Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Paul T on September 01, 2012, 12:25:21 PM
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It's spring!!! It was -6.8oC this morning, the coldest morning of winter so far. Glorious day though!!
Unfortunately I was at work all day today so no good daylight to take any photos. Lots of stuff in flower at the moment including Prunus, Magnolias (just starting), daffodils of all sorts, Anemones, Hepaticas, Asarum, Hyacinths, Ipheion, Epimedium, Pansies and Violas, Wallflowers, Camellias, Chaenomeles, the last of the witchhazels, Scillas, Hellebores, Galanthus, Crocus, Iris, Spiloxene, Muscari, Cyclamen and I'm sure a few more things if I thought about it harder.
Gorgeous time of year!!
I'll post some pics as soon as I am able to take some. 8)
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Some thing out this morning. Everything is in or going into pots so forgive the labels, pots, bad backgrounds et al.
I think it's time for a new camera. The present little Panasonic Lumix has done since Christmas 2005 but is now showing a bluish caste to everything and I frequently get the message "Write Error" after the first picture in any batch and have to take it again after turning off and on again. Maybe it can be fixed but I'd been thinking of a new one before May next year so perhaps I should do it now.
The gorgeous black seedling hellebore I found the other day, a seedling from a small flowered dark red. I've hand-pollinated this, this morning. I like that the leaves and stems are very dark too, so sharply serrated along the edges that the pricks actually hurt.
Then Soldanella pusilla, the first (and only) flower on a small plant bought from a Christchurch Forum lurker when he was giving a talk to OAGG. The inside is heavily veined with crimson.
And Lachenalia matthewsii from Betty Clark. It is deliciously scented. It and a few others have had no frost damage at all this winter so it has been a very mild one for us.
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My own seedling 'Gambas' x cyclamineus which is so vigorous, each flowering bulb dividing each year into 3-6 more flowering size bulbs. For this alone I think it is worth a name but otherwise, it is similar to dozens of seedlings with those swept back sepals
I have this little bod as Narcissus pseudonarcissis ssp. eugeniae, from seed and the stem below the ovary is just 2 cms long. It should be longer in a better pot and mix. It's been in this one since the seed was sown maybe 6 years ago. First flower.
A little pot of assorted seedlings, from some hybrid seedlings of local gardener Betty Tunnah. I have dozens of these now and they range from little to big flowers, cyclamen-like, trumpets, spiders and all sorts.
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Fritillaria caucasica from JJA seed and 4 flowers this year after just 1 the last two years. I've hand-pollinated each one with each other one in hope of some seed. Love the blue bloominess of it.
Seedlings of Paeonia tenuifolia, the seed from Olga B in Moscow. Last year, just 3 germinated over 4 pots. This year there are a couple of hundred up as well. The seedlings can be seen at germination with the case still attached and the green leaf in the top left is as far as they went last year. This year the 3 older ones have lovely plum-coloured foliage, very fine.
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My own seedling 'Gambas' x cyclamineus which is so vigorous, each flowering bulb dividing each year into 3-6 more flowering size bulbs. For this alone I think it is worth a name
It's a little beauty, and sounds like a good garden plant.
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Lovely to see all these flowers! Is the blacky hellebore dabbed with darker markings or is that my imagination?
Gorgeous day today and a cracker of a week coming up by the looks of it. I throw a few into the ring from the sunny :P island.
Paeonia cambessedesii out yesterday and rapidly expanding its flowers
Fritillaria messanensis ssp gracilis - an early specimen
Hellebore anenemone-centred with a cute picotee
Cheers, Marcus
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Sorry for the double up!
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It's a little beauty, and sounds like a good garden plant.
I totally agree. I'd be very proud to produce a seedling half as good.
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I love your little seedling, Lesley. I'd be happy to grow it if it was over here. ;D
Thanks for the pics from yourself and Marcus. A lovely splash of colour after getting home from work this evening. 8)
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Some nice frits posted Marcus.
This persica has been tossed about a tad.
Miss the easy functions within xp
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My own seedling 'Gambas' x cyclamineus which is so vigorous, each flowering bulb dividing each year into 3-6 more flowering size bulbs. For this alone I think it is worth a name but otherwise, it is similar to dozens of seedlings with those swept back sepals
I have this little bod as Narcissus pseudonarcissis ssp. eugeniae, from seed and the stem below the ovary is just 2 cms long. It should be longer in a better pot and mix. It's been in this one since the seed was sown maybe 6 years ago. First flower.
A little pot of assorted seedlings, from some hybrid seedlings of local gardener Betty Tunnah. I have dozens of these now and they range from little to big flowers, cyclamen-like, trumpets, spiders and all sorts.
Great looking dafs, Lesley !
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The seemingly blacker parts of the hellebore Marcus are just the folds in the fabric of the petals. They are plain coloured. Both pics show it as bluer than in reality. That's the camera which I think is dying slowly. It is really black, not blue-black.
I forgot yesterday to add this little plant, a real favourite with me because I expected it to be difficult and it has proved otherwise. It is Epigaea asiatica. and the little ones in pots are flowering but my bigger one is still in quite bud.
Heavy fog today, no new pictures therefore.
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At least Paul (R), your F. persica didn't suffer the terrible fate of Fermi's. ::)
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Hi Folks,
That stem of Fritillaria persica has a touch of the post modern about - almost asks the question - why be straight?
The hellebore flower is a good'un. Have you an equally good parent or did it just come out of the blue (or black, whatever the case maybe)? Its incredible how we take these colours, which were a rarity a decade ago, for granted now. It wouldn't have been the case if the big end of town had cracked the tissue culturing conumdrum earlier. The breeders would have packed up their tents and moved on. How I love a win for the little guy!
Just a few bits and bobs from down here in the southern most tip of the Great South Land (though I think Lesley is further south and Paul is colder).
Galanthus Ketton
Iris Sindpers
Fritillaria pudica
Cheers, Marcus
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More from our garden (see also September narcissus!)
A couple of lachenalias: L. concordiana and L.kliprandensis,
retic iris 'Pixie'
Babiana pygmaea
a "bee hybrid" of B. pygmaea and B. odorata,
cheers
fermi
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So nice Epigaea asiatica Lesley ! How do you grow it ? It seems so delicate...
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Yes we're further south Marcus but with very similar climate it seems to me and not so winter cold or summer not as Paul in Canberra.
Nicole I grow the Epigaea outside but in a pot fortunately as it will be on the move in a few months. I first had it from SRGC seed maybe 10 years ago and since then have raised a couple of batches of seed from mine. It seems easy enough in a well drained, leafy/humusy compost with grit and always moist. I'll hand pollinate the flowers above and any others, and if there's some seed this coming summer, I'll send some along. The seed is very fine but germinates well over grit.
