Flowering Now October 2007

[jomowi]

2nd october and I suppose we need a new topic so here is something for starters

The leaves are staring to change with the colder nights.  but here are three plants to brighten up dull autumn days although the last few days in Aberdeen have been superb. 


First some late Meconopsis punicea; these plants missed the main flowering and unfortunately will die before the spring



Meconopsis punicea,

Doing well this year despite the cool wet summer with at least 4 more flower heads to come is Knifophia triangularis.  Even though we have had it several years with no winter protection I suspect might suffer from a hard winter. 
 


Knifophia triangularis

And finally but by no means least although relatively commonplace but still a good value plant is Cyclamen hederifolium, again liking this summer..  What summer?



Cyclamen hederifolium,

and for those who only see white and green, the Galanthus reginae olgae are just starting to peep through the ground.

Brian Wilson  (Photos Maureen Wilson)

[Lesley Cox]

My Meconopsis punicea are just starting Brian. Pity we can't cross-pollinate them

[Rogan]

Recently I spent a few days hiking in the Drakensberg. This is pehaps a little early for the best flower shows, but early spring rains have done their magic and brought on some good displays such as the simple beauty of forget-me-nots, Myosotis aff. semiamplexicaulis, photographed beside a shady stream high in the Drakensberg mountains. I inadvertantly captured two pollinators in action - can you spot them on the right-hand side of the image?

[Anthony Darby]

That's a lovely blue colour. Very intense.

[David Nicholson]

Just one of the many Lewisia cotyledon hybrids I have, grown from seed collected from plants originally grown from Chiltern seed. Most of them have been in flower since late March and, if last year is anything to go by, will still be in flower in late December. Great value plants for Summer greenhouse colour. I usually collect some seed each year in case I get a particularly interesting colour break but so far various shades of pink and pale apricot seem to be the norm. Next year I shall have some L. cotyledon 'Snowstorm' flowering so it will be interesting to see if adding white to the mix prompts other colour breaks.

[Lesley Cox]

David, even though my white L. cotyledon plants grow with pinks, oranges and the occasional red, the whites always come entirely true from seed. I mean that seed from the whites always comes white. The others seem to do much the same (true to colour I mean, not white) except that the deep reds/magentas seem to get less deep and strongly coloured with successive generations.

I love that glorious blue Rogan. It looks to be a tallish plant?

[Linda_Foulis]

I'm curious as well regarding the myosotis.  Can you give us some more details?

[Paul T]

Are people unfamiliar with forget-me-not?  They have that common name I presume because once you have them you never don't have them.  Took us years to weed them out of our garden here as they are a bit too seedy for us, and the seeds are designed to travel hooked on to items like clothing, dogs, etc so they can be a bit of a pain.  The look stunning en mass if you have the space to do them justice, but in my little garden then could get out of hand very quickly.   It amazes me at times some of the things that are common here and regarded as unsual elsewhere, but then again I'm sure a lot of you are amazed at some of the things I ooh and aaah over that you grow extremely easily where you are!! 

[Anthony Darby]

Forget-me-nots are not unusual Paul, and I'm forever weeding one type out of my garden. In fact, the type seen in garden centres here I regard as a weed. I just like that one because it is very bright blue. Perhaps the grass is greener, or the forget-me-not bluer, on the other side of the fence?

[Paul T]

Do you also know the "Chinese Forget-Me-Not" (I'd have to go and find the name of it, as I can't recall it right now)..... it is a taller plant, growing from a rosette of leaves and a much purer deeper blue.  It I do grow, as teh colour is so nice, and it doesn't smother things like the normal f-m-n.

Sorry for asking re whether they were commonly known or not.  From time to time we find out that things which are common here are rarely seen overseas, because they were brought into this country a century ago when they were commonly in the trade and they have since gone out of it and are rarely found.  Also it comes down to at times having our much warmer summers mean things thrive here that don't in many parts of Europe.  I suppose that applies to so many of the South African things. 

[Lesley Cox]

But Paul there are I-don't-want-to-forget-mes and I-wish-to-God-I-could-forget-mes, and Rogan's looks like one of the former. We all know the weedly kinds but maybe this one is less rampant. The foliage looks interesting anyway.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

I've only ever come across Forget-mes and the Chinese one under the f-m-n name and hadn't thought about there being others in the Myosotis range.  I guess I'll put that one down as strike 4 for boo boos of late.    Quiet now. 

[Rogan]

Forget-me-nots are not unusual Paul, and I'm forever weeding one type out of my garden. In fact, the type seen in garden centres here I regard as a weed. I just like that one because it is very bright blue. Perhaps the grass is greener, or the forget-me-not bluer, on the other side of the fence?

What is Eritrichum but an undernourished forget-me-not? 

[Rob]

An autumn snowdrop. There is another flower just poking through the gravel. I was surprised how long it took this one to go from poking through to full flower. I seemed to be waiting ages.

[Maggi Young]

What is Eritrichum but an undernourished forget-me-not?

Rogan, you could be lynched for that in certain quarters!

I seemed to be waiting ages.

I know, Rob, sometimes a watched bud never opens...