The Spring Exhibition in Praha

[johanneshoeller]

Here are some photos of the early spring exhibition in Praha which I have visited on Monday.
Hans

Part 1

[Susan Band]

Amazing, totally gobsmaking quantity of different cushions.
Strange how the custom in Prague is to hid the clay pots with plastic whereas here we hide the plastic with clay.

[johanneshoeller]

Part 2:
The last 4 Dionysia photos are taken in the greenhouse of Mr. Jiri Papousek.
The Helleborus (semi double) is a plant from Mr. Zdenek Rehacek and was grown from seed of Australia (not Austria)! The original plant looks like the seedling!

[Loripep]

Beautiful pictures Hans! I loved seeing the neat groups on saxifraga on the bench. Wonder if I could do that at home, all nicely labelled.

Lori Peplinskie

[johanneshoeller]

And 4 Fritillarias (latifolia?, carica, tubiformis and aurea)which were not all shown at the exhibition.All are plants from Mr. Rehacek who has a wonderful garden. Some of us will visit his garden during the Czech International Rock Garden Conference.

Hans

[gmoen]

Susan
I am not sure but I do think they have another reason for putting the clay pots into plastic pots than just to hide them. During my visits to CZ I have notised that most people grow their alpines in clay pots. Plants in clay pots that needs constantly moist conditions (like Dionysia), have to be placed into moist sand in plastic containers to survive an exebition that lasts for several days. I also find the clay pots most useful to grow alpines as long as they not are supposed to be lifted out for shows and exibitions. But that is not a problem to me, last show in Norway was once during the 1980's I think......

[mark smyth]

I want to go! spring 2008 comes to mind. Stunning cushions and I want some

[Carlo]

Susan et al,

The last comments (gmoen) are particularly apt. The Czechs are master growers as anyone can see. Perfect plants like these are probably grown entirely in alpine houses and frames where clay pots are plunged to their rims in coarse sand or very fine gravel. This provides a cool and continuously moist root zone much like the plants would experience between/under rocks in the wild--and the ideal growing conditions many of us strive for in our gardens.

Removing the pots for show exposes their porous sides to significant drying action--and warms the root zone. Creating individual plunges--or even sliding the terra cotta container into a plastic one, will make a big difference for the few days it sits on the bench before being returned to its home.

Carlo

[johanneshoeller]

Carlo, it is correct what you say. But some Czech gardeners and I too do not remove the clay pots out of the plastic after a show. We only do water the with sand filled part of the plastic pots and not the pot with the plants - if it is possible. So the roots always have cooler conditions and are never too dry or too wet.

Hans

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Thank You Hans for all the pictures. Your photos are spiritual feast for me, all the more I weren't there.

[Susan Band]

Are the plastic pots plunged as well or by having the sand between the clay and the plastic mean that the plastic can then just be placed next to each other doing away with the plunge bed?

[Carlo]

Susan,

The plastic pots are probably used as a portable solution for clay pots that had been plunged in a bench and were lifted for show. A bench plunge is still preferable as it provides more consistent conditions across a range of pots.

Carlo

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for the pictures Hans-fabulous

[henkw]

Thanks Hans for the very nice pictures

Dionysia photos: do you have any names

Henk Westerhof

[Lesley Cox]

What an amazing collection. A million thanks. Definitely "master growers." Some names would be great if possible.

I know the Australian double white hellebore well. Mine came from there too. It comes true from seed.