Zonal Geranium 'Mrs. Quilter'

"Fancy-leaved" geraniums (Pelargoniums) were quite popular for bedding in Victorian gardens, so many of the fancy zonals grown today were bred/ discovered during the Nineteenth Century. One of the lesser-known cultivars is 'Mrs. Quilter.'

Striking leaves of 'Mrs. Quilter'

Nondescript pink flowers

The leaves feature prominent bronze-red zones on a chartreuse ground. The small flowers, like those of many other fancy pelargoniums, are not the focal point, and are a pretty but rather plain pink. The plant is not dwarf, and can become leggy, so for the bushiest plants rigorous pinching is required-- or the grower can regularly root new plants and discard the older shrubby ones.

According to the nursery Geraniaceae.com, 'Mrs. Quilter' was bred by Laing in the UK in 1860.

Kyuzo Murata's Rose Bonsai

Years ago I found a copy of Kyuzo Murata's (1902-1991) Four Seasons of Bonsai at a local library. I was delighted for several reasons:

• Murata used relatively unusual species for bonsai-- for instance, Virginia creeper, hydrangea, redbud, spiraea, and fothergilla. 
• He grew his plants in a very naturalistic style, with loose branching and a semi-wild look.
• The plants were often photographed in a garden setting where they grew normally, rather than in the polished confines of an exhibition hall.

Much of his work is a strong contrast against the multitude of tightly-wired, manicured juniper, pine, and maple bonsai. I've always had a predilection towards a more naturalistic style and Murata was perhaps the quintessential practitioner of this. 

His use of roses-- semi-woody plants not immediately suitable for traditional bonsai treatment-- is really magnificent. A photo of Murata's Rosa bracteata bonsai is widely circulated on the internet, seldom with attribution. The book also contained specimens of R. rugosa and R. wichurana, which are apparently not widespread across the net. These images are from a rather mediocre scan of the book:

Rosa bracteata. Growing roses in this manner requires years of diligent sucker removal-- the plant's natural tendency is to constantly replace the old woody growth with new basal shoots.

R. rugosa, for some reason called "Sweet briar," which usually refers to R. rubiginosa.

R. wichurana. Although there's a good grouping of woody trunks, the naturally spreading nature of wichurana is still evident. The plant is shown in fall, with its hips.

Two Solanaceae Weeds

For some reason I find the Solanaceae ("nightshade") weeds quite ornamental. Maybe it's just their strong resemblance to deliberately-cultivated plants, such as pepper, potato, and tomato, also in Solanaceae, that makes me look at them differently from other weeds.

Physalis peruviana, Peruvian Ground Cherry or Cape Gooseberry. First cultivated by the Inca for its edible fruit, it's now widespread globally both as a weed and an appreciated garden plant.

Solanum carolinense, Horse Nettle or Devil's Tomato. All parts are toxic due to the presence of solanine, which serves as a chemical pest defense.

Of course when we consider that the definition of "weed" is situational, and in home gardens quite subjective, maybe to me they aren't weeds! It'd be interesting to see if good cultivation and some pinching could make a passable ornamental plant out of horse nettle, for instance.

Leafy Sepals and Proliferation

The one 'Double Knock Out' seedling that I kept recently issued a new basal shoot, the blooms of which were quite leafy:

Large leafy sepals, each looking almost exactly like a normal terminal leaflet. The stamens have also proliferated into leafy structures.

These sepals are so leaf-like that they have both terminal and side leaflets. 

Underside, showing a very convincing petiole to the left.

Although at the moment I'm not sure what causes blooms to develop like this, I hope the trait proves to be stable. How novel it would be if this variety consistently made these little "boutonnieres," framing each flower with a cluster of basal "foliage" derived from the sepals.

Rose Hips, and Growing Roses from Seed

Rose hips have been ripe and full-colored for some time now. In the case of the species, hips represent roses' primary ecological contribution (food for wildlife), and in many other roses hips are an important part of the late-season display.

Ripe hip on R. carolina, on the Natchez Trace

Although they are seedy and not very fleshy, hips are edible; in World War II in Britain, the hips were gathered for use as a vitamin C supplement. There are also many recipes for rose hip jam. Some amateur breeders have expressed interesting in selecting for hips for human consumption, but as far as I know little has come of this effort-- so for edible fruits from Rosaceae we'll have to stick to such staples as cherry, apple, pear, strawberry, peach, plum, et. al.

Hip on R. spinosissima repens at the National Arboretum

As many roses hail from regions of the Northern Hemisphere with appreciable winter cold, the most common method for breaking the seed dormancy is stratification. Seeds can be left in the fridge for months, up to a year or two. Many will not germinate even when given this winter period, so pots of rose seeds should be kept for several years after sowing. The wearing off of natural germination inhibitors is also a factor.

Unripe hip on large flowered climber 'Stormy Weather,' at the National Cathedral Bishop's Garden

Conventional wisdom dictates that seed be collected when the hips are ripe, but in practice it is possible to have equally good germination rates if the seed is collected slightly early. Once I was able to raise seedlings of Rosa rubiginosa from hips that were completely green-- so if you are in a pinch, late-season hips that aren't visibly ripe can still yield seedlings.

Here is the method that has worked best for me:

1. Clean the seeds and wrap in a damp paper towels, wet with dilute Captan (fungicidal) solution; store in labeled ziploc bags
2. Refrigerate for six months before checking the bags for any germinations; remove and pot seedlings as they appear
3. Water the potted seedlings with dilute Captan

A major problem I've encountered is damping-off, with affects the base of the seedlings and causes them to rot. The fungicide Captan has proved to be an effective preventative. I have also read of a layer of perlite over the soil being used, as this reduces the moisture level around the seedling base where the fungus wreaks havoc. In my experience most commercial fine-texture seedling mixes work fine as long as they drain freely enough.

