Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on August 01, 2013, 05:51:16 AM
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Nearly the end of winter!!! ;D
Soon we'll be able to complain about the heat again! ;D ;D ;D
Iris George is coming into bloom
This Anemone coronaria came as seed from Goteborg BG as "collected in Iraq"
cheers
fermi
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Another flower open on Alan Mc Murtrie's Iris 'Blue Ice';
more blooms on Juno Iris planifolia almost hidden by the Californian poppies!
cheers
fermi
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At the DBG yesterday after a meeting I saw a planting of perhaps 30 Helleborus 'Flash Gordon.' I hoped these might be available as a seed strain but the Internet so far is just giving two or three sources of individual plants, from garden centres. I bet they'll be expensive. Billed as the result of years of selective breeding, the flowers are in a range of bright red to black, paired with very dark green to deepest red foliage. The one I liked best I thought at first was a paeony, crimson blooms and foliage of deepest plum colour, a spectacular plant. They were surrounded too, by a lot of new seedlings from last year's flowers. I'll take my camera tomorrow and see what I can do. The mass planting was really thrilling.
Edit on 18th August 2104 - see message re this plant on page six of this thread !
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That sounds interesting Leslie, can't wait to see photos.
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Intriqued by the name 'Flash Gordon' I went rootling to find out more about this NZ bred hellebore - seems you may not have to pay too much ..... this place (http://www.mauways.co.nz) has 'em for 6.50 NZ dollars - sounds good to me!
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Well I have some pictures, not the best because as with most hellebores their heads are drooping but they'll give an idea. There were big patches of seedlings under and around every plant so the seeds obviously were allowed to fall, uncollected. I was horribly tempted but decided I'd better not! When the next lot are ripening I'll go along and talk nicely to the Curator of the Clive Lister Garden. :)
There were other lovely things in bloom too; several cornus species both with wonderful yellow or red stems and some with small bunches of yellow flowers. Then there were witch hazels and the whole area was heavily scented with Daphne bholua, but my batteries ran out didn't they? :-[
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All of the buds as they were about to open, were as big as good-sized eggs, fat and lovely.
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Nearly the end of winter!!! ;D
Soon we'll be able to complain about the heat again! ;D ;D ;D
cheers
fermi
Don't say it! That means nearly the end of summer to me :-X
Nice Irises!
Well I have some pictures, not the best because as with most hellebores their heads are drooping but they'll give an idea. There were big patches of seedlings under and around every plant so the seeds obviously were allowed to fall, uncollected. I was horribly tempted but decided I'd better not! When the next lot are ripening I'll go along and talk nicely to the Curator of the Clive Lister Garden. :)
There were other lovely things in bloom too; several cornus species both with wonderful yellow or red stems and some with small bunches of yellow flowers. Then there were witch hazels and the whole area was heavily scented with Daphne bholua, but my batteries ran out didn't they? :-[
Lesley, your batteries or your camera's?
Those hellebores were magnifique! Hope the curator is a nice person ;)
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I do like those reds with purple foliage. Thanks Lesley, you must invest in a spare battery ;)
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Thanks Trond, yes, the plants were really magnificent. Fortunately it was my camera's batteries that were the problem. We've had so much fog and drizzle and generally wetness over the winter that though I've been working a lot in my potting shed, it has not been tempting to work in the garden much so I'm ready and fully charged for when the weather perks up a little. Foggy again this morning but the sun's coming out now so I'm off out in a few minutes.
One does need to be careful with words. I have a good friend who had someone for dinner a couple of nights ago. Of course I asked if he was tough. :)
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Brian I've been using "regular" batteries ever since my charged ones gave out in Prague so yes, I need an extra set of rechargeables. Something else to go on a long shopping list. ::) and yes, the Curator of the Clive Lister Garden is a very nice person but of course she has to work with the DBG's or even the City council's rules when distributing material from the garden, so, we'll see.
Maggi when I clicked on your link above and got the mail order nursery, a search there said no plants of that name and in fact no hellebores at all! I thought to start it was maybe an NZ source though I didn't know it, but decided not when the pics of Chas and Camilla came up. :)
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Iris 'Harmony' is finally underway!
