One step forward... and another step forward

If nothing else, winter is a good time to take a more considered look at your garden. Most shrubs and perennials aren't in bloom, so it's easier to evaluate them for what they bring to the table in terms of structure. As an example, look at the two yellow rectangles in the photo below:


These are two firecracker plants (Russelia equisetiformis). They do bloom most of the year. But they also sprawl a lot and the stems flop every which way:

Firecracker plant (Russellia equisetiformis)

And in the winter, when they're not in bloom, they look like dark blobs, especially when the foliage gets nipped a bit by frost:


I don't remember being as bothered by it in previous years as I am this year, but as the garden changes, so does the gardener. And this gardener has gotten much less ruthless over time. (Side note: Does "less ruthless" equal "more ruthful?")

Using my trusted Root Slayer Nomad, I dug out blob #1 in a matter of minutes. And just as quickly it was replaced with a new aloe, a hybrid called 'Apache' sold at large garden centers.

Aloe 'Apache' next to Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze'

Now for Russellia equisetiformis #2:


A few minutes of root slayering, and it was out, too. I managed to get a good portion of the root ball so I replanted it elsewhere in the front yard, inside and up against the fence where it has solid support.

Last month, I'd removed a clump of Aloe elgonica to the left of Russellia #2. It, too, had become a bit blobby:

Aloe elgonica just before I removed it in early January 2021

I kept a few offsets of Aloe elgonica and replanted the rest in the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society Demonstration Garden, as chronicled in this post. Below is what the area looked like after I'd dug out the Aloe elgonica; you can still see Russellia equisetiformis #2 on the right:


And this is what this corner of the long sidewalk bed looks like right now:


I hauled in extra soil and ¼ inch lava rock to create a bit of a mound (hard to see in these photos) and then planted four aloes: Aloe capitata 'Yellow Hoodie' (the purplish plant on the left); A. schoelleri (the big dude in the back); an as-yet-to-be-identified tree aloe hybrid to the right of A. schoelleri; and A. glauca var. spinosior (front center). There's room for more, but I want to add extra rocks first.

Clockwise: Aloe capitata 'Yellow Hoodie'; A. schoelleri; tree aloe hybrid; A. glauca var. spinosior

I have another mini project going in the same planting bed, a bit further left. There I removed a dead lavender last fall as well as two groundcover grevilleas (Grevillea lanigera 'Mount Tamboritha' and Grevillea 'Poorinda Royal Mantle') that hadn't gotten enough water. I replanted in fits and starts throughout the winter, the last addition being an Aloe vaombe gifted by a friend:


Just for the record (and to refresh my own memory down the line), the other plants in this spot are:
All the way on the right are Aloe marlothii and Aloe 'Hellskloof Bells', both long-term residents.

Aloe vaombe

What's needed more than anything now is time and lots of sunshine for all the new additions to settle in and spread their metaphorical wings. I have high hopes...


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Comments

  1. Hard as it is, it always pays to be a bit ruthless in the garden to keep things looking good. I always fine it easier to remove plants when they are dormant or not blooming. You always have a host of spare plants needing a home to tuck in when something goes. Keeps it interesting.

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    1. Agreed! I find it very, very hard to remove a plant when it's looking its best.

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  2. I do the same thing with russelia, moving it around -- always in winter when out of bloom! -- and now keep mine for cascading in pots. Keeping the succulents and other plants looking good at the same time is always tricky, esp. when we have the luxury of growing winter-blooming aloes. Wonderful selection of plants you're playing with!

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    1. Good idea putting the russellia in a pot. I think I'll do just that.

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  3. Both Aloe 'Apache' and Aloe vaombe are lookers! I have a Russelia I should move - or toss - too. It doesn't get enough sun to bloom well where it is but it's in the back of a border where I rarely see it so it's avoided removal thus far. If I remove more of the annoying ice plant along the street, maybe I'll try it there.

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    1. That Aloe vaombe was a very generous gift. Seeing it in its new home makes me happy.

      Funny you should mention ice plants, I remember the first time I saw Big Sur in the spring--carpets of magenta-flowering Carpobrotus edule. What a stunning sight! Of course that was before I learned how invasive and weedy ice plants can be (esp. Carpobrotus), and before they were eradicated from large swaths of hillsides and dunes along the Central Coast.

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  4. Third time lucky...

    This is many steps forward, with all those fine aloes you've planted out. And that Vaombe is sumptuous!

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    1. LOL, I'm glad I'm getting to deploy some of the aloes I've been hoarding, ahem, collecting.

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  5. All steps forward, none back! The rocks add a good touch, too.

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    1. No step back, for once! I found two more large rocks elsewhere in the garden. Slowly but surely!

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  6. I have almost purchased Aloe capitata 'Yellow Hoodie' more than once at RBG. I shall monitor your success. Though I think we have established a bit more coldness here.

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