Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on December 03, 2007, 01:11:25 AM
-
Time to start a new thread!
Where is everyone? Still hiking in the NZ mountains?
cheers
fermi
-
I'm sure we're about to be inundated with pics from NZ, so I'd better get in early and post a few "domestic" pics.
Brodiea californica in the dry rock garden!
[attachthumb=1]
[attachthumb=2]
And flowering for the first time from seed sown in 2005, B. stellaris.
[attachthumb=3]
[attachthumb=4]
cheers
fermi
-
I had to call off my trip to the Blue Mountains as one of my staff was sick and I had to fill in. I have a couple of pics for soon. Potting up irises (DBs) madly in the meantime.
-
Quote "Where is everyone? Still hiking in the NZ mountains?"
We're all home Fermi --however as the hike was organised by the Otago group and i was a guest i'm waiting for David Lyttle to post before' following up behind' so to speak.However i'll leave you with just a little teaser ---What the weather had in store for us upon our arrival on the tops.
Nice Brodiaea stellaris by the way,
We missed you Lesley--
In the meantime i'd like an idea of the name of this Iris flowering here at the moment.Grown from seed but label lost.
Unsure if it's similar to the Iris 'chrysofor' Lesley showed last month so i've reposted her earlier pic for comparison.
Thanks.
Cheers Dave.
-
More of those gorillas in the mist. :D
The iris seems to be of the general conformation of x Chrysofor so that won't be far out. You can usually tell as much from the foliage as from the flower. The colouring is different from the norm though.
I missed me too. Anyone fall into the bog this time? You weren't a guest, as you belong to the Group too.
-
More of those gorillas in the mist. :D
Oh, I see - these strange monuments are gorillas in search for food plants.
I thought first guerillas already arrived in NZ.
Gerd
-
Here are a few things from recent days. We are in the middle of a heat wave, high 20's since Saturday week ago and getting desperate for good rain. It's more like February weather right now. I hope it's not the start of a very long, very hot summer. No rain is forecast in the near future. I'm doing some essential watering, especially of seedlings and things newly planted so I can see I'll be buying water very soon.
First, Lathyrus splendens, a superb climbing pea and it at least, is enjoying the heat. The only reference I could find says never to water it once established. It comes from the hot, dry south western USA. As usual with reds, it's underdone by my camera. Seed pods develop then fall off but it roots quite well from semi-hard cuttings.
[attachthumb=1]
Saponarias again, `Bressingham Hybrid,' same plant as a week or so ago but further out now.
[attachthumb=2]
Then S. `Olivana' on the edge of a wooden rqaised bed.
[attachthumb=3]
and S. pumilio, same raised bed and I'm pleased to note, seeding about a little bit.
[attachthumb=4]
I had a batch of Sedum pilosum in the nursery but they've all gone to flower then will seed, so they'll be chucked out and I'll start over as they're monocarpic. Nice though, en masse.
[attachthumb=5]
Hardly flowering now, this young thrush must have fallen from his nest in a recent wind. He followed me about for an hour, quite mobile on his pins (and very vociferous) but not able to fly. Then he vanished into the undergrowth. I don't know whether he made it or not.
[attachthumb=6]
-
Dave Toole gave me Watsonia coccinea a while back. These are the first flowers. I expected it to be a bit redder and less orange but it's gorgeous all the same, about 25cms in full bloom.
[attachthumb=1]
[attachthumb=2]
This tall ixia hybrid is a really pure blue, a stunning colour, and given to me by a Northland friend a year ago.
[attachthumb=3]
I was a bit disparaging in another topic, about Talinum okanaganense. Here's mine, pressed flat onto the edge of a limestone trough. I guess it has a certain charm and is certainly happier out of its small pot. It is surprisingly permanent, given its relationship to Lewisias. Seems to be some seed forming too.
[attachthumb=4]
Forgive me for yet more pics of Weldenia candida, but this small plant is good today, once I'd picked off all the dead ones.
[attachthumb=5]
And the last, I promise, and only because it is aberrant, with 5 petals and 10 stamens, on the above plant this morning. It will be dying by tomorrow, especially on this hot day.