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Hi Fermi,
I like these babiana. Used to grow B. pygmaea from Gordon Julian but don't have it now unfortunately. Did you grow these from seed?
Cheers, Marcus
PS Started at 3 degrees at 6am and getting to a max of 19 degrees - a little bit too warm - if one could dare say that!
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Hi Fermi,
I like these babiana. Used to grow B. pygmaea from Gordon Julian but don't have it now unfortunately. Did you grow these from seed?
Hi Marcus,
unfortunately our bees don't seem to discriminate between B. pygmaea and B. odorata, hence the "bee hybrids"! I never even realised that they flowered at the same time till I found that all the seedlings were hybrids!
cheers
fermi
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Hi Folks,
I think a bit of bee interference is a good thing sometimes. Are the offspring fertile?
I know my next post isn't exactly as one would expect but it is a representation of a lovely plant that's blooming now. I have already posted a picture of Iris Sindpers but here is a couple of pictures of my partner Suzie Jarick's take on this lovely plant. Has it disappeared from SRGC forumists collections?
Cheers, Marcus
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Oops :-[. I'll try again!
M
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I still have it, Marcus. From you originally. No flowers this year though as we had such a cool summer I think.
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Hi again,
A few more for today.
Iris aucheri ex Snow White GBG
A scappy picture of Cyclamen repandum
Ditto Cyclamen persicum roseum
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
You might, if you look closely, see toe nail punctures on the leaves of both cyclamen. These are the marks of b ..... Brush Tail Possums. These creatures are in plague proportions in the suburbs (I think there are more in the towns than the're in the bush) and they have a propensity to get in way of EVERYTHING horticultural. They are not just a menace, they are a serious pest in the nursery, not for what they eat but how much they can reak havoc.
Now I've got that off my chest I'll get back to the much more interesting subject of plants. Does any of the other southern forumists grow some of the forms of I. aucheri that have been offered by Gotenborg?
Cheers, Marcus
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Brush Tail possums Marcus? Oh really? Seems you are having a New Zealand moment. ;D But no, my sympathies are firmly with you. B....y things! >:(
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I have a 40 foot high Magnolia soulangeana in the back yard, largest one I've pretty much ever seen..... usually a mass of flowers but thanks to a couple of possums there are barely any buds left. Never had anything like the stripping they've done this year.... it's heartbreaking. And of course they run over things and turn over pots etc, as Marcus has already mentioned. I'd shoot them if we were allowed to (and I had a gun). ::)
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Hi Lesley,
It seems your first settlers deemed New Zealand "Terra Nullius" as far a wildlife goes - we of course over the ditch only applied it to people :P.
I know you had very active Acclimatisation Societies that were hellbent on filling the place up with exotics (mostly to hunt) but why oh why did some bright spark consider Brush Tail Possums a good thing to introduce (especially when there was no effective predator)?
I recently trapped a beautiful creamy golden coloured one and rang the local wildlife park to see if they wanted it. Nah, didn't want it but they offered to kill it for me. Even though I hate the damn things with a passion I couldn't bear to have this one not be given a fighting chance. So I promptly put the phone down and called another who, thankfully, did wan't it. It is illegal to relocate possums from one's own garden or nursery in Tasmania - something about territorial displacement leading to stress and death. Maybe there's something in it but I don't seem to have any problem attracting more tenants than I want.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
I think the creamy golden version is the "albino" expression of them isn't it? I too would have problems disposing of something that was rare like that. I'm so glad that it has been taken in by a wildlife park so that others can see it as it is so unusual. 8)
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Hi Paul,
Yes I thought that but its not the case. True albinos lack any melanin and therefore their eyes are pink or red. The GBT has brown eyes. Its a rare genetic mutation found only in Tasmania. I did see a photo once, I think published by the late Michael Sharland, who was the writer on natural history here in Tasmania, of a pair of albino brush tails. The guy who came to collect my beast showed me a picture on his Iphone of an albino ringtail possum that someone had snapped on the NW coast of Tasmania. The ringtails are no problem though. They come and eat the gum blossom now in the spring and early summer but never seem to touch the ground. I have seen them walking upright along my telephone wires!
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
Neighbours at one point commented that they had 5 Brushies looking down at them in the evening from the phone line, waiting for them to go inside so they could leap to the house etc. Despite being so much larger than the ring tails, they have no problem walking upright onwires either.... unfortunately. ::)
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Hi Paul,
Without doubt they are the most serious nuisance I have to contend with. An hour of possums romping over beds of tulips or fritillarias can put paid to the whole crop for that season. I like seeing them, I love to know they are not in danger of extinction, just don't want to see them in my backyard.
After a long haul I am posting two firsts for me.
Paeonia clusii - collected as seed below the Kallergi refuge which is above the Omolos Plain, near the entrance to the Samaria Gorge in Crete.
Cyclamen rhodium - the true plant collected as seed around Profitis Ilias on Rhodos where it grows with Paeonia rhodia. I have had a few goes at this but all the seedlings have been hybrids. This plant is one of 3 resulting from a visit when a few of the pods looked just looked fat enough.
Cheers, Marcus
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I think a bit of bee interference is a good thing sometimes. Are the offspring fertile?
Hi Marcus,
I haven't seen any self-sown Babiana seedlings around them but I have to admit I've not really looked hard.
That Peony is lovely and the cyclamen is exquisite.
And I'm told possum makes a nice stir-fry ;D
Some more from our garden,
Narcissus 'Ken's Div 6'
Matador x2
double Campernelle
Kevin's Cross [not sure about what - Julia?]
Dovekie
cheers
fermi
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Marcus,
By coincidence I found the possum nest this afternoon. They are sleeping in the base of a huge urn (Jardinierre?) I have in the fernery. I took some pics as they look so cute, but now don't know what the heck to do. I've checked and my huge Magnolia has 2 (count them....2!!) flowers on it this year. Normally there'd be well more than a thousand I'd guess. Now that I know they were living about 4 metres from the base of it I can understand why they've eaten all the flowers. ::)
Fermi,
I love the Dovekie. Great shape to it. Is it a bicolour? I have a double campernelle flowering here as well, although it is a volunteer in my crocus garden, obviously a little bulb in the mix when I built it. I'm not sure I still have it growing anywhere else, so I don't mind it having reappeared. ;D
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Hi Marcus,
that Paeonia clusiana takes me back to 2001 when Mat Murray and I stumbled across a clump in full bloom at that same location you described. That day we wanted to hike down to the gorge but it was closed due to freezing temps in June?? Crete is a very special place.
Thanks for showing
Cheers
Stephen
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Marcus,
Thank you for showing the P clusii. Saw it in flower last year in the Samaria Gorge. We were there a couple of days after the Gorge was opened for the season, and I only found one plant in flower.
Stephen,
A pity you missed out, it was a fascinating tramp. Fortunately it was a perfect day. We were told if it had been raining we would not have been allowed to go. It was before the main tourist season so it was not too busy.
Susan
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Marcus,
By coincidence I found the possum nest this afternoon. They are sleeping in the base of a huge urn (Jardinierre?) I have in the fernery. I took some pics as they look so cute, but now don't know what the heck to do. ;D
Paul, you need to check out Fermi's stir fry recipe! Honestly I would make it very unwelcoming for them. Rouse them with a broom handle and push them on their way otherwise you will have them for life.
Susan and Stephen,
Its such a treat to have a plant or two from a place one has visited - bit like receiving a postcard from there everytime it flowers. I have never seen it in flower because I am always too late nor have I seen many seedpods because the goats hammer them so much. That has now started to change now that the shepherds are using dog wire fences to control grazing. I have another treasure waiting in the wings - about 250 seedlings of Dracunculus vulgaris from the area where most have white or marbled spathes. Tony Avent took these fabulous pics from, I am guessing, the same site http://gallery.plantdelights.com/v/Crete/Dracunculus_vulgaris_many_flower_color_comparison_at_stop_28_2_61943.jpg.html (http://gallery.plantdelights.com/v/Crete/Dracunculus_vulgaris_many_flower_color_comparison_at_stop_28_2_61943.jpg.html)
Cheers, Marcus
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While I am still convalescing I may as well keep posting!
Few more pics from a very warm September start here in Tasmania. 21 degrees today with increasing wind as the next front approaches to bring it all back down. Blossom flying everywhere like confetti - will have to watch pricked out seedlings.
Two DBI - but what the Hell are they? Fermi is the first the said same Wanganui Gem?
Fritillaria bithynica - collected as seed on Mt Ambelos, Samos
Cyclamen rhodium ssp peleponnesiacum
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
There were a number that had just finished flowering but the seed pods were not developed. We saw literally thousands of Dracunculus vulgare but only the common, deep maroon ones. Those white and marbled ones look wonderful. Also saw Cyclamen creticum which was a thrill.
Susan
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Hi Susan,
I think they have more of a chance in the Gorge than anywhere else. Apparently the type specimen was collected on Mt Idi and no-one has seen it there for years.
Dracunculus are very prevalent on Crete and HUGE! I couldn't keep the seed cobs in the car with me. I had to stow them in the boot and when the staff at my hotel saw me cleaning them they were appalled!
A few more pics for the day - weather is breaking up with fierce winds.
Fritillaria latakiensis
Fritillaria aff. kotschyana - Jim Archibald collection
Muscari longifolium - I believe this is treated as a ssp of botryoides
Fritillaria pyrenaicae - warm caramel colour
Cheers, Marcus
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Two DBI - but what the Hell are they? Fermi is the first the said same Wanganui Gem?
Hi Marcus,
the second is more likely to be 'Wanganui Gem'!
the first is a DBI hybrid, I think.
Here's a pic of WG in our garden this week - you had it in your catalogue a number of years ago as an unnamed purple DBI which we got - then found we'd already got it from a few other sources. Robyn Rohrlach sent it to me a few years ago with a bit of its history which is when I finally realised what it was!
cheers
fermi
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Yeah, 'Wanganui Gem' raised by the late Jean Stephens in that city we must now learn to call Whanganui ( ::)) has plain colour on the falls and standards, not the darker patch in the centre. In modern terms it's not a good example of the db iris but is valuable because it is early and also remontant. A certain sentimental value for NZers too.
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I hope your convalescence continues Marcus, it's good to have you posting and for us, to see your plants.
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Hi Lesley,
I hope my unwellness doesn't continue for too long but I welcome your point ;).
Has New Zealand been hit with flu this winter?
So it appears, given yours and Fermi's opinion, neither of my offerings are Whanganui Gem (have we been getting the name of the plant wrong or the town?) :(. I never took too much notice of DBIs and didn't note sources or accompanying information. Should have because I have grown to like them a lot.
I am posting a picture of an iris reichenbachii that I would like to have flowering at my place now. It is growing at one of the Fritillaria drenovskyi sites on Mt Falakron. Marcus Ryan took the shot but neither of us could collect any viable seed. Oh well one day.
Also I am posting a picture of what I think is my best hellebore I have ever bred. This is an old picture but the plant is flowering now and is a pod sibling of the anemome-centred picotee I posted earlier.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
Finally driven inside by an unrelentling steam train of a gale. Its days like this one wished they lived somewhere else!
Few more posts for September (what a waste spring is down here :()
Fritillaria bucharica
Fritillaria stenanthera
Ranunculus ficaria Double Gold
Cheers, Marcus
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God, my grammar is getting worse the more I post!!!
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Marcus,
I looooooooove that double picotee. I need badly to own a piece. ;D ;D ;D :o
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So nice to look at all these spring flowers ;)
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Hi Nicole,
It doesn't feel like spring. Currently we have gales, hail, slashing rain and well, generally rubbish weather - and it was 21 degrees on Monday :(.
Paul - I have to hold on to this baby for commercial reasons but I would consider a swap fro Trymlet ;).
Here is another lovely seedling - I think it derives from Basil Smith's stock (Lynett Farm?)
Cheers, Marcus
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Looks like you'll be rivalling Post Office farm anyday now! ;D
A new flower in the Native Plants section: Isopogon "Pink Drumsticks"
And a couple of bulbs we got from Marcus a couple of years ago:
Muscari muscarimi
Bellevalia pycnantha
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
I'm seriously thinking of giving it away - this current bout of weather has almost convinced me!!
Cheers, Marcus
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Few more hellebores:
Lovely picotee with cool green centre
Big lump of a blowsy double picotee
Interesting semi-double pink
Cheers, Marcus
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Few more - bit of a mixed bag. Battling gale force winds so the quality is not so good.
Fritillaria pinardii - a very attractive form from Gotenborg and I think Janis lists the same one.
Narcissus Hummingbird
Chionodoxa Blue Giant
Cyclamen libanoticum
Erythronium oregonum ssp leucandrum
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
I seem to be the only person posting - anyone out there? ;D
Few more to start September:
Fritillaria crassifolia ssp kurdica Iran, Tabriz
Fritillaria crassifolia ssp kurdica
Fritillaria bithynica - lovely yellow form
Crocus kosaninii - last crocus to flower here
Regards, Marcus
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Certainly, don't stop posting pics Marcus ! :D
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Hi Folks,
Its days like this one wished they lived somewhere else!
Was this bad grammar? I wondered if you were talking about neighbours!
We've started to house-hunt. 3 so far. One too far away, two, a lovely house not enough land, three, plenty land ghashly house and reeking of cigarettes. It may be some time yet.
I haven't been taking pics as our weather has been dreadful too, Pouring rain or very high winds - trees down yesterday - and snow forecast to 200m for tomorrow and Tuesday. We're at 300m BUT my C. kosanini is also out and I find it flowers in two years from seed, pretty good, and C. minimus 'Bavella' from you Marcus is a glory at present, About 20 out today in a tight and solid bunch. A super crocus.
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That is a great looking hellebore. Was it a lucky chance or were you aiming for something like this? Not many of the picotees I have seen here are as good as that, although as you might imagine Sue and Robin White have some striking plants, and they gave me one similar which I am going to try and keep segregated and either self or cross with one as similar as I can find. Quite nice to see all these daffs too, just as we get the bulb catalogues here!
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Hi Tim,
Thanks for asking about my hellebore. My intention was to create a good double white picotee and hopefully an anemone-centred one. I started from Betty Ranicar, which is a Tasmanian grown plant (Double white) and crossed it with a single picotees (I have posted already posted a picture in September). This strain of picotees arose from crossing a clear pink with Betty Ranicar. Surprisingly this has been a consistent strain. So essentially the plant in question is a back-crossed Betty Ranicar offspring. On the way through I obtained the anemone-centred picotee also posted in September and a range of lovely clear double whites identical to Betty R. I have never turned up a pink.
I am particularly fond of the pink ripple one, which you may be refering to? I can't claim a hand in this. Second generation double arising from Basil Smith seed, from Lynett Farm I think?
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Lesley,
If Tassie is any thing to go by - there is more on the way. We have taken a pounding over most of the past week. This morning is mercifully calm. Can't face checking the nursery and the bulb beds.
The lilies are just starting to emerge and would have been particularly vulnerable.
Anyway - onwards and upwards! Who knows whats to come, cheers, Marcus
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Hi folks,
Nearly better so posts might slow. I am looking forward to what Paul brings forth from his weekend in Victoria ;D
A few more from a wind-blown garden:
Muscari chalusicum - Harry Hay seed
Iris unguicularis Starkers Pink - great flowerer this season
Fritillaria davisii hybrid - from Lesley Crowden who has posted here
Chionodoxa forbesii Pink Giant - commercial clone but lovely en mass
Cheers, Marcus
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Few more not so good quality but too hard here to concentrate on quality.
First two of a controversial species (are there 3, or 2, or 1)
Chionodoxa albescens - poor picture - nearly white with a touch of pale lilac
Chionodoxa nana (or cretica) - collected as seed from Mt Gingolos opposite Samaria Gorge
Iris lutescens
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus, do you have a picture from this year or any other year of what I had from you (seed) as Iris unguicularia cretica? I'd like to confirm if it was the same plant at The Ferny Creek Hort Soc garden last time I was there with Otto, a couple of years maybe. It looked like unguicularis but as a quite dwarf form both in foliage and in flower. Of course I couldn't bring a plant home and I didn't have my camera with me (will I ever learn?)
Why I ask is because members of NZ Iris Soc say that cretica (or what they call Cretan Form) and ssp cretensis are the same thing. My cretensis is visually quite different from unguicularis though obviously related. My babies from your seed don't look like cretensis at all, being quite upright in the foliage and not the really tough material that is the leaf of cretensis.
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Hi Lesley,
I don't think I have a photo but I will follow this up.
The iris in question grows in Crete and the Peleponnese. It has narrow leaves and smaller, usually more intensely coloured flowers. It can grow into quite large clumps, so in my eyes it is not a dwarf plant, just the leaves are narrower and the flowers smaller than the North African plant. If you obtained seed from me then it was either collected at Kedros in Crete 2008 or Stavropigia, Peleponnese, 2010.
Cheers, Marcus
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Anemone pavonina is just starting.
[attachthumb=1]
Tulipa bakeri
[attachthumb=2] [attachthumb=3]
Iris taochia
[attachthumb=4]
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
I'm seriously thinking of giving it away - this current bout of weather has almost convinced me!!
Cheers, Marcus
Hopefully this was just the illnesss and bad weather "talking", Marcus :-\ We'd be seriously bereft if you were to close up shop!
:'(
Here's some flowers to cheer you up,
the tiny tazetta 'Canasuez' - GBF: Narcissus canaliculatus x N. watieri
Gladiolus abbreviatus x 2
Scilla melaina
Tulipa eichleri
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
I am very envious of your clump of Iris taochia. I have always struggled a bit with this one but maybe it was poor plantsmanship on my behalf at the begining. Do you ever have any problems with rust where you are? I also like your while anemone pavonina and look forward to seeing it eventually growing here from your generous gift of seeds.
I have Rod Barwick's N. canaliculatus series (at great expense) - do you have the others as well?
I am going to put out a seed list from my latest trip in the next couple of weeks but from then ... ? Who knows?
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
A few more for today:
Ranunculus ficaria Collarette - wierd but interesting.
Cyclamen pseudibericum - lovely thing - alas I don't have the pale form anymore.
Narcissus alpestris - always reminds me of one Snow White's dwarfs, Droopy I suppose :-\
Bellevalia pycnantha - Fermi has already posted this - I love its inky black crumpled bells
Cheers, Marcus
PS Fermi - How is Iris retic Snow White going?
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Nice lot of picks
Marcus I love that Ranunculus collarette..very differant...and I Hope your feeling better.
Fermi the Anemone pavonina is very nice...something you dont see much of..nice colour. have you any other colours?
cheers
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One of my attempts of hybridising...
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Well done Stephen, ;)
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Hi Stephen,
I am feeling better thanks. What did you use to create the picotee or did you start with one?
Lesley, I have some pictures of Iris unguicularis from my seed. I gave David Glenn of Lambley Nursery a load of seed and he is currently growing over 200! He says there has been considerable variation and they don't conform to the expected purple/central orange stripe. The ones from Kedros in Crete appear to be a better match. But all are included in the subspecies.
Anyway here are a few of his pictures (note the upright habit of these plants).
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Again,
Weather going crazy again ???
Three fritillaria from Hill View:
Fritillaria thessala Yellow(ish) - nice contrasting rusty red edging
Fritillaria amana - standard commercial clone - did have Goksan Gold but seems to have gone AWOL
Fritillaria moggerridgei - Long haul to flowering from Gotenborg seed - lost the provinence details - thats how long it took!