Seedlings from repeating parents can bloom very quickly after germinating.

Species or once-bloomer seedlings take years to grow before they bloom, but seedlings from reliably repeat-blooming parents bloom in the first year.

For the species, propagation via seed is preferred since each seedling will be genetically distinct. Seedlings of roses with complex pedigrees will usually be inferior to their parents and may exhibit significant visual differences-- the facet of mystery is what makes raising them so fun, even though the seedlings will likely only be of value to you.

Starting Out With Drosera

Drosera, or sundews, could very likely win a contest for the most Seussian plant. Whimsical leaves, often brightly pigmented in good light, with tendrils dripping with digestive dew, are the main attraction of this carnivorous genus. To get started with this group of plants, I chose the "easiest" species, D. capensis and D. spatulata, which can be grown in a tropical terrarium. 

Drosera spatulata, without dew at the moment

Since these two can hybridize freely, perhaps I can attempt a cross when they flower simultaneously. But for now I'll just work out the basics of sundew culture-- although I suspect there will be future additions!

Euphorbia's Morphological Bonanza

It has occurred to me that I have a tendency to rant on about how Rosa has such an impressive amount of diversity. But looking at morphology, most roses are really very similar-- generally all have compound leaves, prickled canes, and five-petalled flowers in a small range of colors.

In a greenhouse the other day, I saw two very distinct plants-- the common poinsettia, and the houseplant known as "crown of thorns." Well, admittedly, there are easily discernible commonalities between them-- but you get the picture. These vastly different plants are in the same genus, Euphorbia.

Yellow-flowered Euphorbia milii

The classically thorny shrub, fierce and exotic looking but quite easy to grow

Red-flowered Euphorbia milii

E. pulcherrima, the wild parent of ornamental poinsettias (photo credit).

The morphological diversity is especially evident once you include the succulent euphorbias.

E. squarrosa (photo credit)

E. globosa (photo credit)

E. frankiana (photo credit)

Some grow as rather large shrubs:

E. cotinifolia (photo credit)

Just mindlessly skimming over these photos, it doesn't look like the plants are at all related, but in fact each is the same genus-- a degree of morphological diversity that roses certainly can't compete with.

A Quick Look at the Rose Subgenera

Roses are native to locales all across the Northern Hemisphere, and there's a lot of genetic diversity within the genus (little of which is found in the mainstream cultivars, however). Taxonomists have placed the vast majority of rose species within subgenus Rosa, which is further divided into many sections. These are the species one typically thinks about when roses are considered.

Rosa glutinosa, in subgenus Rosa, section Caninae. Like R. eglanteria (also in Caninae), this species has glandular leaves and buds which exude pine-to-green-apple-scented oils.

Rosa carolina, type of section Carolinae within subgenus Rosa. Although the flowers are typically medium pink, this one was bleached to white in the sun (a tinge of pink still remains).

Next we get into the relatively weird subgenera, which could be considered to be on the genetic fringes of the genus: Hulthemia, Hesperhodos, and Platyrhodon. Their separate status is confirmed by their general unwillingness to breed readily with members of other sections, as well as very distinct morphological characteristics.

Rosa persica, the sole member of subgenus Hulthemia, was once placed in its own genus under the moniker Hulthemia persica. It is native to the Middle East, where it grows as suckering briar. The species itself is notoriously difficult to cultivate, and the close hybrids are also known to be finicky.

This one is really fascinating-- it's sort of a rose, but there are remarkable differences, especially the simple rather than compound leaves. (Photo credit)

Breeders have been working to incorporate the red eye into mainstream garden cultivars-- notably James Sproul (here's his excellent blog). Even in F1 hybrids, the offspring retain the compound leaves of the other subgenera, and so far the red eye has been the only hulthemia-derived characteristic of note.

Hesperhodos carries on the desert briar theme somewhat, as the two Hesperhodos species-- R. stellata and R. minutifolia-- are native to southern California and Mexico. These species have been given almost no breeding attention-- but you can read about some of Kim Rupert's exciting developments with Hesperhodos here and here. R. stellata mirifica is considered to be the most approachable form-- Graham Stuart Thomas reported that it grew well in Surrey; it's currently available from Greenmantle Nursery. Unfortunately I don't think there is a commercial source for minutifolia for US gardeners.

R. stellata (Photo credit)

This slightly sunburnt R. minutifolia barely looks like a rose! The leaves remind me of angel pelargoniums. (Photo credit)

Last is Platyrhodon, perhaps the easiest of these fringe roses to grow. It has long been included in US gardens and is commonly known as "the chestnut rose" for its nutty-looking hips. The most frequently seen form, R. roxburghii, is actually the double variant (given this name since it was the first to be documented by Western botanical explorers). The actual vanilla species, with single flowers, is known as R. roxburghii normalis. These can grow to be very large shrubs, having thick stems with brown, peeling bark.

R. roxburghii (Photo credit)

R. roxburghii hips

Detail of a particularly woody roxburghii stem (Photo credit)

While these species are very interesting in their own right, it is particularly mind boggling to consider that these plants are in the very same genus as the hybrid teas! Perhaps the diversity of Rosa is a large reason why it has so many devoted experts. Since amateur hybridizing seems to be very involved with the species at the moment, I think that as time progresses we will have more access to plants with these "fringe" genetics.