[attachthumb=6]
-
YOU DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGISE FOR SHOWING LOVELY PICS LESLEY. HOPE MUM FOUND THE WEE NESTLING.
-
Great series Lesley !
You can never post to many pix of that Weldenia - it's a real stunner !!!
-
Great set of photographs, Lesley.
I won't fall into the same mistake as last time re the weldenia and certainly this plant deserves to be photographed and shown many times. It is well grown, great condition and looking just at its best. Great plant!
The orange hue on the Watsonia coccinea does not surprise me. It is difficult to get a good strong clear red. It is nonetheless a good plant.
Many thanks for a lovely posting.
Paddy
-
I haven't seen the little bird since so I hope a local cat didn't get him. He may have been too young to survive on his own.
Yesterday afternoon I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and almost was turning on the tap when I saw some movement. It was the tail end of a small lizard, disappearing down the plug hole. I washed in the kitchen. Later, hoping the lizard might have emerged and be catchable, I found it with just a nose sticking up from the hole. Tried a couple of times during the evening to catch him by the tail but he was too quick and went down each time. Roger put a wooden spoon from the hole to the edge of the basin and this morning he was on the spoon so I was able to take him, spoon and all, outside for release. He must have come in the window which is 6 feet above ground level, otherwise, somehow come up through the drain pipe, u-bend and all. Do lizards swim?
-
Lesley,
some great pics, especially the Weldenia. I also like the saponarias and that sedum.
I wonder if that blue ixia is the same as the one we grow here as "Teal Blue" or "Amethystina".
Ours finished ages ago and are in fact ready for digging!
here's a pic of some taken in October
[attachthumb=1]
cheers
fermi
-
One of the bright spots in the Rock Garden (as well as the edge of a perennial bed) is the sprawling, yellow Evening Primrose, Oenothera missouriensis.
[attachthumb=2]
And here's a close-up of that Brodiea californica which I forgot to include with the original pics.
[attachthumb=1]
cheers
fermi
-
Lovely pictures folks keep 'em coming and try to help me out of my deep Devon 'Autumn Gloom'
-
My ixia isn't `Amethystina' Fermi, which I also have but that one is shorter and a much paler colour. The one in the pic is a man-made hybrid from a north of Auckland garden and has stronger, more positive colour. It grows to a full metre in height, `Amethystina' only half that here, in my dry conditions.
-
Fermi,
Oenothera missourensis is one of my favourite plants, giving years of unfailing service and flowering though, disappointingly no seeds. Does yours set seed?
Paddy
-
Hi Paddy,
not a one! I wonder if it's a sterile clone that's been propagated vegetatively for ages and we need another clone to be able to set seed?
I saw a wonderful form of this in the US which had silver foliage! It may have been a form of O. macrocarpum, but I can't remember now!
Cheers
fermi
-
Fermi,
I grew my plant from seed and so would have expected it to set seed at least occasionally.
Paddy
-
Fermi,
Would that have been Oenothera fremontii 'Lemon Silver'?
-
Hi Carlo,
quite possibly. We saw it in Colorado at the Gardens near Littleton.....er.. little grey cells not working well this late ona Friday afternoon!
cheers
fermi
-
Fermi,
Would that have been Oenothera fremontii 'Lemon Silver'?
This sounds nice.
-
Lesley,
It's got silvery foliage and a kind of pale mid-yellow flower. A good doer in "rock garden" soil and good sun.
-
I doubt if the cultivar is here so I'll keep a lookout for seed which may give a good approximation.
Can anyone remember which topic contained the ribbing of the stoic Martin Baxendale, about his hair - or lack thereof?
-
Lesley, you were ribbing Martin in "Moan moan moan etc ! see here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=918.msg23367#msg23367
-
Thank you Maggi. I don't want to continue ribbing poor Martin but in fact I have something really positive for him.
Goodness, this is post number 2000. I feel a cake coming on. :D :P
-
OOH, congratulations, Lesley.Weather here is so awful I feel the need for warm muffins, actually ;) ::) ::)
-
Congrats, lesley,
perhaps you could make one of those cakes you serve hot with a heated sauce to warm up our Northern Hemisphere chums?
