Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Wet Year of Wild Senna

So back before I knew what type of soil I had, where the drainage was, where the wet spots were, I planted a Wild Senna, Senna hebecarpa.

As it turns out that was an awful spot to plant it. It's just too dry there. The plant finally got healthy enough to flower last year after three or four years of trying to grow there. 

This year is shaping up to be one of the wettest on record. Normally right now we'd be in a three week long drought with almost no rainfall lasting more than a half hour at most. Now though it's been raining for a good hour or more, and sometimes about half the day, with flood warning and severe thunderstorms happening almost daily.

The added rain has allowed this plant to flower like crazy.

Pretty.

All that being said, I'm a little disappointed by the amount of pollinators showing up. The main problem is that plants only produce pollen, which seems typical of most of the pea family.