Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: mark smyth on September 01, 2007, 10:37:00 AM
-
While clearing my room for new carpet I found a photo from way back. Maybe the early 90s when I first got into gardening. One of my first projects was a grass bed under planted with 100s of Frit. meleagris. It was during my raving days when I used to go to London for the big events legal and illegal. One Sunday when I got home the whole thing was cleared and gravel put down.
-
Something strange is going on here at No. 43. The first Ranunculus ficaria leaves are up
-
My favourite climber,
Lapageria rosea
-
Not sure if indoor plants are allowed but have had this Phalaenopsis for 3 years and this is the 4th lot of flowers it came from Mcbeans the local Orchid nursery they had just come back from Chelsea with it,when you think of all the blooms the price is not to bad.
-
Derek I think you arent pruning the flowering stem correctly. Phaleonopsis could/should be flower all year round. If you look down the stem from the first flower there will be a small node and down the stem there many be four or five. There are dormant buds there. One the flowers start to drop you have to be brutal and cut back the stem when there are only two left. Cut the flower stem to just above the upper node. In about six weeks another flower spike will emerge. It too will have dormant bubs along the stem. You've had it long enough to be able to keep it alive but here's another suggestion. During the summer, late May until September, keep the plant on an east or west windowsil. During the winter move it to a south windowsil.
-
Mark I was told by Mcbeans never do that more than twice it weakens the plant to much
Derek
-
No flowering plant, but the result of heavy rain in my garden.
Cypripedium calceolus
-
Derek I've found it to weaken the plants
Hans that an amazing clump. One day mine might be like that
-
Hans, what a wonderful root system on your Cyprepedium.
Re Phaleonopsis pruning: What I do with mine is this: I allow the stems to flower naturally, and when all the flowers on one stem have finished, after a few days I cut the stem back to a nice fat dormant bud, this might only be an inch or so down from the tip or may be six inches down...I am guided by the plant...in varying times, a new shoot emerges and before you know it, you have more flowers. I have one plant which is my superstar performer... it has only been without an open flower for three weeks in the last four or five years. ( can't remember whether I got it in 2002 or 2003) To make it even more of a superstar, it was only £3 when I bought it, it was in the reduced section of the garden centre because its flowers where getting a bit past it!
Other plants take longer to make new shoots from the old stems and longer to open their flowers, but 'Superstar' seems to do everything at high speed. Her flowers last for many weeks, just as they are supposed to...and she is truly a wonderful houseplant.
-
Some flowers (and fruits) from today (after heavy showers tonight)
1. Sternbergia lutea in the morning
2. the same in sunshine
3. Cyclamen colchicum outside (nearly over)
4. Helianthus divaricatus
5. Disporum lanuginosum
6. Arisaema amurensis
Gerd
-
Hans that is an impressive root system 8) ;D
Here in Portugal there is an interesting late summer. I have chosen to water the flower beds and forgot the water on and then I got a very possitive response from this bulb.
It is quick it takes only 4-5 days from peeking through the bulb untill it flowers. It grows 10 cm per day (4inches) and I think it may be an Amalylis not the ones for Christmas, that is not an amarylis, but the "true one". I am happy to be corrected or confirmed. ::) I almost think it is from Africa (Cape) (or any other "semidesert" place) with that response to water. The serie is almost representing days but it was taken the same day for different plants except for bud and flower that had 1 day inbetween and was on the same plant. The pink on the flower is a bit more pink in real life.
I also have a Camelia with one flower and that to me is a bit odd. I have not seen any other and there is a few camelias arround to look at. It might have been one bud that did not flower this spring as it should I do not know. I have heard of (and seen) magnolia and rhododendron getting a second flowering but not Camelias.
Kind regards from a warm and sunny Portugal
Joakim
-
Always struggling to get some (late) summer colour in the rock garden :
1 Lampranthus multiradiatus
2 same close up
3 gazania and delosperma aberdenensis - always guarantees colour !
4) Lewisia tweedyi that's got it's calendar mixed up
-
Joakim I would say Amaryllis also
Gerd is your Helianthus invasive?
-
Altroemeria Princess Paola is a super subject for a patio pot. It has been in full flower all summer and is still going strong despite not being repotted or fed (note the busy lizzie seedling from last years bedders). Does anybody know what species it has been hybridised from? I have grown many of the dwarf species but they are much less accommodating and almost all of them have died.
Eucomis autumnalis is also doing well given the same spartan treatment. E. bicolor I showed earlier is still in flower but I hadn't noticed it producing flowers on the top like this before.
-
Your royal Alstroemeria is a real smasher, John. I have no idea what the parentage is.. I shall certainly look out for the variety. Not often the upper classes thrive on neglect, is it? :P
Do you often get your bedding b. lizzies seeding?
Will check our Eucomis tomorrow... they are only just opening up fully.
-
Not often the upper classes thrive on neglect, is it? :P
Oh I don't know Maggi. I'm thriving and I've been neglected for years.
-
Mark:
No, in my garden (under a Gingko) Helianthus divaricatus is not invasive. I would like it will do better. Only this year with sufficient rain the plant was in good condition.
Gerd
-
Maggi, the Busy Lizzies do throw a few seedlings up each year, particularly in a soakaway covered by a metal grating. Soil debris from the path runs down into the grating onto a layer of gravel. When I remove the soil layer each year at about july there are usually about 6 or 7 seedlings which I just stick into the border where they start to flower after 2-3 weeks. Nothing better than free (must be the Scottish ancestry ;D)
-
Well I couldn't just nip out and take a photo of Hisbiscus trionum so here are two more Eucomis taken in a rush as I want to stone the damsons before they get cold and I have to plunge my hands into it!
Firstly Eucomis Swazi Prince and then Eucomis pallidiflora. Not quite up to my usual standard as I am in a rush and should not (!) be sitting at the computer ;D
-
John, Free has to be one on my favourite four letter words, second favourite, perhaps, after food!
Lovely Eucomis varieties, Brian. I must look out for more of these.
Damsons... stoning.... are you stoning them after boiling them up, before the sugar is added? Do you seive them or guddle away with fingers? I only made plum jam for the first time on Monday ( only ever stuffed ourselves with the fresh fruit before) when we collected some lovely Mirabelle-type red and yellow plums from an old hedgerow..Ha, jam, i thought, then realised I had no expereince of stoning the damn things... before or after, was the question... decided before was best idea, though ian disagreed, so sat for ages stoning the blighters... stained fingers dark henna colour but got lovely result for jam. It has set a treat, too, which I always find very satisfying.
-
Maggi we had 74 lbs of Damsons, sold a lot at the gate and gave a lot away to friends. This is the tail end, I always stone them to Radio 4 after they've been boiled so the stones come out easily and I don't get unduly bored. If you do it while the damsons are still whole (and warm) you seem to get most of them out quite easily, but as you say I "guddle" them, very satisfying to squeeze them so the stone shoots out ;D Then the sugar gets added. However, this year we still have damson jam left from last year so it's Spiced Damson Chutney - which is awesome :D Next year won't be quite so good as, despite propping the branches up to support the weight, the main branch has split the trunk. We've finished making courgette chutney and the way things are going it'll soon be time for runner bean pickle. Sadly we then have to eat it. Ah well, life can be a trial.
-
ummm Damsons but to my mouth you cant beat a Victoria plum
For our world wide friends Damsons are the fruit of Prunus domestica var. insititia aka Plum of Damascus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damson)
-
I think that as you age gracefully Mark you will appreciate a tarter flavour more!
-
Sadly, I'll eat anything but I am particularly fond of Victoria plums but fat Greengages are my favourite... not that I have seen any for at least five years up here. :'(
-
Talking about self seeders the Nigella have come up again after last season's sowing. I love the architectural quality.
Second is a possible invader from my neighbour, which I would gladly embrace butit is in the wrong position. I wish I had a bit more room to give it a home but I can admire it as borrowed landscape.
-
Maggi, greengages seemed to go out of fashion years ago here and you couldn't get one for love nor money. I think many people who had a tree chopped it out. But the old, Central Otago orchards still have them and since my Farmers' Market started in 2003, we've had superb greengages every summer. I'll buy some specially for you, when the stone fruit starts again before Christmas. The greengages will be a bit after I would think.
