Mushrooms But Not As You Know Them

 KITCHEN GARDEN SEGMENT  on REAL WORLD GARDENER radio show

Scientific Name: Rungia klossii

Common name: Mushroom plant

Family: Acanthaceae

Origin: New Guinea

Rungia klossii is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.6 m x 0.6 m at a medium rate.

Soils: Suitable for: light or sandy, medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. 

Habitat: Mushroom plant can grow in semi-shade  but not full sun in an Australian summer. It prefers dry or moist soil if grown in the ground otherwise growing in a pot is very successful.

Mushroom plant Photo: M Cannon

Description:The shiny mid green have a yellowish mid-rib. 

The elliptic leaves are arranged in pairs with adjacent pairs perpendicular to one another (decussate leaf arrangement mush like in a hydrangea).

Flowers: Blue flowers that appear in a cluster in ideal positions.

proteins.
Harvesting: The Mushroom plant can be harvested all year round,  but the best is to harvest during the active growth period to provide a bushy growth.

Uses: In the kitchen it's used in salads, soups and wok dishes, a small cooking even increases the mushroom aroma.

Frosts: Low frosts are tolerated but lead to leaf loss. 

Fun fact: Higher in protein that actual mushrooms.

What is it exactly and why is it called mushroom plant.

Let's star with, how do you love your mushrooms?
In a risotto, sautéed with scrambled eggs, in soups or salads?
Perhaps you don’t like them at all.
Here’s a way to enjoy the taste without the texture and it’s all natural.

The leaves are somewhat stiff and lightly curled at the tip.

Yes, the leaves taste like mushrooms with a crispy texture and nothing more.  

So, let’s find out how and why, by listening to the podcast.

I am talking with Corinne Mossati, founder of the gourmantic garden.

/https://thegourmanticgarden.com/

Corinne's favourite use of the plant is finely chopped into salads for that burst of flavour.
Mushroom plant is a perennial that although it grows well in tropical and sub-tropical areas, it needs protection from frost in cooler climates.

The best way to grow it there is in a pot, which by the way, has served me well over the years.

If you have any feedback email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Mushroom Plants, Dandelions and Garden Designers

We start with the topic of dandelion, it’s a weed but can it help you in Grow Your Health; growing a mushroom plant in Vegetable Heroes; a new series called ‘so you think you need a landscaper part 1’ with Peter Nixon in Design elements and a

GROW YOUR HEALTH

Dandelion: Taraxacum officinale

I’ve talked about weeds on this program, not just controlling weeds but eating weeds.
It’s not something that I’ve got my head around yet, but one weed that is being showcased today has been used in herbal medicine and nutrtition for quite a while.
Apparently it’s good for your liver.

Let’s find out what it is.
I'm talking with Simone Jeffries, naturopath, nutritionist and wellness coach of www.simonejeffriesnaturopath.com.au


The leaf has a serrated edge forming a basal rosette, with a strong taproot.

Dandelion flowers have only ray florets, and no disc florets, therefore no centre.

Milky sap comes from the stem.
It’s good though that dandelion coffee or tea has the same health benefits. 

• Simone recommends eating the leaf because they are bitter. 
• Bitterness is good for us, because it stimulates the appetite.

Dandelion leaves are best when young because they become more bitter with age.

Add to a salad, incorporate into a pesto or mix it in with a juice.

The dandelion root is beneficial also, being made into tea or dandelion coffee.

Contains high amounts of iron and calcium.

You can slow bake the root until its brittle, then you can grind it up to make your own tea or coffee.

• As always, make sure you can identify the weed correctly before consuming it.
• Also don’t collect the weeds on roadsides or nature strips, because you don’t know what animal has left its message on them or if they have been sprayed with herbicide. 

If you have any questions for me or for Simone please contact us or write in.

VEGETABLE HEROES

RUNGIA KLOSSII

Have you ever heard of a mushroom plant?

I bet you’ve never heard of a it?

