Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Iris => Topic started by: Alessandro.marinello on March 27, 2009, 07:56:49 PM
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Now in flower, light perfumed :)
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So is mine Alessandro but it is the first year of flowering and the one flower I have is quite small.
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A very beautiful form, Alessandro The wide heart-shaped falls are gorgeous.
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So is mine Alessandro but it is the first year of flowering and the one flower I have is quite small.
sure the next year you will have two big flowers
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A very beautiful form, Alessandro The wide heart-shaped falls are gorgeous.
Thanks Maggi
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Hermodactylus tuberosus
A huge clump flowering at Highdown Gardens, W. Sussex a few days ago.
This is the famous chalk garden created by Sir Frederick Stern & now lovingly cared for by Worthing District Council to whom he bequeathed it.
Stern was a banker but one who was a good deal more public spirited than many of the current collection of greedy spivs.
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Is Highdown fully open to the public please Gerry, and would you recommend a visit?
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How grand to see it growing outside in such a natural looking setting...... it would never do that up here :'(
It seems over the last couple of days that Scotland is no longer the comfortable refuge for greedy banking peers that it once was :o ::) perhaps that means the "climate" will change for the gardeners and I will be able to have swathes of widow iris outdoors?? !!
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Is Highdown fully open to the public please Gerry, and would you recommend a visit?
David - yes it is open to the public every day & free too. At this time of year it closes at 4.30pm. I would certainly recommend a visit; it's a wonderful garden though, for my taste, it's at its best in Spring. We made our regular Spring visit last weekend when it appeared not quite as advanced as usual. With the idea of posting on 'Places To Visit' I took a few photos but they are not terribly good because of the wind. I'll have another look at them & if I think any are tolerable I'll post them.
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Lovely pictures of a smashing plant.I have seen it in the wild in large numbers but have never succeeded in growing it
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Virtually can't kill it here!! (famous last words of course, mine will now promptly turn up their toes after many many years of success. ::))
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Beautiful!!
Isn't it called now Iris?
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you are rigth Miriam, ideed it gives it's name to the section Hermodactyloides that include all reticulatas.
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Can't kill it here either but as for getting it to flower, that's quite another thing. :'(
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Did not see it in flower in Mid-march 1961 , when Sir Frederick and Lady Stern invited me for lunch at 'Highdown', but was thrilled to find a clump of Iris winogradowii in flower in the garden - the first time I saw this species .
Lady Stern collected me at the station , i think it was Goring by the Sea , in her Rolls -Royce , and lunch was served by a butler - not your daily routine in Australia - but it was enjoyable ,as was the tour around the garden, nice memories .
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You wouldn't have joined the Worshipful Company of Name Droppers would you Otto? ;D
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Did not see it in flower in Mid-march 1961 , when Sir Frederick and Lady Stern invited me for lunch at 'Highdown', but was thrilled to find a clump of Iris winogradowii in flower in the garden - the first time I saw this species .
Lady Stern collected me at the station , i think it was Goring by the Sea , in her Rolls -Royce , and lunch was served by a butler - not your daily routine in Australia - but it was enjoyable ,as was the tour around the garden, nice memories .
Otto - they may not have been there in 1961. Since taking over, Worthing DC has done a lot of planting as well as removing some old & decrepit plants. It's still enjoyable but the house is now a restaurant with no connection to the garden. Not a butler or a Rolls to be seen.
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Dear Lesley ,
it is time that you acknowledge my place in society -
but no need to worship me ;D
Otto.
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Dear Lesley ,
it is time that you acknowledge my place in society -
but no need to worship me ;D
Otto.
;D ;D ;D
Really, Otto .... we are not worthy.....
[attach=1]
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Dear Lesley ,
it is time that you acknowledge my place in society -
but no need to worship me ;D
Otto.
;D ;D ;D
Really, Otto .... we are not worthy.....
Don't humour him, Maggi ;D
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I've had Hermodactylus tuberosus for over ten years now.
They flowered the first two years and since then it is the first year one of them is flowering. I seem to share this with Lesley: I can't kill them but they don't want to flower either.
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Yet some friends who grow it have it flower like crazy every year. Maddening.
I had an email today from friend Tim, Otto's neighbour and Tim referred to Otto as a superstar, something to do with a large planting project. No wonder he gets these big ideas about himself. ;D
Just been asking Teddy what naughty thing he's been up to. Reminds me of something from way back, a quotation I think that went "see what little Johnnie's doing and tell him not to do it."
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Otto I can only humbly bow to your experience and expertise after seeing your garden back in November.
