Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 3)

Time to wrap up last Sunday’s stroll through the UC Davis Arboretum before it’s Sunday again. The Australian Collection at the downtown end of the Arboretum is the section most people see when they visit, and it happens to be my favorite. Something is in bloom there whenever you go, even in the dead of winter.

Someday I’ll do a post on the gum (eucalyptus) trees growing on either side of Putah Creek, but today let’s focus on flowering shrubs.

The regular crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) is a common sight all over in Davis and Sacramento. It grows easily in our hot-summer climate and is tough as nails. Much rarer—and much nicer, in my opinion—is weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis). Check out this old specimen at the Arboretum:

Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis), with my friend Ursula for scale

Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)

Incidentally, the popular dwarf bottlebrush variety ‘Little John’ is a selection of Callistemon viminalis.

Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)

According to the Living Plant Collection Database, the Arboretum has seven different types of banksias. That may not sound like a lot (it isn’t) but it’s more than you’d expect, given the fact that many banksias don’t like our soil, water, heat and/or occasional frost.

Here are two banksias I saw in bloom:

Coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia)

Coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia)

Coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia)

Coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia)

Cut-leaf banksia (Banksia praemorsa), new leaves on the right

Cut-leaf banksia (Banksia praemorsa), flowers

Grevilleas are far easier to grow in Davis than banksias. Area nurseries such as Green Acres in Sacramento routinely carry a dozen or more different varieties. That may only be the tip of the iceberg. I have a feeling many others not commonly available would do well here, too.

Here are a few that have proven reliable in the Arboretum:

‘Magic Lantern’ grevillea (Grevillea ‘Magic Lantern’), aka ‘Gilded Dragon’. See San Marco Growers for the confused taxonomy of this cultivar.

‘Magic Lantern’ grevillea (Grevillea ‘Magic Lantern’)

Spider-net grevillea (Grevillea thelemanniana)

Grevillea ‘Mason’s Hybrid’, also sold as ‘Ned Kelly’. It has the same lineage as ‘Robyn Gordon’ and ‘Superb’. They do look virtually identical except for subtle color variations.

Grevillea ‘Mason’s Hybrid’

Grevillea ‘Mason’s Hybrid’

But flowers aren’t everything. I think both banksias and grevilleas are beautiful even when not in bloom. That is doubly true for these two shrubs that are grown first and foremost for their foliage:

Pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia). This shrub with its otherworldly grayish-blue leaves has been planted in several other spots as well.

Coastal woollybush (Adenanthos sericeus), with Ursula for scale

I’ll leave you with a truly inspired combination that was installed not long ago:

Pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia), Lomandra ‘Lime Tuff’, heart-leafed silver gum (Eucalyptus cordata), and Grevillea ‘Magic Lantern’

Grevillea ‘Magic Lantern’

Pearl bluebush (Maireana sedifolia) and Lomandra ‘Lime Tuff’

The combination of maireana and lomandra is fantastic. I’m trying to find a spot in our front yard where I can replicate it…

RELATED POSTS:

• Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 1)
• Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 2)
• Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 3)
• All posts about the UC Davis Arboretum