Here are a few floral offerings from the garden and Shadehouse!
First, another dwarf Alstroemeria in the rock garden, A.angustifolia
[attachthumb=1]
the foliage has already burned off but it still manages to bloom.
The next is growing in the SHadehouse as I haven't been successful with it in the garden; A.presliana(? ssp. australis?)
[attachthumb=2]
The powerfully scented, silver-foliaged Salvia cryptantha.
[attachthumb=3]
And now a bit of a mystery plant and not what I expected; Delosperma kofleri, apologies for the poor quality pics.
[attachthumb=4]
[attachthumb=5]
I got seed of it from NARGS Seedex in 2000; didn't get to sow it till 2001 (!) and it didn't germinate till this year! It looks like it would be best in a trough as it so tiny, but I wonder if it'll spread in time? Does anyone else have experience with this one? I think the seed was donated by Panayoti Kelaidis at the Denver Botanic Garden, probably collected by him in South Africa.
cheers
fermi
-
That is a super salvia Fermi. You know the question coming up now, don't you?
-
And the reply question:Is it on MAF?!
Last Saturday was our local AGS group's "Bunfight", our annual plant exchange! A good day was had by all who could attend and as usual we came back with more than we took, though we did take a few dry bulbs which didn't take up much room!
We also won the second prize in the raffle which was a Cynorkis ridleyii! And before you say "A What?" I'd better post a pic of it:
[attachthumb=1]
[attachthumb=2]
[attachthumb=3]
Looking at the internet, this isn't apparently C. ridleyi but more likely C. uncinata, but I'm no orchid expert and can say that I've killed more than I've gotten to grow and flower! Bad news for Tim as he's been promised the first offset! Hopefully with some help from the Forum we may get it to survive long enough to produce a viable offspring to give Tim.
So, who's got some advice on how to keep this going?
cheers
fermi
The Orc(hid)-Killer!
-
A lovely orchid Fermi. Looks like an Australian native maybe?
-
No, actually as far as I can make out it's from Madagascar!
I'm still waiting to hear if anyone on the Forum has some tips about growing it!
cheers
fermi
-
I'm blooming a Madagascan orchid Oceoclades roseovariegata...with the most amazing black and pink leaves...give my a day or two to check the books and I can give you a bit of info on your plant...
-
An old online issue of the Atlanta Orchid Society newsletter relates the following cultural information for Cynorchis:
porous compost in shallow pot or pan
lots of water while in growth, cut back when leaves begin to yellow
most species of the genus are at least partially deciduous
many are tuberous
related to Habenaria
-
Thanks, Carlo,
You'll have to post a pic of your orchid - it sounds amazing!
cheers
fermi
-
Thanks, Carlo,
You'll have to post a pic of your orchid - it sounds amazing!
cheers
fermi
You took the words right out of my keyboard, Fermi!
-
Back to the garden this morning for a few more pics.
Firstly an absolute thug who is only forgiven when its flowers open! Campanula punctata "Wedding Bells"
[attachthumb=1]
And Dianthus erinaceus in as full a bloom as it ever gets!
[attachthumb=2]
cheers
fermi
-
I find with D. erinaceus that it needs heaps of water late Sept/early October until the buds are well advanced. Then it makes masses of buds and so long as the plant doesn't dry out they will form fully then open. I even get seed most years that I remember to give the water. This year I didn't and as a result of our hot very dry late spring, Oct through Nov and this last week, of December, I could show you plants with many hundreds of aborted buds, not a single proper flower opened and even the whole plants are almost dead, they're so dessicated. Yesterday and today, it is raining, thank you God, and almost dead plants of many speacies are reviving a little. Still some total losses though.
-
The following on account of it's slow growth pattern might ,(at currently less than 45 cm in height ),just qualify for the time being as a small shrub for a large rock garden.
In any event the Southern Rata grows into an impressive canopy tree although on the Hump Track in Southern Fiordland i have seen old specimens as stunted shrubs less than 1.5 metres high on exposed ridgelines.
Despite the effects of browsing by the introduced possum ,the forests down this way during Dec and Jan show a blaze of crimson / red flowers.