-
Ah, Greengages, now you're talking. Excellent jam but you just never see them for sale. :'(
-
Here's a couple of pictures of my Tigridia pavonia. I bought the bulbs late last Spring from our local supermarket (knocked down from £3.99 to 50p) Planted them out and waited, .....and waited, ...and waited. I thought all our very wet Summer weather had affected the flowers although the leaves looked in pretty good condition. Mid August saw one flower and I had given up on them, until this morning.
I had intended to leave the bulbs in the garden over Winter with, perhaps a covering of peat, bearing in mind that severe frosts usually don't happen here-any advice??
-
Can't give you any advice David except not to let them be too wet over winter or while dormant. I (try to) grow the related Orthantha rigidipla (?) but it gets frosted here though Dave grows it successfully at the bottom of the South Island. I like your colours; different from the old orange that my mother had many years ago. (She would have been 99 yesterday, if, as I believe the Scots and Irish sometimes say, she had not passed from the sight of men.)
-
Brian and Maggi, if you wish I could courier off a box each of greengages in our summer. But even though ripe here, would they be quite so good in a UK winter? Somehow with greengages it's the essence of summer scent that grabs one. Mightn't work so well in winter.
-
Re: T pavonina
not to let them be too wet over winter or while dormant.
...and give them plenty of water whilst in growth. If they're happy they can seed about with some exuberance, so you might want to dead head them.
-
I used to grow Tigridia every year. They are named after the Tiger but not the Asian Tiger. It's the Jaguar they are named after
-
Trying to come to terms with thoughts of "exotics" like Tigridia self-sowing in these parts! Lovely!
Lesley, what a sweetie you are, to even think of going to that bother over greengages.... far too much fuss and expense but the thought is MUCH appreciated.... just eat plenty on my behalf!!
Oh, and eat them fat and fresh, so much nicer than jam!
-
David,
That is a lovely pink Tigridia. I have a white the same as your white (i.e with the red bowl markings), a pretty much pure white with some faint greeny yellow markings, the traditional red, and a strong yellow, but rarely have seen good pinks. Congratulation, that one is a beauty!!
-
As Maggi said Lesley you are a sweetie :-* I think though that, as with all things they would be far better fresh and in season in the UK. Nevertheless thany you for your kind offer. I will try and hunt some down and enjoy them whilst thinking of NZ ;D
-
Can't give you any advice David except not to let them be too wet over winter or while dormant. I (try to) grow the related Orthantha rigidipla (?) but it gets frosted here though Dave grows it successfully at the bottom of the South Island. I like your colours; different from the old orange that my mother had many years ago. (She would have been 99 yesterday, if, as I believe the Scots and Irish sometimes say, she had not passed from the sight of men.)
Could be difficult to keep them dryish in a typical Devon winter Lesley, but I'll see how they go. If I loose them I shall certainly buy some more next Spring.
Had a look for your plant on the PBS Wiki and found it as Rigidella orthantha syn. Tigridia orthantha. Nice 8). Odd isn't it, my Dad would have been 95 today.
-
David,
That is a lovely pink Tigridia. I have a white the same as your white (i.e with the red bowl markings), a pretty much pure white with some faint greeny yellow markings, the traditional red, and a strong yellow, but rarely have seen good pinks. Congratulation, that one is a beauty!!
Thank you Paul, after seeing pictures of some of your Tigridia on the PBS Wiki that is praise indeed
-
Re: T pavonina
not to let them be too wet over winter or while dormant.
...and give them plenty of water whilst in growth. If they're happy they can seed about with some exuberance, so you might want to dead head them.
Thanks Rob, I hope they get exuberant ;D
-
Apropos very little, my Dad will be 94 a week tomorrow ! I expect there will be cake.... and icecream and some exuberance, too! :)
-
Apropos very little, my Dad will be 94 a week tomorrow ! I expect there will be cake.... and icecream and some exuberance, too! :)
and rightly so. I expect a certain daughter will approach both ice cream and cake with much exuberance ;D
-
Had a look for your plant on the PBS Wiki and found it as Rigidella orthantha syn. Tigridia orthantha. Nice 8). Odd isn't it, my Dad would have been 95 today.
Thanks David. I was sure I had the name wrong but couldn't get my head round it at the time. Should have googled but for some reason I can't get into the habit of doing that. To Roger it's second nature, as he proved yesterday when he located a new USB cable for my camera, locally, for $11. Unfortunately I had already been into town and ordered one from the place I bought my camera. It has to come from Australia, they tell me, and will take 2 weeks and cost $45 plus freight. Phone them first thing this morning to cancel the order but it has already gone and I'll be charged for it, even if I don't take it. Damn >:( >:( >:(
My son was 35 yesterday (6th). Says he feels old. Little does he know... ;D
-
Rigidella orthantha does fine here for me, although it has now ended up being buried a little too deeply and is suffering (slow build up over it over time). I did get seed from it a few years ago and germinated seedlings..... the odd part was that a single seed apparently produces more than a single baby, or else they multiply very quickly at the beginning. The first year I had white shoots, and the concensus was something was wrong with them and they would never return (no chlorophyl) but the following year I had 15 shoots appear (which isn't bad given there were only 6 seeds in teh first place). I must find that pot and see how they're doing now. I know they were OK last year, but didn't particularly note them over summer as so much of my garden was ignored due to poor health. Hopefully they're still in there. The glorious red of the flower is amazing, and despite not being large and showy in flower size I'd never voluntarily be without it in my garden now. I do so like the Tigridia/Cypella/etc alliance.
-
We are particularly pleased with these hot summers as the Campsis radicans Madame Galens on the end of the house always does well, below it is Crinum powelli - but no sign of C. powelli alba flowering :'( Meanwhile Aconitum carmichaeli "Royal Flush" is showing large flowers (named for the red foliage in the spring) and Hedychium densiflorum 'Assam Orange' is beginning to flower too, a good hardy (in East Anglia) ginger.
-
Since you have so much lovely colour in your garden at present, Brian, I won't feel too bad about telling you what happened this morning......Jean Wyllie arrived on the doorstep bearing a rare bulb ... AND.... two and a half pounds of Greengages! Yippee!! On both counts!!
As Anthony states in another thread, the hometown of Jean and Anthony, Dunblane, is about a two hundred mile round trip from me, so you can imagine my delight! The Wyllie Wifie, as we affectionately call Jean, had read of my Greengage passion in these pages and decidedto take pity on me. How kind! Sorry, Brian, you are just that bit too far away... also, I don't know if her husband, Jim, knows anyone with decent fishing down your way, which was, in fact, the real reason for their trip to Aberdeenshire ! ;D :D
So, today's quiz question... how long do you think it will take one greedy woman to eat over one kilo of Greengages? There is only me to scoff them, Ian has gone off down to East Anglia, so there is no need to share!! TeeHee! ::)
-
Maggi take a pic for us to see what it is You are so fond of.
Enjoy them
Joakim
PS plums have a tendency of cleaning the system if You eat to many, so do not hurry to much or You will really need to hurry
-
Maggi,
Pray tell what the rare bulb was? You can't do THAT to us..... brag about a new rare bulb and then not tell us what it is we should be jealous about you now having!! ;D
-
Yes forget Green Gauges what's the bulb? Is it for you/Ian or is she showing it off? Maybe she will tell us herself
-
Maggi take a pic for us to see what it is You are so fond of.
Enjoy them
Joakim
PS plums have a tendency of cleaning the system if You eat to many, so do not hurry to much or You will really need to hurry
Of course, Joakim, that is true, but I will have exercise and a clean system! :o
-
Jean can't tell you, she's gone fishin' !
Here you are, then, pix of the handful of greengages I have beside me, plus the rare bulb:
[attachthumb=1]
perhaps you can see the bulb better here:
[attachthumb=2]
-
I know!!! jumps and and down!! N.B.M. ;D Can I be first in line?
-
Maggi nice mouse carpet You have ;D
A comment like that in Swedish would get me in bigger troubles than I could dig my self out of even with a bulldozer so I take the chce to say it in English insted. I do not think it can be missunderstood in English.