• Rungia klossii  or Mushroom plant is from the Acanthaceae family, that has quite a lot of ornamental plants with names like, Acanthus mollis or Oyster plant, Justicia sp, you might’ve heard of the shrimp plant, or even grown it yourself.

Why are these plants in the same family?

For one thing, these plants have sympetalous corollas-that means the petals are fused into a tube and they also have  mostly four stamens (sometimes reduced further to two).

Flowers of mushroom plant have sympetalous corollas

Members of this family that grow in Australia or New Guinea (Australia was part of New Guinea in Gondwana time.) are usually small herbs or shrubs with quite dark green leaves.

Back to the mushroom plant, where do you get it?

• What is it actually then ?

The mushroom plant is a perennial-that means it flowers and sets seed over a number of years, growing to about 60cm high.

It comes from the highlands of Papua New Guinea, so it’s a tropical or sub-tropical plant, but seems to grow alright in cooler areas that only get a light frost.

Don’t despair, if you want to try this plant, I’ve been growing mine for years in a pot, and even though there’s not that much frost where I live, it seems to survive quite well.

Except for one time when house-sitters didn’t water it and it looked quite dead.

There are a couple of green stems so I’m hopeful that it will come back.

Where to Plant

• In cooler areas, the plant will die down in winter but comes back up in spring. 
• Mushroom plants can be grown in a position that gets morning sun or semi-shade. Full sun tends to burn them.
• If your district experiences temperatures in the mid-30’s for stretches at a time, I would say that you should only try this plant in a semi-shaded spot.
• In cool temperate climates you could grow the mushroom plant in a full sun position.
• This plant certainly won’t cope with any frost in winter.

 Mushroom plants have dark green, glossy succulent leaves and stems with a yellow central mid-vein.

The leaf is crinkly, about 2 cm long with a sharp point.

And they’re also arranged in opposite pairs  on the stem but at right angles to those above and below.

This is what’s known as decussate.

What does it taste like?

• If you bite on the leaf, it’s quite crunchy, and very tasty and yes, quite reminiscent of mushrooms, but not overpowerlingly.
• Mine has never flowered but it’s supposed to have blue flowers in spring. It probably flowers in more tropical areas.
• The flowering doesn’t matter really because you’re growing it for the leaves to put into your cooking, sandwiches and salads.

Growing it in a Pot

• There isn’t much information about growing this plant in books or on the web, but I’ve found that it grows well in ordinary potting mix, and I’ve also put a plant in the edge of my veggie bed.
• I have heard that it doesn’t like being waterlogged, so for those people who have clay soils, you need to grow it in a raised bed or pot of any size.
• You could say it copes in most soils, but it must be well-drained and kept fairly moist.

If you manage to get one, I would recommend taking a cutting for insurance until you find the right spot for it to grow.

• The plant will grow from root division as well. Spring is the best time, and it can be slow to strike, although once you get it going it can grow quite quickly.
• If you plant it in the ground it’ll spread by suckering and will form a large clump over time.
• Picking the leaves often means the plant gets more bushy-a bit like pruning most plants, the new growth that comes after is better.

How to Enjoy Mushroom Plant

You can eat the leaves in salads, they have a nice crunch to them, or chop them up and put them into scrambled eggs.

They won’t go that grey colour as they do when you use real mushrooms.

Add them to soups, stews and stir-fries towards the end of cooking time. Heat enhances that mushroom flavour.

Why is it good for you?

The leaves are extremely rich in chlorophyll, making them, valuable for blood cleansing and muscle building.

Mushroom plant leaves have 3% protein (higher in protein than actual mushrooms).

What I don’t get is that have a few calories, in fact they have 33 calories per 100 grams of leaves,

But the good part is calcium content is 272mg to 100 grams of leaves the highest in any plant!

