Tuesday, August 05, 2008

BRACHYCOME


This year I decided to start more of my annuals. It was not only because it is very cost effective but also because I truly enjoy starting something from seed and seeing it through to maturity.
I figured I'd give a try at a few new plants that I haven't started from seed in the past. It's always good to try something new and for the nominal cost of a few dollars for a seed packet, I thought I really had nothing to lose. One of the new plants I tried was Brachycome
.


Brachycome is a plant that I purchased before and used in mixed hanging baskets. I wanted to try it as border edging. This plants common name is Swan River Daisy and is native to Australia. A member of the Asteraceae family it covers itself with a myriad of 1 inch (2.5cm) daisy like flowers and blooms profusely until the first frost. It is not a tall grower topping out at 9 to 12 inches (23-30cm). It requires very little care other than full sun and occasional water.
The hybrid I grew was "Purple Splendor". I would recommend it, with only one small reservation. It had inconsistent colour ranging from periwinkle to orchid purple (you can see by the two photos above). I didn't mind the different colours but do know some gardeners when planting in large drift preferring one colour.


What does this mean?
eburneus --- ivory white
Plants with this name: Eryngium eburneus

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bob: I've missed you!

Bob said...

layanee, thanks for the kind thought.
It's good to be back. I'm going to be doing some new things on the blog so I look forward to sharing this with everyone.
take care, Bob

Shady Gardener said...

Yea! It was nice to have you stop by my site and it's great to see you posting again! I like your botanical post scripts. :-)

KC MO Garden Guy said...

I am glad you are good with the botanical names etc. It is all above my head. But do enjoy your comments. How well does it tollorate the heat and high humidity? I have had some that have looked similiar to these and they stopped blooming when it got in the 90s.
I love the color variations and wish I had enough room to plant in drifts. I keep dreaming!

lisa said...

Your seedling sucess is an inspiration...I want to get better at this!

Shady Gardener said...

Bob, I've just nominated you for a little award. You'll have to check it out at "my place!" ;-) Have a great day!

Bob said...

Cliff, I don't think they like the heat or humidity to much. They are native to the coastal areas of Western Australia, hence the common name Swan River Daisy, which is by Perth. I still think they are worth a try. Glad you stop by, Bob


Lisa, thanks for the kind words. Starting seeds is great fun and I know your the kind of gardener that would do well at it.
Take care, Bob


Shady, thank you for considering me for the blog tag-a-long. Unfortunately I don't have the time to partisapate in it.
Thank you for thinking of me.
All the best, BOB

rajdhaniflorist.com said...

Brachycome(Swan-river daisy) This flower comes in shades of delicate pink, white and deep blue, with a finely-cut glossy green foliage. It is about 10-12 inches high.