Taxonomy Tango
Coleus..some are Solenostemon, and apparently some are Plectranthus. I can't keep up.
Aphid Nation
We gardeners can rarely control the challenges that seem to appear with every new season . Horrid plagues and pesky critters show up one year and disappear the next . Gophers,snails, spider mites, blackspot-they all come and go -though one wishes they would just go. Weedy afflictions such as oxalis and spotted spurge are predictable and eradication proof-the only realistic outcome is reduction. There was a lot to like about my garden in 2023 but an unprecedented aphid invasion still leaves me a bit mystified .I fully expect aphids on the roses and sometimes on the hellebores and by June they are usually gone. This year they persisted well into fall . Cutting back the lilies in my front garden this past week I found still living aphids on the back side of foliage that was barely green. Who gets aphids on Lilies ?? It was a first for me. Every Lily in the front garden was covered in them . First came the aphids, followed by honeydew and then the sooty mold. I got my box of latex glo
Darned taxonomists! GRRR! Next we'll have to forget botanical Latin and stick with common names because they're more stable.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it's called, it sure is a pretty one!
ReplyDeleteTaxonomists and botanists keep changing their minds!
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's the Perilla, another coleus cousin and imitator! I agree with OutlawGardener - the frequent reclassifications make one question the value of botanical Latin. I love that - whatever it is - you pictured above anyway!
ReplyDeleteI think there should be a 10 year moratorium on examining plant DNA that leads to reclassification. By then gardeners should be able to learn what has already been changed and all of the books can be updated. I am trying to put together a fall gardening class for a garden club, and when I got to the Asters, my head was spinning from all the changes. I've decided to list them as "plants once known as asters".
ReplyDelete