It beats other plant foods with high sources of calcium are: kale at 249mg, almond 234, soybean 226, parsley 203, dandelion leaves 187, watercress 151, chickpeas 150, horseradish 140, sunflower seed 120, wheat bran 119, broccoli 103, fennel 100, spinach 93, lentils 97, raisins 62, Chinese cabbage 43 … which shows us that the mushroom plant is very high in calcium.

The plant is also a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, iron and other vitamins and minerals.

It’s a very tasty herb and there should be more of it around.

The mushroom taste gets stronger with cooking.

Go to your local markets and buy one today.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

So You Think You Need A Landscaper part 1

You may be wanting to redesign your whole garden so plants that are water hungry are removed and drought tolerant plants put in.

Tex Mex seen in passing. photo P Nixon

It needn’t be ugly or full of just succulents, but what do you plant?
This is when you need a Landscape Designer or even a garden designer
But which of these do you need?
Let’s find out.

I'm talking with Peter Nixon Project manager and landscape designer for Paradisus garden design. www.peternixon.com.au

PLAY: Need A Landscaper part 1_4th December 2019

• If you want more than just new garden beds and new plants, you may just want a garden designer.
• But if you want more doing than just plants, you’ll need project manager who is also a garden or landscape designer.

Peter Nixon's See Changer garden photo Peter Nixon

For plants as seen in this photo, you will need your garden designer or landscaper to prepare an 'availability list.'

Simply because, these are not the standard, run of the mill plants that are available in every pot size all year round.

You may like plants as those you see in gardening magazines or at plant fairs to be used in your new design.

That will mean, someone spending hours on the phone, finding out out which grower can supply them or in fact even contract grow them in the quantity and size that you want.

TIP: ask the right questions of your landscaper or garden designer. Namely, "will you source plants which I want?"

If you have any questions for me or for Peter, please write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

Pines, Mushrooms Plants and Hot Colours

The Discovery of The Wollemi Pine.

Wollemi Pine. photo L. Brooks

In 1994, 3 canyoners found a stand of trees that they had never seen before in Wollemi National Park. The leader, David Noble, took some specimens to have identified at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
Louise Brooks is reporting for Real World Gardener and here she talks with Dr Cathy Offord, Research Scientist at Mt Annan.
Cathy is researching various aspects of the Wollemi pine, listen to the podcast to find out more.

Thank you to Louise Brooks for recording and producing that interview with Dr Cath Offord, Research Scientist at Mt Annan Botanic Garden.
Wollemi Pine trunk displays bubbly bark.

Bubbly Bark of Wollemi Pine/

    







 
If you have any questions about growing Wollemi Pine or have some information you’d like to share, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES:

MUSHROOM PLANT: Rungia klossii

Have you ever heard of a mushroom plant?
I bet you’ve never heard of a it?


Rungia klossii or Mushroom plant is from the Acanthaceae family, that has quite a lot of ornamental plants with names like, Acanthus mollis or Oyster plant, Justicia sp.
You might’ve heard of the shrimp plant, or even grow it yourself.
Why are these plants in the same family? For one thing, these plants have sympetalous corollas-that means the petals are fused into a tube and they also have four stamens (sometimes reduced further to two).
Members of this family that grow in Australia or New Guinea (Australia was part of New Guinea in Gondwana time.) are usually small herbs or shrubs.
They usually have quite dark green leaves.

Where do you get it?
Well local markets are a good thing, and it’s at one of these market plant stalls that I found such a plant. At first I didn’t really believe the stall holder so she made me try a leaf. It wasn’t until I was chewing on the second leaf that the real mushroom flavour came through.
You can also buy it now from online shops, or ring them and they’ll send you a catalogue, or your local garden centre might even carry it.

Mushroom Plant in Garden Bed

What Does It Look Like?
The mushroom plant is a perennial-that means it flowers and sets seed over a number of years, growing to about 60cm high.

It originates from the highlands of Papua New Guinea, so it’s a tropical plant or sub-tropical plant, but seems to grow alright in cooler areas that only get a light frost.

