Plant Profiles, News and Information

What’s the Name of that Plant? Is this an African Daisy, a Torch Daisy, a Sun Spot Daisy, a Flame Daisy or just a” daisy”?

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

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If you are a backyard gardener, your introduction to plant names probably came from plant labels, seed packets, maybe some plant catalogs or books and probably several casual conversations. Those names that you learned were invariably what are called common names. The alternate, more specific name, is often referred to as the "scientific name", the "Latin name" or the “botanical name”. Regardless of how awkward botanical names appear at first, this is a plants only real name. Common names are akin to nicknames, fine for casual conversation, but often unclear, regionally different and frequently changing.

Peonies in our local Southern California gardens? And the Verdict is . . .

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

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Serious gardeners love a challenge, especially when it comes to zones, frost, temperatures and all that boring technical stuff. Tell a serious plant lover that you can’t grow one and they’ll buy two. Tell them it’s too tropical or too temperate and they’ll test it. Tell them it’s too difficult to grow and they’ll dream about it all night long. Gardeners love to push the envelope.

Peonies growing and blooming in Southern California is precisely one of these local challenges. Just this week I received reports from two women, Kathleen and Katharine, who accepted the peony challenge. To my surprise both reported success with a series of peonies called Itoh Hybrids.

Kathleen moved to north San Diego County several years ago from colder climates. She missed peonies terribly. Kathleen says “On a whim last year I decided that I really wanted to have one of the new Itoh Peonies, just to enjoy its beautiful blooms.”

The Legend of Orange County’s Wild Tomatoes

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

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I often feel sorry for my daughter. But at least she’ll have plenty of stories to tell her children.

About five years ago I recall doing my best to convince her to come with me on an all-day, far-fetched attempt to locate the last wild tomatoes in Orange County. That’s right, wild tomatoes – in the hills of Orange County. This is a true story.

First, a little background. In the summer of 1769 the first European expedition in California had reached Orange County. The hot, dry conditions had left the party precariously short of water. Fortunately, a Spaniard in the expedition by the name of Padre Gomez discovered a spring in the East Irvine area, providing the party with a welcome source of fresh water. For the next few days the group camped near the life sustaining springs and the site was soon called the ”Spring of Padre Gomez." About a hundred years later, the area was given a new name, “Tomato Springs”, due to the abundance of wild tomatoes that were supposedly growing in the area, the progeny of previous visitors.

Plant Obsessions can be Addictive

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

What’s wrong with me? I just dumped another horticultural ambition. Four years of hard work – gone in one afternoon.

Is there anyone else out there with a similar diagnosis? Four years ago I became fascinated by a rather small group of succulent plants, known as Aeoniums. Several of you may know a few of the common versions. One day, while pondering Aeoniums I somehow concluded that I would set out to see how many different species I could assemble. I even briefly considered a collecting trip to The Canary Islands, where several grow. Yikes! Is this a disease?

Depending upon the authority, there are about 35 species of Aeoniums in the world. Two or three are pretty readily available and most of you have probably seen them. These two or three, and their hybrid selections, are about all most gardeners might know about this interesting group of plants. Another six or eight species can be acquired with a credit card, an internet account and a lot of blind faith. The next 25 species are obscure and essentially unobtainable.