Metrosideros umbellata 'moonlight'--A nice colour break with the variegated foliage.
Cheers Dave.
-
Dave,
That is certainly a spectatular 'colour break' as you described it. A wonderful flower.
Paddy
-
Nothing quite as spectacular as Dave's, here is a South African dwarf shrub, Relhania pungens.
[attachthumb=1]
[attachthumb=2]
Nearby is a cloud of tiny mauve flowers put up by Limonium bellidifolium
[attachthumb=3]
cheers
fermi
-
A good groundcover which I posted last year as well is the Aussie "spreading goodenia", Goodenia heterocoma
[attachthumb=1]
[attachthumb=2]
As summer progresses, the oreganoes come into their own. Here is a patch of seedlings of Origanum ? laevigatum?
[attachthumb=3]
And a seedling of it crossed with O.rotundifolium: we call it "Redesdale Rasta" as the braids of bracts elongate later in the season!
[attachthumb=4]
cheers
fermi
-
I've just found seed of Metrosideros tomentosa in a catalogue here (Chiltern Seeds) and wondered if it might be worth trying. Any advice from yous lot up above in NZ (up, down, it's all subjective - and always being "down" oppresses the southern hemisphere, so up the downers!)
Seriously though, any advice? Any special treatment needed for metrosideros seed, will it be very slow to get to a decent size, etc.
-
I've germinated ratas quite easily Martin, just on my usual seed mix, scattered into a grit topping. The seeds are very fine, not unlike those of rhododendron and wind-distributed. They will be very slow till several years old I should imagine, but then they seem to speed up and grow to enormous trees but that could be a couple of hundred years. There's one in flower now outside the Otago Museum in Dunedin, definitely planted by people, i.e. not in its "natural" habitat and it could be 100 years old or more at perhaps 15 metres.
-
Thanks Lesley. I'm very tempted by Dave's pics of Metrosideros umbellata to have a go with the seed. I was just hoping it'd be big thunking seeds that'd shoot up like rockets early on. Anything that's slow to start with has little chance with me and my erratic seedling care due to work pressures (except for the snowdrop seedlings of course - they get twice daily attention and cosseting!)
-
Martin,
Metrosideros tomentosa is a synonym of Metrosideros excelsa, the pohutukawa which occurs naturally in the northen part of the North Island. It grows in Dunedin but it is not entirely hardy. The frosts last winter killed some fairly large trees. Metrosideros umbellata, the southern rata (Dave's plant) grows as far south as the Auckland Islands. The northern rata, Metrosideros robusta is predominantly a North island plant but extends down into the northern part of the South Island. There is another species Metrosideros bartlettii that has a very restricted distribution in the Northern part of the North Island. Only 30 individuals of this particular species have been found. The flowers of this latter species are white. There are a number of colour variations that have been selected particularly for Metrosideros excelsa and Metrosideros umbellata. I have a yellow variant of Metrosideros umbellata that does not flower particularly well and the flowers do not stand out against the foliage as well as those of the normal red form. My plant of Meterosideros umbellata is unusual in that it produces a few flowers in mid-winter (June here) and continues flowering sporadically through to summer when it produces its main flush. I grew it from a cutting of a plant that showed the same flowering behaviour.
If you want a flowering plant of any of the Metrosideros species you need to propagate them from cuttings as seed-grown material will take a long time to flower ( up to 30 years). Metrosideros umbellata (southern rata would be your best bet as I dont think Meterosideros excelsa (tomentosa ) would be hardy in the UK.
-
A few from the garden today.
Eryngium bougatii --the flowers are a bonus after the emergence of the variegated leaves.
Phlox adsurgens 'wagon wheels'--a nice soft pink.
Received from one of the seed xs as Sparaxis grandiflora ssp fimbriata .I have a suspicion it is a Sisyrinchium sps.
White form of Romulea rosea, or is the correct terminology Romulea rosea alba or album ???.
Finally a native --Fuchsia procumbens just now recovering from neglect--frost damage--lack of watering during a warm dry period and needing repotting.I don't remember the blooms being so vivid last year so maybe the stress has been good for flowering.
Merry xmas
Dave.
