|
Once at a lecture I remember hearing the speaker say something to the effect,
“I won’t consider any plant hard to grow until I have killed it at least
three times.” I think about that every time I try a new plant in my garden.
Picky lavender
Lavender is a good example. It is one of the top-selling perennials at our
garden store and now I know why. Kentuckians all want it, but it is very hard
to find a spot where it will actually grow so we just keep trying. I have
always known lavender to be somewhat picky and very difficult to grow in some
areas, so I had never really given it a chance in my own garden.
Several years ago, I finally gave in and decided to give it a try. The first
one died almost immediately, and of course I thought it was my fault. Perhaps
I didn’t give it enough water to get it established, planted it too late in
the season, or in the wrong spot. So in the fall I tried again, choosing a
different part of the garden.
To my surprise, it was still alive the following spring and seemed to be
growing well. So, as any gardener would do, I immediately bought another one
and planted it in the same area. Success, or so I thought. Sometime around
the middle of July, I noticed the more mature of the two was dying, darn it.
Not to worry, I was not giving up that easy. This spring, I planted one more in
my fourth attempt to establish lavender in the garden. I will let you know
how it turns out.
Pineapple lily
About eight years ago, a fabulous gardener friend, who is always trying to
push our hardiness window to the limit and can successfully grow things we
never thought possible in Kentucky, gave me a pineapple lily, Eucomis
bicolor. He said he had gotten it to over-winter in his garden and
thought I should give it a try.
It was so beautiful in its pot I was reluctant to plant it in the garden and
risk killing it, so I decided to grow it as a tropical plant. I did pretty
well with it for more than a year in the container, then started to get a bit
bored with it. Late that summer, I decided to plant it in the garden so I
wouldn’t have to bring it in and over-winter it in my basement.
One good rule of thumb: when planting outside the hardiness zones, do so in
the spring or early summer to give plants plenty of time to establish before
winter. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I broke my own rule, planted it
anyway, and thought it would be fine. It loved being in the garden and seemed
to flourish for the rest of the summer and fall, but in the spring there was
no sign of my pineapple lily. Not to worry, I bought another one and tried
again.
This time I bought Eucomis sp. ‘Sparkling Burgundy,’ or purple
pineapple lily. This pineapple lily has unusual purple to burgundy strap-like
leaves that remain colorful throughout the growing season. The flower is also
purple but lighter in color, and resembles a miniature purple pineapple. It
emerges on a stalk from the center of the plant about mid-summer and it is
beautiful. Standing about 2 feet tall in full bloom, it makes an excellent
colorful statement in my sunny herb and perennial bed.
The good news is that the purple pineapple lily, a perennial bulb, is said to
be hardy in zones 6-9, so we are right on the edge for most of Kentucky,
although southwestern Kentucky is zone 6. I am happy to report that it has
successfully over-wintered for two years in my garden, so I believe it is
here to stay.
Now I am ready to try the green pineapple lily, Eucomis bicolor,
again. It would look great next to my purple one. Eucomis bicolor is
said to be hardy in zones 7/8-11 so it is slightly less hardy than my purple
one. I figure I have two more chances to try before I consider it too hard to
grow.
Most gardeners are really scientists at heart, challenging current data by
growing things we have never grown. After all, how do I really know if a
plant is not hardy until I have proved it myself?
Shelly
Nold is a horticulturist and owner of The Plant Kingdom. Send your gardening
stories or ideas to Shelly Nold, The Plant Kingdom, 4101 Westport Road,
Louisville, KY 40207.
|