An Aussie native shrublet, Pomaderris obcordata, growing in a sandbed.
and the promise of something soon ;D
cheers
fermi
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Maggi when I clicked on your link above and got the mail order nursery, a search there said no plants of that name and in fact no hellebores at all! I thought to start it was maybe an NZ source though I didn't know it, but decided not when the pics of Chas and Camilla came up. :)
Certainly An NZ firm with Flash Gorden and other hellies listed :
http://www.mauways.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=919 (http://www.mauways.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=919)
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Here's my front border on a hot sunny August lunch time. A nice pink Hibiscus that flowers all year round, and Magnolia 'Star Wars' plant in the verge across the road. 20oC today. 8)
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That's not fair Anthony - its 8 degrees here in Hobart (apparent temp 3.4)
Few narcs
A Rod Barwick seedling 97/1 which could now be named - anyone guess which one?
Julia Jane after a downpour so not at her best
And a little rare darling suffering the same deluge - N. sussanae
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
Ben 'Bler?
Mine are just coming to an end.
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That's not fair Anthony - its 8 degrees here in Hobart (apparent temp 3.4)
Not so warm today with 18oC. Good job it wasn't wet and windy like the weekend. Scrub that. That was the forecast. We had sunny and warm. Haven't had meaningful rain for a month. Still, next weekend is to be wet again. Promises, promises. I'm fed up with this watering the garden! ::)
BTW, lovely hoop petticoat in the first pic.
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Anthony, you'll never believe this- the Orobanche is finally growing :o
I'm tickled pink - it has taken ages ( years!) and I really thought it was never going to happen. I am SO pleased!
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Hi Rob,
Thanks for that - I thought it was but the more I look at them the less convinced I become. I have another beauty, which I will post today, that I really don't know the name of or even if it was named. Anyway I'll put it up.
Meanwhile he is a visitor who is not welcome inside the block but nice to see outside. He got stuck in my next door neighbours chook pen and id a lot of bouncing around trying to work out how to get out! Its a Bennett's Wallaby or Red Necked Wallaby, one of only 3 large macropods that live in Tasmania.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi again,
Few more:
2 lovely forms of Crocus sieberi ssp sieberi
Crocus sieberi ssp sublimis f. tricolor
Iris retic. "Harmony"
Iris retic "Pauline"
Iris retic. "Pixie"
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Marcus... very nice retics, that Pauline looks lovely in mass. That colour (looks maroon) unusual for retics?
cheers
Stephen
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Anthony, you'll never believe this- the Orobanche is finally growing :o
I'm tickled pink - it has taken ages ( years!) and I really thought it was never going to happen. I am SO pleased!
It should seed itself onto other ivy plants. I notice that there are some on some waste ground a bout a mile from our house. Not an ivy parasite though.
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The first of the the three daff pics Marcus looks very like 'Atlas Gold.' Lucky you to have N. x Susannae
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Hi Lesley,
Yeah they do but they aren't. Rob's right, the first is Ben 'Bler seedling 3/97 from Glenbrook, and the second is a bedraggled clump of Jim Archibald's selection from JCA 805, Julia Jane. I don't have Atlas Gold anymore unfortunately.
Hi Steve, purple is probably the most common colour in wild reticulate. I can barely tell the difference between Pauline and Purple Gem, or Lovely Liza, come to think of it!
Cheers, Marcus
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Re 'Atlas Gold,' I could send you a heap if only I could send you a heap, now!
Thought I'd better get in on the postings of retics so here is 'J S Dijt,' a good potful and beautifully scented in this morning's sun (after the fog cleared).
The second is the square bed around Magnolia 'Ian's Red' which is maybe 2 metres high and a mass of buds, the first glimpse of pink showing today. When we came here this bed was planted with purple petunias but they went quite quickly. I've now covered it with about 3 dozen Cyc. coum in different leaf forms and a dozen small tufts of I. r. 'Harmony.' I'm hoping these will form a complete cover within a couple of years or so. The third is of a small spider's web slung between two buds. It's right in the middle of the picture. Round the edges of the bed are 8 plants (corners and middle of sides) which should either drape or mould over the sides in a while. They include Asteranthera ovata, Linnaea borealis and things of similar habit including the flat cotoneaster, seed of which Mark S sent me a couple of years ago and Microcachrys tetragona.
