On my wife’s birthday, she received a giant vase arrangement that included green hydrangeas and green orchids, together with an eruption of red roses. Lately, green flowers have been finding their way into bouquets and flower arrangements everywhere. To be sure, this is a muted green, but that is its appeal.
From my investigations I learned that the less-than-bright-green hue is increasingly popular as it provides a soothing antidote to the emotionally fraught, strobe-light environment in which we live. Purple, pink, and red are more exciting, but a humble green offers an escape from what sometimes seems like excitement that never ends.
Green hydrangeas have three different origins. Green hydrangeas are seen on varieties that have been bred for green color, such as Invincible Sublime, a mophead type. Limelight, a panicle hydrangea — distinguished by large cone-shaped inflorescences — is pale green to chartreuse, the latter being a color that is exactly halfway between green and yellow.
However, hydrangeas also turn green simply in the maturation process and may be harvested and utilized in dry arrangements when this color is shown; such hydrangeas are referred to as Vintage or Antique. Finally, for unknown reasons, hydrangeas of any color may suddenly bloom in green for a year or two before reverting back to their original color. Green hydrangea varieties have a waxy feel, while the other types are papery to the touch. My wife’s arrangement included green hydrangeas of both types.
Your display of hydrangeas will endure if you allow them to take up the water you poured when first placing them in the vase. Once the vase is water-depleted, apply hair spray to your hydrangeas as a preservative, and they should hold their color, which may turn bronze, for six months.
As for orchids, green cymbidiums have become quite common. They are characterized by a labellum or lip lined in red, purple or maroon that attracts pollinators. Because of their waxy coat, cymbidiums can maintain freshness without being placed in water for up to five hours after being cut. To stretch their longevity in a vase, change their water every other day and, with each water change, cut an inch off the stem at a 45-degree angle to enhance water absorption.
Speaking of cymbidiums, these are among the easiest orchids to grow. They perform well outdoors in containers throughout Southern California except where hard freezes may occur, although they absolutely require a dose of autumn cold in order to bloom at all. Place your cymbidiums under trees or a patio cover where they can enjoy filtered sun while being protected from extremes of heat and cold. If freezing night temperatures are forecast, it is probably a good idea to take them inside, but otherwise, they should do just fine outdoors.
I once asked a gardener who grew gorgeous cymbidiums about their care and was told, “All I do is water them.” Many orchid species, and cymbidiums in particular, flower at their maximum potential when crowded. In the case of cymbidiums, roots can be growing over the side of the pot or through drainage holes in the bottom and continue to bloom heavily for years.
I recently discovered a startlingly different sort of Dianthus known as Green Ball or Green Trick. This is a perennial Dianthus that yields grassy green, fluffy pompons throughout spring and summer. Green Ball is a wonderful contrasting addition to any flower bed and makes an exotic interior decoration, too. Placed in a vase where water is changed every other day, Green Ball cut flowers will stay fresh for one month. As with any vase arrangement, remove leaves that would otherwise be submerged in water.
The greenest rose is a naturally occurring China rose known as Viridiflora (literally, green flower). This is an unusual rose since it has a plethora of green sepals but no petals. In most flowers, sepals are a whorl of green, known as a calyx, at the base of the petals, but here sepals, which are pointed, make up the entire inflorescence. This is a highly drought-tolerant rose and blooms from spring until fall. It is widely available from Internet vendors and propagates easily from soft shoot cuttings taken in spring or hardwood cuttings taken in the fall. Dip cuttings in root hormone for roots to form in 4-6 weeks.
Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis), another study in green, is highly satisfying to grow due to its unusual look and ease of care. Its name is misleading since it is native to the droughty habitat of Mediterranean woodlands. I have seen it growing wild in Israel without the benefit of any summer irrigation. This unusual annual plant, growing three feet tall, sports tightly arrayed green bells that take on a tawny color as spring gives way to summer. Seeds are produced at the bottom of every bell so that, if you leave the plants in place, they will self-sow and give you more of the same the following year. Bells of Ireland is also an excellent candidate for dry flower arrangements. It is adaptable to virtually any soil type and may be planted anywhere in California. I have never seen this plant in a Los Angeles garden, and it is apparently absent from the nursery trade. Seeds are widely available and some live plants are offered at etsy.com.
In response to a recent column on plants with black or nearly black flowers or leaves, I received the following email from Rolland Graham, who gardens in Mission Viejo: “I would like to suggest that you consider the Nectaplum in your list of plants with dark foliage. The leaves are burgundy, though as they age, they develop a greenish cast. Also, my macadamia trees’ new foliage appears as burgundy as well, but rapidly shifts to dark green as they mature.”
The phenomenon of leaves emerging burgundy but changing to green is seen on many plant species. The reason for this is that when the foliage of such plants emerges in late winter or early spring, frost is still a possibility. Leaves weakened by pests or disease would be susceptible to frost damage, but burgundy foliage is not affected by such stressors. At least where insects are concerned, fall foliage turning burgundy is a sign of aging, when leaves have lost nutritional value. It would appear that insects are “fooled” by spring foliage, thinking that its color signifies low nutritional value, in the manner of similarly colored fall foliage, and so they leave spring foliage that is burgundy colored alone.
It is worth lingering for a moment over Mr. Graham’s Nectaplum, a hybrid between a nectarine and a plum. The Spice Zee nectaplum cultivar bears uncannily sweet and tangy fruit with white pulp, more nectarine than plum in flavor. This variety requires only 200 winter chill hours, meaning it can be grown anywhere in Southern California. Not only is the foliage burgundy when it first opens, but flowers are a dazzling purplish pink.
The 78th annual Riverside Flower Show and Garden Tour will take place on April 25th and 26th. The flower show is free, and the self-guided garden tour is $10. For more information, visit the website, riversideflowershow.com.
California native of the week: There are 30 orchid species native to California, most of them found in the northern part of the state. They all need a riparian or wet meadowland environment to thrive and are suitable for a water pond situated in partial to full shade. One of these is stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea) and five of its potted specimens are available at the Theodore Payne Foundation (theodorepayne.org) nursery in Sun Valley. These orchids are 1-2 inches in size and 3-12 of them will appear on leaves that reach three feet in height. Sepals and petals appear in shades of orange, reddish brown, and green with purple veins.
Do you have a favorite fruit tree? Tell me why it’s your favorite in an email sent to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments, as well as gardening conundrums and successes, are always welcome.