They look like they (plums) need to be a bit more mature before they are enjoyable or am I wrong?
My son pics physalis of the bush and it always results in me needing to change his diper, so every one has there own tricks to get the system clean.
Kind regards
Joakim
-
Joakim, that is how these plums look, they are ripe and very delicious....as to your comment, I think you might get into some bother, even in English, but the mouse carpet was a present from a friend who knows we have a collection of real carpets and nomadic textiles ( textiles from nomads, the textiles stay where you put them!) and thought this mouse carpet appropriate!
Mark, oh no it isn't! and anyway, it'll take ages!
-
Don't they look plumptious! As it is over an hour since you posted the message I guess there are not many left of the two and a half pounds ;D Enjoy
-
Mark has made a wrong guess, though I reckon I get extra points for knowing that he was referring to Narcissus 'Betty Mae' with his N.B.M. ! ;D
Brian, given that I bought a few pounds of Victoria plums and some beautiful figs on Wednesday, I am actually astounding myself by only having a greengage every second time I pass the plate. ::)
Off now to get some virtual exrecise, watching La Vuelta on TV for an hour. Yes, it's a hard life here without the Bulb Despot but I just have to muddle through! ;)
-
Brian, each time you post shots from your garden I am utterly envious of your obvious plant knowledge. You always have something beautiful and different. By the way was that the reflection in your window of the famous photographer David Bailey on the Campsis on house wall shot? ;D
-
You are very kind David, I wish my "knowledge" was as good with alpines! Yes it is I in the window rather a flattering slimmed down version too ;D
Any greengages left Maggi?
-
Just a few, Brian... I am munching the odd one as I return to admire your Campsis, what a pretty thing it is. You don't see many of those ( well, any of those, actually) in Aberdeen gardens :'(
-
I've got to have something as I cannot grow rhodos!
-
That makes me feel a little better!
-
Mark,
I would be surprised if thta was a Narcissus. The bulb looks more like something along the lines of a Tulip perhaps, although even then doesn't look quite right. I'm thinking perhaps something in the South African genera?
Brian...... Do Campsis have a stoloniferous habit for you, or does that particular named one behave better. Here, they can almost invade a garden...... I saw once when the lid was taken off a septic tank that the whole of the inside of the tank was choked with white shoots (no light) from runners of a Campsis about 3 or 4 metres away. I'm guessing it was after the water. Then again I have also seen quite well behaved ones elsewhere that are glorious in summer, but don't seem to be trying to extend their estate to any real extent. I think they like our conditions here!! ;D
-
Haemanthus coccineus (paintbrush lily) Family: Amaryllidaceae
Haemanthus coccineus is one of 11 species of Haemanthus
Distribution: South Africa, from southern Namibia southwards to the Cape Peninsula.
Haemanthus coccineus is a big bulb who rests during the dry season underground. Just before the rain period starts, the flower heads will come out.
Leaves usually appear after flowering, in commonly 2 leaves per bulb.
Choose a big deep pot where the Haemanthus coccineus, which can hold a fully-grown bulb, because they do like to be pot bound.
Grow Haemanthus in a very well drained, medium. Start watering when the leaves appear normally after flowering Stop giving water when the leaves are turning yellow. Withhold any water until the leaves start to appear again!
A word of warning it is a not hardy bulb, keep it frost free!
Henk Westerhof
-
Paul we don't seem to have that problem, the Campsis is one of the oldest things in the garden so about 18 - 20 years old and it gets fiercely pruned every year which you would think would encourage any extra growths... of course when the neighbours complain about blocked drains I might have to think differently! ::)
-
Henk,
Haemanthus coccineus is not frost tender, at least not to -8'C at least. Never had any damage on it here at all, be it in the ground or pots, under cover or out in the open. Haemanthus albiflos on the other hand won't tolerate freezing at all.
I just mention this so that you know "frost free" definitely isn't required of this species, making way in your greenhouse perhaps for something else that does. ;D
Brian,
Good to hear that the campsis isn't a problem for you. As I said, it isn't always here, but can be.
-
Paul, you're off on the wrong track with my mystery bulb.... it IS a narcissus... it's Narcissus 'Twin Stars'
....a wonderful gift because it is unbelievably rare in the UK and not very well known even in New Zealand, where it was raised. Thanks, again, Jean :-* :-* :-*
-
see this page for pix and info about 'Twin Stars'
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=73.msg8018#new
Raised, of course, by Forumist Betty Clark !
-
ooohhh it's lovely Narcissus
Henk I have tried that Haemanthus a few times, ex garden centre, and could never get the bulb to break it's dormant period
-
Here are a couple of non-alpines lighting up my garden just now. Mina lobata, an annual climber with an amazing colour change trick as the flowers age, and Euonymus planipes, the 'Dingle Dangle Bush', for obvious reasons.
-
Close-ups. :o
-
Not exactly flowering, but I took this pic of an ivy growing up an igneous dyke behind the workshop at the University Marine Biological Station, Millport this week. It has not been pruned or altered in anyway.
-
That's fab, Anthony! Would make a good "what is this? photo.
-
Not sure where to put this, but it fell out of "The Scotsman". I get fed up of bulb catalogues which misinform the public. Not in a million years does Narcissus "Replete" look this good!!!!
-
Never seen such a thing, myself, that's for sure... it is just the verything that Paul T has been complaining about in the Daff pages... you can see how frustrating it is to be "promised" those colours and get nothing like it.
Lots of the same photo, doctored to be more or less pink, on the web for this plant.
:P
-
Yep, same photograph, but "The Scotsman" orderline is www.van******.com (rather not give their complete addy).
-
yikes run for the hills!! the daff I mean
-
http://daffseek.org/query-detail.php?photo3=422e8c295ad65b3614645fa444c4abac&pagenum1=1 (http://daffseek.org/query-detail.php?photo3=422e8c295ad65b3614645fa444c4abac&pagenum1=1) actually white and salmon pink
-
Mark, that pic of "replete" is actually better (to my mind) that the doctored version in my scanned ad. I do actually have a pot full, but they didnae flower last year ???.
-
1. Here is the first of my autumn-flowering snowdrops
Galanthus (nivalis) reginae-olgae
2. Narcissus cavanillesia (humilis) - very small and more interesting than
beautiful
3. Cotula turbinata from the Table Mountain, South Africa (not hardy
here)
4. Viola anagae from Tenerife, Canary Islands (flowering in spring
normally)
5. Cardiandra formosana (Hydrangeacea) - acquired yesterday
Gerd
-
Ah, Gerd has restored the sanity (maybe, like Groucho. we should have a sanity clause. Naaa.)
I've done a bit of editing, to restore a little more sanity! Maggi
-
Has anyone grown Dicentra macrocapnos this was from seed sown in May it has grown so quick and come into flower that I am worried it will be a pest.
Derek.
-
Looks like a very attractive pest Derek - don't know it's behaviour though :-\
-
Derek, I grew Dicentra macrocapnos for a few years and it was never a pest, never grew too big or got out of hand. It dies down in winter, and each year makes a few long thin clambering shoots up into nearby shrubs, The shoots are brittle and easy to pull out at the end of the year, only held by brittle twining tendrils, not a thug at all for me. And lovely flowers.
-
We used to grow a climbing Dicentra, which may have been D. macrocapnos ( not sure, Ian thought "macrantha") .....it had red tips to the flowers. Very pretty but it grew like a vine all over rhodos and was doing a grand job of strangling them. We pulled it out after a few years, and that wasn't an easy task. So, more research needed, I think, Derek, before you know how yours is likely to turn out. :-\
Ian thinks it certainly was macrocpanos but I have a sneaking suspicion about Dicentra scandens forma thalictrifolia ... because the foliage was very feathery.... but when I look up that plant is seems to suggest an altogether smaller growth habit... ours was rampant! So. I'm no further forward! Sorry.
-
Dicentra scandens is another climer. I've found they're there for a few years then are gone unless one grows on the seed.
Gerd, I think your little narcissus is a delight. The original split cup perhaps? :)
-
I've got this dicentra too. Doesn't seem to be too pesky on the whole and its flowers are a delight. But we went to Branklyn earlier this year on Sue's bus trip and saw this one. No idea what it is but its flowers were huge, probably an inch and a half long. Any ideas what it might have been. It was certainly a climber/scrambler.
-
Gerd,
Is that really a Narcisssus? It seems so unusual in form for a Narc. Rather nice though (I love the smaller species). Obviously enough I've never come across it before.
The climbing Dicentra I have here I got as Dicentra macrocarpa, with the pendulous yellow flowers to it. Fantiastic flowerer for months on end, and for me has grown really well. Grows from cuttings easily, and for me at least has never set a seed. I would hazard if given good enough conditions it could get rather large!! I do like that creamy white one that was posted by Chris. Other than D. scandens I didn't know that there WERE other climbing dicentras. I must look out for them as I would love to grow other species in different colours. Now if we could get a nice deep blue climber, THAT would be a corker!!
-
Paul, the only climbing Dicentras I've heard of are all yellow or creamy coloured. No other colours so far as I know.
-
Paul Crug Farm Plants
http://www.crug-farm.co.uk/plantlist.asp?code=Dicentra
list
Dicentra lichiangensis
Dicentra macrantha
Dicentra macrocapnos
Dicentra scandens
Dicentra scandens f. thalictrifolia
and the one I grew
Dicentra torulosa
so there must be more!
-
Having racked what remains of my braincells Chris I think you may have Adlumia fungosa (Google it for pictures), a climber often called the climbing bleeding heart. It seems to come in white as well as the form I used to grow which was a lovely raspberry milkshake pink. I shall have to try to source some seed again.
-
A lonely late Lewisia in my garden:
-
I have Lewisia flowering also
-
Verbascum splendidum collected north of Lake Egirdir, Turkey is flowering for the first time this year, and it really is a splendid specimen indeed rising close to 3m in height. ( I'm only 172 cm or 5'9'' )
-
From the weed walk this morning (amazing how quickly they spring up behind your back).
Tricyrtis x Empress and Clematis rehderiana.
-
Brian,
Nice Clematis. I've only ever seen small pics in books, so your large pic is great. What does the plant grow like (I've read descriptions in books, but they often don't reflect reality very closely). How large is it, what sort of habit, flower size etc (if you have the time to supply the info, and the inclination. :D).
Thanks in anticipation. It's a Clematis I have been interested in for a while, but never actually known anyone who grows it or knows it.
-
I spent some time recently (last week :D) hiking through the mountains of the south-western Cape photographing various plant species ranging from succulents in the Little Karoo to carnivorous plants near the coast. As expected I was not disappointed and came back with many good images to add to my collection (and to share with you!) - here are a few of them:
- two forms of Drosera cistiflora;
- a Hyobanche species (a root parasite);
- a Gibbaeum species (probably G. cryptopoda)
- and the charming flower of Gladiolus debilis
-
I had a sudden twinge of conscience - my postings are a little off topic as we don't grow many alpines in this country - I hope you don't mind!? :-\
-
Didn't you find them in the mountains - so why not calling them alpines ???
-
Paul,
Narcissus cavanillesia (humilis) was so strange for a daffodil that former botanists arranged it in a separate genus (Tapeinanthus). But later it turned out that it is a real Narcissus. It hybridisized with N. serotinus/miniatus with the result of N. x perezlarae - one of the most beautiful autumn flowering daffodils.
Gerd
-
Is anyone growing Narcissus x perezlarae ? If so, would you share photos with us when it flowers, please?
Rogan... don't worry, we are lovers of all plants here, especially those of the mountains, moorlands and wild places of the world... so these you are showing us fit in very well indeed :)
-
Here are a few pictures of presently flowers in my meadow.
Sternbergia sicula
-
Lovely Gladiolus Rogan
-
and grown to perfection too Franz.
-
Franz, have there been flowers which did not like to grow in your meadow? Everything looks so good and healthy there, I love it.
-
From the weed walk this morning (amazing how quickly they spring up behind your back).
Tricyrtis x Empress and Clematis rehderiana.
Lovely Tricyrtis Brian. I wish I had the correct facilities for it in my garden.
-
Maggi,
I grow Narcissus x perezlarae, but it seems they will not flower this year(they are so tricky). If I'll get a flowering specimen from a friend nearby you will receive a picture of course .
Gerd
-
Thank you, Gerd. The flowers (about 15-18cms?) look like a sort of spikey sternbergia, almost, do they not?
Which is a coincidence, since Franz has posted these pictures now!
-
Having read the notes on the crug Farm website (thank you Brian, for the link) I can see why Dicentra macrocapnos could create a bit of a stir, 7 - 10 metres in a season :o Fortunately, it dies right down at the end of the summer/autumn and regrows in the next spring.
-
I have Lewisia flowering also
So do I :)
-
Franz, your Sternbergia sicula is gorgeous! Maybe one day my tiny, single seedling (up a week ago from a 2003 sowing) will look just like yours. I hope so.
-
I have Lewisia flowering also
So do I :)
Me too, and last year my L. cotyledon hybrids were still flowering in December.
-
Paul,
Clematis rehderiana is vigorous, late flowering here and masses of cowslip-scented flowers - and they really are! It likes Sun and I think as it is in partial shade it is not too vigorous for me. I also prune it back hard in spring otherwise I could not cope with it as it can get to 6 metres. You can just about see that it has shot over the top of the fence and is flowering in the remains of next doors Wisteria (it never gets cut back :-X and I have to cut the foliage from our side to prevent it shading everything as it snakes over) It easily grows from seed ;)
In full sun on the other side of the kitchen area is a combination that I am quite pleased with (though hardly alpine!). Vernonia is surrounded by Bidens heterophylla and looking good now. My apologies for so many non-alpine postings :-[
-
Brian, seeing your neighbour's house is thatched, is your house thatched, also?
We have a Clematis, similar to Brian's but not quite the same, from seed collected by Alastair McKelvie in the Himalya.... must post a pic. It is flowering now, too.
Re the climbing Dicentra... yes, it dies back again each year, having strangled everything around it, and when you decide you've had enough, it has got roots like fat arms to try to dig out!! But, yes, it is very pretty!
-
Brian,
Please keep me in mind if you harvest seed from the Clematis. Cowslip scent as well sounds lovely. Didn't realise it was that large, but I'll find a place for it if I'm successful. I do rather like Clematis, currently have more than 65 different clematis growing in my garden (that doesn't include duplicates and seedlings either! ::)) I'm addicted to them (along with far too many other things).
I don't know how others feel but I've never found that this forum has been limited to alpines, or at least there are a lot of things posted here that are definitely not in that category. In my climate we don't grow that many true alpines as our summers are too hot, so I just post what I have in flower at the time (when I get the time to sort the pictures). I just love seeing all the unusual things that people grow elsewhere that aren't here!! Even if I am at times a tad jealous!! ;D
-
No we are not thatched Maggi - thank goodness as the insurance is phenomenal. The house next door won a prize for the thatcher as being the best thatch in East Anglia when it was first done (about 11 years ago), as is the case in East Anglia it was thatched with Norfolk Reed. Must go out and look for my sternbergias and colchicums!
-
Yes Paul! ;D
-
Here some pics more .... 8)
-
Maggi,
The flowers of Narcissus x perezlarae are of the size of those of Narcissus serotinus - 15 to 18 mm in diameter ( in cm would be a sensation).
Hans,
Nice pics, it seems your plants enjoy the favorable climatic conditions in your part ob Germany.
Gerd
-
Whilst in the garden this evening I heard a noise, turned round and found a hedgehog. Sadly by the time I had gone in and got my camera he had disappeared... so as I had it to hand a few more in flower now.
The amazing colour of Tithonia rotundiflora,
the second flush on Geum rivale,
late flowering Cleredendron bungeii,
the first flowers on my Daphne tangutica,
Autumn has arrived if Liriope muscari is in flower I always think,
another Eucomis very similar to biflora - possibly a seedling,
and last, but not least, the beautiful berries on Phytolaca americana.
-
Thank you all together for the kind comments. By the way
It grows only these plants in the meadow which like a meadow.
-
Nice flowers Hans. I liked your Rhodophilia bifida-are they difficult?
