September 2013 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Thanks John -  I must clearly think more closely about my perceptions of such flowers. Exciting to think these exotic looking flowers might be happy here!

[brianw]

re: Belamcanda

Seed of the yellow form I sowed indoors end of last year is in flower now (outside), and has been for a few weeks. Do they self seed outside in Canada or is the season too short?

[rgc]

Hi
I only joined the SRGC a fortnight ago and so am very much a newbie and this is my first post. I have attached a picture of Gentian 'Lucerna' taken yesterday in my garden. Not sure of the variety of the light blue gentian flowers in the foreground - promise to be more careful in recording purchases in the future as labels do get lost.

Gentian 'Lucerna' started flowering a couple of weeks ago and is significantly earlier than my sino-ornata which is still in bud.
Bob

[Maggi Young]

Hello Bob, and a very warm welcome to you!

It's a real joy when the glorious autumn gentians flower, isn't it? And yours are looking very healthy. Super clump of 'Lucerna'. 
The pale blue one has that fabulous Farreri-like colour  and may well be one of the 'Silken Skies'  hybrids raised by the Levers at Aberconwy...... or should that be 'Silken Star'? 

[Maggi Young]

Hello Bob, and a very warm welcome to you!

It's a real joy when the glorious autumn gentians flower, isn't it? And yours are looking very healthy. Super clump of 'Lucerna'. 
The pale blue one has that fabulous Farreri-like colour  and may well be one of the 'Silken Skies'  hybrids raised by the Levers at Aberconwy...... or should that be 'Silken Star'? 

Ian McNaughton has raised several in that colour, such as 'Braemar'  ( from MacPlants)

[David Nicholson]

Welcome Bob, you'll like it here. Gentians don't do well in my part of the UK (or maybe in my case the grower makes a botch of them!) your's seem to thrive though. 'Lucerna' is a double, here's MartinR's close-up picture from the 2008 Ponteland Show

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2452.msg58688#msg58688

[Roma]

David, I don't think Gentiana 'Lucerna' is double.  'Eugen's Allerbester is the only double I have come across.  See Edrom Nurseries list of gentians.  They have a huge selection.

[David Nicholson]

Looks double on Martin's pic above Roma and he considered it to be double. Maybe it was wrongly named at the Show.

[Maggi Young]

I think the Ponteland plant  must have been mislabelled-  I'm pretty sure 'Lucerna' is a single.

[François Lambert]

September means the first apples, the first pears and sugar plums ready to be picked from the tree ...

But there's something new flowering this year !  For the first time I have Hedychium Coccineum flowering.  I purchased the rhizome 4 years ago and in the first year it grew one shoot of just 10 cm.  Each next year it has grown a new taller shoot and this year finally I have my first flower.

[François Lambert]

Yet another surprise : a hardy begonia flowering

I received some years ago a few tiny bulbils of different hardy begonia's.  In their first 2 years they hardly grew to plants more than 5 cm high, in the third year I forgot to place them outside (I was a bit disappointed by the weak growth) so they spent one and a half year in dry dormancy, at some moment last fall I moved the pots to an unheated barn where they spent winter and were exposed to quite heavy frost.  I assumed they were dead, so as i always do I reused the potting soil for another plant ... and suddenly something that resembles to a begonia started growing in June !  looking at the flower it makes me think this one could be Begonia evansiana, however the foliage looks more like an annual seed Begonia on a steroids diet.

btw ... the plant that's supposed to grow in this pot is a Hardy Hippeastrum 'nenette'.

[Maggi Young]

Oops! My apologies- this thread was accidentally "locked" - I've fixed that now.
I really must  get new spectacles   

[angie]

Oops! My apologies- this thread was accidentally "locked" - I've fixed that now.
I really must  get new spectacles   

Me to. I thought I was getting a bargain today, without my glasses on I bought a shrub at £9.99, never saw the 2 infront of it  old age is catching me up 

Angie 

[Roma]

Me to. I thought I was getting a bargain today, without my glasses on I bought a shrub at £9.99, never saw the 2 infront of it  old age is catching me up 

Angie 

Oh dear, Angie that was a BIG mistake.  Hope it was something really exciting.

A pretty picture in the garden
In the greenhouse - another pretty picture
Tweedia caerulea
Thunbergia alata 'African Sunset'

[angie]

Lovely colour there Roma.
Just thought I would pick up some cheap shrubs to give to my niece for her new garden. Next time glasses on. This isn't the first time I have done this 

Angie