Another less-seen plant! Or at least I dun think I saw it in my feed.
When I bought them, they really looked like unruly snakes twining around each other. I repotted them immediately when I got home, and laid them as neatly as I could one of the “strands” rotted, but the rest seems fine. And now, I see 3 new heads appearing! Fingers crossed for these to do well with me :3 I can’t keep snakes as pets, but these are good alternatives
ID: unknown Echidnopsis (even the guy manning the store wasn’t sure). I guess I’ll have to wait til they flower (hope one day they do) to find out!
What’s with snakes and apples? Reminds you of a story doesn’t it?
Nah I’m just kidding; don’t be mad Sorry for being blasphemous.
Anyway, I couldn’t believe one of them flowered. I’ve only ever killed 1948293 Echidnopsis; who knew one would happily grow under my care, let alone flower?
Cynanchum marnierianum is a strange member of the milkweed family originating in Madagascar. The plant consists entirely of leafless stems, usually more brown than green and largely looking dead. Even in growth it is hard to tell it is healthy. While it’s great fun to have pots of dead sticks, the actual flowering of this is more of a treat as the small blooms are unique green cage-like structures. I received my Cynanchum as roughly 6" cuttings, and after a few years and 2-3 feet of growth I finally had a flowering.
Lesser periwinkle was another of the groundcover species I found in the lightly shaded dry ditch running along a row of Lombardy poplars (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) edging a field.
This creeping evergreen plant native to much of Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region is a beauty in the spring and early summer months, with its propeller-shaped flowers in a particular shade of violet-blue -which has given the name to the periwinkle colour- poking through the dark, leathery foliage.
Although its vigorous habit and ability to thrive in most soils can make it an invasive species in the wrong place, it is a really valuable ornamental plant and numerous cultivars have been selected. Here are three currently in bloom at the garden centre where I work:
V. minor ‘Ralph Shugert’, named after the Michigan nurseryman who selected it, has large flowers and variegated foliage, with a thin creamy-yellow edge and veining. Some shoots grow completely albino.
V. minor ‘Illumination’, with foliage splashed with chartreuse-yellow, often taking the entire centre of the leaf. A good groundcover plant to brighten up a shadier corner where not much else grows well.
V. minor ‘Atropurpurea’, as the name suggests, produces flowers in a darker, warmer shade of purple contrasting well with the glossy green foliage.
12/28/16:Tabernaemontana divaricata, or Crape Jasmine/Pinwheelflower; flowering plant species classified as a shrub, most likely native to India, known for the flowers’ unique pinwheel shape, and for the plant being a bit medicinal as well. Generally prefers warm/tropical temperatures.
