The mystery plant challenge had a lot of activity this week. The chia plant was new to me as well, but I loved all the guesses for Pumpkin-on-a-stick! Enjoy. I think we all learn something every week.
Wild or Hardy Ageratum – Conoclinium coelestinum – (Previously Eupatorium coelestinum) mistflower and blue boneset are other common names. This is not the well-behaved summer annual ageratum
that gets no taller than 12 inches. The flowers look very similar, thus the common name hardy or wild ageratum. Hardy ageratum is a native perennial that can be overly aggressive and grow up to three feet in height. I had it in my last landscape (unplanted) that obviously hitchhiked with another plant and it spread more every season despite my heavy-handed weeding. Beware! It spreads by underground rhizomes and it is self-seeding.
It is an easy plant to grow in full sun to partial shade. It blooms in late summer through fall and the butterflies do like it.
Salvia hispanica – chia plant.
I was writing a feature story for the Ark. Democrat-Gazette on salvias, when I came across this plant. I had no idea chia seeds
were from a salvia plant. This is an annual salvia with small purple blooms, but it is not grown for the flowers, but the seeds. Chia seeds are rich in omega- fatty acids and provide an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants. The University of Kentucky is doing research on this plant. Chia plants were previously limited to growing in tropical climates because the plant needed short days to flower and we usually would have had a frost before the seeds were mature. UK has come up with a variety that blooms during long days and can produce seeds in our climate. There are now commercial growers in Kentucky growing chia as a commercial crop.
I think I will look for some seeds for next season!
Bush or Tree Morning glory Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa.
While many gardeners know the vining morning glory plant with blue, pink or white flowers,
there is a woody stalked variety that produces lovely pink or white flowers called the Bush morning glory. I first came across the plant in a garden in Pine Bluff many years ago. The gardener gave me a stalk and it grew well, (and tall) upwards of 5 feet or more, but it did not survive the winter that year, so I lost it.
If you have access to some, take cuttings before a frost. Much like with the plumeria or confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis), sections of woody stems can be put in a bucket of water or in soil and put in a protected spot inside. They will root and give you new plants for next year. Since cold will keep it in check in Arkansas, it is not invasive. Where it overwinters, it is on the invasive plant list, like many other morning glory species.
Bonus: Pumpkin-on-a-stick
– several people thought this was an artificial decoration I bought at Hobby Lobby! It is actually a stalk cut from a living plant commonly called Pumpkin-on-a-stick, pumpkin tree or scarlet Chinese eggplant. It is an ornamental eggplant, Solanum integrifolium that is native to Thailand. The plant will grow about 4 feet tall and both the leaves and stems have thorns. When it begins to bloom, it has small white clusters of flowers, followed by what look like flat green tomatoes. As the fruit ages they turn from green to red to orange.
They do take a full season to mature, so you need to start the seeds indoors to get plants to put out in late April or early May. (I have never seen transplants available). When small, the fruits can be eaten green and used like other eggplants, but that is really not why you are growing them. Eat the regular eggplants, and let these mature and become a fall decoration. Grow them as you would regular eggplants, in full sun. As the temperatures cool off in September the fruits will start showing color. You can use the fruits individually or as a stalk of fruits. I have seen it recommended to put them in water, but I let mine dry out and they last much longer. I have mine in an empty vase.