I've also a good pot but going over now, of what I bought as 'Cantab' but I'm not sure. It is certainly much lighter than say, 'Harmony' and has the right orange signal but this has faded to yellow and the blue is somehow not quite the right shade. I might be able to get a pic of the remains. As well, the tips of the style arms are quite ragged or frilly and I don't remember this from 'Cantab.' It's beautiful, whatever, and in the same packet of bulbs there was a single ring-in which could be 'Violet Beauty,' larger, earlier, and deep violet blue. Not one I've had so I guess that's good.
Since these retic bulbs are part of the annual importation from Dutch wholesalers to local bulb wholesalers, mistakes in their naming are quite common. A few years ago everyone got 'Harmony' when it should have been danfordiae. Not many vars were available this year but I was told that next autumn a full range of forms will be available.
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Hi Lesley,
I got Iris 'Cantab' from Marcus this year and this is the first flower; how does it compare with yours?
cheers
fermi
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Fermi, I think yours looks right, both for colour and for the style arms which are neatly divided at their tips into two sections. Look at the first of my two and you'll see the same but in the second picture, the style arms are quite raggedy-looking and the orange signals have aged to yellow which in true 'Cantab' they don't do, or not much. Unfortunately I left my original 'Cantab' behind, just didn't have time to collect it but I'm sure this new one is something else. The flowers of the true form tend to be a little thinner in outline too, not quite so robust as the new one. I hope I can get the other again some time.
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Lesley, I just took a photo of my Iris ret. 'Cantab' which I think is the true 'Cantab' .
I like your Hell. 'Flash Gordon' -a similar colour but different foliage Hellebore appeared a few weeks ago here in all the Bunnings Stores labelled 'Anna's Red ' -whichwas named after Anna Pavord .
also a few more Crocus , including the unusual coloured C. x paulinae - thanks to the generousity of Marcus Harvey .
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Lesley,
possibly you've got 'Alida' - a pale sport of 'Harmony'.
cheers
fermi
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Marcus what is this juno? It is the one near the large patch of Iris planifolia that you saw.
A better photo of the possible oldie N. tazetta 'Lord Channing'. Can someone point me to the daffodil data base please?
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Marcus what is this juno? It is the one near the large patch of Iris planifolia that you saw.
A better photo of the possible oldie N. tazetta 'Lord Channing'. Can someone point me to the daffodil data base please?
Pat - http://daffseek.org/ (http://daffseek.org/)
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Can someone point me to the daffodil data base please?
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticulturaldatabase/daffodilregister/daffsearch.asp (http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticulturaldatabase/daffodilregister/daffsearch.asp)
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Gerry I couldn't find the name on daffseek so I will try the RHS site from Maggi. doing a websearch I found an old publication Daffodils in Eastern Carolina - 1930 which mentions the name in Division 8 but that is as far as I have got so far. My little 1913 book All About Daffodils by Mr Robert Sydenham does not list it. No matches on the RHS site Maggi either.
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Just found Lord Canning on the RHS site. Maybe that is it. Pre 1861.
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Hi Pat,
Iris sindpers
Cheers, Marcus
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I agree Otto, your 'Cantab' is true, and I'm judging by the tips of the style arms which like Fermi's, are neatly divided into two parts, not raggedy like on mine. So maybe mine is 'Alida' as Fermi suggests. I've never seen that as it's one which has never come to NZ with the annual Dutch import. If it is, that's good news as it is a new one for us. Your 'Sindpers' is very blue Pat. Usually it has more sea-green or grey-green in it, as below. No longer available in NZ I'm afraid.
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Your 'Sindpers' is very blue Pat. Usually it has more sea-green or grey-green in it, as below. No longer available in NZ I'm afraid.
Lesley,
that's such a shame as it was saved from oblivion by NZ!
Here are a few more pics from the garden,
Narcissus 'Camoro' - gone a bit "native" here! Growing through a clump of native grass/carex whose name escapes me!
A new Div 6 daff from Keira Bulbs;
Another of Rod Barwick's "Detective Series" of hybrid hoops: Kojak.
cheers
fermi
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Just took this photo late this afternoon - there is more grey in the colouring than is shown. I will try for a closeup tomorrow afternoon.
Such a pity when a plant dies out and there is no hope of getting a new clone in.
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Hi all,
Thanks for the offer of Atlas Gold Lesley - I think we'll have to wait until Australia and New Zealand finally amalgamate as the southern land of Gondwana!
Unfortunately things will have to get worse before they get better.
