Originally published Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Plant Talk
Getting that camellia to bloom
Q: I bought Camellia sasanqua 'Apple Blossom' two years ago with blossoms on it. Last year it bloomed just before the big windstorm, so...
Special to The Seattle Times
Q: I bought Camellia sasanqua 'Apple Blossom' two years ago with blossoms on it. Last year it bloomed just before the big windstorm, so the blossoms were short-lived. This year, I haven't seen any sign of blossoms. Any ideas?
A: Sasanqua camellias bloom in winter and earliest spring, and 'Apple Blossom' is a particularly lovely type with blush pink single flowers and glossy green leaves. It thrives in well-drained soil, rich in organic matter and appreciates an application of acid fertilizer in early spring.
Your 'Apple Blossom' should be flowering by now, so I'd have to guess it needed more water over the summer to set buds, or didn't get enough sun. Sasanqua camellias need regular watering for the first few years, and, unlike their more familiar cousin Camellia japonica, needs quite a bit of sun to flower well. Or could you have pruned it late enough so that you mistakenly cut off the buds? Be assured camellias are long-lived plants and when grown in the right conditions bloom prolifically over time.
Q: My new favorite year-round plant is Euphorbia wulfenii. I understand that this plant comes in large, medium and small. Besides the standard wulfenii that gets about 4 feet by 4 feet, there is 'Humpty Dumpty' which is 3 feet by 3 feet, and then 'Shorty', being 1 ½ feet by 1 ½ feet. Are there any other differences in these plants besides their height and compactness?
A: Euphorbia is a huge genus with more than 2,000 species, and since E. characias subsp. wulfenii has become so popular, it has many new cultivars, including the new, more compact types you describe. All are drought tolerant, showy, easy-care perennials with gray-green leaves topped with domes of chartreuse bracts in springtime. 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'Shorty' are not just shorter than the rangy species, but also smaller scale in leaves and bloom, making them ideal for pots and urban gardens. Their flowers and foliage are just as eye-catching.
Q: My sister, an avid and master gardener, has requested a riddle, one of those round soil strainers. I'm finding one hard to come by; I think she was, too, which is why she requested it of me. Might you know of a resource for such a thing in the Seattle area?
A: I hadn't heard these useful implements called "riddles" but I remember my mother had a set of homemade ones with wire netting in various textures to strain her compost. I find new galvanized steel riddles for sale on English Web sites such as amazon.co.uk.
You might also check a store, such as Hardwick's in the University District, that carries old tools and implements. If all else fails, you could make a set of riddles for your sister. You'd need a sturdy frame several inches deep of a comfortable size to handle, with a fairly fine wire mesh stretched tight and fastened to one side.
Valerie Easton also writes about Plant Life in Sunday's Pacific Northwest Magazine. Write to her at P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111 or e-mail planttalk@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Rules to dine by when eating in restaurants with kids
Washington businesses break ties to industrial-food chain
This holiday gift list lets your conscience be your guide
Northwest Living: On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts
Plant Life: Good soil is the secret to successful gardening

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
42" Hitachi Plasma 1080i - $500
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- Contractors equipment and vehicle auction
- $100 Holiday Blitz at Ella Mon
- Furnishments Thanksgiving Weekend Sale
- Black Friday Sale at Merge
editors' picks
More shopping guides- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
396 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
213 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
102 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
84 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
71 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
71 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
68
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit