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi again,
Bits and bobs:
Narcissus cordubensis - pale form from Rannweig and Bob Wallis
Narcissus bulbocodium ssp praecox
Muscari Sky Blue - one of Janis' suite of offerings
Cheers, Marcus
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I'll be waiting for that seedlist, Marcus!
here are more spring offerings from the garden
A DBI which might be 'Raspberry Jam'
And some tulips in bud:
T. greiggii
T.aitchisonii ssp. clusioides
T.eichleri
and T. cretica
cheers
fermi
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Seed list for me too please Marcus. I need more seed at this time like I need a hole in the head but being addicted..... ;D A very kindly Forumist who has been sending me seed recently and who is aware of mt addiction, says he feels like a drug pusher :o
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Fermi the Anemone pavonina is very nice...something you dont see much of..nice colour. have you any other colours?
Hi Stephen,
this group was from seed and mainly are white +/- reddish shades; we also have a bright red one from Garry Reid; we did have a white with blue shading to it from Viv years ago but it doesn't look like it's still with us.
Lesley,
addiction is addiction! Will keeps threatening to run an intervention whenever I cover all the work areas in the kitchen/dining room with boxes of envelopes, seed packets, labels, etc! ;D
cheers
fermi
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Oh what bad luck Fermi,
I loved that white/blue anemone - I'd better check my seed pot.
A few rarer narcissus or narcissi?? :-\
Narcissus triandrus ssp pallidulus
Narcissus rupicola
Narcissus atlanticus - torn the flower to pollinate :-[ sorry!
Narcissus cordubensis - a bit tatty but couldn't resist the effect of the sun on the petals
Cheers, Marcus
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Narcissus atlanticus - torn the flower to pollinate :-[ sorry!
Thank goodness! I thought that maybe you'd bred a special one to annoy Lesley!
cheers
fermi
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Is rupicola rare? I have about 30 pots at present with buds and flowers, waiting for the salestable at OAGG show on 27th-29th. As well a couple of patches in a raised bed and half a dozen pots of seedlings, even those, with a few flowers. It flowers in 2 and a half years from seed. Lovely thing. Also pleased to see N triantrus ssp triandrus and ssp capax flowering - still in seed pots as well as in beds, and seedlings of ssp pallidulus from Rafa growing well. But most Narcissus will be well over before the show except maybe 'Pencrebar' just starting. I'll do pics at the show if the light is anything like decent. Are you still coming over Fermi?
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Hi Lesley,
Its obviously not rare at your place. I was speaking relatively. In it appears to be rare here - in fact I'd be interested in a straw poll amongst Australian forumist of who does grow it. I have never seen it listed, maybe Glenbrook might have listed it once or twice.
In the past I have not found it easy to keep especially when compared to its white counterpart N. waiteri.
I'd like to see a photo of ssp capax.
I know this isn't about plants but I just can't resist posting this. A clip of, without doubt, one of New Zealand's greatest exports to Australia - John Clarke http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-13/understanding-the-gfc-with-clarke-and-dawe/4260276 (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-13/understanding-the-gfc-with-clarke-and-dawe/4260276)
Cheers, Marcus
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I don't have rupicola. :(
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Hi Paul,
Are you going to post pics from your Victorian jaunt?
Have you tried to grow Narcissus rupicola or has it never crossed your path?
BTW I should state that that pot came via Jim Archibald seed, I guess from a Rafa collection. I have several more lots from Rafa doing very well. I'll send you a few in the summer.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
I am intending to post pics..... just been procrastinating. ::) As usual. :o :o So many pics taken that I'm putting off just going through and sorting them more than anything. :o
I am not sure I've ever had it in my collection, certainly not recently. I've had watieri in the past and lost it one year to too dry I think. I replaced it a couple of years ago from you and it is doing fine. Has flowered again this year. No sign of multiplying at this stage, but I don't know if it is one of those species that doesn't multiply much? If rupicola is a yellow version of watieri (more or less) than I will have to try to find it. I love watieri, such a cute little thing.
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I know that feeling Paul, only too well.
Do you grow this daphne? Its called "collina of the gardens" in Australia. I got it from Don Schofield who probably got it from the Teeses at Yamina.
Its a lovely thing and much better than D. sericea which has such dirty pale pink flowers, well mine do anyway.
Cheers, Marcus
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Not the straight collina, Marcus, but probably a dozen or so others including a few species from seed. I have one collina hybrid as well I think, but I'd have to go and look at my tags to see what I have out there. I can give you a list of my Daphne if you're interested?
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I have collina but a plant on a long stem, tuft and foliage and (now) buds at the top. I'll have to plant it out with things to snuggle up to the stem. Hoping D. petraea is in bloom for our show. It's covered in buds, in fact both of them but only one in a pot, the other in a trough.
So far as I can see Marcus, ssp capax is rather larger in the flower with a very plump corolla and leaves which are nearer to prostrate but not as much so as ssp loiseleurii. Mine may be wrongly named. Many from the source have been.
If anyone wants seed of N. rupicola let me know. It always gives plenty.
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Hi again,
This is Daphne sericea collected as seed near Omolos in Crete. Makes lovely big clumpy bush of shiny dark green leaves but its generous clusters of small flowers are a bit of a let down.
Cheers, Marcus
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I don't have rupicola. :(
My rupicola looks like grass. Seedlings. 8)
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My rupicola looks like grass. Seedlings. 8)
Maybe they are grass? Labels can be untrustworthy sometimes8)
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Definitely rupicola, or at least Narcissus sp., but might as well be grass for the next few years. I have various pots of Narcissus sp. seedlings in the same state.
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I like looking at pots of grass-like seedlings - most of my family and my partner don't appear to share my delight ...
but they didn't sow the seeds and in the doing invest (in many cases ill-founded) a shy hope.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
A couple of sweeties out in the early spring here:
Paeonia mascula ssp russoi - a Jim Archibald number - and I promise I will apply myself to making a contribution to the Archibald Archive very soon. He was a great bloke and sorely missed.
Daphne collina x petraea - Is this the one you have Paul? Originally from Ken Gillanders who would have imported it from Fritz Kummert.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
A few frits on a cold and gloomy spring day :(
Fritillaria orientalis - a good grower from Rannweg and Bob Wallis
Fritillaria af. kotschyana - another good'un
Fritillaria affinis - yellowish form from Ron Ratko seed
Fritillaria - a miffy sort of plant - flowers on the ground - not cold enough here to boot it into action.
Cheers, Marcus
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There have been some beautiful flowers posted in this thread. I'd love to have them all.
Below is Narcissus Baby Moon. To me it looks like a child's drawing of a daffodil brought to life. Such a bold yellow.
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I think it's time for a new camera. The present little Panasonic Lumix has done since Christmas 2005 but is now showing a bluish caste to everything...
Hello Lesley, funny this blue tinge. I recently acquired that too with my camera (Canon Ixus 95). when I played around a bit I found a shooting mode (Underwater ::) ::)) which gave a nice rosy glow. Maybe it's getting tired. - Pity, I like this camera. It's been with me on many a rainforest floor, shooting orchids.
