My favorite plant this week: Cordyline 'Renegade'

Last week I had some difficulty coming up with a favorite plant; however, I think that was mainly due to my general irritation with the fact that the garden was hunkering down under the onslaught of the summer heat that finally arrived with a vengeance.  Until recently, we were enjoying relatively mild summer temperatures.  Compared to other areas hit with monsoonal rain and flash floods, I probably shouldn't complain at all but I'm afraid the unrelenting heat takes a toll on my disposition.

In any case, my only difficulty this week was choosing which plant to feature.  I settled on Cordyline 'Renegade.'  This plant appeared in an earlier blog post (which you can view here), when I picked up 2 of them to fill pots on the front porch of my mother-in-law's former home when we were readying the house for sale.  With the sale completed in record time, we brought the 2 pots home.   They now sit at the front of our house.

The pots may get moved again but the plants are keepers.  Each pot contains a Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard,' Calbracohoa, and Alternanthera but Cordyline 'Renegade' is clearly the star of the composition.

'Renegade' is a clumping Cordyline with purplish, almost black foliage.

According to internet sources, it's the offspring of C. australis and C. banksii.  Bred in New Zealand, it's said to be hardy in USDA zones 8-11.  It should reach 2-3 feet tall and wide at maturity.   It needs full to partial sun and a moderate amount of water.  Apparently, it even produces fragrant lavender blooms in winter, although I was unable to find a photo of it in bloom anywhere.

The Cordyline is my contribution to Loree's favorite plants round-up at danger garden.  You can see Loree's current favorite (also a Cordyline!) here, as well as find links to other favorite plant posts.

Before I close, I do have a runner-up to share this week.  It's Hibiscus acetosella 'Mahogany Splendor,' which is just now coming into bloom in my garden.

The buds blend in so well with the plant foliage that I didn't realize it was coming into bloom until an open flower confronted me early one morning this week.  It's pretty, isn't it?

February Foliage Follow-up

Foliage Follow-up Day, sponsored by Pam at the wonderful blog, Digging, is a time to celebrate the plant foliage that may be overlooked as a result of the general tendency to focus on flowers.  There are several plants in my garden with foliage deserving of recognition right now.

My Bloom Day post included the fluffy pink flowers of Calliandra haematocephala.  This is the first year this plant has bloomed for me here but I've enjoyed the shrub's foliage for the past 2 years.  It has an almost fern-like quality.  The new growth appears with a reddish hue, turning a medium green as it matures.  I regularly use it as a filler in flower arrangements.  The picture below doesn't entirely do it justice.

Calliandra haematocephala

Most of my succulents look good year-round but I am particularly taken by 2 Aeonium that rooted without difficulty from cuttings I simply pushed into the soil this past Fall.

Aeonium arboreum?

Aeonium 'Kiwi'

This Euphorbia tirucalli moved here with me from my old house.  It's getting more sun in its new location in my vegetable garden, which has intensified its color.  For now, it's happy in its terracota strawberry pot but I'm sure it would gain stature if I put into into the ground.

Euphorbia tirucalli

I featured Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury' in last month's Foliage Follow-up.  It flowered and looked great for about 6 weeks, then collapsed.  I cut it back in the hope that it will eventually return to its former glory.  Hibiscus acetosella 'Mahogany Splendor', shown below, has proven to be a better performer in the long run.  The plant produces small, burgundy-colored flowers but it's main attraction is its foliage.

Hibiscus acetosella 'Mahogany Splendor'

Some Pelargoniums are also flaunting their foliage.  I picked up the 2 plants pictured below at the Fall Plant Sale at the South Coast Botanic Garden in October.  They're still relatively small but their foliage color is eye-catching in a bed in partial shade.

Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial'

Pelargonium 'Mrs. Pollack'

In the vegetable garden, Salvia officinalis 'tricolor' is adding foliage interest.  Although it's principally grown as a culinary herb, this plant also produces attractive blue flowers; however, we'll have to wait until Summer for those.

Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor'

The Xylosma congestum hedge lining my backyard border has taken on a beautiful orange glow.

Xylosma congestum

As my parting shot, I'll highlight the interplay between a dark-leaved Pelargonium in my front border and the Santa Barbara Daisy foliage growing up through it.  I picked up the Pelargonium at the South Coast Garden Show in May 2011.  My records are imprecise but I think its Pelargonium x hortorum 'Tweedle Dee'.  If you recognize it as something else, let me know.

Pelargonium x hortorum 'Tweedle Dee' (?) & Erigeron karvinskianus

Connect to the Digging blog for links to other foliage photos.  Thanks for hosting, Pam.