E-magazine feature on SRGC Website

[Maggi Young]

  December  2018  IRG 108
 This bumper  issue of IRG, posted online a little early to celebrate the season,  contains descriptions of three new plant species. Janis Rukšāns discusses Crocus of series Kotschyani and describes a new species, Crocus hatayensis from Turkey, Janis Rukšāns and Henrik Zetterlund define a new Eranthis species from Iran, and John Watson dedicates a new Viola species to a very special person. 
We hope you find this an exciting way to conclude our ninth year of publication.   
 
Download  here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2018Dec241545672053IRG108_December2018.pdf

Cover photo: Viola  F.& W.11580. Cerro Atravesada, Picunches Dept., Argentina, by John M. Watson.

[Maggi Young]

This note  about Eranthis iranica  has been received  from Janis Ruksans, Dr. biol. - and will be included in the next issue of IRG

   After publication of new species Eranthis iranica in December issue of International Rock Gardener (#108, 2018) I got two letters from Dirk Schnabel and Wim Boens - both of them noted that E. longistipitata (closest relative to E. iranica) seedlings have two seed leaves. Wim Boens wrote: “Nakai was the first to put longistipitata in the genus Shibateranthis in 1937. Later, in 1987, Tamura put it in the section Eranthis. And strangely enough Luferov put it again in the section Shibateranthis in 2004 (Turczaninowia 2004, 7(1) - in Russian - J.R.). In every case E. longistipitata and probably E. iranica are somehow the link between both sections. But maybe the sections should be redone completely.”

   When we placed E. iranica under Shibateranthis, we followed S. K . Czerepanov’s “Plantae Vasculares URSS” (Laningrad, Nauka, 1981) and other current botanical literature of former USSR, where genus Eranthis is listed only as synonym of Shibateranthis. We did not personally check seedlings of both aforementioned species. On page 3 ( page 4  of IRG 108)  of our article with caption “Eranthis longistipitata first year seedlings” most likely are pictured seedlings of E. pinnatifida. In 2013 the same picture was published in SRGC Forum by J.R. just as seedlings of E. pinnatifida. When few years later the same (?) pot bloomed, flowers were yellow and on long stalk, so name was changed on pot and on pictures. Most likely during replacing of nursery (which happened just in following years) when constructions of greenhouse were removed to new place and pots stood outside without any cover and protection or during transportation of pots to new garden some accidental misplacing of labels occurred.
   Wim Boens recently put E. longistipitata in Subgenus (or Series) Eranthis because most of the characteristics point towards that subgenus and only long pedicel join it with Subgenus Shibateranthis. Under such treatment all yellow blooming species are forming series Eranthis with 4 species (hyemalis, cilicica, iranica and longistipitata) and the rest - all with white flowers - go into Series Shibateranthis. In any case this does not invalidate the name of Eranthis iranica.        
J. R.                             

[Maggi Young]

Good mix  in e-magazine International Rock Gardener - IRG109 - January 2019 - a garden and glasshouses in South West Scotland belonging to  Sue Simpson and George Watt; a description of a  Tulipa species from  Jānis Rukšāns;  a  review of   Holubec and  Horak's  book of the flowers of the Tian Shan by Martin Hajman and a look at a gem of the Cyclamen genus, originally written by Václav Jošt with  Zdenek Zvolanek.  Thanks to  'Folium Alpinum' of  NRV and
‘Skalničky’, the  Czech rock garden journal for their  cooperation with IRG.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Jan241548361044IRG109January2019.pdf

[Maggi Young]

Lots happening in this month's  IRG e-magazine  from SRGC: a new viola species, Viola abbreviata, is described by John and Anita Flores Watson, we see  winter-flowering  plants of  Gran Canaria  from  Iep & Gerrit Eijkelenboom and  some notes on the charming  hybrids of the succulent  species Aloinopsis and Nananthus from John Stireman in Utah.   There's also a review of Freda Cox' second edition of her Snowdrop book from grower, Anne Wright.

All issues of IRG International Rock Gardener are online on the SRGC website - this is the  direct link to the  latest  issue  IRG 110: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Feb211550781214IRG110.pdf


Cover image of IRG110 is  by John Stireman, of a hot pink Aloinopsis hybrid in his Utah garden.

