Plant Highlights

Scadoxus multiflorus ssp. katherinae

blood lily

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

South Africa
Growth Habit:

Scadoxus multiflorus ssp. katherinae multiplies quickly via underground rhizomes arising from the parent bulb and goes dormant in the winter months. In the summer, 1’ tall stems bear large globes of pink-red flowers that resemble an exploding firework, and the flowers are followed by decorative red fruits.
Growing Requirements:

Plant the bulbs 2 feet apart in light to full shade. Water regularly during the spring/summer growing season. Scadoxus is sensitive to frost, however in colder regions the bulbs can be stored indoors for the winter dormant season. They will also grow well as a container plant.
Features:

This bulb in the Amaryllidaceae family is from coastal and swamp forests in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The common name “blood lily” references the red-speckled bulb. The subspecies katharinae is a more robust plant that grows in wetter regions than the straight species (ssp. multiflorus).
Where at Lotusland:

Fern Garden
Francoa ramosa

bridal wreath

Highlight Month:
August
Nativity:

Chile
Growth Habit:

Francoa is a perennial plant which produces a clump of wavy-edged basal leaves, each to one foot long, with the plant itself reaching 1-2 feet high. It spreads by rhizomes, and is easily divided.
Growing Requirements:

Francoa grows best in partial shade with moderate water. It will tolerate temperatures slightly below freezing.
Features:

In summer, a profusion of multi-stemmed flower spikes rise up over the foliage on stalks up to 3 ft tall. Each stalk bears many small flowers which may be pure white or blushed with pink. The blooms made good cut flowers.
Where at Lotusland:

A planting of Francoa is growing in the Fern Garden.
Puya alpestris

sapphire tower

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

The Andes of southern Chile
Growth Habit:

This plant forms clumps 4-5 foot tall with the foliage in many rosettes. The leaves are very narrow with spiny edges and are silver on the underside. The clumps can reach ten feet across.
Growing Requirements:

This dry-climate bromeliad does best in full sun to light shade. It is drought tolerant, needing little water. It adapts to poor soils and prefers good drainage.
Features:

In spring the plant produces five foot tall stalks bearing clusters of bell shaped flowers that are an unusual metallic turquoise. In the center of the flower are bright orange anthers. The bare lateral branches on the flower spikes provide perches for pollinating birds.
Where at Lotusland:

A very large clump of Puya alpestris grows in the Insectary Garden.
Catalpa speciosa

northern catalpa

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

Eastern United States
Growth Habit:

Deciduous trees with large pale green leaves to 80 feet in height. White tubular flowers with purple and yellow streaks and blotches in the throat are followed by long, thin seed pods giving it its common name.
Growing Requirements:

Full sun and regular water.
Features:

This member of the Bignoniaceae – the trumpet creeper family – litters the ground below with fragrant flowers in early summer.
Where at Lotusland:

In the Japanese Garden next to the Main Drive.
Begonia ‘Carousel’

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

Garden Origin
Growth Habit:

This is one of the many rhizomatous hybrid begonias. It forms a spreading clump of bright green leaves that are a great backdrop to the proliferous pink and white flowers.
Growing Requirements:

Grow in soil enriched with plenty of organic material. Keep uniformly moist. Most begonias grow best in partial shade.
Features:

Good to bring color and interest to the shade garden.
Where at Lotusland:

Fern Garden
Begonia ‘Lotusland’

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

Garden Origin
Growth Habit:

This variety is in the rhizomatous group of the large genus Begonia. Thick horizontal stems creep along the ground and support large, lobed leaves and sprays of small deep pink flowers.
Growing Requirements:

Light to deep shade and regular water.
Features:

This variety was introduced into cultivation by Rudy Ziesenhenne, a begonia grower and taxonomist, who had a nursery in Santa Barbara. It was a chance seedling in his greenhouse without a name until Ziesenhenne was prodded by a National Geographic photographer to give it one. At the time, many begonias were being planted in a new Fern Garden at Lotusland, so he honored Madame Walska by naming this new hybrid after her estate.
Where at Lotusland:

