The other day I posted a photo about a plant but couldn't remember the name. Well here it is, Callirhoe involucrata. Now please don't ask me to pronounce this out loud, I can usually come up with a decent pronunciation but this one has me totally stumped.
I've had Callirhoe in the garden 4 or 5 years now. The same two plants, never more, never less. I bought them in a small pot and over the years I've learned little about them.
Callirhoe doesn't stand up on it's own, it needs surrounding plant material to clambor along or a rock wall to cascade down.
It has no pests that I've seen except for rabbits which occasionally find it absolutely delicious.
The flowers only open when the sun is up, they close up in early evening but the strong magenta color still makes the closed buds beautiful.
Today I went to Mobot's site to learn more about this plant. It is part of the Malva family and can grow as far south as Texas (Pauline, are you taking note?). Also, it likes dry to medium soil so I'm guessing it would also do well for Gail in her stony Tennessee soil.This plant is native to America, I wonder if any of you folks overseas seas have it in your gardens?
If any of you have tips on how to propigate this plant, leave a message. I remember hearing it seeds around but I don't have any seedlings here that I know of.
6 comments:
It looks perfect exactly where it is in your garden! Melanie, your long bed has been a delightful inspiration to me...combining plants, texture, color...and this particular planting is one of my favorites. I love the pink with the silvery gray plants near it. The stone is also a very bice contrast.
thanks for thinking about me...I will check this plant out for fall planting!
Gail
Hey! Those are Winecups! I have some of those I planted from seed in my Austin, Tx garden. Down here we are supposed to plant the seeds in the fall so they bloom in the spring, but I started mine in January in pots of sandy potting soil and moved them outside and they are just now getting ready to bloom. They seem to like partial shade down here as well.
You can buy seeds online from Wildseed farms:
wildseedfarms.com
I just love their magenta blooms ;)
The Callirhoe is very pretty. Is that a white Lychnis next to it? I winter sowed some this year, but they won't bloom till next year.
Yep, Winecups they are. They grow along the roadside here in Texas. Here is what Dave's Garden says about them: "May be a noxious weed or invasive; Drought-tolerant; suitable for xeriscaping
Self-sows freely; deadhead if you do not want volunteer seedlings next season."
Speaking of plants that self-sow, does this mean you can't mulch the beds with that type of plant in them?
Pauline
Pronounciation and meaning:
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Callirhoe.html
Propogation:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Callirhoe+involucrata
Pretty plant, I remember it self-seeding when I grew some.
That is one of the most beautiful ways to set up a flower to thrill a gardener's soul, I have seen lately. It is absolutly perfect in that setting. I should pay more attention to setting up a picture with flowers...I tend to just pop them in without enough thought about the final picture. Lovely!
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