PLANT FORUM: June 2025 Monthly Meeting Edition
- k-england
- Jul 1
- 8 min read
By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let’s Talk Plants! July 2025.
PLANT FORUM
For over two decades a meeting highlight was the Plant Forum, where a horticultural expert spoke about plants brought in by members. These descriptions were printed in the newsletter and were also compiled, and are available free on our website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum. This is an alphabetical listing of over 7500 plants, including over 1600 detailed descriptions. Check it out when thinking about plants to add to your garden, and feel free to share this link with your friends.
After a few years off, the Plant Forum has returned, so please share some of your plants with members.
All you have to do is:
1) Bring a cutting or a potted plant to a meeting.
2) BEFORE you leave home, take a minute to print out a slip of paper with the common and scientific name of the plant, where it is native to (if you know that), what city it is growing in, your name, and a couple of sentences about your experience with the plant.
Although I’m no expert I will do my best to talk about the plants I’m familiar with, and will get help from other attendees. At the end of the meeting, we will gather up the printed information and include it in the next newsletter. If you have any questions, contact Susi Torre-Bueno at storrebueno@cox.net.
Plants displayed at the June 2025 meeting:
Achillea millefolium Common Yarrow
(Asteraceae) Temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America
Grown by: Pat Pawlowski, Vista, who wrote:
White (sometimes with lavender cast) flowers; also has cultivars with flowers in shades of red and yellow. Spreads by rhizomes, so WATCH OUT (only kidding, mostly). Excellent for pollinators. White native type is the most useful to attract butterflies and other insects, which in turn may attract songbirds. Grow it in partial shade to full sun; low water need. Named for Greek mythological Achilles, who was said to use it to treat soldiers' wounds. Good as groundcover.
From https://calscape.org, a marvelous resource for information about plants native to California, it was founded by Dennis Mudd, whose outstanding Poway garden was the location for our January 2025 meeting, where he was honored as the SDHS Horticulturist of the Year.
“Yarrow is an all-star, popular plant choice among California native gardeners, including beginners! It is durable and easy to grow in a wide range of soil types and has low moisture requirements. It reseeds and spreads quickly, making it a good groundcover plant for lawn replacement. Yarrow's abundant white flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other insects. It is a staple in native pollinator gardens throughout the state. Yarrow has many alternative common names, including soldier's woundwort and nosebleed plant. They reflect its long history as an important medicinal plant.”
More from the website:
...grows 1-3’ tall x 6-18” wide, with an upright spreading form and moderate to fast growth rate. Can be summer deciduous or evergreen, blooms spring to summer. Good for bank stabilization, containers, it is deer resistant.
SDHS President Karen England added that Yarrow was honored as the Herb of the Year for 2024.
(Pat Pawlowski, Vista, June 2025)
Cotyledon orbiculata Pig’s Ear
(Crassulaceae) South Africa
From the Plant Forum Compilation, available for free on the SDHS website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum; description by Steve Brigham.
“This easy-to-grow shrubby succulent might be mistaken for a Kalanchoe, but is instead classified in this related genus. In sun or shade, it is a wonderful shrubby clumper to 2-3ʹ′ tall and wide. Large, fleshy gray-green to nearly white leaves are showy, as are the terminal flower clusters of pendent, bell-shaped orange flowers that attract hummingbirds. This is a drought-tolerant, easy-care plant that looks best when protected from frost, although it will tolerate light frosts. It is also a first-class container plant.”
Grown by: Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, who wrote:
In my garden these are very easy to propagate from cuttings, and slowly form large clumps with very eye-catching nearly white foliage. The only maintenance I do is to cut off the dead flowers. I got my original plants from SDHS member Lorie Johansen in 2007.
(Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, June 2025)
Cotyledon pendens Cliff Cotyledon
(Crassulaceae) South Africa
From the San Marcos Growers website [www.smgrowers.com]; this website in an exceptional resource for plant information on a huge variety of plants:
“A much branched, relatively fast growing dense succulent shrublet with pendent branches that forms a dense mat 2 feet wide or hangs down in a solid cover curtain-like over a pot or wall this same distance. The fresh new stems are soft, slightly hairy and a whitish-green color but becoming glabrous with age. Thick succulent elliptically shaped pale green oppositely arranged leaves are crowded along the slender stems and initially are covered with a white waxy bloom. The leaves have a web shaped leaf base and apiculate tip and are attractively marked by reddish leaf margins when grown in full sun. In mid-summer at branch tips in a pendent 4 inch long slender stemmed white colored thyrse inflorescence are produced two to four (sometimes singly) bell shaped nearly 2 inch long orange-red flowers with spreading petal lobes and protruding yellow stamens. Plant in full to part sun in a well-drained soil and water occasionally to infrequently. It has proven hardy to at least a light frost and suitable for outdoor cultivation in coastal and southern California, but protection may be required if temperatures dip much below freezing. This attractive succulent makes a great hanging basket or potted plant subject or planted as a groundcover growing over a wall. Cotyledon pendens has a very limited natural distribution along south facing (away from the sun) cliff faces of the Bashe River from 1,000 to 1,300 feet in elevation in the summer rainfall Eastern Cape of South Africa, where it can be found anchored in crevices with the stems forming solid drooping mats. This species was described in 2003 by Kirstenbosch Botanic Garden botanist Ernst van Jaarsveld who found the plants while studying cliff-dwelling succulent in the area in 2001. The first plants were retrieved to be grown on at Kirstenbosch by throwing rocks at plants to knock down stems.”
Grown by: Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, who wrote:
Very easy to propagate from cuttings. I have a pot of these, purchased in 2019, thriving in mostly shade.
(Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, June 2025)
Epidendrum ibaguense hybrid, syn. E. radicans hybrid Reed-Stem Orchid
(Orchidaceae) Trinidad & So. America
From the Plant Forum Compilation, available for free on the SDHS website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum; description by Bruce Hubbard.
“This exemplifies many jewel-like hybrids of reed-stem epidendrums. These are available in colors from white through reds, oranges, pinks, and purples. Most of these found in nurseries in San Diego are quite cold tolerant and will take several degrees of frost. The plants are very tough and have escaped in Hawaii where they are often one of the first colonizers of recent lava flows. They should be grown in full sun with ample water and nitrogen fertilizer.”
Grown by: Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, who wrote:
According to Wikipedia, Epidendrum ibaguense (pronounced ee-bah-GAIN-say) is a species of epiphytic orchid of the genus Epidendrum which occurs in Trinidad, French Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia and Northern Brazil. In my garden these magenta-hued flowers appear on and off all year long, all grown from cuttings I originally acquired over 20 years ago. Grow them in part sun. The plants can get to 3-4’ tall and over time form a dense clump. They readily form keikis, or baby plants, along the stem. I propagate them by letting the hanging roots of the keiki get at least 2” long and then separating it from the mother plant and putting it in a container of potting soil. Once the flowering stem has stopped producing flowers and keikis, it should be cut to the ground to reduce the density of the clump. Many flower colors are available in these hybrids, including white, yellow, orange, pink, and brick red.
(Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, June 2025)
x Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' (Graptopetalum paraguayense x Echeveria gibbiflora) Graptoveria ‘Fred Ives’
(Crassulaceae) Horticultural Hybrid, parents native to Mexico
From the San Marcos Growers website [www.smgrowers.com]; this website in an exceptional resource for plant information on a huge variety of plants:
“A beautiful and durable succulent plant that produces large clumps of rosettes to 8 inches tall by nearly 1 foot wide with broad bronze and pink succulent leaves atop short (< 1 foot) stems with 1'-2' long branched inflorescences bearing red-orange centered pale yellow flowers in summer. Plant in full to part sun in a well-drained soil. Little irrigation required. This is a vigorous plant and is great as a container specimen or in the ground in well-drained soils or raised planters. It is reportedly a hybrid of Graptopetalum paraguayense crossed with a plant in the Echeveria gibbiflora complex that was created by Albert Baynes, a founding member of the National Cactus & Succulent Society in England in 1946. The plant was named for one of the societies co-founders Fred Ives of Shipley, Yorkshire, and the name was first published in 1979 by J.C. van Keppel.”
Grown by: Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, who wrote:
I originally got this lovely plant as a cutting in 2014, and it has multiplied greatly since then, but not in a bad way. Much appreciated by succulent enthusiasts for its unusual colored foliage, which will vary in hue depending on how much light it gets. I grow mine in full sun to mostly shade, with very little water. Easy to propagate from both leaf cuttings and stem cuttings. [Note: The “x” (multiplication sign) in front of the name indicates that this plant is a hybrid of two genera.]
(Susi Torre-Bueno, Vista, June 2025)
Rosa ‘Cécile Brunner’ (syn. ‘Mignon’) Cécil Brunner Rose
(Rosaceae) Hybrid
Grown by Cathy Tylka, Escondido, who wrote:
Cécile Brunner rose has small double flowers, developing from high-centered buds to form pom-poms. It was named for a family member. The sweetly scented flowers appear abundantly in large clusters. It does well in poor soil. The shrub is short but vigorous, with very few prickles, smooth, mid green leaves. Cécile Brunner was inducted into the Old Rose Hall of Fame.
From the Plant Forum Compilation, available for free on the SDHS website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum; description by Sandy Yayanos & Kara Williams:
“Also called the sweetheart rose, this plant comes in three forms: the climbing form, large spray form and a small bush form each have exquisite, small, perfectly formed flowers. They are a delicate soft pink color and are produced over a long season. The one exhibited has a climbing form and grows to 10 feet tall by 15 feet wide. Not a good repeat bloomer, but awesome in bloom.”
(Cathy Tylka, Escondido, June 2025)
Salvia yangii Russian Sage
(Lamiaceae) Afghanistan, Pakistan
Grown by Karen England, Vista, who wrote:
A very easy perennial. Previously known as: Perovskia atriplicifolia, Perovskia pamirica. Medicinally the herb is used (among other uses) as a cooling medicine in the treatment of fevers. The bright blue flowers are said to be edible. Deer and bunny resistant, drought tolerant, and pollinator friendly, this plant is a great asset in the garden. The plant can be used in dried flower arrangements, retaining its color and fragrance for months. Russian sage is often used in landscaping for erosion control due to its extensive (but not invasive) root system. The plant's aromatic leaves can be used in potpourri, adding a pleasant scent to homes.
Twenty plus years old Russian Sage growing in Karen England's Vista Garden, June 2025.
From the Plant Forum Compilation, available for free on the SDHS website at https://sdhort.org/PlantForum; description by Steve Brigham.
“Neither truly Russian nor truly a sage, this 3–4-foot-tall deciduous shrubby perennial is nevertheless famous for its airy clusters of lavender-blue flowers. Silvery grey foliage is pretty as well, and the plant is very tolerant of extremes of heat and cold. Most common in gardens is the cultivar ‘Blue Spire’, which is a hybrid between P. atriplicifolia and P. abrotanoides. It has finely-dissected leaves and a long summer-fall bloom season. Remove old flower stems in summer for best repeat bloom.”
(Karen England, Vista, June 2025)
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