| Name | Madagascar Jasmine |
| Genus/Species | Stephanotis floribunda |
| Family | Asclepiadaceae |
| Type | Evergreen vine, tender perennial |
| Origin | Madagascar |
| General | |
| Hardy | Night 15-30, day 59-86 |
| Use | Fragrance |
| Zones | 23, 24 or indoors |
| Attract | |
| Sun | Cool roots, filtered light, am sun only, south is too hot |
| Water | Regular, do not over water, minimum during winter |
| Soil | Good drainage, best in turfy loam, mild acidic |
| Size | 15 - 30 feet |
| Growth | Rapid but slow in containers |
| Leaf | Waxy, thick oval green to 4" long |
| Flower | 1-2" funnel white waxy fragrant clustered blossoms |
| Bloom | Summer to fall |
| Feed | Regularly, not in winter |
| Prop | Cuttings or shoots |
| Enemies | Scale, mealy bugs |
| Notes: | Needs cool roots, tops in filtered sun, bright light Bring indoors for winter, outside for summer Let houseplants dry out during the winter for a rest Needs trellis support Temp changes causes bud drop Does not flower indoors well |
| Picture | http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/53785/index.html |
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| Name | Malva |
| Genus/Species | Malva sylvesris zebrina |
| Family | Malvaceae |
| Type | Perennial |
| Aka | Mallow |
| Origin | Europe |
| General | Short lived but striking |
| Hardy | Not very, treat as annual |
| Use | Edging, distinct flowers |
| Zones | 1 - 9, 14 - 24 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Water | Regular water |
| Soil | Well drained |
| Size | 2 - 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide |
| Flower | White to pink with purple stripes, very striking |
| Bloom | Summer to fall |
| Seeds | Plentiful |
| Prune | Dead head for re bloom |
| Prop | Seeds or cutting in spring |
| Enemies | Snails |
| Notes: | |
| Picture | |
| My notes | |
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| Name | Manzanita |
| Genus/Species | Arctostaphylos |
| Family | Ericacea |
| Type | Evergreen shrub |
| Aka | Emerald Carpet |
| Origin | |
| General | Woody dense, uniform carpet |
| Hardy | to -50 |
| Use | Ground cover |
| Zones | 6-9, 14-24 |
| Attract | |
| Sun | Full sun or light shade |
| Water | Very drought resistant Deep irrigation in hot valleys every 2 -3 weeks |
| Soil | Any |
| Size | 8-14" tall, 5 foot spread |
| Plant | Roundish mounds |
| Leaf | Bright green leaves |
| Flower | Insignificant small pink |
| Bloom | Spring? |
| Seeds | Red berries |
| Notes: | One plant can last many years |
| Picture | |
| My notes | |
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| Name | Marsh Mallow |
| Genus/Species | Althaea officinalis |
| Family | Malvaceae |
| Type | Perennial herb |
| Aka | |
| Origin | Europe, brought to America as medicinal |
| General | |
| Hardy | |
| Use | |
| Zones | |
| Attract | |
| Sun | Sun to partial sun |
| Water | Drought tolerant, do not overwater |
| Soil | |
| Size | 2' tall, 4 feet wide |
| Plant | |
| Leaf | Velvety soft spade, gray green |
| Flower | 1 1/2" white |
| Bloom | Summer to fall |
| Seeds | Hollyhock type |
| Feed | |
| Prune | |
| Prop | |
| Enemies | |
| Danger | |
| Notes: | The root pulp was mixed with honey in Egypt 3000 years ago to make marshmellows? |
| Picture | http://davesgarden.com/pdb/go/1077/index.html |
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| Name | Money Tree |
| Genus/Species | Pachira aquatica |
| Family | |
| Type | Evergreen tree |
| Aka | Wild Cocoa tree, Guinea chestnut |
| Origin | Tropical S America, Mexico around rivers and lakes |
| General | |
| Hardy | |
| Use | |
| Zones | |
| Attract | |
| Sun | Med to high indirect |
| Water | Minimum, do not overwater Other sources say water loving |
| Soil | |
| Size | To 100 feet in wet tropics, 30 in landscape |
| Plant | |
| Leaf | |
| Flower | Fragrant, lasts one day. Five outer petals, 100's of stamens |
| Bloom | Late fall, early winter |
| Seeds | Chestnut type |
| Feed | Min |
| Prune | |
| Prop | |
| Enemies | |
| Danger | |
| Notes: | Young leaves and flowers are cooked Fruit roasted like chestnuts |
| Picture | |
| My notes | |
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Name |
|
| Genus/Species | Pelargonium citrosum Van Leenii |
| Family | Geraniaceae |
| Type | Perennial shrub |
| General | Supposedly repels mosquitoes, I do not concur |
| Use | Patio pots |
| Sun | Full to partial sun |
| Water | Sparingly water, does not like wet feet, allow to dry |
| Soil | Average |
| Plant | Happy bright green plant, just smells odd if youtouch it |
| Size | to 3' by 3' |
| Leaf | Heavily lobed, rough, pugent lemon scent |
| Flower | Tiny pink geraniums |
| Bloom | Off and on all year |
| Seeds | None found yet |
| Feed | Standard |
| Prune | Trim for bushiness, remove dead leaves, common occurrence |
| Prop | Cuttings |
| Notes: | Grows best between 65 and 85, does not like intense heat but tolerates it |
| Handles freezing weather | |
| Pests | None, the leaves smell awful |
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| Name | Mountain Sage |
| Genus/Species | Salvia clevelandii |
| Family | Lamiaceae (Labiatae) |
| Type | Evergreen shrub |
| Aka | Blue sage |
| Origin | Native to southwest |
| General | Incredible musky fragrance, hard to find |
| Zones | 10-24 (we are 9, it does fine) |
| Attracts | Bees, butterflies, birds |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Water | Some summer water, drought resistant |
| Soil | Well drained |
| Size | 3 - 5 feet tall, 3' wide |
| Plant | Roundish shrub with artful woody stems |
| Leaf | Grey green |
| Flower | Purple blue round clusters on tall spires |
| Bloom | May to August (blooms second year) |
| Seeds | Easy to collect if finches dont get them first |
| Prop | Seeds or cuttings |
| Scatter seeds and place just the gentlest layer of fine dirt over them | |
| Seedling is ever so tiny, slow growing, grey, odd spade shaped, sprouts within 2 weeks | |
| Picture | http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/salclevelandii.htm |
| My notes | This is one of our all time favorites, hard to find. I have seedlings this year!!!! |
| Flower spires are great for dried arrangements | |
| We are making incense and sage wands from this - delicious | |
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Evening Primrose aka Mexican primrose
Just one thing. Don't plant this where it can get loose. OMG.
My picture of my Grandpa Otts is at: updated Aug 10