January 2017 in the Southern Hemisphere

[johnw]

re" Nelumbo


A friend's flowered here in 2003.  The warm summer that year helped to raise the water temp enough for it to flower.  He said cold water in summer is apparently an issue with deep water ponds like his.


john


4c

[Jupiter]

Very nice John. We had a white one with green a tinge to them but we weren't keen on it and I gave it away. I wish I hadn't now.

Maggi ours is in a very big pot full of water (half water, half sludgy mud) and it seems to like it. Here's a pic from spring with the lotus dormant.

[johnw]

Jamus  - That white with green sounds delicious!


john

[Jupiter]

Dark and moody.

[fermi de Sousa]

The Mimulus repens is in flower again! Growing in a small pot on top of another pot in a water pot so that it stays moist!
cheers
fermi

[johnw]

Very nice John. We had a white one with green a tinge to them but we weren't keen on it and I gave it away. I wish I hadn't now.

Maggi ours is in a very big pot full of water (half water, half sludgy mud) and it seems to like it. Here's a pic from spring with the lotus dormant.

Jamus  - Does the water go off in that pot?  I ask as I grew my seedlings in pots sunk in a large garbage can.  Within a few weeks I had to get an aquarium aerator to keep the water acceptable.


john

[Jupiter]

John it fluctuates from foul to crystal clear, but it really doesn't matter to the lotus. They are quite happy living in stinking anaerobic mud. We have a couple of gold fish living in there which help keep mosquitoes down. Sometimes a lot of algae grows, then it all dies and sinks and the water is clear. We leave it alone.

[Maggi Young]

From Lesley Cox:  "On Sunday night I watched on TV, a programme called "Wild New Zealand." We had previously seen "Wild Japan" which was excellent. So the more recent programme is proving to be.

  I mention this because near the end was footage of the stunning alpine plant called Ranunculus acraeus. I thought it was R. haastii for a moment but that grows solitary while R. acraeus makes magnificent mats and large clumps. Cliff Booker could perhaps have a cardiac event watching it - but what a way to go!"Link to see the  programmes :
 https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/wild-about-new-zealand
 
 Many SRGC members will be familiar with the story of the naming of Ranunculus acraeus from other posts in the forum over the years.  - so these programmes may have an even greater interest.