[Maggi Young]

IRG111  March 2019

We welcome two new authors to the IRG this month. Dr Martin Sheader, a marine biologist from Southampton, is known with his wife Anna-Liisa for their great interest in all plants, particularly those from South America, as well as for their writing, talks and show exhibits. Martin writes about  an exploration of  Central Patagonia and  John Watson, friend and  sometimes co-author with the  Sheaders  describes an annual Cistanthe  species
Our second new author is Allan Robinson from Sutton Bridge in the Fenlands of England. His family were nurserymen in the past and he has a great interest in the geraniums and their relatives as can be seen from his copious contributions to the website of the Gerianaceae Group.

Download the  issue  here : http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Mar281553807774IRG111.pdf



Alstroemeria leporina F.&W.11995, photo J. M. Watson

[Maggi Young]

Epimediums, reticulate irises & newly named snowdrop cultivars comprise the April medley in free e-magazine International Rock Gardener April 2019 :  IRG 112

Colin Moat is an English nurseryman who has been involved with the RHS Roundtable consideration of Epimedium for the Award of Garden Merit; the report on that is now published. Jānis Rukšāns, well known in these pages and elsewhere, as a bulb expert turns his attention to bulbous irises of the Hermodactyloides subgenus.  Patricia Becker is a keen gardener and galanthophile from New Jersey who introduces us to a sweet snowdrop which she has chosen to name for the well-known American snowdrop enthusiast, Ernie Cavallo.   Krzysztof Ciesielski lives in Żary, Poland and has a passion for nature that he follows not least as a relief from his busy worklife. He loves galanthus and enjoys seeing them in nature – in spite of various problems that beset his favourite sites. One of his introductions is  named for a Belgian friend, Wim Boens who has also been published in the IRG.

Download it  free, here  :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Apr261556270768IRG_112_April_2019.pdf


Cover photo: Iris marivanica at the locus classicus in Iranian Kurdistan. Photo Jānis Rukšāns. 

[Maggi Young]

Our presentation this month demonstrates clearly the “international” flavour to which we aspire.  We begin with the description of an Argentinian natural hybrid viola from the English/Chilean duo, John Watson and Anita Flores Watson – which they have named for a mutual Dutch friend, Kees Jan van Zwienen.  Next up is an article from the Latvian bulb-master, Jānis Rukšāns and Dimitri Zubov from the Ukraine on naming a new bulb from Iran.   Frankie Wulleman, former  President for ten years the  Editor of  the VRV, (Flemish Rock Garden Society) is  our  next  author - with a piece on another charming  South American plant – this  time  one  which is  already  present  in some  gardens – and Frankie  believes it is worth more of us trying to grow it. That is also the refrain of our last writer this month – that Austrian horticultural hero, Fritz Kummert – who enthuses about the “Blue broom” of Spain and Portugal.

Click this  link to download  85 pages  of  free  magazine!!

Sorry - some  mishap with link - new  link is  shown here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019May311559296345IRG113.pdf


May  cover image Oxalis muscoides  F.& W. 12569 



Fritz Kummert


Frankie  Wulleman

[Maggi Young]

Sorry - some  mishap with link for May 2019  - new  link is  shown here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019May311559296345IRG113.pdf

[Maggi Young]

June in the UK has  been somewhat  cold  and  damp - in contrast to reports from  elsewhere  in Europe of temperatures in the mid- 30s C. Whatever the weather  in your part of the  globe we  can only hope for some degree of pleasure from your  plants! Articles begin this month with Janis Rukšāns who introduces a new  Fritillaria species from Uzbekistan, named for the mountain range where it was found.  Next we visit Somerset in the UK, where Paul Cumbleton and Colin Everett show the construction and development of a raised bed to accommodate a crevice garden. Canadian Grahame Ware writes about a Claytonia he favours and this issue rounds up with a report from Iep and Gerrit Eijkelenboom on the plants they have seen in Kefalonia and Ithaka in March and April this year.

