King Tut papyrus & other November sparklers
When Proven Winners asked me last spring if I’d trial some of their plants, I requested they send me only xeric plants, explaining that I am not a zealous waterer. So imagine my surprise when, among a nice selection of drought-tolerant plants, this ‘King Tut’ papyrus arrived. What am I going to do with a bog plant in my dry garden, I wondered?
Oh well, it was free, so I plunked it in a shady spot just downhill from a sprinkler head and made a well of mulch around it, to better capture any stray moisture. And then our summer drought from hell set in, and I watered ‘King Tut’ exactly as much as the other new plants in my garden, which, by mid-summer, amounted to the city-legislated once per week.
To my great surprise, ‘King Tut’ lives. It did suffer a bit during the heat of the summer, as a few big, sparkler-shaped heads turned brown, but it rebounded nicely with the cooler, wetter fall weather.
‘King Tut’ grows quite large (probably larger if watered regularly); Proven Winners’ website says 48-72″ tall. Mine is about 4 1/2 feet tall. It’s considered an annual where temperatures reach freezing, so I’m waiting to see whether it will return next spring. We didn’t have a hard freeze last winter, but we usually do get at least a couple.
The dwarf papyrus in my stock-tank pond displays that same beautiful sparkler flower head, made even more lovely at this time of year by turning golden yellow.
‘Black Marble’ taro still looks lovely in the pond too, even though it’s been knocked off its perch twice lately by something, probably a raccoon after the fish. The pond is deep enough at 2 feet, and has steep sides with no sloping entry, so that it has foiled the raccoon attacks so far.
Cousin Itt, my potted Texas nolina, looks more and more like a fountain or waterfall as it ages. This native evergreen relative of the yucca is perfect for containers in sun or shade, but watch out—it does get large. This one is probably 5 feet in diameter. It wouldn’t work on a front porch.
After a summer of singing in the oaks, the katydids are coming down to ground level, where I’m noticing them with regularity. I spotted this one on the deck table this afternoon and took a photo of it for ESP, who is interested in bugs. Actually, so am I. The katydid does have wings but is said to be a clumsy or even incapable flier. They prefer to crawl, and that’s what this one was doing when I leaned in for a close-up.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
The King Tut papyrus has a wonderful architectural presence.
I like that sparkly head. Doubt that it would survive our winters, though…
Nice shot of the katydid.
I’m starting to think those papyruses are tougher than we all think when it comes to water needs. When we lived in Austin we had this terribly difficult raised stone-edged bed that was about 4 inches deep on one end and about 12 inches deep on the other (can you imagine?). Trying to keep something alive in it was almost impossible. Until I stumbled across the dwarf papyrus. They did very well there and never succumbed to freezes (although they had some stone behind them that might have held a little extra heat). The King Tut is really quite pretty.
Your nolina is probably the biggest I’ve ever seen, even in the wild! That’s another tough plant.
Cousin It is great. I like the katydid too. Good macro shot.
I have coveted those stock planters everywhere for ages now, just can’t see in my mind’s eye a spot for them here in my environs. Yet, that is.
I am also a huge fan of the deep blue pots and planters. In other words – your garden beds hit my eyes “just right” Pam! I especially love how you do all the work, all the identifying, and I get to enjoy them in the comfort of my own home. Thanks for sharing so generously and regularly….
I have to get me one of those plants! I love those sparkler flower heads. Great pictures, as always.
So not only do stock tanks look awesome, they’re also effective at repelling raccoons if the tank is large enough. That’s good news for your plants & fish. The drought tolerance of ‘King Tut’ is interesting, and the name brings to mind a question: how does papyrus grow in Egypt? Is it in the flood plain of the Nile, where it gets inundated once a year and then dries out?
It’s considered a bog plant, so I would guess it grows along rivers in the wild, MMD. —Pam
Pam you sure rose to the occasion! Good contained uses and displays. H.
I love that mirrored surface and reflections of your stock tank. I have a papyrus in the water garden that is hardy in the ground here as a perennial, but I am leaving it in the pond to see what happens.
Pam if you give the papyrus from the river Nile water it can get huge. I grew it in the gound in Hawaii easily. Water there was still cheap and plentiful even on the desert side where I lived. The grumbling about those water hogs in Kihei was getting going though. One thing you could do is put the papyrus in a pot of water that doesn’t drain. You don’t even need soil, just maybe some mosquito donuts. Then sink the pot in the ground in the bed where you want it or leave the pot above ground if it is a nice pot. It is a tough plant. It grew for me in plastic five gallon paint buckets with just water, nothing else.
Hi Pam.
I just knew you had another picture of that katydid lurking somewhere in your camera! What a great shot it is too! I love this bug, the metallic armor, the massive hind legs and antenna. I have never seen one in the Patch!
The papyrus in my sunken stock tank (no drainage) has to be about 7-8 feet tall right now. I also use dunks but there have been so many mosquitoes this year it seemed almost futile at times. This stock tank takes a lot of rain before the water rises past the soil level,I very rarely water it, (unless we are in a Mars weather pattern like we were this summer). It does seem to handle a drying out period, what a great plant. Like you I love the dwarf version as well.
Happy Thanksgiving Pam and thanks for the link.
ESP.
And a fabulous photo you leaned in and got of that Katydid, Pam. Great detail, and as ever, an amazing eye. They eat plants but I really do like them. Maybe it’s less that I like them and more that they are so high on the crunch factor that I avoid …um… squashing them! Your sparklers are very festive. Happy Thanksgiving!
I saw your picture of the stock tank water garden/pond while i was looking for Info on King Tut. How did you “build” the pond, I have wanted a water garden but shied away from the digging etc. this Stock tank is a great idea.
So, how did you do it?
thnaks
Alex, here’s the link to my post about making a stock-tank pond. —Pam