The Gardeners Almanac

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Limnanthes

Common name: Poached Egg Plant

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Week Numbers

Coldframe

Companion planting

Compost

Harden off

Heating

Planting out

Pricking out

Seed sowing

Watering

Overview:

A single Yellow & White flower in close up

A few Yellow & white flowers in the bed

Limnanthes douglasii is a quick-growing hardy annual with lightly scented flowers, that appears from late June into September.


The 25-30mm diameter cup-shaped yellow flowers that have white edges to the petals and give the appearance of the yolk of an egg on the white mass of a poached egg, hence the common name.

The foliage has glossy pale-green feathery leaves.

This is an edging/border plant grows 150-200mm (6"-8") high, and is attractive to bees and hoverflies.

This attribute makes it a useful companion plant in the vegetable bed or greenhouse as the resulting emergence of hoverfly larvae will help to keep aphids at bay.


Being a marsh plant it makes for a useful edging plant to a water feature.

It is also useful in rockeries providing the soil remains moist.

It readily self seeds resulting in self-sown plants being produced in succeeding seasons.


Cultivation:

Week 11:

Sow seed in pots/trays of seed compost and germinate at 13°C (55°F).

Germination should talk five to seven days.


Week 13:

If seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into cell trays or boxes of potting compost.

Gradually harden off in a coldframe until planting out time.


Week 21:

Plant out 150-200mm (6"-8") apart in an open or partially shaded spot.