Jack's Mystery Plant

17 Feb '07 2:51 pm

Well, Jack, I've been doing some more searching around and I'm wondering if your plant could be a Scaevola. Here's what I found about it and a picture, maybe of the wrong variety, but could it be a relative of this one?

Scaevola aemula
Family: Goodeniaceae
Blue wonder, Escabola, Fan flower
Origin: Australia

Sprawling evergreen perennial with ascending and/or procumbent stems. It typically grows to 9-18” tall and spreads to 24” wide. It thrives in hot, humid climates where it produces a non-stop bloom of dark blue fan-shaped flowers in the leaf axils on trailing stems throughout summer to first frost. Lanceolate to obovate, toothed green leaves (to 2” long). The profusion of the bloom coupled with the unique shape of the cool blue flowers makes this an exciting selection for hanging baskets and window boxes.

What do you think?

17 Feb '07 10:34 pm

Gordon, definitely, it is not this one, cause I have it. It is not an erect plant , and it is rather short and ligt purple. I think, that Tee Cee's finding is much closer, even to the form of Jack's plant : Angelonia mandiana.

18 Feb '07 9:02 am

Okay, Jack - Thanks for letting me know! Very Happy

-gordonf

18 Feb '07 12:27 pm

Gordon, I hope Jack will manage to be back with us next week! I am sure, he will de delighted to reply to you! By the way, I post for you here my Scaevola hanging from a pot from my last Summer's garden file . And you can compare yourself Jack's blue flower -- once again -- in page 14 of his Summer Shots topic (:Diaries).

18 Feb '07 5:06 pm

Hi, Liza-

It does, indeed, look like your plant is probably the ONE! I'm glad that somebody identified it!

It's been a cool, wet, windy day here today, so, other than cleaning up a bit of the roof garden, I spent most of the afternoon napping while my beans baked in the oven. Isn't retirement grand Very Happy

! Every hour I'd get up and stir them, then return for another nap with Joey, the dog. He's definitely a desert dog and doesn't like the rain at all.

I noticed that my gloxinia plants both are covered with flower buds in my dining room window, so it seems that I've finally found a place where they like to grow. One is blue and the other is red and they both grew from leaf cuttings.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Cheers,

gordonf

19 Feb '07 2:35 am

Gordon , I love your mood , which is an open- hearted, positive mood! It feels good when other people, especially one's friends, are happy, no?

Now , just have a look at this blue, upright, frost hardy, perennial Lobelia! She is a shorter "cousin" of my quite tall and brilliant red Lobelia Fulgens/Queen Victoria. What do you say! I have 4 of them in the heart border, but I found this photo of the internet more descriptive. Well?

19 Feb '07 10:20 am

Hi, Liza-

That sure is a lovely Lobelia! I don't think it would look too good in my garden, though, as it is fairly dark and shady most of the time, and blue, while one of my favourite colours, seems to fade into the background. That doesn't happen with the delphiniums, though. Perhaps it's because they are so tall! But, if I remember correctly, other than a great, blue corydalis, that's the only blue flower that I have in the garden. Oh, yes - there's also Chinese Forget-Me-Not!

I have "Queen Victoria" in my garden. It doesn't seem to be very long-lived, though, and nearly died out las year. However one piece (or perhaps a seedling) survived and had one flower on it. I hope it reappears again this year, as it really is a lovely, rich red!

It has been a lovely, sunny day here, so I was out cleaning up and raking a bit until forced inside by a sunshower. There should be a rainbow around somewhere! I noticed that some of the lilies have poked their noses above ground, as have the thalictrums, so things are happening!

Tomorrow the crew is coming to install my new pellet stove in the living room, so I guess I'll be able to do some more gardening while they are here. That way, I don't get in the way of them!

As for your new blue lobelias, are they in one big clump or distributed around the garden? Have you any plans for companion plants with complimentary colours for them?

Cheers!

-gordonf

20 Feb '07 6:49 am

Gordon, this blue Lobelia, is about 10cm shorter than Queen Victoria, who is almost 1m tall, and blooms June-July, while the Q.V. blooms end of July-August. What both of them have in common, is that they create basal clumps, and this is how they are multiplied. They both have tender tall stems, that could be attacked by Botrytis disease if their surroundings are extremely damp and shadowy.. I would say, they like shadow on their roots and sun on their stems ..So, they thrive better in the middle of the border, having in front of them shorter plants, some lovely golden Coreopsis (50-60cm tall) , for example, or some purple or pink hardy Geraniums, not taller than 30-40 cms; or some lovely red Geum "Mrs Bradshow"; or even some lovely short Dianthus! How I love the lovely , scented Dianthus( I am so sorry, but I know almost none non-botanical English name of plants. You see, I am of Greek origin and I learned directly the botanical names ). If you divided them every other year, maybe, they could live longer your red Lobelias??

But for me also , the best blue in the garden are the brilliant blue Delphiniums, like the one you posted some time ago in the "In Love Diary". Some other frost hardy blue loves of mine, are the Salvias and the Veronicas Spicatas, especially the tall ones! But I am also a perpetual Agapanthus lover/admirer, and last Summer I planted about 15 of them -- the frost hardy ones (?) , medium tall -- in the garden. This second Summer in the garden will prove whether they are really frost hardy ...

I hope that your new pellet stove is ready and beautiful by now, and every 30' you... go to the living room to admire it! And I am sure you have Spring-gardened a lot today! Spring time bliss, no? Me, too, and my hands are like I have been playing with ...four baby kittens simultaneously all day! Just because I started pruning some more of the Roses...But NO pain! Faith calls it "Garden Zone" protection!

Be Happy!

20 Feb '07 6:00 pm

Hi, Liza,

Don't worry about knowing only the Latin names for plants! There are so many different common names for the same plants that Latin is the way to go to really be clear in what you say! I tend to use Latin names a lot, even though there are some favourites from childhood that, even though I know their Latin names, I still tend to use the common English name with which I was brought up. This sometimes causes me a bit of trouble as the common names are occasionally different here in the west than they are in the east of the country.

As for the Lobelia, I think I'll try dividing it this year, as you suggested, or at least getting some root cuttings with which to enlarge my clump.

I didn't get outside in the garden at all today as it was pouring rain nearly all day, and the workmen were here installing the pellet stove. It is now operating smoothly, and I am feeling very pure and pleased with myself knowing that it is not adding extra carbon to the atmosphere Rolling Eyes

! Hopefully it will cut my oil consumption a lot!

Tomorrow the local provincial government will be presenting its budget for 2007, and since it recently announced a new-found "green" consciousness (following that of California), I will be interested in what the plans will be. Supposedly, the first two proposed coal-fired power plants for the province will either be sent back for redesign or cancelled altogether. We'll see what happens!

My unknown plants, which I mentioned earlier in a post, are pushing fatter shoots through the ground day by day. I will be very glad when they have leaves large enough to take a picture of that I can post for possible identification here.

I hope you have a sunny day tomorrow so you can get outside into the garden!

All the best!

-gordonf

20 Feb '07 7:12 pm

That is a lovely lobelia, Liza. I have the same, but in a purple and a shocking pink. Would those colours stand out in your garden, gordonf (LOL!)? They self seed a little and are totally hardy - sorry, no pictures. Is Canada as hard to bring seeds into as New Zealand is, gordonf? Because I could send some when ripe if it is possible.
Hope you keep all toasty warm with your new fire. Today was like living in an oven, it was so hot, I appreciated the air conditioning at work - didn't want to go outside!

Jack's Mystery Plant

Jack's Mystery Plant

Scaeveola

Have a look at this blue!

Lobelia

Blue flowers

Queen Victoria

Lobelia