Our April meeting was a special meeting for the CCLGC. Our speakers were our own members. Each of us talked about our favorite plant, telling about the plant, and why it is our favorite. Here are our favorites!!
Mike Owens
Equisetum commonly called horse tail because it grows in tall thin strands is the only genus of this group of plants that reproduce by spores not seeds. Common to the wet clay soils of Cypress it grows easily to about four feet tall. The cell walls are of silica so the stems are rough to the touch. Equisetum is a living fossil that has existed for over a hundred million years. The stems spread by rhizomes or underground stems and can be invasive. It is best grown in pots or contained areas. There are no leaves but the green stems are hollow and easy to cut. Use them in arrangements and children enjoy breaking it apart. The local Indians used the coarse texture of the stems to polish wood and scour dishes. Equisetum are often used to analyze gold concentrations in an area due to their voracious ability to take up the metal when it is in a solution.
Patti Foucha
Night Blooming Cerus
This is the ugliest plant you will ever love! If it had not been given to me, I never would have experienced the true beauty of this plant, because I certainly would not have bought it. It is a member of the cactus family. It prefers filtered light, and LOVES to be ignored. Yep, that’s’ what I said, a plant that doesn’t want much attention at all. It even prefers to be root bound! The blossom is unbelievable. Each flower only opens once, and that is at nighttime. The scent, along with the beauty of the flower, is magnificent. When the plant is ready to bloom, a bud will appear along the edge of a leaf. The day of the blooming, the bud will begin to open around 9 or 10pm and should be fully opened by midnight. By morning, the flower will have closed up. It has been said that you could cut the flower and put it in your refrigerator and it will stay a bit longer.
Sandra Gilbert:
*PURSLANE/annual, full sun, height 6”, spread 12”
“This favorite sun loving annual creates a vibrant carpet of clear yellow, pink, rose, orange or bi-color blooms all summer long. The succulent foliage is low and spreading with free flowing, vigorous blooms that thrive in intense heat and dry conditions. They are perfect for planting in mass in rock gardens, annual beds, borders, hanging baskets, or spilling over the sides of containers. “
*VERBENA [HOMESTEAD PURPLE]/perennial, full sun, height 6-8”, spread 12-18”
“Beautiful purple flower clusters on spreading plants in summer.” This variety survived last summer [heat and drought] and winter [freeze]. Attractive to bees, butterflies and birds [hummers].
*MEXICAN FLAME VINE/ perennial vine, full sun, height 8-10’
Beautiful red-orange flowers on lush evergreen vine. Easy to propagate. High heat tolerance, low water requirements, seldom bothered by pests. Attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds [hummers].
*FRAGRANT DELIGHT HELIOTROPE/ annual herb, sun or part sun, height 15-18”
Clusters of sweet vanilla-scented vibrant purple flowers. Attractive to butterflies and hummers.
Bonnie Segura
Brought Roses. A hybrid tea rose called Veterans Honor, a climber named Don Juan and miniatures Rainbow End and Texas.
Wendy Hrncir
Oregano. This survived the freeze! It propagates itself slowly, has a sweet little flower. You can cook with it fresh or dried. If you step on it or hit it with the weed eater, it comes right back, and it offers a nice fragrance. Oregano can be cut back and shaped – it won’t hurt it at all.
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