The tiny, yellow-foliaged plant in the blue pot is a seedling of
Talinum paniculatum 'Limon'. The pot is in my family room, by the patio door, nestled amongst other containers filled with plants that I hope to nurse through the long Midwestern winter. This is an experiment, as I have no idea whether this little plant will make it. I almost didn't bring it in before the killing frost because I had thought that
Talinum paniculatum (Jewels of Opar) was an annual. What a delight to learn that it is actually a tender perennial. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's go back to the beginning of the story.
Two years ago, I hadn't even heard of Jewels of Opar, until my friend and garden designer Mary Ann Newcomer (
Gardens of the Wild, Wild West) mentioned that she loved this plant. I saw a picture and thought, yawn, blah, tiny airy-fairy thing. Fast forward to this spring, when I was wandering through my favorite local garden center,
The Growing Place, when I spotted
Talinum paniculatum 'Limon'. It was love at first sight. Lime-green, fleshy foliage, hot pink flowers, it was just what I needed to play off the magenta petunia and 'Electric Lime' coleus.
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| the pot just after planting |
Perfection in a pot. I left the container on the potting bench for several days, during which one of the seed capsules must have burst and dropped seed onto the gravel below,
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| bloom and a ripening "jewel" on the potting bench |
because in the middle of September, I spotted a couple of tiny, chartreuse sprouts. In the meantime, the container spent the summer out front.
The
Talinum bloomed for a long time, but eventually, the heat, drought and my frequent absences signaled its decline. In October, I noticed that it was starting to stage a revival, but by then the seedling was a good size, so I replaced the original plant with the seedling. Somehow, my subconscious mind must have registered the fact that this plant wasn't acting like an annual, and the seedling looked so healthy and fresh, that I decided to bring it inside for the winter.
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| Note how the foliage is more yellow at the end of August. |
I don't know if the seedling's foliage is more yellow than its parent because it is receiving less light, or because it might be the result of a cross with a yellow-foliaged cultivar. Hopefully, time will tell. For now it's fingers crossed and hope for the best.
11 comments:
Best of luck with this seedling. It looks healthy so far. Maybe it is so yellow because it is so small. Maybe when they mature they get a little more color.
I hope it can survive being inside for the winter, MMD. Talinum is a fabulous plant, annual here but there are always seedlings that show up in the gravel. All are the same yellow as the original parent from several years ago, so they stay true. Great shot of the jewel!
Frances
it really is a perfect color. I must look for this annual next Spring so I can have jewels in my garden. gail
Good luck! Overwintering is always an adventure!
Great fun! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you...and hope to see it next spring!
I've grown Jewels of Opar for several years as an annual here in zone 4, but this year I had the happy surprise of volunteer seedlings in the ground overwintered, and in a pot that had been stored in a shed! I recognized the bright lime leaves in the pot, they all grew well this summer. I did not take any in for the winter-hopefully they've done their seeding thing again!
I hope it makes it through the winter in your container. I love the yellow foliage in combination with your other plants.
I would bet money it will do fine. But even if it doesn't, I'll also bet money you're going to have "a whole bunch" of them in your garden next spring. And the spring after that. Ask me how I know. LOL.
Jewels of Opar. It would be worth having it just so you could walk around the garden saying that name. Jewels of Opar.
Incidentally, your word verification is giving me a rather cheeky, "flabo." Is it what I'm wearing?
Good luck with your over-wintering experiment. I've never heard of this plant either, but its blooms are so sweet and delicate. So far I have some plants resting in the garage; I hope I can get around to making a place for them somewhere in the house before it gets too cold.
Jewels of Opar--I've never heard of it. Thanks for educating us not only on the plant itself, but on its growth patterns and the fact that it's a tender perennial. Lovely flowers! This would be a great post for the "Lessons Learned" meme now live on PlantPostings. Happy December!
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