-
Nice flowers Hans. I liked your Rhodophilia bifida-are they difficult?
Hi David ,
they are not difficould -the only problem is to get they ;D ;D ;D
I have the pots with this bulbs in summer in my greenhouse under the tables -totaly dry !
On first of September I watering -after one week they start with flowering - they are a wintergrowing species of Rhodophiala -I hold it in my greenhouse in full sun ,every two weeks watering and some Tomato fertilizer - in spring stop with watering and rest -thats all !
Greetings
Hans
-
I grew Tithonia when I first got into gardening. Fabulous plants. Is the Bidens bulbous?
-
No Mark, I think it's stoloniferous... but don't take my word for it just in case! :-\
-
Don't apologise Brian for the non-alpines. I think what Maggi would like is more alpines but not fewer other things. Hope so anyway. That's what WE want. More of everything.
I thought that white beside your clematis was my most favourite thing, Rubus x Tridel `Benendon' but then realized, being autumn with you, that it's probably a white Anemone japonica.
-
Yes Lesley 'tis Anemone japonica, such a lovely white against a grotty fence panel ;D
-
Gerd, I meant the size in cms for the height of the stem and flower! But this is still too big, perhaps, so 10cms tall?
Brian, you have a never ending stream of goodies in your garden.
I am having a bit of a "thatch" obsession just now, since Ian returned from his visit down to Jane and Rod Leeds and stayed with them in their delightful thatched house and he was lucky enough to visit another and see lots of super "oldie worldie " houses, half-timbered et al...lovely! Even the village hall the Group held their meeting in was thatched! Such fun!
-
Meant to say, too, that our Clematis, which is quite like Brian's, has no discernible scent, though I nearly inhaled half of it when testing it today! The flowers are so tiny and only coming out so only singles to sniff at once... in a day or two when it really gets going I'll try again!
-
Maggi, Ian went to the right place to see some lovely thatched houses including Jane & Rod Leeds. The bonus there of course is their wonderful garden and glasshouses ... am I green?
-
Loving the pictures everyone. Hans, that Narcissus humilis is unusual too!! Learning quite a bit from this thread!!
The thatched roof house Brian posted is pretty impressive too.... not exactly something we see a lot of around these parts!! ;D
Thanks for the pics everyone.
-
Howdy All,
Hearkening back to the August "flowering now" thread........ I noted yesterday that there are small points coming up in the seed pot of the Veratrum nigrum seed I got from Toolie last year. I don't recall anything coming up last year, but these do look like reasonably substantial and I would have assumed that they weren't fresh germination? How big ARE the initial cotyledons as they emerge from the soil? Nothing has unfurled or anything close to that as yet, but there are solid points coming up all through the pot. Given how neatly they are spread I would imagine that they are all second season, and that I missed them last year. I am particularly pleased, having thought that they had never / were never going to germinate.
Now how many years will I have to wait for them to mature in my conditions? Probably a lot longer than whereever they naturally grow, if most other things are anything to go by! ;D
I'm most chuffed to have them up, and don't want to wait for them to mature and flower (but of course know that no matter how much I may not want to.... I'm still going to have to!! ::)).
-
The bonus there of course is their wonderful garden and glasshouses ... am I green?
Well, you're just a bit green round the edges, Brian! And why not! Lovely place, indeed and with the added bonus of two lovely kittens to play with!
Paul, i haven't grown Veratrum from seed so I'm no help to you... good luck with the seedlings, though!
-
Here in southern Germany has startet Galanthus with flowering :
Galanthus reginae olgae from Taigetos Mts.
Also a pic from today from my Sternb. lutea -this plants grows in a sunny border
-
Nice elegant Gal. reginae-olgae, Hans. Was it from the Jim Archibald collection in the Taigetos?
-
No Martin - it is not from the Archibald collection ;D
-
green tipped?
-
:D - yes ;)
-
;D Hi Maggi ;D
Now I have seen my new description on my atavar -this is very nice from you !!!
Also I have seen when I look for unread messages -there is written :
MARK ALL MESSAGES AS READ
mhhhhhhh - I know my english is not so well .....
but I think it's must be changend ( from Mr. Admin )
I think better would be :
MARK S. HAS ALL MESSAGES READ
only a joke ::) ::) ::)
-
Beautiful galanthus Hans, we have the joy of Autumn snowdrops to come ;D
Paul I seem to remember from the back of my mind, somewhere amongst the dust, that Veratrum does take a long time 10 months + to germinate so perhaps you are OK ;)
-
Maggi I went to Anne Borrill's today to make me feel a bit better. Her sternbergias (parents of mine) were flowering beautifully as was Scilla autumnalis.
-
Maggi,
Sorry for the delay (this forum is much too fast for me), you are right in your first presumption, Narcissus x perezlarae can have a flowering stalk of around 15 cm.
Gerd
-
I nearly forgot to add these Sternbergia pics from today
1. Sternbergia greuteriana (I hope so) from Crete
2. Sternbergia lutea in my raised bed in the middle of the garden
Gerd
-
Gerd, look for a picture of S. greuteriana in the Bulb Log: www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2006/270906/log.html
-
Mark, can you really see green tips on that G. reginae-olgae pic from Hans?!!! Since you posted, I've looked again and I can just about make out a slight green tinge to the petal against the flower stem, but not sure if it's my imagination. Or was there (as Maggi likes to say) a clue?
-
Hans,
Nice green-tipping on the G. reginae-olgae. Not something I've seen on that species before. I rather like the elegant pointing to the petals as well.
Brian,
Nice to know I'm not the only one who has dust back there in the back of my mind (or at times it's right there in the front of my mind as well! :o). Maybe this IS just their germination. Nicely evenly spaced, which should help. Now I just have to wonder how long I leave them before repotting. They're only in a small pot so later in the season I may just repot the whole thing into a larger pot to give them some room. Depends of course on how quickly they seem to be growing. Thanks for the feedback.
-
Paul, I've just taken some pics of my Veratrum seedlings and I'll post them on the early spring in the SH thread, as they're hardly flowering now in Sept in the NH ;D
-
I've been back looking at the galanthus pic, too! I do see green smudging on the petals, I've pinched the pic... see here....
[attach=1]
Gerd, thanks for note re Narcissus x perezlarae .
I think your Sternbergia greuteriana is not right.
Thank you, Franz, for the Bulb Log reference to Ian's pic of it.
Hans, I am pleased you like your description!! :-*
I think you are correct about the messages notice... ;D
-
Maggi, I obiously need some new eyeballs. (Pssst! Mark! Maggi has been successfully infected at last. I'll report back to the Great White Mothership. Soon this puny Earth planet shall be ours. All praise the Great Whiteness!)
-
Here is what I found today
1. the fragrant flowers of Heptacodon jasminioides (Caprifoliaceae)
2. the strange capsules of Viola pubescens (pensylvanica)
3. Merendera montana
Gerd
-
Is the Great White Mothership Mrs. O?
-
Mark, I was doing a silly aliens thing - who is 'Mrs O.' ?
-
Oh my God! Have I stumbled across something I'm not supposed to know about? Is there a scary mafiosa-style snowdrop-cult boss called 'Mrs. O.' sitting in half-shadows somewhere stroking a one-eyed white cat and saying at this very moment into the speaker phone: " Agent Smyth, deal with zis upstart novice Baxendale before he gives away all our ancient secrets! And make it slow and very, verrrry painful...stamp on his bulbs!! Wa-hahahahaha!"
Or have I just had one drink too many?
-
Ah! I'm with you, Mark! M.O. ! Def. one drink too many! I'm inking pencil drawings for a new cartoon book on auto-pilot tonight. A bottle of good wine makes it go a lot quicker. :P
-
Happily, right next to my Farmers' Market, and in the old railway staton building, there has opened today, a business called Scotia. It has a whisky bar with 300!!! different Scotch whiskies. Roger and I are going to sample a few tonight. A mad piper was around the market this morning, to mark the occasion.
-
If they have Springbank Lesley try that ;D
-
spot on Martin. I would call her Queen of Snowdrops and at the heart of Galanthophilia.
Can you do a drawing of a stereotypical Galanthophile?
