Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times to
grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's a
remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the best to
grow that is truly perennial.
Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK

On 06/08/2012 17:14, Bob Hobden wrote:
Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times
to grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's
a remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the
best to grow that is truly perennial.
Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK

It grows well (invasively) in our garden in clay soil under the shade of
trees. It also used to grow similarly at our house in the UK where it
was in slight shade in rich loamy soil. I'd got the impression it was
tough as old boots.

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times to
grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's a
remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the best to
grow that is truly perennial.

Which Physalis? I assume P. alkekengi, but it may not be.

Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.

That's probably the reason. Poor drainage.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"David in Normandy" wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:
Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times
to grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's
a remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the
best to grow that is truly perennial.
Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.


It grows well (invasively) in our garden in clay soil under the shade of
trees. It also used to grow similarly at our house in the UK where it was
in slight shade in rich loamy soil. I'd got the impression it was tough as
old boots.

The garden he has tried growing it in is South facing, sun all day, so
perhaps that is the reason. Needs a bit of shade.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 08/06/2012 07:26 PM, Bob Hobden wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:
Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times
to grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's
a remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the
best to grow that is truly perennial.
Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.


It grows well (invasively) in our garden in clay soil under the shade
of trees. It also used to grow similarly at our house in the UK where
it was in slight shade in rich loamy soil. I'd got the impression it
was tough as old boots.

The garden he has tried growing it in is South facing, sun all day, so
perhaps that is the reason. Needs a bit of shade.

Hm, I don't think so. We have the same as David, but in full sun. It
does seem to like rich soil. Ours is about pH 5.5 though.

Nick wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:

Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times
to
grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's a
remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the best
to
grow that is truly perennial.

Which Physalis? I assume P. alkekengi, but it may not be.

Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.

That's probably the reason. Poor drainage.



The gentleman concerned is not a gardener so it would be no good asking him
which he tried, just Chinese Lanterns as far as he is concerned. If that one
you mention is the one everyone grew in the old days then that is the one he
wants.
Never seen even a puddle in his S . facing garden so I don't think poor
drainage is a problem, more likely to be too dry and baked up in summer.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

The gentleman concerned is not a gardener so it would be no good asking him
which he tried, just Chinese Lanterns as far as he is concerned. If that one
you mention is the one everyone grew in the old days then that is the one he
wants.

P. alkekengi is the only one that grows outdoors in the UK.

Never seen even a puddle in his S . facing garden so I don't think poor
drainage is a problem, more likely to be too dry and baked up in summer.

That's not a good indicator. Actual puddles show up only the most
extremely impervious soils. One of the problems with poor drainage
is that it prevents plants putting roots deep down (if they can't
handle waterlogged soil) and then they suffer from dry spells.
Perennials often handle drought better in lighter soils!

Whether P. alkekengi is one of those, I don't know, but P. edulis
is a drought-resistant plant, with fairly deep-ranging roots, and
P. alkekengi is quite likely to be similar.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick wrote ..

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

The gentleman concerned is not a gardener so it would be no good asking
him
which he tried, just Chinese Lanterns as far as he is concerned. If that
one
you mention is the one everyone grew in the old days then that is the one
he
wants.

P. alkekengi is the only one that grows outdoors in the UK.

Never seen even a puddle in his S . facing garden so I don't think poor
drainage is a problem, more likely to be too dry and baked up in summer.

That's not a good indicator. Actual puddles show up only the most
extremely impervious soils. One of the problems with poor drainage
is that it prevents plants putting roots deep down (if they can't
handle waterlogged soil) and then they suffer from dry spells.
Perennials often handle drought better in lighter soils!

Whether P. alkekengi is one of those, I don't know, but P. edulis
is a drought-resistant plant, with fairly deep-ranging roots, and
P. alkekengi is quite likely to be similar.



The soil is over gravel so that has excellent drainage and it's not that far
down as another neighbour dug it out to use when he built his own house. I
hit it when digging my pond at about 1 metre down.
I'll suggest he tries the two you mentioned and see if those work, maybe
some in a shadier spot and some in sun.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

Whether P. alkekengi is one of those, I don't know, but P. edulis
is a drought-resistant plant, with fairly deep-ranging roots, and
P. alkekengi is quite likely to be similar.

The soil is over gravel so that has excellent drainage and it's not that far
down as another neighbour dug it out to use when he built his own house. I
hit it when digging my pond at about 1 metre down.
I'll suggest he tries the two you mentioned and see if those work, maybe
some in a shadier spot and some in sun.

Er, don't bother with P. edulis (a.k.a. P. peruviana, I think).
It is the plant that grows the edible "Cape gooseberries" and
is seriously not hardy. It will overwinter in a frost-free
greenhouse if kept dry, but won't have an earthly outside.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Bob Hobden wrote:
Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times to
grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's a
remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the best to
grow that is truly perennial.

I've only ever grown physalis as an annual!

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
Talking to an elderly chap today and he said he has tried numerous times
to grow Physalis and they never last more than two summers. For him it's a
remembrance plant. I'm sure some on here grow these so which is the best
to grow that is truly perennial.
Soil is Thames silt/clay over gravel with pH 7 or thereabouts.


Remembrance plant for me too. My grandfather had it and it was always
there, slightly shaded nearth old apple tree.

Nick wrote .


Bob Hobden wrote:

Whether P. alkekengi is one of those, I don't know, but P. edulis
is a drought-resistant plant, with fairly deep-ranging roots, and
P. alkekengi is quite likely to be similar.

The soil is over gravel so that has excellent drainage and it's not that
far
down as another neighbour dug it out to use when he built his own house. I
hit it when digging my pond at about 1 metre down.
I'll suggest he tries the two you mentioned and see if those work, maybe
some in a shadier spot and some in sun.

Er, don't bother with P. edulis (a.k.a. P. peruviana, I think).
It is the plant that grows the edible "Cape gooseberries" and
is seriously not hardy. It will overwinter in a frost-free
greenhouse if kept dry, but won't have an earthly outside.



Probably the one he has been trying to grow!
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Ph. peruviana (alias edulis) has yellow flowers, whereas Ph. alkekengi has white.