{"id":5447,"date":"2013-07-05T19:32:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T23:32:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T18:00:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:00:04","slug":"plants-of-south-american-cloud-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/07\/plants-of-south-american-cloud-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"South American Cloud Forest Plants for your containers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nLooking for something new and exciting for your summer containers that will make your neighbors jealous? I suggest using some of these newer introductions from South America – high elevation cloud forest plants ( available only from a few specialty growers on-line), that will have your outdoor decor ( and hummingbirds) looking totally swole.<\/div>\n
\nFor more about this discovery from my trip to San Francisco, click below.<\/div>\n
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Fuchsia boliviana, a tall tree-like Fuchsia with long, drooping corymbs which are very fuchsia-like, but with foliage and branches more like a tree than a tender shrub. Common in sub-tropical gardens, this is plant rarely found in northern temperate gardens, yet is worth seeking out for large containers for temporary summer color outdoors.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Bomarea superba, native to northern Peru, shows off with a brilliant head of flowers, and it’s relationship to \nAlstromeria – they are in the same family.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The flowers on Bomarea may indeed be ‘suberba’ but the plant often looks messy, so be forewarned.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Once a Bomarea blooms, all fear of ugly stems is gone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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This Bomarea had brilliant orange blossoms, and denser growth habit, maybe because it was getting a bit more sun?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nBARTLETTINA SORDIDA<\/h4>\n
Now for something different – unless you live near Sydney Australia, you may not be familiar with Bartlettina sordida, but why am I mentioning Australia in a post about South American plants? Well, this is a species that might just be more common in Australia, than in its native land of Mexico, as it has escaped there, and has become a bit of a pest, and a weed. This is another one of those plants that look best when young, grown in a container or small garden, but then cut back hard, or tossed into the compost, after taking cuttings, of course. The photo shows how the plant looks like ageratum, but in real life, it is much nicer.<\/p>\n
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The blue, fuzzy flowers of the under-story shrub Barttletina sordida, look very Eupatorium-like, but it is no longer \nincluded in that genus, now having one of its own.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Bartlettina sordida, a native of Mexico, if often thought to be a native to Austraila, but it has only been introduced there \nand now, an escapee. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nLOBELIA TUPA<\/h4>\n
Lobelias are found all over the planet, from the tiny blue-flowered annuals that we all are familiar with, to large trees in the Hawaiian Islands, but in Chile, there exists a very special lobelia, L. tupa – a giant as far as perennials, ( and Lobelias are concerned) that can grow 12 feet tall, and topped off with brilliant red, tubular flowers that drive hummingbirds mad. Apparently, the foliage can drive humans mad, as it has hallucigenetic effects, hence it’s common name, Devil’s Tobacco.<\/p>\n
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Lobelia tupa is a giant amongst lobelias, but it’s worth planting in your sub-tropical garden if you want \nhummingbirds – this is plant that will attract many of them.\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Lobelia tupa looks more like a salvia, than a lobelia at first glance.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nAURICARIA AND GUNNERA<\/h4>\n
\nNo post about South American contributions to horticulture could be complete without mentioning auricaria – the monkey puzzle tree, and Gunnera manicata, the prickly Chilean Rhubarb, a gigantic-leaved water-side plant often seen as a show-off plant in plant collector gardens, and at botanic gardens.<\/p>\n
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There are many everygreens native to Chile that can be grown in western gardens, from coastal California, \n to Seattle and Vancouver.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Gunnera manicata, growing at the San Francisco Botanic Garden.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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More Gunnera growing along the edge \nof a pond, just the conditions this plant loves. Some of these rough textured leaves can be 8 – 10 feet in diameter.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Looking for something new and exciting for your summer containers that will make your neighbors jealous? I suggest using some of these newer introductions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
South American Cloud Forest Plants for your containers - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n