Arranging a Marriage of Plants
Perhaps you feel that plants should be able to choose their own partners. But I’m from the old country and want to select the perfect matches for my plants!
Books have been written on companion plantings, because there is value in knowing which plants share certain cultural requirements and which ones have a symbiotic relationship to help ward off diseases or to improve nutritional intake.
But I am talking about a real marriage in which two plants grow together and almost appear as if they are one.
I transplanted a purple smoketree last fall with the intention of finding the perfect climbing match. Cotinus coggygria has a nice open branching structure that allows for a climber to entwine itself through the tree without the foliage getting too congested. I contacted a local expert from the International Clematis Society to consult on the perfect match for my 12-foot smoketree. By the way, is Clematis pronounced klem-uh-tis or kli-mat-is? Either way, I am very happy with their recommendation: Clematis ‘Huldine.’ It blooms on new wood and is scheduled in the Clematis Group Three for early spring pruning. It produces pearly white flowers that will contrast nicely with the puffy smoketree blooms and stand out against the purple foliage from July to October. And at its mature height, C. ‘Huldine’ should fill my smoketree nicely.
Time will tell if my matchmaking skills are successful and if these two will have a long and happy life together. I can’t wait to see passer-byers stop and wonder what kind tree this is that produces all these pearly white flowers!
If you have arranged any successful marriages, I’d love to hear about them.
Posted by Bob Rensel
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March 31st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
YES, IT IS NICE TO ‘PARTNER’ PLANTS. MY GRANDFATHER CREATED SOMETHING HE CALLED THE ‘CLOUDING’ EFFECT FOR THE ESTATES (WHEN THERE WERE TRUE ESTATES) IN SEWICKLEY, PA.. WHAT HE WOULD DO WOULD PUT TWO OF THE SAME VARIETY (ONE MUST BE SENSIBLE…OF COURSE)OF SPECIES. DOGWOOD (CORNUS) ARE EXCELLENT CHOICES FOR THIS…AS WELL AS VARIOUS RHODEDENDRON (MIND THE ZONE - H1 OR H2…NOTE WHERE YOU LIVE, WHAT YOU SEE SURVIVING — WHAT HAS LIVED FOR A LONG TIME IN YOUR AREA…).
DOGWOOD: NEED AT LEAST 1/2 DAY OF SUN, ALTHOUGH CAN TAKE LIGHT ANMOUNT OF SHADE CANOPY…BUT DON’T FORGET THAT ‘CANOPY’S’ EXPAND! -SO THE SHADE AREA WILL INCREASE). PLANT A WHITE, THEN 1 1/2 FOOT CLOSE TO IT, ADD A WHITE -OR- RED…OR GO WHITE, RED, AS WELL AS PINK. VARIETY & CONTRAST. AS THEY GROW, THEY WILL ‘CLOUD’ AND LAYER…SIMPLY DEVINE!
RHODY’S: NOVA SEMBLA (RED H2) IS NICE NEAR A PINK AND/ OR WHITE…MIX AND MAX! VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE!!! NOTE THE ‘GROWING’ TENDENCIES SO THAT YOU DON’T PUT A ‘FASTER GROWING’ VARIETY IN FRONT OF A SLOWER ONE…OR YOU WILL TEND TO DEFEAT YOUR PURPOSE. BE CAREFUL WITH WHITE’S…GET A BETTER QUALITY ONE. IT WILL BE THERE FOR YEARS OF ENJOYMENT (OR DISPLEASURE) — DON’T ‘SACRIFICE THE FUTURE ON THE ALTER OF THE PRESENT’! ANOTHER ADVANTAGE TO THIS THOUGHT PROCESS WITH RHODEDENDRON’S…BY ‘CLOUDING’, IF ONE DOES DIE OR HAS SNOW DAMAGE - LIMB BREAKAGE…YOU CAN REPLACE - OR NOT- AND STILL NOT ‘SKIP A BEAT’! ENJOY & HAVE FUN — MY DAD TAUGHT ME WELL, & I HOPE HIS PASSED DOWN KNOWLEDGE HELPS US ALL! -G.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
HERE’S ANOTHER THOUGHT…HAVE YOU EVER TRIED ‘CLOUDING’ YOUR COTONIS TOGETHER? PLANT THEM 1 1/2 - 2 FEET APART…PUT IN A PURPLE SMOKEBUSH (PURPLE FOLIAGE WITH DEEPER PURPLE / RED PUFFS) NEXT TO THE PRETTY ‘PLAIN’ GREEN FOLIAGE BEARING PINK PUFFS…AND ENJOY HOW THE ‘CONTRAST’ ACTUALLY INTENSIFIES SOMETHING THAT OTHERWISE COULD BE BLAH-PLAIN! EXPERIMENT! -G.
* “A GREAT SOURCE OF PLEASURE IS VARIETY!” - SAMUEL jOHNSON
April 7th, 2008 at 6:39 am
I love the “clouding” concept. You don’t by chance have any photos, do you? I’d like to see how the branching crosses through each plant. I imagine each plant is pruned a bit thinner than if it were standing alone.