Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: mark smyth on November 14, 2006, 11:44:16 PM
-
Lets get this flowering now page up and running again.
Not in my garden but that of Margaret Glynn is this lovely Cercidiphyllum
-
Thanks, Mark. The Cercidiphyllum has leaves that smell of chocolate, is that right?
-
the computer says uh uhhh! Candy floss, carmelised sugar
-
Maggi, Mark's right Cercidifolium japonicum leaves smell very strongly of candy floss and caramelised sugar/toffee apples when they take on their autumn colour. I have 2 small ones in the garden and the smell is really incredible. Better still are the big ones at Westonbirt Arboretum near here, which you can smell a hundred yards away on a still, moist day! Delicious!
-
We planted a C. japonicum last year and it smelled great but this year there was next to no smell at all. Does the weather have anything to do with it. It has been so mild that it was not until today, 15 November, that we had our first frost.
-
David, the smell only develops as the leaves are about to drop and are starting to shrivel a bit, having fully coloured. It's quite fleeting, smells strongest when the air's moist, and is easily missed if you're not out near them at just the right time and in the right conditions. The leaves develop their smell without frost, but a cold snap may help.
-
Here are some things flowering now. The first is Mec integrefolia, hope this doesn't mean that it won't form a heart for the winter. The second is another that I grew from SSSE49 seed, it was meant to be also mec. integrefolia, can't wait to see what it turns out to be as it looks perennial. Has anyone else flowered this collection. The 3rd photo is a chinese corydalis flowering I supose out of time.
-
looks as if only the last photo was attached. here goes again
-
What a change!
Just trying out putting a picture on this new forum.
Takes me a while to sort it all out.
-
In frustration and desperation - obviously, I am doing something wrong.
Hopefully, here is Iris unguicularis 'Kilbroney Marble'
Paddy Tobin, Waterford, Ireland
-
Success, at last.
I had tried to attach 4 images which would have exceeded the 300Kb limit and that was my problem, obviously. Hard to upload multiple images then?
Thanks for welcoming remarks from Mark and Maggie.
Paddy Tobin, Wateford, Ireland
-
I had tried to attach 4 images which would have exceeded the 300Kb limit
Not correct
Each image can be 300K 10 images max. per post. That's 3 meg. Within these limits, user are asked to act responsibly as you can imagine it would be possible to use up vast resources
-
Dear Admin,
Many thanks for that note. I'm sure it was entirely my own fault or perhaps the slow internet line I was on.
I'll try again at some other stage.
Paddy Tobin, Waterford, Ireland
-
Trying again with photographs: Iris unguicularis 'Mary Barnard' and I.u. 'Kilbroney Marble'
Paddy Tobin, Waterford, Ireland
-
Lovely Iris Paddy and good photographs too.
-
Glad to see it's working now Paddy. Nice photos too! Cracking Iris
-
Indeed, a cracking Iris.
Apparently it occured somewhere in the vacinity of the Slieve Donary Nursery, Newcastle, Co. Down in Northern Ireland and they propagated and distributed it. It has been recorded prior to 1969,so is on the rounds for quite a while. Very very easy to grow and great to have something which flowers at this time of year, though we usually take the flowers indoors just before they open so as to enjoy them all the more and so that the rough weather do not destroy them.
Another cracking Northern Ireland cutivar of Iris unguicularis, which unfortunately I do not have, is I.u. 'Mount Stewart Black' - very dark, obviously.
-
Paddy, looks to me (as with a similar I. unguicularis shown by Mark last year) like that I. unguic. with the marbled flowers might have that colour-breaking in the flowers as a result of virus (which I. uncuicularis is highly prone to). If it was in my garden, I'd take care (just to be safe) not to spread any possible virus to other varieties (e.g. from sap from picking/pulling flowers, clump division, foliage trimming etc.) Always better safe than sorry.
Nice pics.
