PHAEDRANTHUS 
(Continued from front page) 
of vigorous growth and extended blooming 
period (May through November with only 
occasional respites) which, after a slow Tirst 
season, will run to as much as 40 feet. The 
four-inch flowers, coral on opening, grad- 
ually turn to rose-red, accented by a lemon 
yellow throat. 
These vines should be spaced at least 
15 feet or more apart, in a situation pro- 
viding a minimum half-day sun, for the 
quantity of flower is in direct proportion 
to the amount of sun received: hence, 
though the vine will grow well in the shade, 
it will forego flowering without the sun's 
encouragement. This vine is not for a lim- 
ited space unless you wish to cover a 
small house or wall completely—one of the 
oldest and most magnificent specimens in 
the country drapes the Huntington Hotel 
in Pasadena! Phaedranthus will, however, 
respond to sharp pruning and profits from 
being kept to an open habit of growth. 
Both showy and dramatic, the Mexican 
trumpet vine's dark shining foliage com- 
bines well with large or small leaf designs. 
The vine will perform splendidly from Palm 
Springs to within 200 feet of the ocean, 
and in all but the valleys’ coldest spots. 
It requires only medium watering after it 
is established, and even tolerates consider- 
able drought. 
One’ gallon cans, $1.25; fives, $4. 
INTRODUCING 
Though he spent four years at the Uni- 
versity of Missouri studying English and 
Journalism, Phil Chandler is today an ex- 
pert in horticulture with few 
peers. It all started on an ex- 
tensive trip to the French Riv- 
iera . .. but let us start at the 
beginning. 
Phil was born in Columbia, 
Missouri, in 1907. As a boy his 
greatest pleasure was to ride 
and hike over a 400-acre farm 
owned by his family, becoming 
familiar with the native trees 
and shrubs. 
Now to the Riviera: Finishing 
college, Phil started out across the Atlantic 
with $396 in his pocket on a trip which 
lasted eleven months and covered most of 
THROUGH E&R WITH 
Hugh Evans 
We should not arbitrarily condemn a 
plant for non-conformity or bad conduct 
unless we are conscience-clear ourselves. 
Perhaps we have not given the plant in 
question a fair deal; it has possibly been 
given harsh treatment, too much or too 
little water, sun when it is only happy with 
some shade or vice-versa; perhaps the 
ground around it is baked hard by the 
sun, and the water with which to make it 
happy, instead of reaching the roots mere- 
ly runs off, thereby giving the plant the 
equivalent of a neurosis, to which it will 
succumb unless it receives intelligent treat- 
ment. 
A good mulch on the ground will work 
wonders. To be sure here in Southern 
California where for long periods we have 
little atmospheric moisture, there are cer- 
tain fastidious plants which despite all our 
solicitude on their behalf, are difficult, in- 
deed virtually impossible to grow success- 
fully. 
the greatest mistake which many gar- 
deners make is in trying to grow, for in- 
stance, such subjects as Fuchsias and Aca- 
cias cheek by jowl, the first like some 
shade and plenty of water and fertilizer. 
Acacias like all the sun they can get and 
little water after the rainy season. (We 
have experienced rainy seasons in Califor- 
nia and since, fortunately, "hope springs 
eternal in the human breast,'’ we may be 
pardoned for hoping that again one day 
the rains will come!) 
Phil Chandler 
Europe, augmenting his funds by teaching 
English and working in restaurants as he 
went. The subtropical flora on the Riviera 
changed Phil's course of life 
{~—~ for it was then and there that 
he decided to become a horti- 
culturist, and bought himself 
the first volume in his now very 
substantial library. 
When Phil Chandler return- 
ed to the U. S. he went to San 
Francisco and while still pur- 
suing his new hobby, he spent 
four years working on various 
newspapers. Then he changed 
horticulture from avocation to 
vocation and, after working at various 
nurseries in Los Angeles, came to Evans & 
Reeves in 1949. 