Don’t despair, if you want to try this plant, I’ve been growing mine for years in a pot, and even though there’s not that much frost where I live, it seems to survive quite well.

In cooler areas, the plant will die down in winter but comes back up in spring.

Mushroom plants have dark green, glossy succulent leaves and stems with a yellow central mid-vein.

The leaf is crinkly, about 2 cm long with a sharp point.

The leaves are arranged on a stem in opposite pairs at right angles to those above and below, this is what’s known as decussate.
In fact you if you bite on the leaf, it’s quite crunchy, and very tasty.
Tip: Don't worry if it hasn't flowered.
Mine has never flowered but it’s supposed to have blue flowers in spring.
It probably flowers in more tropical areas.
The flowering doesn’t matter really because you’re growing it for the leaves to put into your cooking, sandwiches and salads.
How Does It Grow?
There isn’t much information about growing this plant in books or on the web, but I’ve found that it grows well in ordinary potting mix, and I’ve also put a plant in the edge of my veggie bed.
I have heard that it doesn’t like being waterlogged so for those people who have clay soils, you need to grow it in a raised bed or pot of any size.
You could say it copes in most soils, but it must be well-drained and kept fairly moist.
Mushroom plants can be grown in a position that gets morning sun or semi-shade.
If your district experiences temperatures in the mid-30’s for stretches at a time, I would say that you should only try this plant in a semi-shaded spot.
In cool temperate climates you could grow the mushroom plant in a full sun position.
This year I hedged my bets, I put one in the veggie bed in full sun, although it’s next to a taller Angelica plant and I kept another one in a pot in semi-shade.
The full sun plant is more bushy but shorter than the potted plant.
This plant certainly won’t cope with any frost in winter.

Rungia klossii

So if you want to grow it in, grow it in a pot and move it to a sunny spot when it gets really cold or under the verandah or patio.
Picking the leaves often means the plant gets more bushy-a bit like pruning most plants, the new growth that comes after is better.
Colder Climate Growing Tip:
In colder climates it becomes dormant in winter, may even die right down, but in tropical and sub-tropical areas it doesn't always lose its leaves.
The plant will grow from cuttings or from root division.
Spring is the best time, and it can be slow to strike.
Although once you get it going it can grow quite quickly.
If you plant it in the ground it’ll spread by suckering and will form a large clump over time.
How To Use In Cooking:
You can eat the leaves in salads, they have a nice crunch to them, or chop them up and put them into scrambled eggs. They won’t go that grey colour.
Add them to soups, stews and stir-fries towards the end of cooking time. Heat enhances that mushroom flavour.
Why is it good for you? The leaves are extremely rich in chlorophyll, making them, valuable for blood cleansing and building.
Mushroom plant leaves have 3% protein (higher in protein than mushrooms!!)
What I don’t get is that have a few calories, in fact they have 33 calories per 100 grams of leaves,
But the good part is calcium content is 272mg to 100 grams of leaves the highest in any plant!
Other plant foods with high sources of calcium are: kale at 249, almond 234, soybean 226, parsley 203, dandelion leaves 187, watercress 151, chickpeas 150, horseradish 140, sunflower seed 120, wheat bran 119, broccoli 103, fennel 100, spinach 93, lentils 97, raisins 62, Chinese cabbage 43 … which shows us that the mushroom plant is very high in calcium. The plant is also a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, iron and other vitamins and minerals.
It’s a very tasty herb and there should be more of it around.
The mushroom taste gets stronger with cooking.
Go to your local markets and buy one today.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE OR HERB HERO FOR TODAY.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Designing with Hot Colours

Add caption

Are you one of those gardeners that avoids using plants with red flowers or red leaves in the garden?
For some reason, the colour red has that reaction when gardeners are choosing colour in the garden.
Perhaps it’s because of the fear of red clashing with the other colours in the garden?
Knowing how to use colour in the garden can be a bit tricky because there are so many variations of the one hue.
This is part two in the series, Designing with Colour in the garden-this week is all about using Hot Colours, of which red is one-what would we avoid when using hot colours?