-
Okay, back track, please... WHO is M. O ?
I know who Lydia is; she's the tattooed lady.
-
Margaret Owen. Mark knows her better than I do, Maggi, so he can tell you more about her than I can. In fact I don't really know her at all, just visited her garden once during a snowdrop gala in Shropshire with a load of others. She's a snowdrop grower of course.
-
If they have Springbank Lesley try that ;D
They have, and I shall.
-
I'm glad you asked, Maggi. ??? The White Fever does send you mad then :P
-
The first Gentiana sino-ornata and Androsace villosa
Hans
-
Wow! I've always wanted to grow Gentiana spp, but they really hate my climate and don't survive much beyond the seedling stage :( However I do grow some African relatives of the gentian, Sebaea (...and some of them can be classed as alpines too!) - here is a picture of a Sebaea species growing on the muddy banks of a mountain stream in the Drakensberg mountains.
-
An unusual variety of Narcissus miniatus (serotinus). Maybe there is some introgression from N. viridiflorus or N. cavanillesia.
Gerd
-
Here comes some pics more of N. serotinus
First are from a friend ( thanks Gerd )
next are from the island of Menora
and the last from Apulia
-
Also now today startet a other Galanthus :
Gal. regiane olgae f. corcyrensis
-
Here are some pics from a new descriptet Cacti :
Hildewinteria colademonones
Cacti are here a bit uncommon -but as Thomas says - all from mountains are alpine......
-
Gerd, Hans, do you think it is because you have warmer weather than we do here that you can get these flowers on your N. serotinus ? we have more leaves than flowers :-[
Hans, I am not sure that this IS a cactus, I think your cat's tail is flowering ::)..... and such a bright nice red, too.
-
Maggi - yes I think it is because the warmer wether !
If you have ever seen this plants on natural habitat -so you know it
I grow my Narcissus the whole summer in my bulbframe -without any drop of water -on 01. of September I water it ....thats all !
Maggi - my compliment ::) ::) ::)
You are real good - the name of this Cacti is for the indians "Cola de Monones" - this means :
Tail of ape ......
Maybe you should make new descriptions of Cacti !!! ;D
-
So, you have an ape for a pet and not a cat? ??? ::) :o
-
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssss :-X :-X :-X
But have you ever seen such a beautiful ape tail ?
-
Now serious :
Here is a pic from today from a nice Allium ( a friend of this group give it me )
Allium stellatum
-
good pink Allium... is it American?
-
Yes Maggi - as location has given me my friend :
Pine Hills - Illinois - USA
-
Do you grow it outside, Hans?
-
No - I fear ......
I have it in winter in my greenhouse ( minimum of 5° C ) without water - in April I water this bulbs and grow it unter the roof of my greenhouse ....
-
Hi Hans,
I've had this same collection outside in a raised fully exposed sand bed and it is completely hardy. With perfect drainage you should be fine with it outside. I was fascinated this year to watch pure white buds give way to the lovely pink flowers - a nice contrast as the flowers open. It has set a lot of seed, the bees are hardly ever away from it.
Best,
John
-
Hi John ,
Thank you for your information - but for me is it easier to grow it in a pot .....my space in the borders....
Many greetings
Hans
-
That is a very nice allium, especially as it flowers in autumn - how big is it?
-
That is a very nice allium, especially as it flowers in autumn - how big is it?
Hi Anne ,
I will look tomorrow and write you again - may be I will have seeds later .....
-
;)
-
After a lack of flower spikes last year Rhodophiala bifida sent up 2 this year. It must like the neglect I have lavished on it.
-
Love those pics of N. serotinus (Hans, the seed from you is doing well!!) and I have to agree with Maggi about the cat tail. Even being familiar with that sort of Cactus, that particular one does look like a cat tail. They certainly are better flowers than I've seen on those types of cactus though..... the ones I have seen in the past are much more of a tubular type of flower, the one that springs to mind immediately has irridescent green flowers.
-
Welcome to the new Forum John. I often think of you, as I look at all those pots of Trillium seed - and not a damn thing in them, as yet. Hope I live to be 100!
Yes, definitely a cat's tail.
-
That is a very nice allium, especially as it flowers in autumn - how big is it?
Hi Anne ,
Now I could look for you about the size of this Allium :
the leaves are 12 cm long
the stalk is 30 cm long
the flower has a diameter of 5 cm
I hope this helps
Hans
-
Dianthus crinitus is still sporting a few flowers. It forms a nice clump of grey-green leaves in a couple of years. Growing outdoors in the rock garden with protection from winter rain.
-
Dianthus crinitus is still sporting a few flowers. It forms a nice clump of grey-green leaves in a couple of years. Growing outdoors in the rock garden with protection from winter rain.
That one I like.
-
Paul,
Interesting Dianthus. Any idea why it is citrinus? Usually indicates something yellow, or else has a citrus smell to it? The flower looks white on my screen, so I thought I'd ask. Interesting form to it though.
-
Maggi,
to your question of Sept. 17th (No. 164):
I had a long phonecall concerning autumn flowering daffodils with Hans today. Hans is right, he is more successful than I am because he enjoyed warmer summers and more sunshine than we do in the north.
Because of the cold and wet summer I have a very bad display of flowers this year, the plants shown here are the only ones which reached flowering stage, leaves are always numerous.
Gerd
-
Thank you, Gerd.
-
This year I planted over 50 tigridia pavonia before I went on holiday, they were all plantlets about 2-3cm high. The rabbits enjoyed them but here is one that got away, with no spots. Variegated plants are not my favourite but here is one that I allow in - Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata', the variegated obedient plant. The amicia zygomeris is beginning to flower this first bloom is in the wrong position to get a decent full frontal so here it is from the side, and another pea flower, very much smaller as you can see (its a 7cm pot) Lathyrus neurolobus. The seed is like dust.
-
This year I planted over 50 tigridia pavonia before I went on holiday, they were all plantlets about 2-3cm high. The rabbits enjoyed them but here is one that got away, with no spots. Variegated plants are not my favourite but here is one that I allow in - Physostegia virginiana 'Variegata', the variegated obedient plant. The amicia zygomeris is beginning to flower this first bloom is in the wrong position to get a decent full frontal so here it is from the side, and another pea flower, very much smaller as you can see (its a 7cm pot) Lathyrus neurolobus. The seed is like dust.
Brian, I assume you grew your Tigridia from seed? How long did they take to get to planting out size please and what time of year did you sow them?
-
I hang my head in shame to say my Tigridia never made it out of the bag. If you Google them you'll see photos of unmarked flowers
-
I assume you grew your Tigridia from seed?
Sorry David I didn't, they were extremely cheap and I thought an instant fix for when the garden was open! I planted them in pots and put them out to lessen the watering for our good samaritan whilst we were away. I have cast seed around in the past willy-nilly but they have not made it through the opposition. This year I may well have a go at looking after them properly ::)
-
Brian, I assume you grew your Tigridia from seed? How long did they take to get to planting out size please and what time of year did you sow them?
Not Brian, but...
They'll show a few flowers the second year from an autumn sowing, germinating in the spring. Best in a well-drained sunny site that is also well-watered.
-
Lesley, the Trilliums should be up by now. I just wonder if, being from down there, you planted them upside down!!! ;D
How about the other seed I sent, has anything shown from that? Can't remember what there was. I sent things all over the place around about that time.
-
Paul, look at the spelling. It's Dianthus crinitus not citrinus. :) But what is wrong with the stem?
-
Hi John, I have about 50 pots of Trillium seed from John Lonsdale and David Mellard, both in the States. They started to arrive in 2003, through to last year. Not a thing has germinated yet though the seed itself still looks in excellent condition. I had hopes this spring because we had a relatively cold winter, down to -10 or 12 C.
Your T. erectum hasn't germinated either but everything else you sent has done, all within a year, the longest being Narc. watieri but that all came through and is up again now, really nice little bulbs and I wouldn't be at all surprised, from their size, if I get some flowers next year. Frit. purdyi has done exceptionally well as have the other daffs. The two Silenes flowered well. No seed on ssp. bolanderi but masses on the Ingrammi Grp form. Now I think of it, Iris afghanica (?hyb) isn't up either but oncos and regelias can take forever. I had a seed come up last week on I. kirkwoodii that I sowed 10 years ago!
