Creating Better Orchids For Mediterranean Climates
epiphyte78
7 years ago
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Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
update: ?Dry-grown teas in Mediterranean climates??
Comments (27)An own root Banksiae will withstand water stress much more successfully than many own root types, particularly evergreen roses (Teas, Chinas, HTs, etc.). They are harder wooded and are able to shut down and exist when conditions are terrible. They have tremendous root systems compared to many, even Dr. Huey. When rating commercial roses for any kind of soil and climate performance, what kind of roots they have makes a tremendous difference. Huey is rather extensive and persistent, but even it suffers greatly in heat, aridity and extreme drought. I have a very large, double white Banksiae in the very loose, very dry, un irrigated slope at the southern side of the rear deck which receives direct, full southern sun about 80% of the time. The ONLY "irrigation" it ever receives is either rain or the extremely infrequent hosing off the deck. I cut it off the deck a month ago and it already has a good fifteen feet of "wands" thrown up on to the deck, both from out side it as well as through the openings between the floor boards. Everything on that slope requires watering except that Banksiae and the volunteer black walnuts and peppers. There is a newer terrace which begins about fifteen feet away from that spot, but in the same exposure. It contains seedlings, the Atmore Lamarque, Reve d'Or, and George Washington Richardson. These MUST be deeply watered weekly if temps are in the eighties or above. That blamed Banksiae was planted there 35 years ago, watered weekly its first year, then left to its own devices. The Myrtus communis compacta in that line was well established when the house was bought in 1975. In all that time, it has only received rain and it is nearly six feet tall and much wider. Until I began planting back there last year, only the three existing roses and one crepe myrtle were irrigated and that was weekly (at most) by the gardener who kept the place trimmed and leaves blown off. Otherwise, there is no irrigation system and no one else dragged a hose around to water. Lili Marleen, a well established plant in 1975 when the house was bought, has Manetii stock escaping from under it. the Lili Marleen was nearly gone, but the Manetii has inch and a half thick canes exploding in all directions which I'm working back so both can be maintained. Manetii made it all these years on weekly watering and rain. If the wood is hard and dense enough and the root system sufficiently vigorous, it MAY work with weekly supplementation. Softer wooded types or those whose root systems aren't as invasive, are going to struggle terribly, or outright fail. And this is in the Encino Hills where we get more coastal fogs and generally more rain than many hotter, more inland areas. This is the Wunderground calendar for Historic Lincoln Park in Pomona showing temps and rainfall for the month. I selected it as the elevation is similar to ours here. http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KFUL/2012/11/19/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar This is the closest one to here, though it is 200' lower than I am. http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KVNY/2012/11/19/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar It might be interesting viewing the historic data for the month as it shows comparative heat and precipitation. I know the performance of many plants here in Encino as well as the Santa Clarita area, where I grew over twelve-hundred roses for over eighteen years. I can well imagine what should be expected from them with little to no irrigation there in Pomona. If you select wisely, plant properly and irrigate sufficiently until they are well established, you might well succeed. But, your selections would be better skewed toward Banksiaes, Fortuniana and deciduous, xerophytic species. They possess the extensive, vigorous root systems, harder wood with greater sunburn resistance, and the ability to suspend their activity sufficiently to withstand the extremes in heat and drought with the least damage. Kim...See MoreAre we really considered a Mediterranean climate???
Comments (24)Don't forget that higher elevations with more rain and cold are also within mediterranean climate zones both within the Mediterranean Basin as well as here in California. There are local microclimates here in the SF Bay Area that receive up to 70/80 inches of rainfall, while less than 5 miles away it might be only 30 inches. They are both mediterranean climates as they get predominantly winter rainfall and dry summers. There is no typical mediterranean climate; as an example, Rome gets more summer rainfall than southern Spain, and it can and does freeze and snow occasionally in both Rome and Lebanon/Israel. Coastal California tends to get summer fogs which actually allow our version of coastal rainforests to exist, such as the mixed conifer/oak woodlands/coastal Redwood forests along the wetter slopes. California tends to have a longer dry season than most other mediterranean climate locations, South Africa's Western Cape tends to have a shorter dry season, but a much windier climate year round with resultant higher moisture loss due to winds rather than lack of rain. There is no "typical" mediterranean climate, other than the fact that they all have predominant winter wet periods and dry summers, which are a rarity in the rest of the world, and represent less than 2% of the world's climate zones. I would disagree about New Zealand not having microclimates that seem similar to a mediterranean climate. There are certainly areas that resemble one, with rather sparse summer rainfall, and generally mild year round temperatures. It might be interesting to note that tropical high elevation cloud forests often resemble climatic conditions of our northern California summer fog drenched mediterranean coastal areas, and Californian and other mediterranean plants do as well in these tropical high elevation environments as tropical cloud forest plants do in our foggy coastal California gardens. Knowing the locations, elevations and habitat conditions of mediterranean region plants and the temperature range and rainfall totals is a better predicator of success for replicating good growing conditions than overgeneralizing, as there are plenty of higher elevation plants that are prefectly cold hardy and wet tolerant and also from mediterranean climate zones. One generalization that is pretty easy to make successfully is tiny leaved, gray foliaged/waxy foliage plants from mediterranean zones will typically want full sun and excellent winter drainage to survive in higher winter rainfall zones such as the PNW, while succulent foliaged plants from areas that seldom freeze will be less successful in areas that stay very wet in winter and also freeze....See MoreMediterranean or Mission style gardens?