Let’s find out. I'm talking with English Garden Designer, Lesley Simpson

Knowing how to combine colours so that the final product will be one we like takes practice, or perhaps even trial and error.
We know what we like when we see it and to stop your garden from looking like the clash of the titans, take the opportunity to visit other gardens,  or visit parks that have displays of colour to see what you really like.

Only practice and experimentation will develop your eye for colour and allow you to see the differences between colours.
I you have any questions about colour schemes in the garden why not email me at realworldgardener@gmail.com

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Gloxinia speciosa: GLOXINIA
This next plant is the type you buy after seeing it in a florists display because it looks so exotic with it’s rich velvety petals. You think to yourself, “ I’ll get that” as a reward for something you’ve done like finishing a horticulture course, gardening or floristry course or a difficult task.
Perhaps even after losing some weight.  If you find the right location, they last for years and years.
-let’s find out about this plant.

 

These modern hybrids have brilliantly coloured trumpet-shaped flowers and very beautiful, large, flat, velvety mid-green leaves. 

The flowers vary in colour from rich crimson, deep red, violet and white to various combinations of such colours.

Some forms, called the tigrina gloxinias, have flowers heavily spotted or delicately veined in these colours on a white background, and others have frilled edges, touched with white.

I used to treat myself to a red velvet flowering gloxinia when I finished my horticulture exams. They would last a couple of years, then it was time for a new one.

The tubers will survive from year to year but they should not be kept longer than 2 or 3 years as old plants tend to lose their vigour.

Yes, I spent quite a few years studying.

As a rule of thumb, if you can successfully grow African violets, you can probably grow gloxinias.

Having said that, Gloxinia prefer higher humidity than African violets or Streptocarpus, and many serious growers find that they must supplement the humidity in their grow rooms with pebble trays or a humidifier in order to grow Gloxinia successfully year-round.

GLOXINIA

If you’re ever fortunate enough to be able to attend an African Violet show, then you’ll find that Gloxinias, along with Streptocarpus are also exhibited and for sale.

The biggest difference between growing Gloxinia and growing African violets or Streptocarpus is that Gloxinia require a period of dormancy or “winter rest” in order to flower again.

Your plant will start to wind down, usually around April or May with flowers fading more quickly and fewer or no new buds being formed.

When that happens, your plant is telling you it’s time to rest.

Reduce watering to about half the usual amount and remove dead flower stems.

The really great news is that once you have a mature gloxinia plant, it can live for years. There’s the belief that if you can successfully grow African violets, you can probably grow gloxinias. They both are members of the Gesneriaceae family.
Funnily enough I can grow my Gloxinia outdoors under a peach tree in a pot, but can’t do that with my African violets.
If you have any questions about growing Gloxinias, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com

Dream Time in the Garden

Wildlife in Focus

Bush Stone Curlew

Don’t flog out logs, the conversation slogan to save the habitat of the Bush Stone curlew.
Bush Stone-curlews are birds whose colouring makes them hard to see in bushland, especially in the dusky shadows and evenings, when they are most active.
Then there’s that call…really eerie…
Let’s find out more..with ecologist Sue Stevens.

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Bush Stone-curlews are birds standing 50–60 centimetres high, with long gangly legs, large yellow eyes, and grey-streaked upper parts. The Bush Stone curlew’s range has declined drastically in southeastern Australia. It’s now extinct in many former spots south of the Great Dividing Range. While its Victorian and New South Wales stronghold is along the border region.
It’s only sparsely distributed and continues to decline. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/tsd05bush-stone-curlew.pdf
If you spot one in your district send us a photo, we’d love to see it. Either via email or post, but more importantly, leave those fallen branches or logs lying around so this bird can nest near.

