Godzilla Sunflower--Helianthus grosseserratus, maybe

This rather imposing beast of a plant is something I grew from a seed that I got off my friend Andrew Block's helianthus that he had collected somewhere in NY I think. At the time we thought it was H giganteus and he also had H longifolius I think growing in his garden so I presumed what I got was a hybrid, but it may not be, it may be that "giganteus" was actually the species grosseserrulatus.  However we are not sure, because Andrew remembers the mother plant has being slightly different in leaf and flower, tending to not flower down so low on the stems, but more at the ends.  I also recall not finding many seeds when I harvested them which would lead one to suspect it is a hybrid, but I have seen it mildly self sow since we moved here, so that would suggest that it is a species.  Whatever it is, it is quite spectacular.  The lower pictures were from 2013, when it was in what was a vegetable plot on this property, where it grew to massive heights, maybe 10 feet or so.   The following spring I divided it, gave a piece to John Mickel, the fern expert who also worked at NYBG and lives within a short walk of me (and together with his wife Carol have some quite lovely gardens of their own), and put the rest behind the rectangular walled koi pond.  Actually the koi are just plain goldfish at this point, and I don't pay them much mind other than having my wife or daughter give them some food when they remember, rather I enjoy growing waterlilies in the pond.  Anyway we had a dry end to summer and early fall in 2014 so by the time they came into bloom in late September or October they were a bit wilted, even though I did water them with a hose a few times.  Still they grew huge and bowed under the sheer weight of the flowers. 
Its funny that when I grew this in my old garden it was much more restrained, it never got over 5 feet or so but it was hemmed in between a Japanese maple and a barberry hedge.  My mom never liked it because it was one of those "tall weeds" of mine to her, but when it found its freedom here at the new house it went wild in all senses of the word.  I imagine this wouldn't be a plant for small gardens nor gardeners more obsessed with formality and neatness than I am, but if you want a real showstopper, this plant is hard to beat.  Just give it sun and some water, and stand back. 

Sutera species and a Yellow Felicia

Sutera breviflora

Sutera breviflora

Sutera cf halimifolia

Sutera cf halimifolia

 

Sutera sp Silverhill

 

 

 

Sutera sp Silverhill

 

Felicia mossambadensis

 

Felicia mossambadensis

 

Felicia mossambadensis

 

 

 Sutera and the closely related if not synonymous Jamesbrittonia are nice little bushy scrophs from South Africa and nearby that tend to bloom for long periods of time.  Some hybrids or selections have been introduced into the US trade under the grossly incorrect name of Bacopa, which is an entirely different, mostly aquatic genus of tropical plants.  Sutera breviflora grows high in the Drakensberg and my plants come from seeds collected long ago by Panayoti Kelaidis and resurrected from the fridge to give me a few plants this year.  One thing that is important to keep in mind with Sutera and Jamesbrittonia is that if you want seed, you need genetically different clones, they are usually self incompatable or nearly so.  I got about three or so plants and got them to set plenty of tiny seeds, it is a tedious task picking the minute ripe pods from the delicate and somewhat sticky stems.  I set the two plants that remained by summers end into pockets in a pile of rock that I made while breaking up mostly mica type scheist underneath one of my raised beds in the backyard with a small jackhammer.  I will see how they fare the winter, though admittedly they were planted late and are quite exposed to the elements.  Nonetheless I got more than enough seeds to start another generation if need be, and the little pinkish flowers are a delight in a container or crevice.  Sutera cf halmifolia came either from PK or myself, cant recall correctly, but it produces plenty of seeds and is not as hardy as breviflora but might self sow if I am lucky.  It is not quite as showy, being a rather delicate plant in appearance, but it blooms all summer long.   The third species, a white flowered one, came from Silverhill and as luck would have it only one germinated so I cut the plant back and am overwintering it.  I collected what could be seed but I see no germination thus far, and have started the remainders of other packets of Sutera sp from SH so in case I didn't plant all of them the first time maybe I will find a partner for this floriferous little thing.  It looked very nice in a container on the patio all summer long.  
Felicia mossambadensis is my own introduction, I was first intrigued by it when I found it growing wild in Gaborone, Botswana on my first trip to Africa in 1984.  I brought back some seed and had it for a little while then lost it.  Later on during another trip in the early 90s I collected more seed in the then Transvaal and have kept it ever since, growing it out every now and then to add to my stores of seed.  Like Sutera, most Felicias are self infertile so again grow a few clones to get seed to store and thus keep it around.  In southern Africa it is found as a small weed in ruderal areas and sunny roadsides, but it never gets overwhelming because of its small stature.  It is the only yellow Felicia that I know of, nearly all are blue, and a few are white.  It is also one of the relatively few found in the summer growing regions so it adapts to garden life well in the eastern US, so long as it is provided ample sun, good drainage, and competition from larger plants is kept away.  It seeds readily and next year I will know if it can self sow here, but in the meantime I have filled a plump packet with what I collected from this years plants.  It is not winter hardy but blooms so quickly from seed and goes through straight to frost.  It would look best in a rock garden or in containers or in the very front of any other sunny garden.

