Dianella revoluta ‘Allyn-Citation’

Summary

South Coast Research & Extension Center (South Coast REC/SCREC) is located in Irvine California, this site has a sandy loam soil and plants are irrigated with reclaimed water. UC Davis is located in Davis, California, this site has a silty clay loam soil and plants are irrigated with potable water. More information about the field sites is located in the Nuts & Bolts section.

Coolvista™ is a short, grass-like plant with blue green leaves in the Asphodelaceae. Among open house attendees, Coolvista™ was more popular in Southern California than at UC Davis (Tables 7b and 7d). Participants “loved the form & small purple berries” which were described as intriguing. In response to a query from some participants, we performed a brief online search and discovered the berries were not edible. Some participants did mention concerns of the spreading habit of this cultivar and of the dead flower stalks. At both UC Davis and South Coast REC we managed the previous year’s dried flower stalks in late winter by gently folding the foliage, causing them to break near the base of the plant. The stalks could then be cleaned out by combing through the plant with a pair of gloved hands. In both sites we observed that the plant will put on new growth from the base more rapidly and loosely than previously evaluated Dianella cultivars that formed tighter clumps.

The plants in Southern California were larger at the end of the trial than those in Northern California, though the growth rate between the plants was similar (Figures 2a and 2b). The larger size may be due solely to the longer growing season at South Coast REC. The final overall appearance score in both sites approached or exceeded a 4 out of 5 (Tables 7a and 7c). Differences in flowering between the sites were also observed. At UC Davis the plants put on a single show in May with nearly all plants scoring a 4 or 5. A few plants continued to score 4 or 5 until August, with a few more scoring 1 and 2, though there was no significance between treatments. Flowering at South Coast REC showed peak bloom in April 2019. The plants continued to bloom through October, albeit with a decrease in the number of flowers, with a majority of the plants continuing to push out some flowers, compared to the handful in Davis that continued. With comparable growth rates and quality ratings on all treatments, we recommend Coolvista™ be irrigated on low water in WUCOLS zones 2 and 3.

Growth and Quality Data

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