We’d love to see photos of any small birds you have visiting your garden just send it in to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Vegetable Heroes:

Have you ever heard of a mushroom plant?I bet you’ve never heard of a it?
Rungia klossii  or Mushroom plant is from the Acanthaceae family, that has quite a lot of ornamental plants with names like, Acanthus mollis or Oyster plant, Justicia sp, you might’ve heard of the shrimp plant, or even grow it yourself.
Why are these plants in the same family? For one thing, these plants have sympetalous corollas-that means the petals are fused into a tube and  they also have four stamens (sometimes reduced further to two).
Members of this family that grow in Australia or New Guinea (Australia was part of New Guinea in Gondwana time.) are usually small herbs or shrubs.They usually have quite dark green leaves.
Where do you get it?
Well local markets are a good thing, and it’s at one of these market plant stalls that I found such a plant. At first I didn’t really believe the stall holder so she made me try a leaf. It wasn’t until I was chewing on the second leaf that the real mushroom flavour came through.
You can also buy it now from online shops, or ring them and they’ll send you a catalogue, or your local garden centre might even carry it.
The mushroom plant is a perennial-that means it flowers and sets seed over a number of years, growing to about 60cm high.
It originates from the highlands of Papua New Guinea, so it’s a tropical plant or sub-tropical plant, but seems to grow alright in cooler areas that only get a light frost.
Don’t despair, if you want to try this plant, I’ve been growing mine for years in a pot, and even though there’s not that much frost where I live, it seems to survive quite well.
In cooler areas, the plant will die down in winter but comes back up in spring.
 Mushroom plants have dark green, glossy succulent leaves and stems with a yellow central mid-vein.
The leaf is crinkly, about 2 cm long with a sharp point.
The leaves are arranged on a stem in opposite pairs at right angles to those above and below, this is what’s known as decussate.
In fact you if you bite on the leaf, it’s quite crunchy, and very tasty.
Mine has never flowered but it’s supposed to have blue flowers in spring.
It probably flowers in more tropical areas.
The flowering doesn’t matter really because you’re growing it for the leaves to put into your cooking, sandwiches and salads.
There isn’t much information about growing this plant in books or on the web, but I’ve found that it grows well in ordinary potting mix, and I’ve also put a plant in the edge of my veggie bed.
I have heard that it doesn’t like being waterlogged so for those people who have clay soils, you need to grow it in a raised bed or pot of any size.
You could say it copes in most soils, but it must be well-drained and kept fairly moist.
Mushroom plants can be grown in a position that gets morning sun or semi-shade.
If your district experiences temperatures in the mid-30’s for stretches at a time, I would say that you should only try this plant in a semi-shaded spot.
In cool temperate climates you could grow the mushroom plant in a full sun position.
This year I hedged my bets, I put one in the veggie bed in full sun, although it’s next to a taller Angelica plant and I kept another one in a pot in semi-shade.
The full sun plant is more bushy but shorter  than the potted plant.
This plant certainly won’t cope with any frost in winter. So if you want to grow it in, grow it in a pot and move it to a sunny spot when it gets really cold or under the verandah or patio.
Picking the leaves often means the plant gets more bushy-a bit like pruning most plants, the new growth that comes after is better.
In colder climates it becomes dormant in winter, may even die right down, but in tropical and sub-tropical areas it doesn't always lose its leaves.
The plant will grow from cuttings or from root division.
Spring is the best time, and it can be slow to strike.
Although once you get it going it can grow quite quickly.
If you plant it in the ground it’ll spread by suckering and will form a large clump over time.
It reminds me a little and in a good way, of Tradescantia, a weed that used to be called Wandering Jew, but that's not PC anymore.
You can eat the leaves in salads, they have a nice crunch to them, or chop them up and put them into scrambled eggs. They won’t go that grey colour.
Add them to soups, stews and stir-fries towards the end of cooking time. Heat enhances that mushroom flavour.
Why is it good for you?
The leaves are extremely rich in chlorophyll, making them, valuable for blood cleansing and building. Mushroom plant leaves have 3% protein (higher in protein than mushrooms).
What I don’t get is that have a few calories, in fact they have 33 calories per 100 grams of leaves.
But the good part is calcium content is the highest in any plant!
Other plant foods with high sources of calcium are: kale,  almonds, parsley, spinach 
The plant is also a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, iron and other vitamins and minerals.
It’s a very tasty herb and there should be more of it around.
The mushroom taste gets stronger with cooking.
Go to your local markets, larger nursery or garden centre and buy one today.