-
Martin,
Yes, indeed, it has the look of something which might have been caused by a virus - as with the tulips of time past. However, it remains in robust good health; the clump increasing steadily and flowering unfailingly each year in winter. I have taken a few clumps off it for gardening friends to no ill effects and it is also growing well with them. It is within striking distance of several other clumps of Iris unguicularis and to date I have seen no ill effects on these. Should something show up I can always keep the possibility of a virus passing along in mind.
The species Iris unguicularis and I.u. 'Walter Butt' are also in the same bed and doing well.
Paddy
-
Lovely Iris Paddy
.
My Nerine flexuosa pink is flowering (came out of a pot of 4 bulbs labelled N.flexuosa alba marked colour may not be as illustrated???) but the white one is only just breaking bud. Both grown side by side and given the same conditions.
Sorry about the heading, just trying buttons
What's the insert image button do?
-
Hi All
I am back from my travels and now I have sorted out the ****** Computer I can make my very first post to the wonderful new forum.
Thank you all for being so enthusiastic about the new forum. It was a bit of a nightmare for the web team but I am pleased we are now up and running with new software to take us through the next ...... years.
Thanks to Fred Carrie and Maggi for the work they both did while I have been away.
-
Here is my first pic of the new Forum. Narcissus viridflorus bought from Pottertons a couple of years ago. I have two flowers on separate bulbs.
-
Anthony, what are the white spots on stems ? It looks like mealy bugs or scale insect. I know that N. viridiflora has little white patches, just at the tips of the flower segments, I just went and had a close look at ours, to check that, but I'm spooked by your spotty stems!
-
A beautiful clear dry day here in Waterford in the 'sunny south-east' of Ireland. Here are two plants in flower at the moment.
Nerine and Rhodophiala advena
-
Ian, it's a fungicide. I grow a fair number of Ophrys spp. in the greenhouse and to prevent them from rotting off I regularly dowse the pots with systemic fungicide and it leaves a white residue behind.
-
Anthony, thank goodness for that, you had me worried.
Paddy, it's a lovely morning here in Aberdeen, too. These nerines are photogenic, aren't they? I should grow more !
-
Ian,
As you can see I am practicing with that new camera. Very happy with it and certainly getting good use from it.
The nerines are growning outside, by mistake in fact. We had planted them and Mary, my wife, heard that these lighter coloured cultivars are somewhat tender. She lifted the bulbs, potted them on, and put them into the glasshouse. Obviously, she missed one bulb and it has outperformed those in the glasshouse significantly, increasing more strongly and flowering more regularly and prolifically.
The ordinary Nerine flexuosa grows very well outdoors here and increases very strongly. I must post a photograph.
-
I should have said Nerine bowdenii rather than N. flexuosa.
Below are two clumps of Nerine bowdenii in the garden. The frosts, winds and heavy rains have not damaged them too much yet.
Paddy
-
Anthony,
I must say I truly admire your Narcissus viridflorus. It's an absolute gem of a plant, simply beautiful - despite the white spots, which don't detract from it one bit.
Paddy
-
Hi. Paddy, glad to see your nerines are surviving... everthing was well blown about here last night, biggish pines in fancy pots blown over, for instance. Half the Nerines still standing... they look a lot better than I feel! I've got a head cold that means I cannot smell the little bulbs in the glasshouse. I find nerines a bit pongy, especially if you have them as cut flowers for the house, so that's not a loss. And I feel like I have a big piece of broken glass wedged in my throat...........do you get the feeling I'm feeling sorry for myself? 'cos you'd be right! Knowing that chums like you and John F. are about is very cheering, I must say. Hope you are feeling much better than I !!
I am fond of Narcissus viridiflora, too.. it is so elegant... at least with this cold I cannot smell that either... it's a bit wet doggy !
-
Oh, Paddy, forgot to say: your Rhodophilia should be RHODOPHIALA. It is lovely, great photo.
-
Maggi,
I stand corrected, penitent and committed to greater diligence and care with my spellings in future.