Fern Garden
Farfugium japonicum ‘Crispatum’

leopard plant

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

Garden Origin
Growth Habit:

Farfugium grows in clumps of leaves to two and a half feet tall. In bright light situations, it will produce a tall inflorescence (to three feet) with a cluster of bright yellow flowers. Farfugium are members of the Asteraceae, or sunflower family.
Growing Requirements:

Light to deep shade and regular water.
Features:

The species is native to Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Horticulturists have made many selections for various growth habits. This cultivar has crimped and ruffled leaves in contrast to the very smooth edges of the species. Lotusland is home to other cultivars featuring yellow-splotched (“Aureo-maculata”) and white-variegated (‘Argentea’) leaves, as well as the giant variety, F. japonicum v. giganteum.
Where at Lotusland:

Fern Garden
Nelumbo nucifera

sacred lotus

Highlight Month:
July
Nativity:

Ukraine to N. Iran, Russian Far East to Tropical Asia and N. & NE. Australia
Growth Habit:

Lotuses are aquatic perennials. They grow from tubers under the soil in still or slow-moving fresh water at a depth of six inches to three feet (or more). The large leaves and flowers rise above the surface of the water during the summer months in most temperate regions, although in the tropics, they may grow nearly year round.
Growing Requirements:

Soil depths should be a minimum of one foot and water depths can range from six inches to three feet. Full sun or at least six hours of sunlight a day will ensure vigorous growth and maximum flower production.
Features:

Lotus leaves are coated with a superhydrophobic waxy layer that sheds water in a self-cleaning mechanism called the “lotus effect.” The flowers of sacred lotus are in shades of pink or white while the closely related American lotus, Nelumbo lutea, has pale yellow or cream-colored flowers.
Where at Lotusland:

In the Water Garden and the Japanese Garden ponds.
Ceiba speciosa

silk floss tree

Highlight Month:
July, November
Nativity:

It is native to tropical and subtropical forests in South America (NE Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, S. Brazil).
Growth Habit:

Ceiba speciosa is a large charismatic tree featuring a bottle-shaped trunk. It is fast-growing and can reach heights of 30’ in just a few years and will mature around 40-60’ tall. The green trunk develops large attractive grey prickles with age. In the fall, the tree loses its palmately compound leaves and erupts in an impressive display of pink hibiscus-like flowers with creamy-white centers. Large fruit capsules split open the following spring to release the seeds surrounded by cottony fluff that can be used as stuffing or insulation, hence the common name “silk floss tree.”
Growing Requirements:

Plant in full sun with good soil drainage and water sparingly.
Features:

The genus Ceiba comes from the Spanish interpretation of the Caribbean Taino word meaning “giant tree.” This species is also called “palo borracho” in Spanish or “drunken stick,” referencing the awkward growth patterns sometimes found in older specimens. Ceiba (Chorisia) was previously grouped in the bombax family, Bombacaceae, along with other well-known members such as durian (Durio), baobab (Adansonia), balsa (Ochroma), and shaving brush tree (Pseudobombax). All have now been incorporated into the mallow family, or Malvaceae.

C. speciosa first was introduced to California horticulture by Dr. Francisco Franceschi in 1900. It is frequently planted along highways in Southern California and can be easily recognized in the fall when in flower.
Where at Lotusland:

Arboretum- but can be viewed from the Cypress Allée
Agave franzosinii

Highlight Month:
August
Nativity:

A. franzosinii is only known from cultivated plants in Europe and the United States.
Growth Habit:

This large agave is easy to spot, with glaucous blue arching leaves. Be sure to leave room in your garden for this plant as it can reach 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide! Known only in cultivation, this species exhibits variation in leaf shape and color due to seedling variation. The plant will occasionally send out offshoots from underground rhizomes. The flower stalks may reach over 30 feet tall. After flowering, the plant dies.
Growing Requirements:

Full sun, requires little water once established.
Features:

A. franzosinii has large curving whitish-blue or gray leaves. The plant seldom flowers, but when it does it produces a huge spike of yellow flowers in summer which attract birds and insects.
Where at Lotusland:

A mixed planting of Agave franzosinii and Agave americana borders the Main Lawn.