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There have been some beautiful flowers posted in this thread. I'd love to have them all.
Below is Narcissus Baby Moon. To me it looks like a child's drawing of a daffodil brought to life. Such a bold yellow.
What a wonder time of the year for flowering bulbs! And the iris, tulips and calochortus are yet to really arrive.
I love the perfectness and precision of daffodils - so exquisite in their dwarf forms.
Lesley I have the same camera as you and while I find it a very servicable unit I do think it has a couple of drawbacks. And one is confering a blue tinge to black. Have a look at the hellebore flower posted below. This is almost mat black with red tones if light is shone through it. One would definitely be forgiven for thinking it was blue/black.
I also don't think it handles yellows that well. The other picture of the Farrer Medal winning Iris suaveolens fails to convey the primrose tints in the flower and renders them rather cold and "washed out". Ditto the picture of Iris attica.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hello Lesley, funny this blue tinge. I recently acquired that too with my camera (Canon Ixus 95). when I played around a bit I found a shooting mode (Underwater ::) ::)) which gave a nice rosy glow. Maybe it's getting tired. - Pity, I like this camera. It's been with me on many a rainforest floor, shooting orchids.
I am thinking of getting a duty-free one since I'll be going overseas but haven't decided what. I need to go into the stores and have a poke around. Trouble is, when I DO visit such places, the sales guys always seem to know that I haven't a clue with electronic stuff and either shove the most expensive under my nose or are so patronising I want to walk away.
Adding to your note above Marcus, mine doesn't do reds well either, they're pinkish and less rich than they should be. I see at the NZAGS Study Weekend at the beginning of next Feb, Harry Jans is doing a photography workshop. I'll be a starter for that. And again, my F. aurea is about the same height as yours, i.e. sitting on the ground. Can't remember where the seed came from but it does vary enormously in height. Some seedlings from Pilous seed are about 15cms in height - and fertile. :D
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Tulipa saxatilis is starting to bloom in the rock garden
[attachthumb=1]
Tulipa hageri - hopefully the true species this time!
[attachthumb=2]
[attachthumb=3]
[attachthumb=4]
Narcissus 'Golden Echo'
[attachthumb=5]
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
You seem to be a little ahead of me on the tulip front - I will get up to my mountain beds today and take the camera.
Lesley - I find that Fritillaria aurea will elongate its stem once the flowers are pollinated and the seedhead starts to form. Its a slow species but rewarding - ditto tubiformis which I grew from Otto's stock for years but has slowly dwindled.
Flowers coming thick and fast daily:
Iris suaveolens purple form - beautiful counterpart to the yellow one posted earlier
Fritillaria affinis yellow - superb form
Anemone pavonina x coronaria - originally from Highdown - a weed here
Cheers, Marcus
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Well that would explain my F. aurea as although I get 3 or 4 flowers on my little raised bed clump, they are never out at the same time to cross pollinate. They're from FGAGS seed and have never set any seed. On the other hand, I did get seed last year from the Pilous collection plants, crossing two in flower at once. One was pure yellow with no chequering and the other finely veined with red.
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Hi Folks,
Following on Fermi's tulip theme. I am posting the following:
Tulipa Flaming Purissima
Tulipa x vvedenskyi Opus One -- One of Janis' creations and a lovely thing too
Tulipa x greigi (with vvedenskyi?) Goldmine - another from the great man
Tulipa humilis Lilliput - cute little form
Tulipa humilis violacea yellow base
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi
Some photos of the potted plants from the recent Canberra Show. They belong to Paul.
Regards
Graham
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Aye, aye, he was keeping that quiet! Thanks for letting us know, Graham!
Didn't he do well? 8)
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Well done Paul.
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Well done Paul. Fabulous pots!
Cheers, Marcus
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A few more from Hill View:
Erythronium tuolumense
Crocus x tomm Ruby Giant
Scilla siberica
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
A few more corydalis - all from Janis Ruksans:
Corydalis solida ssp transsylvanica
Corydalis solida White knight
Corydalis decipiens
Cheers, Marcus
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Some photos of the potted plants from the recent Canberra Show. They belong to Paul.
No wonder he had to rush back home after the Dandenongs! ;D
Well done, Paul.
cheers
fermi
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Thanks for that Graham. Did you have to? ::) ;D
I don't mind the photos, it's just that the plants just aren't that good. They were all badly neglected and in most cases were about the only entry in the class. Better to have an imperfect plant in a class than no class at all I feel, but none of them were particularly good other than the Erythronium. Given I only entered about 9 or 10 entries in the whole show I did extremely well with that champion pot plant and champion container of flowers as well (5 perfect spikes of Prunus 'Elvins').
Thank you everyone for your best wishes. 8)
I have some general pics of the show still in my camera that I took to post here, but I barely even got a chance to have a proper look at the show at all. I stewarded all morning, had some lunch and was at work by 1pm so didn't get any time to wander around and look properly at everything. Such a shame. I did have a quick look at the mini daffs of course, but even that wasn't long enough. And there were so many camellias that there would have been some wonderful treasures to discover I'm sure if I had the chance to look at them. :'(
And sorry that I still haven't posted pics from the Victorian trip. I worked Saturday and Sunday (after helping set up the show on Friday and Saturday morning), got into the garden a bit on Monday and Tuesday (Hort Society monthly meeting Monday night as well) and caught up on groceries, washing etc, headed to Sydney today to pick up Cymbidium orchids for selling at our Orchid Society Show this weekend, I'm working tomorrow and Friday, the Orchid show all weekend, then working Monday and Tuesday. Oh yeah, and I'm currently trying to write an article on my clumsy attempts at growing Australian Terrestrial Orchids for the Horticultural Society Bulletin, and that article has to be finished by Monday, around everything else. :o I expect to have time to scratch myself about next Wednesday.... if I'm lucky. ;D
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Come on Paul that grand champion erythronium looked great - it would rival the Jack and the Beanstalk story ;D
Sounds like you have a very busy schedule so I won't hold you to the Victorian trip.
Couple of my favourite arums out. Can these be grown outdoors in Scotland or for that matter the UK? Can apricots and nectarines be successfully grown?
Arum palestinum
Arum hygrophilum
Had some problems with the wildlife with this group. Not that they want to eat them :D. It seems I have planted most of them on some ancient ancestral wallaby path and the damage has been considerable. Plus a fence fell on them in our recent gales.
Cheers, Marcus
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Just a few pics from our garden - the last for a while as I'm away from the computer for a week ;D
Firstly some tulips:
Tulipa 'Little Beauty'
One of my favourites - the Lady Tulip, Tulipa clusiana,
though her mascara seems to have smudged in the second pic!