Click the  link to download the  free  magazine: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Jun271561661867IRG114.pdf

[Maggi Young]

Summer flowers are flourishing in the north while winter blooms make their appearance in the south – July is an interesting month. Many lovers of  alpine plants have  enjoyed  trips to see  plants  in habitat and  are even now  making  plans for their  next  adventure. For botanist/plant hunters like John and Anita Watson, such expeditions can lead to the discovery of new species – the exact status of which can sometimes take time to unravel!  Panayoti Kelaidis, that indefatigable power house of the Denver Botanic Garden, revisited Tibet and China in June – following on from his 2018 trip from where he shares with us some of the plants he encountered.  For those who, for whatever reason, are armchair travellers amongst us, such articles are a charm.  For those wishing to travel themselves to see plants in their homelands, such reports are also helpful. To conclude this month the IRG Team remembers Ron Beeston, a dear friend, recently lost to us.

To download the  July issue  direct,  click this  link :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Jul251564083758IRG115.pdf

All issues  of the  International Rock Gardener may be  found  from this page on the  main SRGC Website : http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/index.php?log=international


Cover photo: Veronica piroliformis in Yunnan – photo Panayoti Kelaidis.

[Maggi Young]

International Rock Gardener 116  August 2019

Latvian bulb maven Jānis Rukšāns begins our e-magazine this month with a description of a new species of Puschkinia from Turkey. Fritz Kummert from Austria clarifies the naming of a plant which has long been mis-identified and Iep and Gerrit  Eijkelenboom from the Netherlands give us some inspiration for a trip to the Gargano peninsula in Italy in April where they found many orchids and other flowers in bloom.

Download the  free  e-magazine  here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Aug291567110323IRG116.pdf



Cover photo: Viola heterophylla subsp. graeca – photo Gerrit Eijkelenboom.

[Maggi Young]

Time  for the  September  issue  of the  IRG - IRG 117  to be  online  now : Sorry- temporary  problem -IRG 117 will be available later.


Includes  new  viola  news  from John Watson, the Estonian Garden  of  Svetlana Polonskaja and  some  news  from the  Beauty  Slope ....
   

Cover photo: Viola cheeseana F.& W.12685, photo John M. Watson.
 Named by  John for  his  old  collecting  friend, Martyn Cheeseman.

An updated  version  of the IRG  Index is  online  now  too, thanks  to Glassford  Sprunt.


Kind thanks to all who take the  time  and  trouble  to contact the IRG team to give  us  your  reaction to the  magazine’s contents. These, and submissions of articles, are always  welcome – by email, please, to the Editor.  We look forward to hearing  from you. 

editor@internationalrockgardener.net

[Maggi Young]

Following  some  technical difficulties, the   correct  version of  IRG  117  for September  2019  is  now  online  - this  is the  link :    http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Oct041570226421IRG-117-September.pdf


 

[Maggi Young]

 IRG118 - October 2019
IRG this month pays tribute to the SRGC Discussion Weekend with an article on the propagation of narcissus and  galanthus  bulbs from one of the Speakers  there, Anne  Wright of  Dryad Nursery in Yorkshire.  Anne has tremendous  success  with her breeding  programmes of these bulbs and is kind enough to share her tips for ‘chipping’ the bulbs to speed  up their increase.
Another of the  speakers  at the  DWE was  Dr  Dimitri  Zubov – we  are  delighted to  present a photo essay by Dimitri and regular  IRG author, Jānis Rukšāns of  some of the  plants they  have  seen  in  Iran.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Oct251572001288IRG_118.pdf



Cover photo: Linaria michauxii in Western Iran, photo Dimitri Zubov.

[Maggi Young]

IRG 119 November 2019

In this month's free  issue  of  International Rock Gardener  e-magazine :-  Panayoti Kelaidis ' photos illustrate  the  report  he  has  made  with Boyce  Tankersley  and  Peter  Zale  of their  Plant  Collecting Collaborative  visit to Georgia's  Caucasus  region of  Eurasia in 2018.  Wim Boens gives a a well-recognised  name  to an Anemone  cultivar and  John and  Anita Watson  name  an  interesting Andean natural Viola  hybrid  for their  grandson.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Nov281574975266IRG_119.pdf


Cover photo: Primula ruprechtii in the Bakuriani Mountains. Photo Panayoti Kelaidis.