General Subjects > Flowers and Foliage Now

March in the Northern Hemisphere

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Robert:
Hi Leena,

Yes, the high elevation forms of Primula (Dodecatheon) hendersonii are certainly hardier to cold weather than the lower elevation forms of this species. How much cold hardiness they might possess remains to be determined. Additional trials need to be conducted beyond the range of our Sacramento garden.

Currently the site where I originally gathered seed is covered by 30 inches (76.2 cm) of snow. On 28 February of this year there was no snow on the ground. With climatic change, fluctuating periods between snow cover and snow free conditions are typical for this site during the winter months. When there is no snow cover, it is not unusual to have below freezing temperatures penetrate well below the soil surface. I have researched this site for many years and have extensive site-specific climatic data sets, as well as data on soil temperatures fluctuations at various depths, and the response of many plant species to the many environmental variables they encounter. It is all very interesting, and hopefully will eventually lead to improved plants for the garden.

If I remember correctly, your garden will start into early spring growth within the coming 30 days. I look forward to seeing your garden as it emerges into new growth. It is always such a pleasure to see.   :)



Here in California spring is progressing. Pictured above is Erythranthe bicolor RMB 1017. This is a new accession for me. I obtained the seeds from a relatively low elevation site (3,354 feet, 1,022 meters) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The plants are noticeably precocious in their blooming cycle compared to the higher elevation forms of this species that I grow.



Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus RMB 1003 is another new accession. This form was obtained from 1,525 feet (465 meters) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This form is also a very early bloomer. This is not an unusual characteristic of this species, but it does extend the blooming period for this species in our garden.

Gabriela

Your spring garden is looking great.  8)   :)

Leena:
Gabriela, you have had a really nice and early spring this year, and everything is already flowering so much! :)
For some reason it seems that when you have warmer winter, here it is colder and vice versa. There is still snow, and even when days may be one or two degrees above zero when the nights are -5 - -10C snowmelting is really slow.
Robert, you are right: spring comes here in April. :)
Picture from last week.

Mariette:
Robert, the range of flowering plants in Your garden is amazing compared with the limited choice we enjoy right now! Your Rhododendron occidentale is very beautiful and scented, I trust, too. This species is available in Europe, also, but would flower one or two months later. Nevertheless, itīs good to learn that itīs rather heat-resistant. In my garden, I lost 2/3 of the rhododendrons thriving for 30 years due to the hotter summers since 2013.

Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus is a very pretty perennial hardly known hereabouts, but would require rock garden conditions in areas with often very humid summers like ours, I fear.

Erythranthe bicolor has a very attractive flowers, too. As an annual, it perhaps might prove more adapting to our climate.

Gabriela, itīs very comforting that flowers in Your garden do not differ much from those in ours right now! The flowers of Your Helleborus purpurascens have an exceptionally good blue!

Robert:

--- Quote from: Mariette on March 11, 2024, 11:16:07 AM ---Robert, the range of flowering plants in Your garden is amazing compared with the limited choice we enjoy right now! Your Rhododendron occidentale is very beautiful and scented, I trust, too. This species is available in Europe, also, but would flower one or two months later. Nevertheless, itīs good to learn that itīs rather heat-resistant. In my garden, I lost 2/3 of the rhododendrons thriving for 30 years due to the hotter summers since 2013.

--- End quote ---

Hi Mariette,

Right now the garden is just starting into its main spring blooming period.

Yes, my early blooming forms of Rhododendron occidentale are very fragrant. The coastal race of Rhododendron occidentale is the dominant form circulating in horticulture. The coastal race and the interior race from the Sierra Nevada Mountains are similar in appearance, but very different in their tolerance of high temperatures and low atmospheric humidity during the summertime. For example, most of the well-known Smith-Mossman selections of Rhododendron occidentale will not survive or grow poorly in interior California gardens where temperatures are extremely high during the summer. In addition, much of the flower color distinction of the Smith-Mossman selections is dependent on cool temperatures during their flowering cycle. In hot weather the pigmentations are much less intense.

We have lost almost all of our Rhododendrons that once grew in our Sacramento garden. Many deciduous azaleas still grow well. Rhododendron austrinum is a good example.


--- Quote from: Mariette on March 11, 2024, 11:16:07 AM ---
Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus is a very pretty perennial hardly known hereabouts, but would require rock garden conditions in areas with often very humid summers like ours, I fear.


--- End quote ---

Many of the Themidaceae species are tolerant of some summertime moisture. It all depends on the species. Triteleia hyacinthina is frequently found in seasonally borderline hydric sites. I have found this species to be very tolerant of summertime irrigation in our Sacramento garden. Other species have tolerance to summertime soil moisture too. Trials need to be conducted.


--- Quote from: Mariette on March 11, 2024, 11:16:07 AM ---
Erythranthe bicolor has a very attractive flowers, too. As an annual, it perhaps might prove more adapting to our climate.


--- End quote ---

Erythranthe bicolor is found in vernally moist sites. At the high end of their elevation range they are frequently seen growing and blooming where lingering snow recently melted. I strongly suspect that they would be very easy to cultivate. The plants I have grown over the years have demonstrated a range of genetic variability. I have a number of distinct breeding lines that I maintain. Additional trials are needed with this species too.



Our Sweetwater Creek selection of Erythronium multiscapideum is coming into bloom now. This seed accession is from 2017. The colony is growing and spreading rapidly after 7 years. Unlike our Deer Valley form of Erythronium multiscapideum this form spreads rapidly from underground rhizomes. It also does not bloom as profusely as our Deer Valley form. The colony from which I gathered seed was ancient and its size could be measured in square kilometers! Most of the plants grow under the dense chaparral plant canopy. Blooming plants have always been difficult to find within this colony of plants. I have been aware of this colony since the 1970’s and I have never observed a profuse blooming cycle.

The colonies of Erythronium multiscapideum from the Rubicon River canyon in the Sierra Nevada Mountains bloom profusely, or at least they did before an overgrowth of native brush began to encroach into this site. Recently, a wildfire burned through this area. I need to get back to this site and see how conditions have changed. There are other fascinating plants in this area too. This is another good reason to check on this site.



Many other California native annuals are just starting into bloom in our Sacramento garden. I grow many of my new miniature Narcissus hybrids in pots. Volunteer seedlings of California native annuals frequently come up in the pots. I always let some of them grow – maybe not such a good idea with the Narcissus seedlings – but it all seems to work out and I get to enjoy the blooming annuals. Pictured is Eschscholzia caespitosa and Nemophila maculata.



In this pot Eschscholzia caespitosa and Eschscholzia lobbii ‘Sundew’ are growing side-by-side. The Narcissus seedlings seem to grow up though the Eschscholzia foliage and grow well, sometimes even blooming. I keep first year seedlings weed free.

ruweiss:
Soldanella hungarica flowers very early in acid soil.
The strange flowers of Asarum maximum in the Alpine House. I tried it in the open garden, but
was not really succesful with it.

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