So there will be quite a few reminders of John Forrest's generosity, as they are planted out in the garden.
-
Nerine masonorum is sometimes confused with Nerine filifolia. I think this is N masonorum, certainly that is the name it arrived with. Easy under cold glass here it coped with being potbound for at least the last 5 years. Repotted and divided this summer (it never quite loses its leaves) it has responded with a generous show of the small flowers. Each about the size of my thumbnail, they make a great show en masse.
-
The colour and the frilliness are right, and the dark red buds, but usually it has a rounded flower head, or slightly flattish on top.
-
Hi Maggi and Lesley !!!
You write :
Maggi :"So, you have an ape for a pet and not a cat?"
Lesley:"Yes, definitely a cat's tail."
So - please look here :
Thats the difference ;) ;) ;)
-
Now I realise the difference, Hans ;D I think the cat's tail needs more watering to make the flowers! :o
-
Hans
So the cat that has dug down in the sand has two tails of which one is blomming ::) That is amazing ;D :o
Nice cat
Joakim
-
Mhhhh- yes Maggi - but my cat "Felix" means he has to get more feed ;D
water is not so interesting for him ...
-
Some milk for him, then , to cool him as he lies enjoying the sunshine.
Our Lily dog is lying in the sun... "helping" Ian as he sows seeds. She especially likes to help in the sunshine. 8)
-
Maggi,
It isn't helping..... it's overseeing. Making sure that he does it right. "Helping" would involve effort, which would mean the sunshine couldn't be enjoying as much!! ;D
Hans,
If you're REALLY going to do a proper comparison you need to have the cat, the cacti and an ape all in the same picture. Do you think you can arrange that for us? That would make sure we could tell which it looked the most like. Some nice lemur I think would be a suitable tail for comparison purposes!! ;)
-
Maggi - do you know why this animals laying in the sun ?
The reason is can not eat ( like human ) vitamin A - but the sun helps to produce this viatamin self
Paul - you are rigth !!! -but we have not so much money here ....maybe you could send me one ?
-
Hans,
Gee, I would...... but I got rid of my last lemur only a week ago. Now if it had been before then I would have sent it to you. Honest!!! ;D
I don't think we even have the right type of lemur at the zoo here in Canberra, so a night time ape-napping wouldn't be of much help either. :o
DEspite all that.... the Cactus really is rather spectacular, with those strong red flowers and the pale spines. You must be pleased with it having such a nice floral display at the moment. The cat's quite nice as well!! :)
-
Yes, both Lily and Felix are helping themselves by their sun-bathing. :)
Paul, Lily says she IS HELPING....her very presence assits Ian by making his surrounding and view (her) more pleasant and relaxed. She is a small dog with big opinions 8)
-
Paul ,
In this days is the daugther of a friend of mine for a trip ( half year ) in Australia ....maybe if she will travel back to Germany she could bring me such a lemure ;D
Again to this cacti :
This is a really rare new species - it was found before few years ( 2003 ) and it's descriptet from Krahn & Diers , I'm normaly not so interestet for this kind of cacti but a friend has offered me a part of a plant -this is orginal material from the finder !
This plants ( I have testet self ) are not self fertil - but I know from a other friend that he has bought some seeds - if you are interestet so I will look for the source .
The interesting of this story is that the genus Hildewinteria was for a long time a monotypical genus
( H. auerispina ) and now is found a second species ....
-
It is good that your plant is flowering so soon, then. It is so exciting to have such a rare plantwhich is happy.
-
Maggi - with Cactus I have never problems -I grow it since more than 30 years ....
-
A cat's tail definitely, only difference being lack of stripes. And anyway, apes don't have tails! Re the Canberra zoo. I read recently that the only difference between a UK zoo and and an Australian zoo is that in Australia, on the outside of the enclosure there's a "recipe" card. ;D
-
I read recently that the only difference between a UK zoo and and Australian zoo is that in Australia, on the outside of the enclosure there's a "recipe" card.
Laughing so happily at that one, lesley, I nearly choked on the drink I am having to celebrate David's birthday ;)
-
Lesley,
Ooooh, that hurts!! :'( As if we'd eat any of those cute, adorable, tasty, endangered (particularly if anyone is intending to eat them) animals in the zoo. I'm mortified!! :o
And just in case anyone thinks this is serious ::).... it's a joke!! ;D
But, did you realise that Australia is the only country that eats the animals on it's coat of arms? Kangaroos and Emus are on the menu in many places throughout Australia. Then again, we have to cull Kangaroos to keep them down in numbers in lots of places too, so we might as well put them to some use. They really can breed when the conditions are right.
-
But, did you realise that Australia is the only country that eats the animals on it's coat of arms? Kangaroos and Emus are on the menu in many places throughout Australia.
There you are then. Enough said!
-
;D ;D
I thought we were very generous in giving you NZ's those cute furry things called possums!! ;D Did we give you white cockatoos? If we didn't we should be giving you some of the ones that are here in Canberra to excess. Paul, I suspect we are also the only country that culls kangaroos by road kill!! The biggest cause of accidents in Canberra are people hitting kangaroos.
-
some new pics from today :
-
Rain and high winds here today have not been kind to my Autumn Crocus. :'( Yours are looking nice Hans.
-
;D ;D
I thought we were very generous in giving you NZ's those cute furry things called possums!! ;D Did we give you white cockatoos? If we didn't we should be giving you some of the ones that are here in Canberra to excess. Paul, I suspect we are also the only country that culls kangaroos by road kill!! The biggest cause of accidents in Canberra are people hitting kangaroos.
I thought kangaroos were lovable creatures, well they were when I used to watch 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo' Boy, does that age me!
-
I thought we were very generous in giving you NZ's those cute furry things called possums!! ;D Did we give you white cockatoos? If we didn't we should be giving you some of the ones that are here in Canberra to excess. Paul, I suspect we are also the only country that culls kangaroos by road kill!! The biggest cause of accidents in Canberra are people hitting kangaroos.
I also suspect you are Graham, after all, not a lot of other countries have kangaroos in excess :) No, we didn't get the cockatoos though there are a few kookaburras in the far north. They haven't spread though.
David, proves we are the same age. I loved Skippy too.
-
Ah, so we're all around 38 then are we? I used to watch it while growing up as well!! ;D
When they're little they're lovable..... it's just that they continue eating when they grow up!! Big ones are over 6 foot tall, so they can make a BIG mess of a car. >:(
-
Here are Cyclamen parviflorum (!), Cyclamen hederifolium with silver leaves, dog-roses near the river Rhine and Sorbus reducta showing fall colours.
Gerd
-
That's right Paul. I'm 38 years old, which is doing really well, because I was 39 just a few months ago. :D
Lovely red autumn colour there Gerd. My favourite time of year I think, though spring is lovely of course.
-
Hello,
Sternbergia sicula, from my friend Gerd.
-
Skippy, Skippy
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy, Skippy
Skippy, our friend ever true
-
Here are some pics from yesterday and this morning
1. Viola pedata bicolor -a second flush of flowers is not uncommon,
this time only a single blossom
2. Cyclamen cyprium -very early with an interesting leaf pattern
3. Narcissus miniatus -with unusual coloration
4. Narcissus serotinus - the ' real one ', i.e. the corona does not turn
to orange as N. miniatus does
5. Lychnis wilfordii
6. Salvia uliginosa
Finally some autumn colors
7. Acer campestre
8. Disanthus cercifolius (Hamamelidaceae)
Gerd
-
Beautiful plants Gerd!,
This color in N. miniatus reminds me the colour of N. perez-larae.
All the best
-
Rafa, I have not seen N. x perez-larae : this is a natural hybrid of N. serotinus and N. cavanillesii , is it?
-
I love the bicoloured viola Gerd. I just have the "ordinary" plain coloured form. It's beautiful though. I have several plants but they still don't give me any seed.
