Morocco is the home of this exotic looking, widely available cytisus with its striking pineapple scented flowers and silver grey leaves. Flowers are buttery yellow and arranged in dense six inch racemes that appear in early summer. The deciduous leaves, composed of three leaflets covered with silky white hairs, are pretty too. It does not respond well in the open, so give it a position in front of a warm, south facing wall where it will grow rapidly up to six feet with a similar spread. It is happiest in poor, acidic soils but will tolerate a small amount of lime. Planting in shallow chalk soils will cause chlorosis in time.
Propagation: Sow seed in containers in a cold frame in autumn or spring. Root ripewood cuttings in midsummer or semi-ripe cuttings in late summer. |
This is one of my favourite weigelas and so I was delighted to discover several specimens growing in our garden when we moved in. Its rosy pink flowers are funnel shaped like a foxglove's and carried in corymbs along the previous year's shoots. The dark green, ovate or elliptic leaves are prettily variegated with creamy yellow margins. W. 'Praecox Variegata' flowers in May but occasionally a second batch appears in late summer. This easy to grow weigela is as much at home in shrub or mixed borders as in a woodland setting. It will grow in any fertile, well drained soil in full sun or partial shade and when mature will be about eight feet with a six feet spread.
Propagation: Root greenwood cuttings early summer and semi-ripe cuttings with bottom heat midsummer. Take hardwood cuttings from autumn to winter. |
Shrubby potentillas are so widely used in municipal plantings that gardeners shun them when planting their own gardens. This is a pity because these are long flowering and reliable plants in a range of colours that are happy to grow in soil conditions that would wipe out more sensitive subjects. P. f. 'Vilmoriniana' has attractive silvery green leaves composed of five or seven leaflets and saucer shaped, five petalled, creamy white flowers. It grows in an upright fashion, reaching six feet by three feet, thus making an excellent hedge. In this case, it should be pruned in early to mid-spring. It is perfect for mixed or shrub borders and should be planted in poor to moderately fertile soil in full sun.
Propagation: Take greenwood cuttings early summer. |
