Roscoea purpurea f. rubra / 'Red Gurkha'

[GordonT]

I am wondering if any forumists  who are growing Roscoea purpurea forma rubra / 'Red Gurkha' have any seed on offer? Sadly there are very few Roscoea species or hybrids available in Atlantic Canada, and I have yet to find a north American source for R. purpurea f. rubra. Feel free to message me if you have any information that might help me in my search.

[WimB]

I'd love to give you some but none of the purpurea cultivars ever set seed in my garden! Never heard of anyone in Belgium who got seeds from their R. purpurea, I guess there's something about our climate they don't like.

[GordonT]

Thanks, Wim. I'm having to replace my R. purpurea plants this year- I lifted them last year, and replanted them- but they were too shallowly planted for the extra hard winter we had last year. I guess I'll have to hunt for seed some more! Cheers, and a Happy New Year to you!

[Lesley Cox]

I know of gardeners in at least 5 countries (inc NZ) who would welcome a source of seed of this lovely form. Maybe it doesn't set much seed and I suppose anyone who has seed may sow whatever they can gather.

[GordonT]

I know of gardeners in at least 5 countries (inc NZ) who would welcome a source of seed of this lovely form. Maybe it doesn't set much seed and I suppose anyone who has seed may sow whatever they can gather.

Hello Leslie- I think you are onto something there. I know more than a few souls across Canada who would likely walk across Hot coals for this one (I might waver a bit, before taking that step). Hopefully it will get into international circulation before too long.

I enjoyed reading your blog about moving house and garden- trust that all is well in your newer location. At one point you commented about an unknown winter blooming cherry you had found. You may have already discovered the identification or moved on to greater things, but in case you are still hunting for a name, I suspect your plant is Prunus x subhirtella 'Autumnalis'

Cheers, and all the best to you in 2014 from southern Nova Scotia.

Gordon

[Lesley Cox]

Hello to you Gordon. Nice to hear from another Nova Scotian. Do you know our favourite, JW?

Yes, thanks, a local friend gave me the name of the cherry, so that's one more down, plenty to go. Oddly, the ones I don't know are almost all native trees and shrubs which in many cases I find a bit boring. (Fire and brimstone are about to descend on my head!), but there are some nice maples, philadelphus, and assorted other things I'm very happy to have. I'm even getting accustomed to being surrounded by roses and have decided to keep at least some.

Today being New Year's Day (here) I have the usual set of resolutions to get on with and one is that I'll resurrect my Blog 661 and try to keep a weekly bit coming along. It's quite cool here at present. NY'sD is usually hot but this year no-one is sweating much or desperate to get to the nearest beach so maybe some time on the Blog. As well, I want to be the first to start a Southern Hemisphere thread here on the Forum. How's that for childish?

[GordonT]

Hi Lesley,

I know of the famous JW, but have yet to meet him. Several friends of mine know him, but our paths have yet to cross. Another contributor you may know from these parts is Kristl Walek. She stopped in the other day to pick up a few seeds from me (Kniphofia triangularis and Gillenia trifoliata - otherwise known as Porteranthus trifoliatus).

Some day I hope to make it to New Zealand. My partner has visited the South Island before, and would go back in a heartbeat if the fares weren't so expensive from the other side of the globe!

Please do revisit blog 661! I am still catching up on everything- being a new member here, and will enjoy reading about your adventures in the new location.

By the way, what breed are your chickens? We now have Black Australorps, and added three Embden geese to the menagerie earlier in August. Sadly our young gander 'Oscar' is no longer with us, due to a night visit by a pack of Coyotes the moment the ponds froze solid. I tried to coax them off the ice before nightfall, but none of them were hearing it! Had the ice been thicker, I would have walked out on it and shooed them into protective custody, but couldn't risk falling through into 2.5 m deep icewater. The other two- 'Gwendolyn' and 'Evelina' are securely housed, and have reached an understanding with their chicken flatmates. Cheers from the year just past!