In The Garden: Vancouver Magnolia + Balcony Pot Survivors

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by Grooonx7, Apr 13, 2013.

  1. Grooonx7

    Grooonx7 Active Member

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    Quite a mix here: all from Vancouver. The first three are indeed over-wintered survivors that deserve recognition for their hardiness.

    The "low habit mint" does indeed have stems square in cross-section.

    The one with purple flowers seems to be a Rosemary, but, even if that is correct, how do you really tell?

    The "upright habit; some stems prickly" plant (2 pictures) intrigues me; I have no idea from whence it came, so I suppose a bird brought it to me. (Yes, there is a hosta in the same pot; I tried to separate them but I was afraid I'd really damage one or both.)

    And the "purple magnolia" is in bloom now near Lost Lagoon (Stanley Park, in Vancouver) by the foot of the paved pathway that goes up through the rhododendron gardens. (I was just wondering if I could do better than calling it a "purple magnolia".)

    Thank you very much indeed.
    My plants thank you, too—"if he knows our names, maybe he'll look after us better."
     
  2. hortiphoto

    hortiphoto Active Member 10 Years

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    1. Don't know exactly.
    2. Definitely a rosemary. The leaf and flower are very distinctive but the smell of the crushed foliage should confirm it.
    3 & 4. Blackberry, raspberry, loganberry or similar.
    5. Pretty hard to tell with magnolias from just one shot taken from below but the one that immediately comes to mind with that kind of windblown look to the flowers is 'Spectrum'. That's just a shot in the dark, though.
     
  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    The common one with same general appearance is 'Galaxy', a sister seedling of 'Spectrum'. The curved buds come from M. liliiflora, which has been much used in hybridizing - there are many named selections grown that have characteristics of M. liliiflora.

    A habit photo and picture of fully opened flowers would assist in identification. 'Galaxy' is often offered as a feathered tree, with apical dominance whereas 'Spectrum' (and the more prevalent of the eight named Kosar and De Vos hybrids) tend to be low-forking and/or round-topped.
     
  4. Grooonx7

    Grooonx7 Active Member

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    Okay, this morning I took a couple more photos of the same purple magnolia tree. But I'm getting the idea that "purple magnolia" is likely appropriate for my level of inexpertise.

    —Looking at Ron's advice, do my new photos suggest this to be Magnolia liliiflora "Spectrum" ? (And, is that the way you would write the full name?)

    And I'm still hoping for more suggestions for my balcony plants. :-)

    —After hortiphoto suggested "blackberry, raspberry, loganberry or similar" for the upright-habit one, I'm wondering whether it might be a salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis. That would eventually be good news for our hummingbirds. Salmonberry grows wild very close by. I've compared the leaves and they are similar, but maybe not "identical-enough". I'm still not sure.

    If it is a salmonberry, it is very welcome. But now I'm even more concerned about its sharing a pot with a Hosta. When I attempted to dig through the roots to separate them a few days ago, I felt I must be damaging the plants. Do you think I should leave them together for this summer, and then break them apart in the fall? I very much want both plants to survive.

    Thanks, everyone.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2013
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    At this point I am thinking 'Royal Crown'.

    No, the other name is written M. 'Spectrum'. You only put a species name before cultivar names of pure, non-hybrid forms of those species.
     
  6. Grooonx7

    Grooonx7 Active Member

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    Thank you, Ron.

    Well, that makes sense—I see it now. The genus in this case is the finest level of classification in terms of being "pure". To carry it on to species, but then to indicate a human manipulation of that species, would be to backtrack—as "house" > "wooden" < "but not totally wooden".

    Instead, "house" > "partly wooden", makes more sense.

    In the case of this magnolia, though, I suppose I'm better to call it simply a "Purple Magnolia".

    (You can tell my background is with birds; not plants. There are multiples fewer species of birds, and the birds we see flying about are extremely unlikely to be hybrids, whether by chance or design. A Purple Finch is a species!)
     
  7. Grooonx7

    Grooonx7 Active Member

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    Update, several months later:

    It is now late July.

    The salmonberry has been a wonderful gift, and has spread luxuriously two to three feet outside the twig trellis. From the parking lot eight storeys below, the salmonberry is just beautiful. It is a green delight offset by many sweet pea blossoms, a host of scattered nasturtium flowers, and deep red and purple fuschias. We added a honeysuckle, which is doing well but will be inconspicuous for this year.

    (I have returned to spelling fuschias as fuschias.)

    One of our bamboo plants has quietly thickened its green leaves to their now being fairly dense. We love the bamboos.

    But the salmonberry is maybe our favourite of all. Some bird donated it, and it has made the balcony so beautiful. I never realized it would extend itself so far into open space beyond the balcony edge. No flowers; I'm sure they will come next year.

    The balcony is now the permanent residence of at least one Anna's Hummingbird. This is a raggedy-looking female, nicknamed Raggedy Anna's. I think she may sleep in the bamboo.

    There are several Anna's seen every day—both sexes, the male(s) showing up less often. And we also have at least one female Rufous Hummingbird. The colibris visit the fuschias and the nasturtiums and all seven feeders—often in sequence, choosing to make the complete rounds. (Some of the feeders are quite tiny dollar-store issue.) There is almost always at least one hummingbird visible during any five minutes of the day, beginning in predawn twilight and being seen last at dusk.

    We've had as many as three flickers here together, this summer. At close range, we hear their soft talkative voices; they are very conversant.

    I never imagined our 14' × 4½' garden would be so rich or so beautiful.
     
  8. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Doesn't look like anyone ever ID'd the bright green "mint" in the first image. It looks like lemon balm, Melissa officinalis.
     

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