-
Lesley, I find that these violas are amongst the strange types which in their first year they don't make visable flowers but set seed. They then flower the second year onwards but I have never again found seed. The first time I grew them from seed I threw them all out thinking they were the wrong thing, someone then told me what happened. I find they seeded around on the benches even becoming a pest. It might be worthwhile buying in some seed to get the cycle going, I don't know if I still have any 1 year old plants which will produce seed, I will have a look.
-
That's really interesting Susan, a new thought to me. but I don't think that happened here. Mine were from seed from Jim Waddick in the USA ("Iris of China") and they flowered in about 1 year from seed and do flower well each year but I've looked carefully for seed and found nothing. Some others, like V. koreana e.g. flower in spring but no seed, then in the autumn don't flower but make cleistogamic seed. I hoped pedata would do that too, but not so far. They're about 4 years old.
-
Here are a couple of plants from my garden at present. I am still waiting for the crocus to start
The fascicularia flowered last year as well does anyone know whether these flowered rosettes are best removed?
The other plant is aconitum hemslyeanum a herbaceous climber which I raised from AGS seed. Used to be called volubile before those dammed botanists got a smell
-
Lesley, I find that these violas are amongst the strange types which in their first year they don't make visable flowers but set seed. They then flower the second year onwards but I have never again found seed. The first time I grew them from seed I threw them all out thinking they were the wrong thing, someone then told me what happened. I find they seeded around on the benches even becoming a pest. It might be worthwhile buying in some seed to get the cycle going, I don't know if I still have any 1 year old plants which will produce seed, I will have a look.
Susan,
Are you sure that you are talking about Viola pedata and not about V. pedatifida or one of the other numerous violets with diveded leaves? It is known that pedata is not able to produce seeds in a cleistogamous way (without open flowers).
It was not unusual to receive Viola pedatfida when I ordered pedata, even from US - seeddistribution.
Gerd
-
You're right there Gerd. I received V. pedatifida from several sources, as V. pedata and almost gave up in despair until a plea on Alpine-L brought a generous response from Jim Waddick in Kansas. V. pedatifida seeds about freely while pedata doesn't at all, at least, not with me.
Ian I'm dismayed at the name change for Aconitum volubile. I've just written out a new, permanent label for mine. Yours may have been my seeds as I've sent it to AGS a couple of times in the last few years. It's such an attractive plant, everyone should have it.
I don't think I'd be removing the flowered rosettes of the Fascicularia unless they died, as some do, Saxifraga for instance. What an interesting plant. I don't know that one at all. What family is it? A bromeliad maybe? The flowers look like a small version of Puya blooms. Did you get seed from it?
-
Lesley nice to know the aconitum came from a good home. I have 2 or 3 nice plants now which give a good show at this time of the year.
I think you are right it is a bromeliad and like the puya comes from Chile but is hardier at least with me. I am not sure about the seeds as I did not try to save them last year because it does produce offsets, but I will look after it has finished flowering and if it does and you are interested let me know
-
Yes Gerd, it was pedatafida, I mistakenly thought this was the plain version of the bicoloured pidata, I just persumed the reason why I never got pedata seed was that my plants were origionally cuttings.
I have another species of viola that drives me mad seeding about everywhere without flowering, what a weed >:(
-
Yes Gerd, it was pedatafida, I mistakenly thought this was the plain version of the bicoloured pidata, I just persumed the reason why I never got pedata seed was that my plants were origionally cuttings.
I have another species of viola that drives me mad seeding about everywhere without flowering, what a weed >:(
Unfortunately seeding around and no open flowers is the behaviour of
most of the Japanese violets, especially of those from the Adnatae section, such as chaerophylloides, mandshurica, variegata etc., etc.
All of them most attractive according pictures but maybe only in Japan.
Gerd
-
Two seed pods of a tropical Crinum sp. from Mexico sitting on a book shelf. One has sprouted a shoot. :o
-
Poor little things, Anthony, plant them for goodness' sake :-\
-
Already done. I was expecting them to produce seeds or just shrivel up. :-\ Here's a pic of the plant in flower. It's not a crinum but the Beach Spider Lily (Hymenocallis littoralis ).
-
Pretty thing, looks like a Pancratium to me......have those taxonomists been at it again?
-
New World vs Old World? Both are amyrillids.
-
saw loads of them in Belize also
-
Hello, another mexican plant, Tigridia chiapensis
-
jaw dropping stunning!
Itchy fingers will now make me search for Tigridia on the 'net
-
Thank you Mark,
Maggi, about Narcissus x perez-larae, you are right it's an hybrid bethween these species but I'm not sure as we know populations with N. serotinus and N. x perez-larae but without any testimony of N. cavanillesii. The first locataton of N. cavanillesii is hundred km far from this particular population.
Here some pictures from my friend Carles Jiménez Box of N. x perez-larae.
Sorry, I have to make a correction, the mixed population is even more bizarre as it is between N. miniatus and N. x perelzarae
-
I did not know of this difference with N. cavanillesii being so distant. A mystery with the parents, then?
Thank you for the pictures... it is an unusual "soft" colour.
The sharp focus of the Tigridia is perfect, by the way, such a delight to share these pictures, thank you.
-
What ever that narcissus's parents are it is beautiful and worthy of a place in cultivation.
-
It's fascinating - I wouldn't even have recognised it as a daffodil!
-
Well, what's 100 kms between friends? We all up sticks and go for a little holiday now and then. Maybe N. cavanillesii decided to do the same. "Look you lot, I'm thoroughly tired of ironing all those yellow dresses and fighting off the flower pickers. You can take over for a couple of weeks. I'm off to visit my daffy friends for a while." And we all know that while on holiday we get up to things we wouldn't do at home. Well, some of us do or we used to.
-
Today with bright sunshine I visited the area around Nettersheim in the Eifel (south of Cologne) hoping to find some Colchicums flowering. Although there were heavy rains and the plants are situated in an area which was flooded at Saturday I was not disappointed.
1. Colchicum autumnale, grass with signs of the flood
2. - 5. Colchicums (all near the river Urft)
6. An old roman milestone erected near the meadow with colchicums
7. Landscape near Nettersheim
8. - 10. Römisches Matronenheiligtum (Roman Matrons Sanctuary) near Nettersheim
- it seems, some people still adore these old godesses of Celtic - Germanic origin. Please believe me it was not me who left the colchicum flower there, it was a young mother with her child.
Gerd
-
Here is the rest of my Eifel-trip
1. Fruits of Euonymus europaeus
2. Populus tremula - leaves
3. Fruits of Rhamnus catharticus
Gerd
-
Thank you Gerd - It loos like a wonderful day :)
-
Gerd, nice impressions from the Eifel.
My Sternbergia lutea please me every year.
-
I really like the Matrons' Sanctuary. We could do with a few of those in many different places.
-
It is great to see the old stone carvings at the Sanctuary. Some sort of sandstone?
-
It is great to see the old stone carvings at the Sanctuary. Some sort of sandstone?
These are replicas which were damaged regularly (see last pic with the colchicum). The originals are safe in a museum. I think the material is sandstone or limestone.
Gerd
-
My favorite Gentians blooming in September-October: Gentianopsis crinita and an 18-year-old plant of Gentiana asclepiadaea, growing in a dryish, mostly shaded spot.
-
I like that Gentianopsis Gene. I've seen nothing like it before. Can it be grown happily from seed?
-
The Gentianopsis flowers are stunningly beautiful to my eye. They seem a little unreal to me. They are like an artist's version of what an ideal wildflower would look like.
They are a delicate, weak-growing biennial plant. Some seeds germinate in Fall, some in Spring. For the first year, the plants are small and barely seem to be growing. They need protection from Everything. I find that they need to be treated more like a bog plant than an alpine: lots of water, not too hot, part shade, regular feeding. They may like lime. In the second year, if they are happy, they will make a "big" rosette of leaves in Spring, and a flowering stem in late Summer. In Portland, they bloom in September and October. It may be best to grow them in the greenhouse, even though they are very hardy, since they seem to disappear over winter outdoors in my climate. They also seem to need hand pollination, if you want seed.
I don't know if they are producing seed, but if they are, I would be happy to share some.
-
Gene,
Glorious colour. I love the arrangement with the flowers all along the arching stem. Very beautiful plant!!