Blogging before the Blizzard--Testing South African Plants for Cold Hardiness

Oxalis melanosticta w/ O. pocockiae nearby

Oxalis stenorrhynca

Brunsvigia radulosa

Asparagus sp from Plant Delights

Sparaxis elegans

Diospyros lyciodes

These photos were taken earlier in late December when we already had had some quite cold nights and some snowfall.  All of the species depicted are in protected spots near the southeast facing wall of the house, and the Oxalis spp have been there since before last winter.  The O. melanosticta bloomed earlier this fall, as did the stenorrhynca, although the stenorrhynca foliage is more sensitive to very low temperatures than melansticta, it does come up earlier, in August so it can get a lot of growing out of the way before its frosted back.  By the way, I often see O. melanosticta misidentified as a yellow form of O purpurea under the name Ken Aslet, but it is most definitely not O purpurea.  The latter itself is a very variable species but does not resemble O. melanosticta in the least.  Nearby a species of Asparagus from Plant Delights nursery has kept its foliage through several frosts but before we got down to single digits it was covered with dry grass/straw along with most of the others, and when I peaked during a milder spell it seems to have lost most of its foliage except near the base.  I don't expect the top to make it through winter but hope it will resprout when warmer weather comes in spring.  On the other side of the stairs by the front door I set up a small mostly South African garden, there small seedlings of Diospyros lyciodes are planted, it should make it through as a dieback shrub based on past experience with this species.  I have numerous seedlings of Brugmansia radula so I am testing a handful outside, although it comes from summer growing areas it tends to leaf out for winter.  It comes from some pretty high altitudes and the leaves appeared fine when I last checked them, though I do worry as it has a shallow rooted bulb so it will have to stand prolonged freezing before it can be judged how much cold it can take.  Sparaxis elegans is from the Niewoudtville area and would be expected to tolerate some frost, but probably does not experience as much as it will get here.  As some compensation it is placed right by the wall of the house where it doesn't freeze so deeply. 
We will experience some harsh cold next week, but before it arrives we expect a "historic" blizzard commencing tonight.  School is already closed and some light snowfall is occurring right now well before the big event.  Leaves and straw cover many of the zone pushing plants along the sunny front walls of the house from before the last dip to low single digits F, so with the added snow insulation that we have largely lacked till recently I expect many species will come through.  Among other zone testing plants out in the gardens this winter is one big Erythrina zeyheri, Erythrina x bidwellii, another SA Asparagus spp, two of the so called Drakensberg gerbera hybrids, Tulbagia violacea, 2 different Hedychium spp and the hybrid that made it through last winter, Acanthus sennii, Amorphophallus sp (probably konjac), and no doubt some others that are escaping my mind at the moment.  In one of the back gardens Euryops evansii is taking a bit of a beating, it is alive but I hope it regenerates well in spring, it is not protected as it does grow at very high elevations in the Drakensberg.  Most evergreen kniphofias look good as we go into the blizzard with minimal if any dieback, the snow should prevent further dieback since by the time it melts it will probably be mid February at least and we should be past the single digit night lows.   Or at least I hope so.