Tulipa kolpakovskiana
cheers
fermi
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Some other blooms:
Geissorhiza splendidissima x 2
Geissorhiza orinthogaloides - first flower from NZAGS seedex second year from seed!
Acis trichophylla - looking very pink this year - and yes, Marcus, this is the one I got from you originally!
Romulea hartungii
And just to prove to Lesley that I haven't managed to kill off the mertensia that I got from Tim from seed she sent over!
cheers
fermi
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Hi Folks,
A medley of muscari today from a very gloomy southern island.
Muscari armeniacum "Gul" seedlings - for you Paul I noted that you were ogling a northern post of this plant
Muscari anatolicum - JJA number
Muscari polyanthum - is it the same as armeniacum? I'll let the peptide counters work it out
Muscari polyanthum album - From Janis
Bellevlia dubia - a JJA number - Alan Edwards collection in Sicily if I recall correctly
Cheers, Marcus
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Lovely Fermi,
Marcus,
Thanks. That is a beauty. I love the contrasts in the anatolicum as well. Now, can you please remember to remind me to ask you about these in summer? ;D
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Hi folks,
Sure Paul we can do that no problemo.
A few more bits and pieces from Hill View:
Fritillaria acmopetala - the darkest one I have ever seen! Grown from seed and a bit of a find.
Narcissus Three of Diamonds - Lovely over-lapping petals. Is it a Rod Barwick creation?
Iris vicaria - not as lovely as I. aucheri but at least its easy.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus
Three of Diamonds was bred by Mary Lou Gripshover of the US not Rod. It is fertile so useful for breeding miniatures.
Kind regards
Graham
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Thanks Graham - I wasn't sure it was Rod's - it didn't seem like his type of thing. I could have checked his catalogue but you saved me the trouble ;D.
A couple of paeonies have popped into view:
Paeonia mascula ssp hellenica - My personal favourite and a cracker of a plant. Only a bud - the rain has ruined the first flowers.
Paeonia ? sp - came in a packet of P. flavescens seed from Jim Archibald. Any ideas?
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
I seems to be the only one posting :(.
Few more spring flowers:
Chionodoxa gigantea alba - A wonderful ground cover - I think it has now been labelled Chionodoxa forbesii alba
Fritillaria uva vulpis - Easy but rather inelegant little frit.
Fritillaria bithynica - this is the smooth capsule race from around Denizli.
Cheers, Marcus
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All of my bithynicas, from whatever source, have unwinged capsules. I've had some seed from you Marcus in hope/expectation of getting winged capsules when they flower. Should be next year. A lot of mine are plain glaucous green on the outside and glossy lime green inside but quite a few have the pink edging stripe as in yours above. Someone on the Forum, could have been Gerry Webster, suggested these could be of hybrid origin, I think F. pinardii was suggested as a possible parent, but presumably a few generations back as the pinkish ones seem to be relatively stable now, from seed.
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Fritillaria bithynica - this is the smooth capsule race from around Denizli.
Cheers, Marcus
Hi Marcus,
May I ask why this description came about please? I see that a very similar flower is pictured on the Fritillaria Group website, also as F. bithynica from Denizli. In 'The revision of the genus Fritillaria L. (Liliaceae) in the Mediterranean region (Turkey)' by Mehtap TEKŞEN and Zeki AYTAÇ, of 2011, the winged capsule is a diagnostic feature of F. bithynica. ???
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Lesley - I don't remember suggesting this but as senile decay progresses anything is possible.
I've just had a look at Flora of Turkey (Rix) who describes the flowers as "glaucous-green to yellowish-green, sometimes with purple markings". I suppose to some eyes (or in herbarium specimens) the tepal margins, as on Marcus's plants might look purple.
Edit:
Rix describes the capsule as "usually with 6 wings", as do -
Mehtap TEKŞEN & Zeki AYTAÇ (2011) The revision of the genus Fritillaria L. (Liliaceae) in the Mediterranean region (Turkey). Turk. J. Bot. 35, 447
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Hi Lesley,
Isn't it strange - my situation is the exact reverse! Nearly all my stock originates from Samos or west of Mugla and they all have plain glaucous green, occasionally yellowish, and winged capsules. The unwinged ones originate from near Tavas south east of Denizli. I have not found it there despite my best efforts but Rannweg and Bob Wallis did and sent me a few.
I don't think hybridity explains the variable colour. F. pinardii in my experience doesn't meet F. bithynica in its range and The Fritillaria Group's website features a range of forms and colours for this species.
Cheers, Marcus
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I have not found it there despite my best efforts but Rannweg and Bob Wallis did and sent me a few.
Does anyone know if they wrote up this discovery anywhere?
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Ron,
I believe the two forms have been described by Rix and reported within the pages of the Fritillaria Group's bulletins but I can't remember which ones.
Davis certainly describes the capsule "as usually 6 winged tapering towards the base". Maybe Gerry can shed some light from Rix's description in Flora of Turkey (Rix)?
I don't think they have published anything on this plant but they certainly told me where to look for it.
I dont have a copy of 'The revision of the genus Fritillaria L. (Liliaceae) in the Mediterranean region (Turkey)' by Mehtap TEKŞEN and Zeki AYTAÇ, of 2011. Is it online?
Cheers, Marcus
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Here Marcus,
http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-11-35-5/bot-35-5-1-0812-9.pdf (http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/issues/bot-11-35-5/bot-35-5-1-0812-9.pdf)
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Thanks!
M
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Further info from Flora of Turkey which I didn't read properly the first time. " Populations with unwinged capsules are scattered throughout the southern part of the distribution of the species."
In Kew Bull. 30, 162 ( 1975) Rix refers to unwinged specimens from nr. Aydin, nr. Efes, nr. Izmir & from Samos. He states that a cross between unwinged & winged forms produced a plant with a more narrowly winged capsule
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Hi Gerry,
Thanks for clearing up that part. But what of the revision 2011, by the two Turkish Botanists?
I will have to set aside some time to read it - in between pricking out cyclamen and writing my new seed list!!
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
Just had a quick look at 'The revision of the genus Fritillaria L. (Liliaceae) in the Mediterranean region (Turkey)' by Mehtap TEKŞEN and Zeki AYTAÇ, of 2011.
As a footnote to the description for Fritillaria milasense I found this, "It is stated in a footnote in the Flora of Turkey that, in the southern part of the distribution of the F. bithynica species, populations with unwinged capsules exist. Morphologically, these specimens differ from F. bithynica by their glaucous leaves (not green); bracts 1 (-2) [not (1-) 3 (-4)]; flowers purple with a clear yellow stripe outside and inside or yellow with purplish-brown stripe and with a yellowish apex outside (not outside glaucous, inside yellowish-green, shining green), capsule 9-11 × 10-12 mm, unwinged (not 13-28 × 10-18 mm, 6-winged).