Lovely clumps of Sindpers. I agree Pat, it is really most unfortunate that specialist nurseries are being forced out of the importation process basically because of the cost of compliance. Bureaucracies make no differentiation between importing commodities and small volumes of rare items and I personally think there is a considerable "gold plating" around regulation.
Cheers, Marcus
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You have a wonderful patch of it Pat. I really envy you. It was one I left in my other garden. I simply couldn't find the darned thing though I knew exactly where it was.
I have no doubt it is still in NZ, many people will have it so at some stage I'll put on my oldest and tattiest clothes, take a (soil-lined) bowl and start to beg! :-*
You're right Fermi. After the 2nd World War it had apparently died out in Europe and was reintroduced in quantity, I believe to van Tubergen's nursery, from the nursery of the late Stanley Hughes at Tapanui (Hughes of Galanthus 'Emerald Hughes' fame). Stanley and later his son Denis then his brother John had it in cabbage-like rows in a paddock where it loved the rich West Otago soil. When John Hughes sold his bulb/flower business some years ago to a Dutch concern, the bulbs were all harvested by machinery rather than dug by hand and in effect, that was the end of the iris, I. bucharica, Frit. imperialis and many other great bulbs, from the trade in New Zealand. I've always felt a connection with this nursery because as well as frequent visits there and knowing the Hughes brothers well (I never met their father) my mother as a child used to play with Stanley when they were both school age, she being a farm girl from nearby and a pupil at the Tapanui school with Stanley.
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"...it is really most unfortunate that specialist nurseries are being forced out of the importation process basically because of the cost of compliance. Bureaucracies make no differentiation between importing commodities and small volumes of rare items and I personally think there is a considerable "gold plating" around regulation." Marcus
Hear hear!
I think the peach coloured hybrid hellebore below looks great from both front and behind.
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Jon that is a lovely Hellebore.
I have searched the web and my many iris books without much success to find some detailed information about Iris xSindper/Sindpur.
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I have searched the web and my many iris books without much success to find some detailed information about Iris xSindper/Sindpur.
Hi Pat,
Dykes in The Genus Iris mentions that Iris persica var. purpurea was crossed with Iris sindjarensis (the old name for Iris aucheri) to create Pursind and Sindpur. He also mentions that of Sindpur "there exist several colour varieties. One of the best has been named not inappropriately Amethyst"
cheers
fermi
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Jon that is a lovely Hellebore.
I have searched the web and my many iris books without much success to find some detailed information about Iris xSindper/Sindpur.
I will see what I can collate for you, Pat.
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Thanks Fermi, and Maggi I put van Tubergen Sindper in google and found a 1906 article. Getting closer to the date.
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Here's what I have so far - most info from Tony Hall's write-up of its Award of Merit in 1993
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
and some other mentions, starting in 1930!
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4] 1948
[attachimg=5] 1950
These from AGS bulletins, used under fair use provisions for information
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An article from an SRGC Journal :
[attachurl=1]
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Extract from Dykes - full copy online
http://archive.org/stream/irisesdykeswilli00dykerich/irisesdykeswilli00dykerich_djvu.txt (http://archive.org/stream/irisesdykeswilli00dykerich/irisesdykeswilli00dykerich_djvu.txt)
VARIETIES OF I. PERSICA 19
its best has flowers of white and sea-green, with a brown-
purple patch on the blade of the falls. It has been in culti-
vation in England for some centuries, but is apparently
becoming rarer owing to the fact that it is not a strong
grower.
In light, sandy soil it is most disappointing, but would
probably do better in heavy loam. Even then it would
need to be kept dry and well ripened in summer. The
chief difficulty with regard to it probably lies in the fact
that the trade supplies are grown in heavy soil and lose all
their roots when torn up for sale. The result is that newly
purchased bulbs are weakly, and often exhaust themselves
by attempting to flower in their first season. This should
be discouraged by removing the bud, if it is hoped to
establish the plant. It will then probably form a stronger
bulb for the following year, together with an offset
or two.
Besides the type there are at least two varieties which
are well worth growing and which appear to have better
constitutions, namely, /. Tauri from the Cilician Taurus
and 7. Heldreichii (or stenophylla) from a somewhat lower
elevation in the same neighbourhood. 7. Tauri has rather
small but brilliant flowers of deep purple lined with gold,
while those of 7. Heldreichii are a combination of blue-
black blotches on a grey-blue ground.