-
Definitely worth a close up! 8)
-
Yes indeed Dave, your Sparaxis IS a sisyrinchium. Can't remember its name though. But it's weedy. So is `Mrs Spivey,' which is what I've received yet again from AGS or SRGC as both Olsynium douglasii and O. filifolium. Anyone can make a mistake but how can they go on making the SAME mistake, year after year after year. Does no-one ever point out that the plant is wrongly named? Or is the "mistake" deliberate? It makes for a lot of disappointed people.
-
I love that Fuschia procumbens Dave. What sort of temperature will it survive at?
-
Thanks Lesley --yes it looks weedy however i quite like the colour of the flower so it's going to stay in the meantime .I'll just have to remember to deadhead the thing.
John --i can't get the damn Fuchsia to flower in the garden proper here.
I grow it as a hanging container plant in partial shade left outside all year round where it does extremely well.
The berries are just as impressive.
While it grows naturally in the top half of the North Island near the sea it surprisingly is classed as hardy and will stand frost.
A quick look on Google and one site states it is extremely hardy even in most parts of Britain.
I'll have seed available later if you are interested.I'll leave you to send me a PM.
Cheers dave.
-
I cant keep it alive. Susan Tindall sells it but days after buying it it goes off, for me anyway
-
Dave, why would you want a PM from John? WE have a Prime Misinster, JOHN has a Prime Minister, we ALL have a Prime Minister, and much good does any one of THEM, do any one of US. Just ask him to send an email instead. :-\
-
Great pics all. Love that blue Salvia Fermi.... not a species I have come across before. I think Salvias have to be one of the best plants for effort to flower ratios...... they do so much better when left to themselves, other than an occasional water and sometimes a prune. Some of them can decide to run a little more than I like, but they are at least generally easy to remove.
Will post some pics here later this evening..... have taken heaps of photos in the last few weeks and have prepared a bunch. I hope I won't post too many of them for you to enjoy though. I think most of them tend to fit in this thread as easiest. Later!!
-
Here's a few pics from the last couple of weeks....
[attachthumb=1]
Arisaema fargesii is a rather striking member of the genus. I always look forward to it every year.
[attachthumb=2]
This little relative of Cypella is Calydorea amabilis. Flowers last for the day, or somewhat shorter if it is hot. Quite a small little thing, but I love this whole family. Sets seed if I let it too.
[attachthumb=3]
This is a small double Campanula species. No idea of name or anything like that. Well behaved and nicely upright to about a foot tall.
[attachthumb=4]
This might be recognised by certain people on this forum...... given it came as seed from a certain generous donor in Northern Ireland. Its Dahlia merckii. Thanks Mark!!
[attachthumb=5]
Another unknown species..... well I used to know the species but I have forgotten..... a cute little Hoya with flowers that are maybe 1cm wide each. They're the cutest little furry flowers, almost looking like they're crystalline when you have a close look.
[attachthumb=6]
Another Iridaceae member..... Neomarica northiana, or the walking iris due to its habit of producing plantlets on the flower stalks, which slowly weigh down the flower stem until they come into contact with the ground and put down roots. Flowers only last for a day.
[attachthumb=7]
And lastly..... Polemonium brandegessii is somewhat different in colour to any others I have seen. Up until now I'd only seen purple, blue or white ones.... but this orange/yellow is quite nice.
I'll be posting a couple of pics in the ID thread as well, to see if I can get some names. I also have a couple of species Tigridia pictures (T. dugesii and T. durangense but not sure whether there is a better place to post them than here? And a couple of Liliums if anyone is interested too? Let me know.
-
Forgot one.......
[attachthumb=1]
This is a Dierama which I bought years ago without a name to it. Lovely deep pinky flowers that fade to purple. Lovely!!
-
Here is a selection of what is currently flowering in my garden
First Metrosideros umbellata (Southern rata) Different trees around town are coming into flower at present - here is my one.
Second a close up picture of the flowers.
Third Solanum laciniatum; really a bit of a weed but attractive never the less.
