452 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1973

Qarden C\nd landscape Section

DOMBEYA 'SEMINOLE' AND D. 'PINWHEEL', NEW CULTIVARS FOR LANDSCAPING IN THE SUBTROPICS

Cameron (1),in his revision of Firming erys P. K. SODERHOLM Manual of Gardening for India describes 6 Agricultural Research Service of Dombeya and 1 Astrapaea wallichii Lndl. (D. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture wallichii (Lindl.) K. Schum.), that were being Miami grown in India in 1904. The Dombeya bulletin of the National Botanic Abstract In April, 1973 the Subtropical Horti Gardens, Lucknow, India, describes 8 species and culture Research Unit, Miami, released two cul- 10 hybrids from the period 1913-25 (6). It is not tivarsof Dombeya to nurserymen in subtropical clear whether all of these were to be found at areas of the United States. Dombeya 'Seminole', Lucknow, but certainly they were in other loca P.I. 377867, is a hybrid of D. burgessiae, E-29 x tions in India, because it was there that dombeyas D. sp. aff. burgessiae 'Rosemound*. This medium- first received recognition as landscaping sized shrub is covered with red flowers from early after their introduction from Africa, Malagasy December through March. Dombeya Tinwheel', Republic, and the . P.I. 377868, is a selection from open-pollinated The first Dombeya to be planted at the Sub seedlings of D. sp. S-12 grown at the Miami Sta tropical Horticulture Research Unit (U. S. tion. This small tree with a semi-dense rounded Introduction Station), Miami, was D. spectabilis crown bears purplish pink flowers during October Boj., later reidentified as D. x cayeuxii Andre. and November. These Dombeya cultivars grow David Fairchild found it in 1907 in Funchal, well in sunny locations on Florida's sand and Portugal, where it was being grown as a hothouse limestone soils. Either cultivar is small enough plant. It is a hybrid between D. mastersii Hooker to fit well into the home landscape arangement, f. and D. wallichii, produced at the Lisbon Botanic providing bright color during the tourist season Garden in 1895 by Henri Cayeux, whose name it when color is most desirable. bears (2). Since that first introduction, 16 species and 6 It hasbeen said by some that dombeyas are cultivars have been added to the Miami collection. the "azaleas of south Florida" and indeed, to Deliberate and spontaneous crosses between these some gardeners who reluctantly left azaleas be have produced about 3 thousand plants, which have hind by moving into the warmer regions of the been grown to the flowering stage in field plots. subtropics, dombeyas do provide a satisfactory Evaluation of these seedlings resulted in selection substitute. To many they are more rewarding be of the 3 cultivars already mentioned and 2 new cause of their newness and the extended blooming cultivars, 'Seminole' and 'Pinwheel'. The latter period within the . In Florida they bloom were released by the Agricultural Research Service from September through March. This is the time in April, 1973. of the year when colorful flowers are so much desired in this tourist oriented state (3). A few Description species have been grown in Florida, California, and Hawaii for many years. Only in recent years, how Dombeya 'Seminole', P.I. 377867, is a hybrid ever, has the popularity of the genus increased between the D. burgessiae Gerr. ex Harv. cul here, largely because of the development and re tivars E-29 and 'Rosemound', made in 1965. It is lease by the U. S. Department of Agriculture of a dense, medium-sized shrub, with the hemispher the cultivars 'Rosemound', 'Perrine', and 'Pink ical form of the male parent and the purplish-red flower color of the female parent. These features Clouds' (4,5). SODERHOLM: TWO NEW DOMBEYAS 453 have combined to produce a shrub of outstanding irrigation is required during the drier months, beauty, with a bright show of color beginning much as would be required for good culture of early in December and continuing through March. Hibiscus. Leaves are cordate, 23 cm. long by 17 cm. Noctuid larvae tentatively identified as Ala broad, alternate, margins crenate, dark green above bama argillacea (Hbn.) (cotton leaf worm) and and beneath, with scattered stellate hairs; flowers Heliothis zea (Boddie) (corn earworm) attack the 3-4 cm. across, in many-flowered corymbs, petals foliage of 'Seminole' during late summer in Flor 24 mm. long by 17 mm. broad, strong purplish red ida. An insecticide, such as carbaryl, will control (Munsel hue 7.5 HP 5/12); sepals 20 mm. long by this pest if applied as soon as the first damage is 5 mm. broad, curving away from the petals. discovered. A second application is generally neces Dombeya 'Pinwheel', P. I. 377868 is a selection sary 10 days after the first. This second applica from seedlings resulting from open-pollination of tion should not be applied after flowering begins, Dombeya sp. selection number S-12. It is a small as Dombeya flowers always attract bees, which tree with a semi-dense rounded crown. The pur may be killed by the insecticide. plish pink flowers produce a beautiful display of 'Seminole' is readily rooted from cuttings. Four- color during October and November. Each of the to 6-inch tip cuttings may be rooted in a propagat 5 petals curves forward from one side, producing ing bed of per lite, coarse sand, or a 1:1 mixture of a flower with the appearance of a toy pinwheel. perlite and peat moss. Cuttings may be taken at The leaves are cordate, 9 cm. long by 7 cm. any season. The application of a rooting hormone broad, puberulent, 3-lobed, margins dentate; flow is recommended to hasten the rooting. 'Pinwheel' ers are in few-flowered corymbs, 26 mm. across, has not been successfully rooted by the use of petals 23 mm. long by 22 mm. broad, deep pur cuttings. However, air-layering has been success plish pink (Munsel hue 7.5 HP 6/12); sepals as ful on this cultivar. long as petals, 5 mm. broad, curving upward Small container-grown plants of 'Seminole' against the petals; pedicle, peduncle, and sepals have been brought into flower during the normal pubescent. flowering season, and preliminary tests are now under way to determine its usefulness as a color ful pot-plant crop for the florist trade. Culture

Both cultivars fit well into the home landscape Literature Cited arrangement. They require a sunny exposure for 1. Cameron, —. 1904. Firminger's Manual of Gardening heavy flower production and maximum fullness of for India. Thacker Spink and Co. Calcutta, pp. 648-649. bush. They thrive on the oolitic limestone and 2. Sealy, J. Robert. 1965. Dombeya x cayeauxii. Curtis* Bot. Mag. 175 (4) : tab. 473. sand soils in the southern one-third of Florida, 3. Soderholm, P. K. 1967. Evaluation of Dombeya intro ductions for new ornamentals for Florida. Proc. Fla. State with twice-yearly applications of a 6-6-6 fertilizer Hort. Soc. 80 :477-480. 4. . 1967. Dombeya 'Rosemound,' a new cultivar. mixture. Cooperators report that 'Seminole' grows Amer. Hort. Mag. 46(2) :91-92. well in clay soils of southern California and also in 5. . 1971. Dombeya 'Perrine' and Dombeya 'Pink Clouds'—new cultivars of merit. Amer. Hort. Mag. 50(4) :182- the light muck soils around Lake Okeechobee in 184. 6. Anonymous. 1959. Dombeya. Bulletin 44. National Florida. In Florida and California, supplemental Botanic Garden, Lucknow, India (11 pp.).