Consumer Q&A: A Few Questions on Flowers

Q: While watching the Tournament of Roses, the announcer showed some silver material on a float he said was “lunaria petals.”  What is lunaria? Can we grow it here?

A: Lunaria (Lunaria annua, sometimes listed as Lunaria biennis) is an annual or biennial flower also known as “honesty” and “money plant.” What the announcer described as petals were actually membranes from inside lunaria’s oval seed pods. This silvery membrane resembles a coin, hence “money plant,” or a full moon, hence “lunaria.” “Honesty” probably is due to the fact that you can count exactly how many seeds are in the thin seed pods. The plant cannot deceive you or hide them from you.

Stalks of lunaria’s silvery membranes are popular in dried floral arrangements, left standing in the garden or used on a florally fabulous float in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.

Lunaria is attractive with purple, rosy purple or white flowers and useful because it blooms in dappled shade. It is a good companion with azaleas and, like them, is a favorite of the Eastern tiger swallowtail.

Lunaria is easy to grow from seed, which is the main way to get a start as they are not often carried as plants at garden centers.

Q: I see solitary daffodils blooming in the middle of vacant lots. How did they get there? They are not growing in spots where they look like they were planted. Don’t they have to be planted as a bulb?

A: We usually only think of daffodils as bulbs because that is how they are sold and how we plant them. However, daffodils can be grown from seed. It takes about five years from the time a daffodil seedling germinates until it blooms.

It is possible that the solitary daffodils you see in unlikely places sprouted from seeds that blew into those spots from nearby clumps of daffodils. It is also possible that the daffodils came from small bulbs planted or even tossed out years ago that have just now reached blooming size. It is also possible that an animal could have dug up a clump of daffodils and kicked or scattered one or more of the bulbs now blooming.

Q: I used to see forsythia everywhere. Have people stopped planting it?

A: No, although it doesn’t seem to be planted as much as it once was. Like many other fields, gardening is susceptible to the whims of fashion. A plant can be popular for years and then people abandon it and choose newer or less common options because they want something different or because the new plant is being widely promoted and produced by major growers. Then those new things become overused and passé, and gardeners, growers and landscape designers become infatuated with another new plant or re-discover plants from their childhood or that their grandparents grew.

Forsythia is a wonderful and durable shrub that deserves a spot in the landscape. It looks its best when it is allowed to have a loose and natural form and is not mercilessly pruned into a yellow beach ball or floral version of SpongeBob SquarePants. Combine forsythia in an informal border with winter hazel, witch hazel, flowering quince, bridalwreath spiraea, Thunberg’s spiraea, Koreanspice viburnum, pussy willow, cornelian cherry, American beautyberry, weigela, Scotch broom, deutzia, dwarf flowering almond or other shrubs. Forsythia also looks perfect with the soft yellows of the spring-blooming yellow magnolias that are now commonly available. 

Trust me – forsythia will rise again, and the tidal wave of purple loropetalums that has flooded the marketplace and Georgia landscapes will recede. 

Q: What is wrong with my camellia? Some of the leaves are pale green, abnormally thick and have a white coat on the underside. 

A: What you are seeing is camellia leaf gall, a disease caused by the fungus Exobasidium camelliae. Fungal spores form the white coat under the leaves. These spores are released or splashed onto the ground, bark, buds, twigs and leaves and will re-infect the plant next spring. Control is easy and inexpensive – pick off all the galls (enlarged leaves and shoots) and throw them in the trash. Remove them before the fungal spores are exposed. Do not throw them on the ground or in the compost pile. As an extra precaution, you can put the galls in a plastic bag and then put them in the trash.

Camellia leaf gall is more alarming than harming. It may look dramatic but causes no serious harm to the plant. This disease is primarily seen on sasanqua camellias, but can occur on other camellias. There is a similar fungus that attacks azaleas. Its control is the same.

Q: Will Siberian irises grow in Georgia?

A: With “Siberian” in the name, you would think these irises would melt or fry in our summer heat. However, Siberian irises are one of the best irises for Georgia. The heat doesn’t bother them, and they are more tolerant of clay soils and moist conditions than bearded irises. If you have had trouble with bearded irises, give their Siberian cousins a try. 

Look for Siberian irises in the perennial section of nurseries and garden centers. They combine well in the garden with many other perennials including coreopsis, amsonia, daylilies, peonies, bletilla orchid, Japanese roof iris, copper iris, Adam’s needle yucca, blue wild indigo baptisia, physostegia, cardinal flower, Penstemon digitalis and purple coneflower.