Crinodendron
I saw a pretty dead crinodendron at UBC the other day, but the pics are so gorgeous, is this one a possible for this area?
Also, Rob Wagner could you drop me an email sometime (so I can confirm a possible seed order share).
Glen in Surrey
The following thread was started by Glen in Surrey on December 30, 2003 at 9:18 am PST
I'll send the mail.
Crinodendrons are spectacular plants, but they need understanding.
There are 2 species I am aware of, C. hookerianum and C. patagua. The former is the showier one, with crimson "lantern" shaped blossoms. The unopened blossoms actually form the year before they color and open--I mean that you have to overwinter unopened flowers.
It's hard to judge how big they are from photos. "Bigger than I imagined" when I saw them in person. They might be about an inch or so in diameter (I thought they'd be barely a centimeter).
C. hookerianum comes from the rainforest, and C. patagua further north in the Med belt. You'd think C. hookerianum would be the hardier one, but which one is hardier is in contention. C. patagua is native to open scrubby woodlands, so it tolerates exposure better. C. hookerianum needs shelter from overexposure to the sun or cold, dry winds, either of which will kill it. It tolerates shade well and should probably get bright, open shade with protection from northern and eastern exposures.
The one at the Ballard Locks in Seattle sits between a building to the north, and Sophora microphylla shading it from the sun. It is fairly good-sized and does bloom. They bloom quite young by the way; a gallon plant can easily bloom.
I have had a devil of a time getting one established. For me, summer heat and drought have been more of a problem than winter cold (actually, I have never had one die in winter, only in summer). They do need moist soil and I do not think they like Seattle's highly-chlorinated water. A drip irrigation system might help a lot; it keeps them moist without overwhelming them with chlorine or encouraging disease. I did get one to survive and I think it is finally to viable size.
How is your rainfall by the way? Vancouver gets more than Seattle and it is cooler to boot--those are both plusses as long as it has shelter during severely cold weather.
One more caution: they are probably vulnerable to Phytophthora. I've lost so many plants to that in my "zone of death" where it is a chronic problem. Make sure the soil is light and well-aerated.
It likes acidic soil and is probably a modest feeder.
Heronswood offers plants originating from Dan Hinkley's collections in Chile; he claims that they are hardier than average and do not freeze back in his own garden, which seems to be a little too low-lying and prone to hard frosts. Average plants do freeze back in his garden but he says they recover.
It is amazing they are as hardy as they are; the family (Eleocarpaceae) is overwhelmingly deep-tropical. Even the member of the family from New Zealand is not ironclad hardy (and it does not have the good looks of its Chilean counterparts...as seems to be true of a lot of cases).
I don't know if it is always true but they seem to tend to have a fastigiate habit.
Good luck. It is a very beautiful plant, not just the flowers but the deep-green leaves too.
The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on December 30, 2003 at 3:37 pm PST.
I have found Crinodendron to be easy to grow in Olympia through the last several mild winters. We will see if a cold one kills it off. It likes a moist woodland setting with partial shade. It also roots very easily from cuttings.
The above followup was added by Ian on December 30, 2003 at 5:17 pm PST.
Mine is supposedly hardier than average. This is hearsay I am passing along.
I have not ever had one die back in winter even in "hard" winters (then the following summer they would die of heat stroke...you're folks'es place is on the waterfront isn't it? Might help...).
Anyway it is getting big enough to spare a cutting, if you want one. I don't think they die of our harder winters if established they "just" freeze back...possibly to the ground...
Maybe I'll start a few extras, for you and me both.
The one at the Ballard Locks is big enough I think it has seen "real" winters and obviously not frozen back. But that part of town is pretty mild.
The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on December 30, 2003 at 5:54 pm PST.
Rob-your info explains the blackened near dead specimen I saw the other day. With hardly any cold weather for years, I had a hard time understanding why this plant had been nearly killed...esp. at this time of year.
Obviously it had suffered from it's open exposure...sited out in full sun, esp. after such a record breaking hot summer. UBC is on a peninsula very close to the ocean so comparatively cool, but perhaps a shaded spot would have made the difference.
So much to learn, wow...
The above followup was added by Glen in Surrey on December 30, 2003 at 7:54 pm PST.