If you are familiar with the nymph Calypso, you will appreciate a feature of eucalyptus flowers. Calypso was the temptress who kept Odysseus on her island abode for seven years in Homer’s “The Odyssey.” Her name is derived from the Greek kalypto, meaning hidden, and refers to her long-term concealment of Odysseus from the outside world.
The prefix eu- has the connotation of true or genuine and, together with -calyptus, means “well hidden,” referencing the unusual morphology of eucalyptus flowers. Flowers are completely hidden under an operculum or bud cap. As the male stamens of the flower develop, they push the cap off as a mass of vividly colored threads appears.
While we do not generally think of eucalyptus trees for their flowers, some species put on an impressive floral display. Red flowering gum (Eucalyptus/Corymbia ficifolia) blooms throughout the year, but mostly in summer. Coral gum (Eucalyptus torquata) also shows flowers in all twelve months. These flowers, suitable for face arrangements, appear in both coral red and yellow on the same tree, which grows 10-20 feet tall with a columnar form. Lemon-scented gum (Eucalyptus woodwardii) produces massive yellow blooms in winter and spring. Its smooth exfoliating bark changes color from green to pink to light copper. The only local growers of ornamental eucalyptus trees I could find are Devil Mountain Nursery (devilmountainnursery.com), with several Southern California locations, and the Australian native plant nursery (Australianplants.com) in Ojai Valley.
Eucalyptus trees, due to their brittle wood, are notorious for dropping branches in almost any season, and I have warned people over the years never to park under a eucalyptus for that reason. While it is easy to understand how the brittle, soft wood of a eucalyptus would be prone to breakage, this phenomenon, known as “summer limb drop,” can visit other trees as well, including ash, oak, ornamental pear, and liquidambar, especially during the summer.
While this phenomenon is not completely understood, one hypothesis implicates drought that causes a weakening in branches. A branch initially weakened by drought, the theory goes, may overcompensate when its roots suddenly absorb an abundance of water, which reaches the branch and makes it top-heavy. In any event, the branches that fall typically grow in a horizontal direction, without trunk support. It is therefore advisable to prune horizontal branches on any tree, especially when large and potentially damaging if they should break off.
Spider plant doppelgänger
While wandering through a eucalyptus woodland in Australia and Tasmania, you are likely to see a ground cover known as flax lily growing underfoot. Variegated flax lily (Dianella Tasmanica ‘Variegata’) appears to be a doppelgänger for spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), a native of South Africa, but the resemblance is superficial.
I remember the first time I saw a spider plant. I was in college and gazed at it hanging in a basket from a dorm room ceiling. I examined it with my mouth agape, astonished at the numerous baby plantlets that had grown off the mother plant and were hanging all around it.
In truth, there was something too-good-to-be true about this pendulous specimen with its perfectly striped and shiny leaves, cloned to perfection in its miniature offspring.
Only later was I to discover the deceptive charms of spider plant as a garden selection. If you plant it in the ground, you may never get rid of it. In addition to whole new plants produced on propagation stalks, an aggressive tuberous root system ensures its survival through drought and the most heroic hand-pulling attempts to control its growth.
Enter Dianella, appropriately named for the goddess Diana, queen of the forest. While spider plant does have shiny foliage, it is not nearly as lustrous and far floppier than that of Dianella, a plant that can also survive drought while being more cold-tolerant than its spidery look-alike.
Although wild Dianella can be aggressive, its garden varieties are not, and although they propagate vegetatively by rhizomes, they are not invasive. The bonus of growing Dianella, as opposed to nearly all grassy or clumping ground covers, is its flowers with bright yellow stamens followed by porcelain blue to purple berries.
If the first spider plant I saw seemed too good to be true, a Dianella species that I now see from time to time looks positively artificial as well. I refer to the blue flax lily (Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’). Growing into an 18-inch by 18-inch clump, this species does not spread like the variegated type. A heavy wax coating on its leaves imparts both drought tolerance and a manufactured look. It should be mentioned that the Ojai Valley Australian plant nursery previously mentioned has its own Dianella caerulea introduction, distinctive for its gray foliage. Its variety name of “Casitas Springs” identifies the nursery’s locale.
Monarch sanctuary
Finally, Richard Alcott emailed about how he turned his garden into a monarch sanctuary.
“Over the last few years,” Alcott wrote, “I have transitioned my limited garden area to supporting monarchs. Living in Torrance, it seems my breeding surge starts in August and runs through September. Last year we were able to release 50+ butterflies using netting over the milkweed with a cover for J hanging. (Note: J hanging occurs when a mature monarch caterpillar hangs upside down in the shape of the letter “J” from a horizontal surface, facilitated in this case by placing a cover over the milkweed.)
Monarchs pass through my garden since it provides a milkweed food source and water. I stocked up on native milkweed back in February and March, growing them in a small portable greenhouse, so I would have plenty of plants on hand. Now my milkweed is mature and awaiting a new generation of eggs, hoping to hatch at least 75 this season.”
California native of the week
California has two native Hibiscus species. Woolly rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos var. Occidentalis) is rare and endangered. It has 4-inch white flowers with dark red centers, spreads with the help of rhizomes, and is found in marshes and swamps in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys. Rock hibiscus or paleface (Hibiscus denudatus) is native to the Sonoran and Colorado deserts and Baja California. It grows as a straggly 2-4 foot tall shrub with hairy foliage. It is called paleface owing to rice paper-thin petals that are white, light lavender, or pale pink.