Besides these there are other colour forms of 7. persica
that are much more rarely seen in cultivation. A variety,
purpurea, is wholly of a warm claret-purple colour. One
called galatica, from the region in which it is found, has
flowers of pale, dingy yellow, tipped with brown-purple,
and another with large flowers of silver-grey flushed and
blotched with dull purple has been named Sieheana, after
its discoverer, Herr Siehe.
So far the Juno Irises enumerated are all stemless,
though the flowers are raised on perianth tubes of some
length ; moreover their flowering season is over by the
middle of March. As the season advances, so also do the
stems of the Junos increase in height. The persicas are
usually followed, and often overtaken, by the Mesopotamia!!
/. sindjarensis f which grows about a foot high, and opens in
succession five or six rather small flowers in the axils of the
leaves, which are arranged on alternate sides of the stem,
much in the same way as in the Maize or Indian Corn.
The colour of the flowers is usually some shade of blue.
In some examples the tint is deep, in others it is very pale,
or it may even be a beautiful turquoise colour. There is
also a pure white form of this Iris in cultivation.
/. sindjarensis is not perhaps a very striking Iris, and it was
left to the ingenuity of Mr. J. Hoog, of the firm of C. G.
Van Tubergen, of Haarlem, to combine the orange central
ridge of /. persica with the stronger constitution and larger
flowers of /. sindjarensis. The resulting hybrid known as
Sindpers is one of the most beautiful of all bulbous Irises.
The exact shade of colour seems to vary from season to
season and in different soils, but at its best it is a most
brilliant turquoise blue. It is a most desirable Iris, and
one that is not difficult to grow or to keep. It is also
very floriferous. Another cross, Sindpur, was raised from
sindjarensis fertilised by pollen of /. persica purpurea. It
is dwarf er than /. sindjarensis and very floriferous, with
flowers of a dark purple colour. One form is paler, and has
been aptly christened Amethyst. The reverse cross, Pursind,
is scarcely so pleasing, for the combination of reddish-
purple and grey does not produce a brilliant colour.
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Now that's service! Should be enough for Pat to get her teeth into!
Can I add that historically Sindpers was regarded as probably the most successful juno hybrid ever deliberately bred. The aim was to combine the beauty and early flowers of Iris persica with the relative robustness of Iris aucheri .
I think that was achieved in spades. These old clones have a life and I guess it will gradually fade away. Raising the question: why hasn't this cross been repeated to produce a range of clones?
Cheers, Marcus
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Double wow Maggi you certainly know how to search well. I have copied and pasted to make a file on 'Sindpers'.
Many thanks.
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I haven't read the bits you supplied Maggi as yet, but will do later today. Here for just a moment now to post a special birthday greeting. I'm sure all of us in the southern hemisphere will join in.
What I do know though is that when Tony Hall was here in 2000 and again in 2005, he was adamant that x Sindpers is NOT the same as 'Sindpur' and that they were from different crosses. He became quite cross himself (as he can) that there was a displayed photograph of x Sindpers but labelled 'Sindpur' and even went so far as to say a couple of quite rude words.
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Hi all,
Thanks for the offer of Atlas Gold Lesley - I think we'll have to wait until Australia and New Zealand finally amalgamate as the southern land of Gondwana!
Unfortunately things will have to get worse before they get better.
Cheers, Marcus
When, on occasion there is political talk of Australia and NZ amalgamating to become one country, it is always tacked on that that won't apply to bio-security issues. The boffins still will want to keep our very different flora and fauna from meeting. Fair enough because they ARE so different. Seems to me it will take an ultra-major earthquake along the various plates to bring us literally together before plant material can be freely exchanged. Regarding current costs, don't start me. Suffice it to say that much of the cost applied here for the importation of seeds is not a true cost but is a punishment. Permitted seed, though it goes through exactly the same time-consuming inspection process, costs nothing (they are charging societies now but still not individuals) whereas a much smaller consignment, if it contains even one non-permitted species, has many dollars applied before the receiver get the seed.
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What I do know though is that when Tony Hall was here in 2000 and again in 2005, he was adamant that x Sindpers is NOT the same as 'Sindpur' and that they were from different crosses. He became quite cross himself (as he can) that there was a displayed photograph of x Sindpers but labelled 'Sindpur' and even went so far as to say a couple of quite rude words.
Is it Maggi's birthday? Many Happy Returns :D
Lesley, one of Maggi's attachments does mention this difference and why. Sadly it appears "Sindpur" is no longer with us.
