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| CAJUN HIBISCUS VARIETIES COME FROM THE BANKS OF THE BAYOU | |
| Published: March 13, 2004 | |
QUESTION:What is a Cajun hibiscus? There is a nursery on Johnston Street that has signs advertising Cajun hibiscus.Grady Hendrick, Lafayette ANSWER:Cajun Hibiscus is one of the Cajun Color line of plants from Dupont Nursery on the banks of Bayou Plaquemine in Plaquemine Parish. Bobby Dupont, owner of the large nursery and plant distributorship, began breeding hibiscus 6 years ago, and hes releasing his exotic new hybrids this year for the first time. Of course, its hard to find an ugly hibiscus anywhere, but these new ones, from their Web pictures, are dynamite. Visit http://www.dupontnursery.com to see the lineup, with names like Creole Gumbo, Jolie Blonde, Acadian Ruffles and Fais Do Do.Although the signs advertising Cajun Hibiscus are up, these summer-blooming plants havent arrived yet. Several local nurseries will be carrying the line and are expecting them for late spring and summer sales. However, spring annuals and perennials from the Cajun Colors Athens Select line are arriving now, and offer a wide selection of bedding plants said to be tolerant of heat and humidity. Subhed:Revisiting the oaks on Westmark BoulevardSome weeks back a concerned reader wrote inquiring about the health of the oak trees planted on Westmark Boulevard (this short street runs between Johnston and Ambassador Caffery, across from Sams Wholesale). Still trailing dead-looking brown leaves, the trees looked less than vigorous. A call to Gil Futch with the Lafayette Consolidated Government office brought assurances that the trees are fine, just late in dropping the old leaves. A letter from horticulturist Earl Vallot made an interesting point. Two varieties of red oaks have very similar leavesone is the Shumard Oak and the other is the Cherry Bark Oak. It has been Earls experience that the Cherry Bark holds onto its leaves considerably longer than the Shumard. He sent me a leaf sample of each tree, which I compared with the leaves on several of the Westmark Boulevard trees. The leaves I inspected matched those of the Cherry Bark sample. Neat, huh? Subhed:Companion plant for hydrangeaI have three pink lacecap hydrangeas that are gorgeous in late spring and summer and ugly, ugly in winter. So I was happy to read this tip in the new (April 2004) issue of Fine Gardening magazine in a feature on succession planting ideas. It suggests camouflaging the bare stems of hydrangeas by planting callas nearby. After the callas bloom in early spring and decline in summer, the hydrangeas will be budding out. If you prune back each hydrangea stalk after bloom, the shrub will often continue to bloom into fall. When its time to prune the hydrangeas back, the callas are full and are preparing to bloom. Have any of you tried this combination? Subhed:Reclining redbud is a sight to beholdJosette Delahoussaye writes to say that she has a mature red bud tree that blooms every year from a reclining position in her front yard at 113 Shadycrest Avenue just off Surrey Avenue. Its true.that tree is all stretched out on her lawnits a sight to behold. Check it out. Subhed:Forest Hill Nursery Festival slated for March 19-21This 19-year-old festival is held in downtown Forest Hill in the heart of some 240-plus nursery growers who will have the streets decorated with gardening plant for us to admire and purchase. There will also be speakers, carnival rides, food booths, displays of lawn and garden equipment and arts and crafts. An LSU AgCenter agent will be on hand to diagnose plant problems and suggests corrections. For information call (318) 473-6605, or download a flyer from www.lsuagcenter.com/parish/rapides then click on the Nursery Festival link. |