And Maggie you do make us laugh so much with your apt comic inclusions
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Dear Maggi and Pat ,
all that adulation is getting too much for a shy person , I shall retreat into my shell
again.
But Lesley, wait for this :David Glenn -here in Victoria - in his latest Bulb List
gives my the title "Prince of small Bulbs"
no smart comments from you Lesley, please - but I still love you.
Otto.
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Hi there,
H.tuberosus with I fancy a hint of blue around the black! Will post some pics later of wild forms in Greece.
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Being amongst such stellar individuals I hesitate to offer any advice ..... but ..... I too seldom had flowers on my Hermodactylus tuberosus in their pots, until I started feeding them. Now, if I repot every year while dormant and give them a slow release bulb food, I get flowers every year. Without the extra food I just get lots of leaves. So they obviously like a bit of extra food. Those of you who don't get flowers try give them some extra supper, and they might reward you with some flowers. I grow them in a very free draining mix in full sun. I hope that might be of some help. :D
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Paul,
Sound advice, in Greece the most floriferous Hermodactylus were growing in sunny woodland margins, I imagine therefoere they get a stable input of nutrients plus good light levels!
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Paul,
Sound advice, in Greece the most floriferous Hermodactylus were growing in sunny woodland margins, I imagine therefoere they get a stable input of nutrients plus good light levels!
In Highdown Gardens they are growing in what was originally a large chalk pit, fairly close to one wall. It's pretty hot with good light but I can't imagine the nutrient levels are all that high naturally. I don't know whether they are fed.
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In Highdown Gardens they are growing in what was originally a large chalk pit, fairly close to one wall. It's pretty hot with good light but I can't imagine the nutrient levels are all that high naturally. I don't know whether they are fed.
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Here in Bulgaria my Hermodayctylus are growing and flowering in lime chippings near my cess pit in full sun, I guess as long as conditions are somewhere near suitable they will flower. In the UK, though they grew well for me in Lincolnshire, I never could flower them, they had the nutrients and were on a south facing wall. The Highdown Garden examples you mention as growing are I assume flowering also? Could it be that they receive nutrients from any run off the chalk pit receives from the surrounding area?
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In Highdown Gardens they are growing in what was originally a large chalk pit, fairly close to one wall. It's pretty hot with good light but I can't imagine the nutrient levels are all that high naturally. I don't know whether they are fed.
Here in Bulgaria my Hermodayctylus are growing and flowering in lime chippings near my cess pit in full sun, I guess as long as conditions are somewhere near suitable they will flower. In the UK, though they grew well for me in Lincolnshire, I never could flower them, they had the nutrients and were on a south facing wall. The Highdown Garden examples you mention as growing are I assume flowering also? Could it be that they receive nutrients from any run off the chalk pit receives from the surrounding area?
Yes, they are flowering; see my pic above (post no 5). I've no idea whether they receive any run off.
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Growing in a coastal meadow near Litochoro, Greece, an attractive form of H.tuberosus.
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Hristo,
That second one is a stunner. Wonderful colour combination. :o
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an attractive form of H.tuberosus
As I read that, I thought, well, as far as I am concerned every form of this plant is gorgeous.... but I see you were right .... a real corker!!
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I agree Maggi, they are all stunners but its always nice to find something a little different. This pic is of a plant bought years ago from Monocot Nursery, flowering for the first time I think, Bulgaria agrees with these gems!
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Stunning form!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures from your trip to Greece.
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A pleasure Miriam, have a couple more to go! These pics are from a plant growing at around 900m in composted sawdust on the edge of a forestry track off a road leading into the Taigetos Mountains. The grey standards were out of the ordinary and the intensity of black on the falls also.
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Gosh, what variation. Lovely to see. 8)
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Eastern Peloponnese - Abandoned olive groves
These are the last images of Hermodactylus seen in Greece this year, the last image represents the most 'yellow' from we saw.
Sadly I forgot to take a pic of one in Litochoro which had aquamarine standards! Another holiday I guess.... :'(
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I never imagined there was such variation in this plant. A pity that everything that has been in commerce, therefore gardens, here, is most likely from a single Dutch source years ago. Wild seed, if it appears on the seedlists will be eagerly snapped up. :D
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Lesley,
I had always thought that there was little if any variation as well...... a range of these variants would be fantastic in the garden, wouldn't they? Great stuff!! 8)
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Just can echo Paul! :o Thanks Chris for showing some superb forms of this species.
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It was my pleasure to share them with you and thanks for you interest and feedback. ;)
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Fantastic pictures on this thread. Does anyone know if anyone has tried crossing Hermodactylus with any of the other reticulata irises, or what the chromosome number is?
