In A Desert
Garden
"Hop Bush - Dodonaea Viscosa"
|
This month I write about a shrub I actually have no experience with; I do not grow it in my yard, yet. One of my favorite past time is cruising the nurseries to see what is available. Not that I really have the space to add to my collection, but there is always room for change or to tuck a little plant in here or there. This time I went to "Nate's Nursery" on Highway 92 and as I wandered the aisles filled with shrubs, I came across a row of lovely specimens of Hop bush - Dodonaea viscosa; it was love on first sight. I red about this shrub sometime ago in "Native plants for Southwestern landscapes" by Judy Mielke, but never seen one available. By the way this book is a must have for every desert gardener. Of course Judy Mielke lives in Phoenix and that has to be taken into consideration, but a lot of plants described in her book do well in our High Desert area and there are nice photographs of the plants. Anyway back to the Hop bush. This plant grows in elevation from 2000' to 5000', in canyons and along arroyos. It is native to Arizona and the Southwest and Hawaii; here the fruit are used for Leis. There are also varieties found in Australia and warmer countries around the world and even in the Tropics. Hop bush grows in full sun or partial shade. It is cold tolerant to 15 degrees. It is not picky about soils and does well in rocky or clayish soil. It even is not fussy about irrigation, from minimal (once established) to generous. Hop bush grows to 10' - 15', but takes well to pruning and can even be pruned into a formal hedge, which I despises, I low the natural open growth of it. How fast it will grow, will depend on how much water it will get. The Arizona native variety has bright green leaves that are evergreen and gives the shrub a very lush appearance. The leaves are about 3 inches long and ½ inches wide and shiny, with a resinous coating. The shrub produces small unimpressive yellow flowers; the winged fruit is more noticeable. They are green and turn to rose or tan in fall. Dodonaea was named Hop bush because the Indians used the fruit to make beer. The seeds are eaten by Doves and Quail. This is a tuff shrub that can withstand drought, winds, poor soils, heat and cold. Cruising the nurseries I came to ACE. Here I found D.purpurea, purple Hop bush. A cutting grown variety "Saratoga" is uniformly deep purple. Now this is a shrub that is absolutely stunning and I will find room for it in my crowded garden. I love purple plants. I have been told, this variety needs full sun to produce the purple foliage, in the shade it will convert back to green. Seedlings will vary greatly in color. |
|
|