Being Scottish, you may not be partial to Irish whiskey, preferring your own vastly inferior blends, but I recommend a large and strong hot toddy to relieve your symptoms. We say that while it may not cure your illnesses, it certainly will make you feel much better.
Many thanks for comments on photography - you may remember my contacting Ian re his then new camera. I went on to purchase the same model and have made great use of it in the meantime.
Who is John F.?
Paddy
-
Paddy, the white spots at the tips of the petals of Narcissus viridiflorus are part of the plant. It is only the splashes on the leaf that are the fungicide.
-
Paddy, John F. is John Forrest, nickname jof, who was posting on the forum this afternoon when you and I were.
-
Anthony,
Yes, I had spotted the comments earlier on the white spotting and realised that those on the petals were natural to the plant. They add a lovely touch.
Apologies, John F. I do now realise who you are and have seen many, many of the beautiful plants you have cultivated, absolutely fabulous and a great testiment to your cultivation skills. I wish I could be as diligent.
Maggi, Did you try that Irish cure?
Paddy
-
What can I say, Paddy, I'm posting this reply to you then retreating to lie down in a darkened room..... Hic!!
-
Thanks for those kind words Paddy. Obviously a night owl like 'she who never sleeps'. I think you should try Horlicks Maggi and give your liver a shock. ;)
-
Hello,
I am little confused, well, here two autum flowering Narcissus: Narcissus papyraceus ssp. panizzianus and Narcissus albidus var. foliosus
Regards
-
Hi, Rafa, thanks for these pix. You had posted them in the Australasian page at first! Thanks for re-posting them here!
The Narcissus papyraceus ssp. panizzianus is exquisite.. I can almost smell it!
-
Hi All
this would definately not survive on a Scottish Rock garden! - but I was so impressed that I wanted to share this 'Moon Flower' with you. It came out after 9pm and unfortunately will be dead by 3am - the scent is fantastic.
John
-
Wouldn't survive in an English Rock Garden either, not even if you wrapped it in the shirt! A thing of considerable beauty, nonetheless... and I refer to the Moon flower! I do wish we could add scent to the forum!
Also, Thanks for the address you've just given in the Ferny page, John
-
Hi Maggi
have just woken up and it is completely shrivled (the flower!). I knew I needed to add some scale to the picture and it looked about the same size as my mates big head - I shall show him your 'thing of beauty' comment - see if it makes him laugh as much as it did me.
Not sure what the moon flower thinks it is doing flowering now. It is grown in a warm consrvatory and tried flowering a few months ago but aborted when I went away for a week and it got very dry (I forgot to move it to somewhere cooler) - when I returned home there were 5 buds all laying on the floor. :'( Guess this time was a last ditch attempt to procreate this year.
John
-
Is the moonflower one of the climbing tropical cacti related to Selenicereus grandiflora [Queen of the night]?
-
Hi Anthony
this plant is an epiphytic cactus. (I used to grow the Selenicereus in my greenhouse before I sold the complete cactus collection to a nursery). The flower is of comparable size (and almost almost as good in scent). This cactus is at its happiest hanging rather than climbing.
It was fascinating to watch the flower develop in its final stages. The bud rapidly (over the course of a few hours) changed angle, from hanging at 160 degrees to being at a definite 90 degree angle. It opened by 9pm when we first took photos - and then at about midnight it was really at its best with petals stretched as wide as possible (the posted pic). A few hours later it was hanging limp.
Such a shame that it is over so soon...
I shall try to stick to the more cold hardy plants for future posts (just couldn't resist this one as I have been waiting so long to see it flower).
regards
John
-
We are an eclectic bunch John, so keep posting whatever you have flowering. I have tried to get these big night flowering cacti to flower for years, ever since I saw Hylocereus sp. flowering in Jamaica in 1983. I have a vanilla orchid which I hope to have flowering one day. It has grown up a five foot pole, down again, and now back up, so it should be mature enough now? ??? My Selenicereus is still minute, so a long way to go (doesn't selene mean 'Moon' and 'cereus' mean wax?).