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Hi Gail,
I've never heard of anyone having success with this cross and I would seriously doubt that there is any chance it would work. Hermodactylus stands alone in a monospecific genus, I have found reference to and I suspect will no more cross with reticulata types than reticulata will cross with juno types.
Info googled - Hermodactylus 2n=44, Iris reticulata 2n=20
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Amazing colours and great photos. Lets hope seed will be available sometime. This is a photo of my Hermodactylus tuberosus which Roy Elliott gave to me in 1987. It did not take to my pot cultivation, but planted outside it has grown very well and flowers each year.
Mike
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Hi Gail,
I've never heard of anyone having success with this cross and I would seriously doubt that there is any chance it would work. Hermodactylus stands alone in a monospecific genus, I have found reference to and I suspect will no more cross with reticulata types than reticulata will cross with juno types.
Info googled - Hermodactylus 2n=44, Iris reticulata 2n=20
Thank you for the information. I may try some pollen dabbling anyway - like the Red Queen in Through the Looking Glass I'm a firm believer in impossible things before breakfast!
By the way, I bought some Paeonia peregrina seed from you off ebay. Is that a common species in Bulgaria?
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Amazing colours and great photos. Lets hope seed will be available sometime. This is a photo of my Hermodactylus tuberosus which Roy Elliott gave to me in 1987. It did not take to my pot cultivation, but planted outside it has grown very well and flowers each year.
Mike
That's another fantastic Hermodactylus picture Mike. Have you got it in a particularly sunny spot?
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Hi Gail
The plants do grow in full sun, the leaves show very early and are already 6" long. This frosty weather does not seem to do the leaves any harm.
Mike
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(http://www.allfreeportal.com/imghost2/thumbs/465531P1030927.JPG) (http://'http://www.allfreeportal.com/imghost2/viewer.php?id=465531P1030927.JPG')
Hi, I'm a new italian member, i'd like to show you my Hermodactylus tuberosum (or Iris tuberosum) because i haven't seen it on this forum.
PS=sorry for my terrible english
(http://www.allfreeportal.com/imghost2/thumbs/704281P1030928.JPG) (http://'http://www.allfreeportal.com/imghost2/viewer.php?id=704281P1030928.JPG')
Edit by Maggi :27th May 2010: pictures were loaded from an exterior hosting site and have disappeared! :'(
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Hi, Pittaro90, welcome to the Forum.
Good to have you join us... don't worry about your English... we'll be able to understand you perfectly well, I'm sure. 8)
Lovely photos of the "Widow Iris"... one of my favourites, always so very elegant.
Wherabouts in Italy are you? Do you grow many bulbs?
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Hi, i live in Bologna that is in the Pianura Padana. About bulbs now i have Crocus sativus(saffron), Hermodactylus tuberosum, Tulipa pulchela albocaerulea, Camassia, Chasmanthe, Nerine bowdeni, Ismene festalis, Hymenocallis littoralis, Hemerocallis, Pancratium maritimum and Cyclamen hederifolium, but i don't have only bulbs, i like also Ipomoeas and strange plants.
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Hi Pittaro90,
Sounds like a lovely mix of plants that you grow, and a lovely place to grow them in!
Beautiful pictures of your Hermodactylus - one of my favourite plants. It does have another thread on the forum but not in the bulb section; it is under Specific Genera, Iris.
see http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3280.0
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Thanks for the link Gail. I haven't looked back yet but I remember someone showed pictures from the wild of different coloured forms.
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Bob Brown (cotswold garden plants) keeps a few different numberd collections - they are very distinct in coulor
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When checking out the varieties at CGF, I noticed that without exception he recommended limy soil.
He also recommended sun, which means that I've made a boo-boo!
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Don't feel too bad about it, Meanie.... my own optimism (or should that be pig-headedness?) has lead me down that very path many times. :-X
There's a lot of it about in gardening circles!
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Well, they get sun up until midday........
I feel a bit stupid now. In my defense, this is only my second season since I moved here!
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Seems that sun up to midday is enough after all, as three of my plantings have flower buds!
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That's hopeful news. :D
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This is what's flowering now in my garden. I found that the seeds do not store well. I had stored some for the SRGC exchange but had to throw them away, they were al shriveled up.
I grow them in neutral sandy soil with sun except in the evening, on the feet of lilies.
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Iris tuberosa ( Hermodactylus tuberosus)
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Nice one Micheal! Way ahead of mine.............
I spent ages going through your Picassa albums last night - fantastic!
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;D