Design Elements

with landscape designer Louise McDaid
Over the coming weeks, landscape Designer, Louise McDaid will be giving you expert solutions to some of the most common problems that home-owners are faced with. Are you thinking my garden doesn’t need anything done to it ? Or I just maintain my garden and it doesn’t really need anything else. So I’ll ask you what if you heard something that might make your garden that more special? What if you heard something that might make you use your garden more than just toiling away to keep it neat and tidy?
Louise has some really great design tips that might hold the key to changing how you see your garden and inspire to create your special garden of eden.
 Let’s start with today’s garden design problem…

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Perhaps next time you buy some plants, choose them to see how colours that recede and don’t recede work.
Plant out a bed of annuals in a pale colour then add some strong coloured taller plants in the background. Stand back and see what happens.Doesn’t that sound exciting? Why not try it out? There’s a lot of information in that design element so you may need to listen to it again a few times!!

Plant of the Week:

Echinacea purpurea and cultivars.
Did you know that Purple coneflowers are the main ingredient used in herbal teas that help the immune system?
Today there are more than 200 medicines derived from Echinacea purpurea extract.
Echinacea is derived from Greek echino meaning hedgehog.
Echinacea purpurea, also known as the “purple coneflower” is a hardy, drought resistant plant originally from eastern and central North America, where it is found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas..
Echinacea’s are easy to grow, with a mid-sized leaf and about 70cm tall.


Purple Coneflowers have large daisy-like, purple flowers and prominent browny-orange cones in the centre that are hard to the touch.
The flowers in the Asteraceae of daisy family is realyy an inflorescence or flower head; a densely packed cluster of many small, individual flowers, usually called florets.
The outer petals are called'ray florets' surrounding central 'disc florets.'  These florets make up the whole flower.
The flowers are long lasting are also attractive to butterflies.
Coneflowers will tolerate some shade but really do best in full sun.
Cone flowers need a well-drained soil is an absolute must.
Echinacea plants will fail almost immediately if planted in wet clay soil so if that's your soil type, grow them in pots or raised beds only.
Apart from heavy wet clay, they're not too fussy with soil type.
Growing from seed is pretty easy too as long as the seed is fresh.-ie not past its use by date.
Don't overwater your cone-flowers or they'll get root rot.
Coneflowers are very drought tolerant but they will need some help with water after being transplanted.
Water newly planted coneflowers just enough to keep the soil moist for at least two weeks after you plant them.
Keep an eye on through out the first year and water during extended dry spells.
After the first year they should have developed a strong enough root system to make it on their own.
The purple flowered varieties are a receding colour whereas the white makes the flower appear closer. Try growing both varieties in different parts of the garden for effect.
New coneflowers for free?
Devision is the easiest and by far the best way to get new plants of coneflowers.
 If you live in the cool temperate districts where your growing season is short and winters are cold you should divide coneflower plants in late summer or spring. If you live in a warmer climate division should be done in autumn.
New and old colours and varieties
Purpurea - rosy purple flowers.
 Purpure alba-white flowers
Bright Star - rosy to lavender pink flower.
Magnus - dark carmine flower.
Ruby Star - deep magenta-red flowers.
All cone flowers are frost hardy and prefer full sun
Tip:Remove spent flowers -you'll get more flowers that way.
Prune foliage hard each winter. When new growth appears in spring fertilise.