Comments (7)I typed this response below before I realized that you don't live in California, but Oregon! You can still have a mediterranean inspired garden further north, but will have to adjust your planting choices to reflect that you are still mediterranean influenced in climate, but too cold and often too wet to slavishly emulate a California mediterranean style. It can certainly be done, even so, as there are classic mediterranean style gardens even in Vancouver, BC, or along the East Coast, where maintaining drought tolerant mediterranean plants in east coast summer heat, humidity and rainfall takes extra work. Adapting a plant palette that emphasizes gray foliage, and avoids the lush and green will go a long ways towards establishing the look. If you are set within tall conifer woods or surrounded by lots of big deciduous shade trees, it may be a stretch to pull this off visually. Most classic mediterranean gardens are washed in bright sun, and would typically rely on overhead screens or everegreen trees to create some relief in summer. If you have a situation where you can create a walled courtyard, it might be far easier to create a landscape within to suit your theme, and relate the outside to the surrounding neighborhood if the mediterranean theme/illusion can't be sustained. If you ahve your heart set on a palm as part of the theme, a Mediterranean Fan Palm/Chamaerops humilis or Windmill Palm/Trachycarpus fortunei are two that would take your climate. The following is what I had started to reply before I realized you are so much further north... The remnant gardens of all of the California missions are but fantasy recreations, with little basis in fact. You probably wouldn't want to emulate the real thing, it would be too sparse, utilitarian and devoid of plants. Mission gardens were for work and agriculture, not aesthetics. Michelle has pointed you in a good direction as to books and info. You will probably find that it makes much more sense to design a mediterranean inspired garden full of plantings that reflect your climate. If you stay true to this, you won't include a lawn, or insist on the garden being at its peak in mid summer, when a mediterranean garden would be resting for lack of water, and waiting to revive with the fall rains. (This is probably true even for your location in Oregon, where most gardens still need some supplemental irrigation in summer and early fall, even with your reputation for so much more rain that here in California). Winter and spring growth and bloom, lots of plants that are naturally designed to conserve water in summer and survive would be the majority of the garden. I personally would not recommend a Mexican Fan Palm for the entry; too large and messy, there are many other more suitable palms. I'd consider using rosemary, lavenders, santolinas, phlomis, as backbone perennials in the garden. If you want to take a cue from moorish/spanish themed gardens in particular, then inlucing a few classic courtyard more water loving plants to be used as accents might include an orange or lemon tree and a small fountain within a walled courtyard. Using tile, saltillo pavers or decomposed granite fines as paving/non planted surfaces would also give a classic mediterranean feel. For me, there are several public gardens that exude this feeling. Visit the buildings and surrounding gardens of San Diego's Balboa Park, or State Street in Santa Barbara and especially the County Court House Complex. If you wanted to design a mediterranean inspired garden using California natives, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden above the mission further up the canyon is another great place to visit and get ideas. Also in nearby Montecito, the Casa del Herrero Garden is open to the public by appointment, and has great spanish detailing to the house and gardens. I would recommend seeing as much as you can, and formulating your own style based on what you like, rather than trying to emulate a formula for your new gardenI'm willing to bet there are plenty of good examples of "mediterranean style" gardens in your own community, especially if you live somewhere like Pasadena or San Diego. Well, as you can see, alot of the references will not apply as you don't live anywhere near Southern California, but taking in the sights and paying a visit might still be good for generating ideas to recreate the "sense" of a classic mediterranean garden. Planting things that can survive and still look good on your seasonal rainfall also makes good sense even if the style isn't medit in feeling. You won't have to work as hard to keep it alive in the next drought, nor spend as much time pruning things back that are encouraged to overgrow by too much regular watering out of the natural rainfall season....See MoreNeed help for Mediterranean landscape
Comments (19)majority? 2 design commenters mentioned home design. Did you also read the part where OP stated she wanted to use a stone veneer and asked where to put it on her house? I would consider that a merging of the two. And I don't know how long you've been lurking, so you really can't discount all discussion when it comes to plants. I have a ton of mediterranean plantings around my own home. Along with a multitude of other types of flowers, trees, orchids, palms, succulents, ferns and plumerias, and am quite familiar w/the style and their requirements. And when I said frost, I really meant snow. Not the occasional 32 degree nights. I'm talking 0 and the negatives. Most of the plants we're talking about will be toast. Hence, "Where does OP live". Which I'm surprised you experts haven't even established yet. You're too busy w/the condescending attitude. So Amanda, what are the plans for the house? you mentioned the stone and if it should go all around the house or just partial? did you want something along these lines? Keep in mind you're working with a post-war type of ranch house w/siding and smaller windows. For the look you want, you may also want to consider new windows. i was trying to find an example w/the stone veneer and siding like yours. but for the style you're after, the stone is often w/stuccoI believe this is what Flo had in mind when talking about the roof. Doug drew up a good design for you. that driveway would be a giant plus for the look you want. Also, that porch design. can you bring in some thicker wood post supports? This shows the post and a stone veneer, as well as a flagstone driveway....See MoreNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
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7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoDar Sunset Zone 18
7 years agoepiphyte78
7 years agoDar Sunset Zone 18
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoepiphyte78
7 years agoepiphyte78
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agogyr_falcon
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoepiphyte78
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoNil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years agoepiphyte78
7 years ago
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