 years ago.
They serve us more in an ornamental capacity than for their fruiting ability as we are unable to provide the optimum conditions they require for this. I believe they require more water than we can justifiably give them and a period of colder weather than we experience to aid ripening. Other than that they are fairly undemanding and their flowers are spectacular, even being edible in their own right.


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« Last Edit: March 03, 2016, 03:19:14 PM by John J »   Report to moderator     31.153.68.84 (?)

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Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)
« Last Edit: April 09, 2016, 02:27:26 PM by Alisdair »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2016, 07:14:44 AM »
Ah! snag! I did say I was not good at this techno stuff. I have copied and pasted the first posting but the photos haven't come up. I shall have to try to insert them using the Modify button unless the Moderators can suggest anything different.
Stick with me, I'll get there one way or another. :-[
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Joanna Savage

  • Sr. Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #6 on: April 01, 2016, 08:03:03 AM »
Double Hero Member to John for repeating this list.

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2016, 06:52:25 PM »
Hey, I got the photos in! Not exactly in the right place but a fair try for a novice.  8)
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2016, 01:34:14 PM »
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To continue where I left off:-
Actinidia deliciosa (Kiwi fruit)
Planted a few years ago as an experiment that so far has not borne fruit (excuse the pun!).
Has been extremely slow to establish and is on the verge of being declared a failure.

Aeonium arboreum 'Atropurpureum'
Easy to grow succulent needing little or no attention.

Alocasia macrorrhiza
A touch of the tropical. Ours grow in an area shaded by mature trees and benefitting from nearby irrigation.

Aloe arborescens
Another succulent that survives quite happily without much attention.

Aloe juvenna
Grown in containers.

Aloe vera
Our original plant came from Australia. Established well and again needs little attention.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2016, 02:28:30 PM by Alisdair »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2016, 01:53:03 PM »
When I started to reconstitute this thread I said I would put it back as was. What I should have said was that I would attempt to cut and paste my posts. I realize that others have also made significant contributions over the past few weeks; Fleur; JayB; Umbrian; Joanna; Caroline; Hilary; Alisdair and JTh, (I hope I haven't missed anyone). I would very much have liked to resurrect their posts too but I am not sure a) that I have the ability and b) that I have the moral right to do so. Anyway, I have done all that I have the time for today and tomorrow I am off to Athens. I will be back at the end of the week and I WILL complete the task in hand, so please stick with me and if you wish to contribute any comments of your own at any time don't hesitate to join in.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

Hilary

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #10 on: April 02, 2016, 04:22:38 PM »
Hi there,
I have had a quick check through the photos of flowers/ plants/ places visited  I have sent recently and all mine appear to be present and correct.

Hilary
MGS member
Living in Korinthos, Greece.
No garden but two balconies, one facing south and the other north.
Most of my plants are succulents which need little care

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #11 on: April 09, 2016, 01:49:31 PM »
Aloysia triphylla (Lemon Verbena).
Doesn't appreciate conditions that are too hot or too cold. Grown in partial shade where it can benefit from some supplementary water.
Used with Lemon Balm to make a refreshing cold tea in summer.

Alternanthera ficoidea
Grown for its colourful foliage. Used as an edging plant in partial shade.

Annona cherimola (Custard Apple)
Another experiment that has yet to prove itself.

Aptenia cordifolia
Easily grown, spreading succulent, useful as a quick ground cover.

Araucaria heterophylla
What can be said about the Norfolk Island Pine? Very common sight here in Cyprus for some reason.

Arbutus andrachne
Native to Cyprus providing a large part of the understorey in the pine forests of the mountains. To my mind a far more attractive plant than Arbutus unedo due to its peeling bark revealing the bright cinnamon-red beneath.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2016, 10:09:05 AM by John J »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2016, 01:58:24 PM »
Hi, I am back from my Athens trip and starting to put the missing pages up again. I have noticed another snag, when I copy and paste the pages the plant names have reverted to normal font instead of the original italics, I have no idea why, perhaps one of the Moderators can offer a suggestion? Anyway, with so much to be done to reinstall the pages I hope forumers will forgive my not taking time to modify this as I go along. I intend to try to put back all the pages and then return to insert the missing photos and change the italics.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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Alisdair

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2016, 02:31:20 PM »
John, to save you a bit of time I've popped italics in for you (as I've been doing for Carole). Thanks very much indeed for doing all this painstaking reconstruction!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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John J

  • Hero Member
Re: A to Z of plants
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2016, 05:10:20 AM »
Thanks for that Alisdair, much appreciated. Back to the project in hand.

In preparation for this project I went around the garden section by section, with a notebook and pencil listing all the plants before arranging them into alphabetical order and starting to raise an index card on each one. Inevitably I overlooked one or several, and here is the first of them:-

Anthyllis barba-jovis
Obtained from the MGS garden Sparoza, it is establishing well in a dry area but has not yet reached flowering size.

Arum sintenisii
Although this is a wild plant that occurred naturally on our property I have included it as it is a very rare endemic. I have managed to increase the number of plants by division and establish them in different areas. They do prefer soil that remains slightly moist and does not dry out completely. The original grows at the edge of the irrigation zone for our mandarin tree.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2016, 05:32:11 PM by John J »
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)