THE CHARM OF MEXICAN HEATHER.

Byline: Joshua Siskin

I remember the first time I saw Mexican heather. I was in a back yard in Tarzana inspecting the grounds when suddenly my curiosity was aroused by a weedy looking plant growing in a shady planter bed. The soil in the bed drained poorly and was constantly waterlogged. The owner of the house told me nothing would grow in this spot except Mexican heather.

But did it grow! There were several dozen Mexican heather plants in all stages of development in the bed. Not knowing its identity, I had assumed that anything that grew that well in waterlogged soil must be a weed. Numerous seedlings, clearly growing from seeds that had fallen from the older plants, had cropped up throughout the bed.

During the last year or so, it seems that every time you turn around someone is planting Mexican heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia). This plant is also known as false heather due to its superficial resemblance to the true heathers, which are in a completely different botanical group. True heathers, also known as heaths, grow best in soil that is acidic and fast draining, in places like Scotland and the Pacific Northwest.

Mexican heather is promoted as a plant for either full sun or partial shade. Although the plant will grow in full sun, it does not look nearly as good as when it receives half day sun or less.

The plant has several characteristics that have endeared it to home gardeners and landscaping professionals alike. It flowers virtually year-round. The most popular variety has flowers whose color is magenta violet. There is also a variety with white flowers. Mexican heather foliage is a fresh, clean and vibrant green, always looking as though it had just been hosed off or washed by the rain.

Mexican heather will grow 2 to 3 feet tall. It can be used as a low hedge along walkways, in mixed perennial plantings, or in containers.

Although Mexican heather is occasionally found on lists of drought tolerant plants, its foliage is lusher and its flowers more plentiful when its soil is kept moderately moist.

--Ruth Beck, writing from North Hollywood, wondered why her Chinese dragon or empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) has not bloomed since she first planted it two years ago. This tree with fragrant blue flowers is sold mainly through magazine advertising and rarely lives up to its billing. In mild winter areas such as our own, its flower buds - which are formed in the fall - usually drop off the tree before spring, which is when they are supposed to open.

--Gladys Patano of Woodland Hills was concerned because her gardener ``got carried away'' and pruned her pine tree excessively. He did not top the tree but took off many of the lower branches. Patano wanted to know whether the tree would ``fill itself out again'' and how long that might take.

The only pine I know of that can be trimmed from below and grow lower branches again is the Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis), which sprouts new shoots all along it trunk. The Canary Island pine is easily recognizable by its uncompromising vertical growth habit. With other pines there is little, if any, chance of new growth emerging from the trunk where branches have been removed.

It is wisest to have trees trimmed by a certified arborist. The ones who charge the least usually cut the most off your trees, as if they could make up for what they lack in knowledge by working extra hours and hauling away an enormous quantity of wood. Unfortunately, you can permanently destroy the character of a tree if you prune it excessively or incorrectly.

Tip of the Week: Eleanor McCormick of Canoga Park wrote to ask about care for gladiolus bulbs (actually, they are corms) after blooming is over. The recommended treatment is to dig up the corms, put them in a brown paper bag, and let them dry out for a few weeks in the garage. Then dust them with diazanon and put them in ventilated trays in a refrigerator until planting time, which starts next February. Before planting, it is also recommended to apply an insecticide/fungicide dust to the corms.

Garden Wonders

Gardener: Arlee Stroman

Residence: Sylmar

Plant of interest: Beefsteak tomato 

What makes this plant amazing: Arlee Stroman was out in her garden picking tomatoes when she noticed a large fruit near the back of one of her plants, obscured by leaves. When she moved the leaves aside, she was surprised by the size of the tomato she saw: 6 inches in diameter, 4 inches in height.

``People think it's a pumpkin,'' she says. ``I didn't know I was going to have such a thing. I showed it to my dermatologist, and he got his camera out and took pictures.''

Maintenance: Stroman put in soil nutrients once in the spring and planted the tomatoes between two cypress tree stumps.

What Joshua Siskin says: ``If anything, you'd think planting near the stumps would retard growth, because the roots would interfere. It just goes to shows you: you can plant something, and it can either die immediately, or grow like there's no tomorrow. It's very unscientific.

``The best guess is that the soil was well-aerated by the roots, and the roots that died added to the soil's fertility.''

- Mike Chmielecki

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Photo: no caption (Arlee Stroman)

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer