Friday, December 12, 2008

Photo Du Jour : Althéa

Althéa is one of the common names for hibiscus syriacus. The flowers look like hibiscus, only smaller. I learned about this plant only after moving to France.

The seed pods of a neighbor's althéa.

We have one in our yard, although like many plants in our yard, it was put in the wrong place. It's currently growing, or surviving, under the canopy of a weeping birch. These plants prefer full sun.

There were two others in the yard that I cut down because they, too, were planted in a place they didn't belong. I miss them, but they were not transplantable. This one in this photo is one of several in a neighbor's yard.

Ken's collected a few of the seed pods and we're going to try to get them to grow. I've read that they will grow from seed, but there's no guarantee you'll get the same plant. That sounds funny, but I think it means that the flower color and/or other characteristics of the original cultivar may not be present in the new plant.

4 comments:

  1. I love how we can see right down inside of the pod....through the little tiny sliver of a hole in it's pod.

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  2. Althéa, Rose of Sharon, grows readily from seeds. We've had althéas in our yard in Paris for as long as I can remember and that's quite a long time. The original plants are long gone, but their offsprings are still there and kicking. As I can tell they're true to their parents. The Okra is of the same large family.

    The word verification is gowsmad!

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  3. alewis, I like that, too.

    chm, but what family is the ocatillo in? And what did you do to get gow mad? ;)

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  4. Strange as it might seem, the Ocotillo belongs .... —hold your breath— ...to the Ocotillo family. Wow! And they will be blooming soon.

    Thank you for your good wishes for my birthday.

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