Re charges: My commiserations - its only going to get worse unfortunately. At least you can send seeds to each other in NZ without charge. Recent fee hikes in WA breaks new ground here and all gardeners should take note and be very afraid. From now on a $56 fee is to be applied each and every time a home gardener imports certified plants or seeds from an interstate supplier. Note these are already certified by the exporting state and the WA agency is adding NO extra service to the process
Cheers, Marcus
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Yes, it is Maggi's 60th today. :)
That absolutely stinks about the WA charges Marcus. Are similar charges applied if you send a parcel of books say, or clothing? Surely the plant charge must be unconstitutional.
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Yes, it is Maggi's 60th today. :)
...but, as I know to my cost, she is only 16 in celsius ;D
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Happy happy happy 60th Maggi. It will be the best possible I am sure.
This is the link I found:
http://bulbnrose.x10.mx/Heredity/Tubergen/Tubergen.html (http://bulbnrose.x10.mx/Heredity/Tubergen/Tubergen.html)
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Surely Maggi won't be 16 in Celsius until next year? ::)
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Surely Maggi won't be 16 in Celsius until next year? ::)
Surely you have heard women of a certain age suffer from overheating ;D
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It's the chocolate Ian ;D ;D
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Hi,
Re unconstitutional: probably but whose going to challenge? The gardening fraternity needs to wake up. The organic and permaculture groups leave them for dead and are undercutting their position.
Has anyone down under had any success with keeping Iris persica going? I have found it very difficult in comparison to, say, stenophylla. I think the problem for us is overhead wet in the late winter. They are martyrs to fungal infection once water starts to accumulate in the cleft of the leaves or on the dying flowers.
I have only grown the sea green and grey types and ones with brown and tan on falls.
Hope Maggi got through the glare of the spotlight and she can relax now she is out the other side.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
I'd love to try Iris persica - any forms! ;D
I especially loved the yellow one that Michael Kammerlander showed at the First Czech RG Conference in 2007!
cheers
fermi
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I've never had persica in any form at all though I have a couple of seedlings just coming through for the second time of stenophylla allisonii, Otto's gift of Kammerlander seed. Otherwise I flowered rosenbachiana (from seed) for a couple of years before it died.
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I think its the fate of many of the smaller, early flowering, "stemless" species. Although I. stenophylla appears reasonably tractable. I obtained all the I. persica I have had from seed, mostly from the Czech sellers.
The only way for us southerners to have sustainable populations would be to build alpine houses like our northern counterparts but even then we might not have sufficiently cold winters for long enough. Getting plants to set seed and then growing seedlings on to another generation is vital.
Maybe we all are mad?? Probably better to not fight nature too much - you never win (for long).
Cheers, Marcus
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Freesias from seed sown December 2012.
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Freesias herald the end of winter. There is one flowering here too. Must say I prefer their perfume to the headiness of Babiana odorata which is flowering at present (thanks Fermi).
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Pat , your clump of Iris x'Sindpers ' is just breathtaking , also your I. aucheri 'Shooting Star' .
Lesley , yes it is sad that I. x'Sindpers' is no longer available commercially in N.Z. I did import 10 bulbs in 1970 from John Hughes . They did well for many years but have all died out now . Pat Toolan seems blessed with an ideal climate .Had an email from Tony Hall that he will spend a few days in Melbourne before travelling to N.Z. to speak at the Iris Convention - so we will take him to lunch or maybe have lunch /dinner in my home .
Found those 2 rather unusual Tommie seedlings amongst the thousands of Cr. tommasinianus flowering in my garden at the moment. -and the last one is C. heuffelinianus 'Lilac Wonder '
and Cyc . coum seeded itself onto a moss covered rock --no soil - will it survive ?
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Beautiful Crocus Otto. You can certainly grow them well.
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Otto lucky you having Tony Hall to come visit.
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First flower on Iris aucheri (KPPZ 90158) from NARGS Seedex 2005.
cheers
fermi
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Otto, if the moss can survive, I'm sure the cyclamen will.
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I have a lot of crocuses, old forms I bought years ago from Van Tubergens and also small narcissus forms, that haven't flowered for years, in heavy shade under trees and overcrowded pots, covered in weeds. I actually didn't mean to bring them with me as I thought the contents - the proper ones - were all dead but my son, determined to get everything he could in the time, piled the trays into a truck and now many are in bloom. There are some super tommies and others. I'll get them repotted or planted over the summer and do pictures next season I think. I haven't a clue what many of the daffs are, labels totally bare.