Bit confused by this, firstly. Why is it placed under the description for F. milasense because it doesn't match it's description? Is it still an undecided species? Secondly they describe F. bithynica as having green leaves - not in my backyard does it!!
Any ideas?
Cheers, Marcus
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They are right about the difference in the bracts - just checked.
M
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Confusing (& confused?):
1. Rix's statement about populations is not in a footnote but in the body of the text in my copy.
2. The claim about morphology is not - as implied - in Flora of Turkey.
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a few plants in flower in my garden at the moment:
Anigozanthos gabrielae ,the smallest of the Kangaroo Paws from Western Austalia ,I know of
Clematis 'Sweet Hart' a New Zealand hybrid trained upwards -there is another plant scramblig over rocks in my rockgarden
and a beautyful darkflowered seedling with dark leaves of Trillium rivale . I'm indebted to my dear friend Viv Condon who shared seeds with me
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Luscious trillium, Otto - Rasberry Sorbet!
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Hi Otto,
Lovely pictures - has the clematis hybrid got C. paniculata genes in it? Such a lovely species but such a climber - the flowers are usually out of sight in a few years. Maybe someone finally decided to try and keeps its flowers near the ground for better viewing!
Lot of iris starting to move so here is a small sample:
Iris falcata - controversial? species from central Greece offer as seed from Pilous
Iris taochia - lovely species - Fermi posted a picture of his over a month ago.
Iris subbiflora hybrid - originally a lovely gift from Pat Toolan.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi again,
I'll finish up today with a few more frits from Hill View:
Fritillaria aff. pontica - a bewildering plant originally from Bob and Rannweig Wallis.
Fritillaria olivieri - a Gotenborg Botanic Garden collection.
Fritillaria mutica - originally from Ron Ratko collection (North West Native Seeds - no defunct)
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
I'm very envious of your frits! I haven't had much success with frits in the past so I've all but given up. :'(
Otto,
That Trillium rivale is just beautiful.
Fermi,
Geissorhiza splendidissima - I had to put on my sunglasses to view that close-up. ;) Spectacular. Was that grown from seed? How long did it take from seed to flower? I'm growing Geissorhiza monanthos from seed at the moment. I hope it's as vibrant as yours when it finally flowers.
Below is a blue Dierama (I assume it's "Blue Belle"). It's just starting to flower. I hope it's still in flower after I get back from Tasmania. It's the first year I've had it.
I created a raised garden bed this year (I have clay soil) and tried growing some Dutch hybrid tulips in it. I've had mixed results. I don't think I made the mix free draining enough. I'll have to sort it out over summer.
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a few plants in flower in my garden at the moment:
Anigozanthos gabrielae ,the smallest of the Kangaroo Paws from Western Austalia ,I know of
Clematis 'Sweet Hart' a New Zealand hybrid trained upwards -there is another plant scramblig over rocks in my rockgarden
and a beautyful darkflowered seedling with dark leaves of Trillium rivale . I'm indebted to my dear friend Viv Condon who shared seeds with me
Fabulous trillium, Otto - nothing as good as that over here (unless someone's keeping quiet!).
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Jon , do not give up growing Fritillarias in Glen Waverley . I'm certain you will have success with most of the mediterranean and turkish etc , species . When I gardened in Bentleigh some 40 years ago I grew and flowered many species , only F. meleagris ( it thrivesup here in the Dandenong Ranges ) did not like the hot summers , also imperialis languished .
I suggest you construct bulbframes/ raised beds and mix in plenty of grit and coarse sand into the potting mix and some dolomite . I was also successful with a lot of other more difficult bulbs : Cyclamen rohlfsianum , graecum etc. , Tulipa . Crocus , reticulata Iris , oncocyclus Iris , Juno Iris - I remember I . palaestina and rosenbachiana for example flowered in their third year from seed .
So do give it another try ,
Otto.
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Lovely sunny day today with 22oCelsius.
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Iris paradoxa and just to compare differences here is Iris paradoxa ssp paradoxa x Iris kirkwoodii and a closeup.
Iris bicapitata ex BIS ex Tony Willis.
Iris lutescens ex SIGNA seed
tag was wrong so what is it?
One of the first Iris lactea clumps beginning to flower
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Jon , do not give up growing Fritillarias in Glen Waverley . I'm certain you will have success with most of the mediterranean and turkish etc , species .
Okay Otto. I'll try some of the mediterranean and turkish species and see how they go.
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Marcus,
Clematis 'Sweet Hart' is - I think - either a seedling selection or possibly another hybrid of the same parents (paniculata x marmoraria or vice versa) as x Cartmanii 'Joe', which has not been distributed in NZ so far as I'm aware. Maybe the Cartmans have it' 'Sweet Hart is not a mis-spelleing but was named for a South Canterbury gardener Jenny Hart. It may have come from her garden. The general opinion among the local sources is that it is better than x Cartmanii 'Joe' and is great either as a moderate climber or to fall over the edge of a wall or tub.
Having said that, if you could see C. paniculata in the bush along the northern motorway out of Dunedin at present, or in the wooded area next to the southern entrance to the city or in the gorse at the end of my street, you'd find it hard to say that any derivative of the original could be better. They are fabulous this year.
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This is the first (and probably the last, judging by the yellow leaves at the base) flower on my Gentiana acaulis. I've now placed the pot in a polystyrene box where it only gets morning sun. They say we are now experiencing El Niño again so it looks like it's going to be a warm and dry spring and summer here (28 degrees forecast here for Thursday). :-\
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Must get some Iris paradoxa. Those flowers are lovely. 8)
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Just catching up with this topic finally. Haven't had a chance to comment for a while....
The Iris paradoxa is breathtaking. Wow!! WOW!! :o
I also love Otto's Trillium, as he well knows from when I was there ;). Good to see that you got the Anigozanthos as well.... I found one at a nursery here yesterday myself, which is now planted happily in my garden (pretty much a record to get it planted the same day, it happens so very rarely!! ;D)
Anthony, that is a rather spectacular Mesembryanthemum (which I have a vague feeling is now called something else entirely, isn't it?). Such an unfortunate nickname of Pigface (the plant, not Anthony! ::)). :-\
Marcus, great Frits and Iris too.
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I wasn't able to post these pics last month - but they belong in this thread.
Tulipa batalini Honky Tonk x2
Tulipa. aff sprengeri
Tulipa saxatilis
Paeonia cambessedesii x2
DBI Slang
DBI Pause
Moraea spathulata x2
cheers
fermi
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Someone called it Delosperma cooperi Paul.