Fourth Brachyglottis ' Dunedin Hybrid '. These are hybrids of presumed parentage of Brachyglottis greyi, Brachyglottis compacta and Brachyglottis monroi . There are a number of forms showing slight variations - this one has been grown by my family for many years and is a reliable consistent performer. It is virtually indestructible and can be pruned back hard.
Last for the traditionalists who like holly for the festive season. The best I can manage is Olearia macrodonta known as New Zealand holly on account of the superficial resemblance of the leaves to the true holly. It is in full bloom at the moment so it will do a a substitute.
-
Thanks for bringing back a fantastic memory of the best Xmas day I ever had (hope the family don't see this ;)). I was on holiday in New Zealand after working in Fiji. On Xmas Day I did the 8 hour (?) return hike to Alex's Knob a fantastic viewpoint over the Frans Josef Glacier (passing several climate zones on the way) and I didn't meet a single person the whole day and the sun shone all day! At sea level, the Southern Rata was in full bloom, a fantastic contrast against the deep blue of the Tasman Sea below. Must digitise those slides one day...
-
Paul how long ago did I give you the seeds? I cant remember
-
Cute Hoya!
-
Mark,
If I still had my master seed list that I lost when my computer died a couple of years ago I could have told you.... actually I may still have some in a pot so could be able to find out (I write everything on the side of my pots with paint pen). It has been a few years now. Flowers for me every year and I just love it as it is such a delicate little thing. Thanks again!!
-
Paul I know someone with a white Dahlia merckii if you are interested for next year
-
Hmmmm.... would be rather cute I'd imagine. Of course seed may not continue the white trait?
-
After a steady rain today I took a quick look round my garden.
Here is one of my favourites, the white from of Primula alpicola originally grown from Wisely seed. It is seeding freely through the border where I planted it.
The second plant is Hebe dieffenbachii originally grown from seed collected from the Chatham Islands. It is also seeding itself through my garden.
The third plant is a red Achillea. The white and pink forms are fairly prolific weeds here and grow along the roadside but this one is fairly well behaved.
-
David,
Love that stunning red Achillea!!!!! Beautiful!! And well behaved as well..... makes a change for so many of the Achilleas. ;D Must keep an eye out for a good red one like that, as the colour is brilliant!!
Here's a few things just to finish off 2007 for me.
Agapanthus are in full flower here at the moment. Almost all varieties are out by now, only a couple still to start opening. Some regard them as weeds but I love them and have quite a few different ones now.
Wahlenbergia gloriosa is the floral emblem of the Australian Capital Territory (where Canberra is located). I only managed to find it in a nursery last year and I am pleased it has apparently thrived in the garden. The flowers are a bit over an inch wide, and about 6 to 8 inches tall. The leaves are low rosettes, spreading underground by fine stolons. Fits quite well into the "alpine" bracket by appearances, but no idea how cold it takes. I think it grows up in the Brindabellas (mountain range just to the west of us) so it is probably rather cold hardy too). I'm glad I found it, and glad it is doing so well for me. Much bigger and showier than the other Wahlenbergias I've seen (although the small double flowered one is pretty impressive!!)
-
surely you mean c10am in 2008?
-
Photos were taken in 2007 so it was finishing off what I started posting yesterday and never got finished!!
-
Paul, David's achillea seems to me A. mill. Paprika.
If not so, Paprika is still one of the best.
Problem with most of these achillea is that after some years they don't keep their color.
Or the color gets totally different, because they seed themselves very easy.
Luit van Delft
-
like the good old bearded iris that supposedly "all turned white" (or whichever colour), which is impossible for them to do.... except that you can get a seedling in there which then outgrows the parent until it has taken over the patch. I've heard of Iris and Gladiolus "reverting" to white so often from people. I may even try to find Achillea 'Paprika' if it is here in Aus. I worry bout the Achilleas because so many of them are feral pests, but that one in a nice pot somewhere with that glorious colour would be great.
-
Paul,
but 'reversion' is such a hardy perennial, where would we be without it: roses 'revert' when the rootstock is allowed to outgrow the graft. Lilies 'revert' when seedlings or unflowered bulblets/scales (beware 'bargain' bags) start flowering in a clump. It all helps keep nature mysterious and kinda spooky dontcha think?
-
;D 8)