-
I used to grow a large number of Epiphyllums until we had a very hard frost. These are a few of what I used to grow flowering now in plant heaven. The last one is E. cooperi
-
Not sure if this still qualifies as Mid November but here goes.
One of my unremarkable (but pretty nonetheless!) Lewisia Cotyledon Hybrids, grown from my open pollinated seed and still in flower today as it has been since early April. Will they never sleep or shall I be re-potting them in February still in flower? :)
-
Forgot to add a sort of close-up version in my last post. My first attempt at posting a picture and I'm still in a sweat over it. Must read Maggi's "Idiots Guide to Posting Images" PS photography not one of my strengths! ???
-
Now, David, I am much too well brought up to have made any reference to an "idiot's guide" to anything... I have merely collected some advice together that I feel may be of use to forumists !!!! And I do recommend it!
If I had resorted to said title for guide then I would be the sort who was now making remarks like " if the cap fits...etc" !!
Heaven forbid ! We're all having little hitches with learning new tricks, even those young whizz kids are stumbling now and then!
I am purely here to serve.........
-
Hi Maggi
I have worked in IT for years (my job title is software developer) - yet I needed your help to work out how to post pictures. I would hope to think that if I had been involved in coding the forum I would have made picture posting a little bit more obvious (but then it may not have been designed for a plant forum by someone who loves pictures of plants...). Could this be something that you pass onto the hosting company to consider for future releases?....
Your idiots guide was invaluable to me - I would have been very frustrated without it.
Please don't take the above as a criticism of the new forum - I very much like the added features (quick loading (click pics for more detail if interested), better email notification, editing posts, formating options, user profiles, and more etc etc...). But I think it is always worth mentioning what users want to the developers as it is very hard for them to think of everything that the end user may find useful when desgining a new programme.
with my very best wishes
John
-
Hi, John, thanks for your comments, very reassuring! You can take it that Mr Admin will have read your suggestions and will pass them along, he is on the ball about such stuff !
Cheers, Maggi
-
Maggi,
Sorry-ill chosen phrase on my part-hope I didn't cause offence to anyone.
Isn't it a pretty plant though!
-
David, we know there was no offence meant, and none is taken, I assure you!
The Lewisia is lovely....there are others that bllom for long periods and seemingly out of season... I can't think which they are... give me a moment to get grey cells in gear...... the Ashwood 'Carousel' hybrids, if I remember rightly. I am very fond of those; nice compact plants that are generous with their flowers. I hope I'm remembering the right name! I'm sure there were photos in the old forum... I'll have a search later.
Funny how so many things are flowering with extra flowers late in the season, or making a very early start for spring. I 've seen some squashed hedgehogs, killed on the roads, recently and they have all been much to small to have been born at the "proper" season, there must have been some late season litters... poor little devils, they were too small to have hibernated successfully even if they had managed to get safley across the road.
The big flocks of redwings and fieldfares are arriving in our area, now... they must think winter is coming!
PS Good to see you have morphed so elegantly to human form from your larval stage as an auricula !!
-
She who must be obeyed ventures the view that even she would rather see a picture of an Auricula. This is the first time, for some time, that she has not used the words "bloody" and "Auricula" in the same sentence :o
-
Can anyone ID this flower?
-
Is there some needlework involved here ???
-
Mark's question flower:
I believe this to be the rare Helleborus embroidicus...or even Helleborus crocheticus..... but I had no idea Mark was so skilled!
-
You just never know what secret hobbies people have.
Actually this was done by Sue who emailed me to ask for some Hellebore photos so she could embroider them.
Back to flowering now and 2-3 months early is Lonicera purpusii that normally flowers in late February. The shrub has most of it's buds swelling. Pity I cant post the scent
-
I have an Ashwood yellow Lewisia flowering at the moment and it has been non stop for at least 2 months but here is Silene hookeri hookeri which has awoken early.
Yet this Nerine flexuosa alba is only just coming into flower
-
totally amazing to see this thread has been looked at over 1400 times as has the current Crocus and introduction page