Humea

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Read about Humea in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Humea (after Lady Hume). Composite. Herbs or shrubs, one of the most popular of which is a half- hardy biennial Australian plant, growing 5 or 6 feet high, cultivated for the grass-like beauty of its large, loose, much-branched, drooping panicles. Flowers exclusively tubular and hermaphrodite, 1-4 in a small head; involucre narrow, with scarious or petaloid, non-radiating bracts. Three, at any rate, of the 4 other species are shrubs, with fls. in dense corymbs and involucral bracts rigid or petal-like, while in H. elegans the bracts are thin and scarious. The genus has no near allies of garden value. It belongs to a group of 6 Australian genera which have no pappus. Humea has nothing of the typical beauty of the common garden composites, since it has no rays, but the common species is a striking plant. Sow seed from July 1 to September 1. Keep young plants during winter in very cool house in preference to frames, in northern latitudes, on account of losing so much foliage through damping. In spring, or when signs of growth are taking place, repot into larger pots, using a good, rich loam, which has had plenty of manure. They are gross feeders and growers, requiring plenty of water and good feeding. Good plants in 10-inch pots are very ornamental for conservatory or piazza work. The young plants need plenty of light and air, and should be kept nearly dry during the winter. In spring they should be started into growth gradually, and successively repotted until an 8-inch pot is needed. They should not be syringed except when growing rapidly in warm weather. In June the plants can be placed in a subtropical bed that is shielded from high winds, and staked. The foliage has a peculiar and agreeable scent. (A. P. Meredith.) The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Humea. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Humea QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)