The Magnolia 'Ian's Red' is showing rich crimson colour in a dozen buds today but there's a strong wind. I hope that it has died by the time they open or they'll be shredded. The colour looks fantastic, like my lovely red leather chair. :D
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My Iris reticulata flowers haven't been lasting too long with the warmer than average day time winter temperatures here (although it's cooled down a bit this week). I have to say that I really like Springtime the most out of the recent releases here over the last few years. I'm a bit disappointed that out of the 5 Iris reticulata Springtime that I bought from Drewitts this year, only 3 have come up and one appears to be Harmony (certainly not Springtime).
I. reticulata Springtime from 2 different angles and I. reticulata Edward.
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Here are some things we were taking for the Show bench at our local meeting last Saturday - they enjoyed the warmth in the car and really opened up!
The red is Romulea sabulosa, the mauve is Romulea hartungii; the single pink is Oxalis obtusa and the white is Narcissus cantabricus from seed from Rafa collected in Madrid,
cheers
fermi
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Here's a couple more from the garden/pots
Muscari ex "Gul(Delight)"
Narcissus 'Smarple'
A close up on Romulea hartungii
Juno iris aucheri opening a second flower
cheers
fermi
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Nice selection there Fermi. For some reason my own Rom. sabulosa has flowered well this year too, just finishing now. I usually get a single bloom if I'm lucky but have had 6 this year. Our winter has been, according to statistics the warmest in more than 100 years and the second warmest since records began in 1870. This means that many things are early and Rhododendron keiskii ssp cordifolia which is going to flower better than it ever has before, will be over I think by the time of our show, last weekend in September. The buds are already lemon-coloured.
Magnolia 'Ian's Red' is open today, picture tomorrow. It smells like watermelon just before it goes off.
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Fermi, that Juno iris aucheri looks stunning.
Iris reticulata "Natascha", below, has flowered for the first time for me. I find it interesting how it's yellow all the way down the centre of the falls. I've never pulled other iris retic. flowers apart to see if they are all like that. Below that is a photo of Narcissus "Angel's Breath", taken from under the hanging flowers.
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I went last Tuesday to collect a small order from Hokonui Alpines. Funny, but I came home with many more than were on my order form. Can't think how that happened, but it usually does. ???
The first two pictures here are from Louise's garden, or the first in a glasshouse and the seconf in a creviced trough.
First, Lapeyrousia oreosomething. (Can't remember, but a delightful little bulb with most intersting foliage as well as lovely flowers.
The second is the well known Saxifraga grisebachii 'Wisley' grown to perfection. (Sorry, I've spelt it wrongly in the file name. Will change shortly.)
Next is my own Iris cretensis or, I. unguicularis ssp cretensis. I prefer the former name but...
The last is a tiny Fritillaria stenanthera, just 5cms high and I'm sure it wishes it hadn't bothered. Bcckground of snowdrop leaves.
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At last Magnolia 'Ian's Red' is out and the 2 metre tree has about 50 buds and flowers, not bad! Of course the cold winds have come back just in time for the blooms to open. As they open the deep wine red is becoming pinker but all the same it is glorious.
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IN a local garden centre a few days ago I saw a plant of M. 'Strawberry Fields' which John in NS showed us, a fantastic thing, again about 2 metres and in bud. Roger was with me at the time so I left it but went back next day only to find it gone. It was less than $40 too, very cheap for a flowering magnolia. Carpe diem!
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First, Lapeyrousia oreosomething. (Can't remember, but a delightful little bulb with most intersting foliage as well as lovely flowers.
Lapeirousia oreogena, Lesley,
One of the best!
cheers
fermi
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IN a local garden centre a few days ago I saw a plant of M. 'Strawberry Fields' which John in NS showed us, a fantastic thing, again about 2 metres and in bud. Roger was with me at the time so I left it but went back next day only to find it gone. It was less than $40 too, very cheap for a flowering magnolia. Carpe diem!
Didn't take you long to snag one of those Lesley. Well done.
johnw
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Snapped this Magnolia at the end of my last Tuesday 6.30 a.m. walk round the Cascade Walkway at Lloyd Elsmore Park Howick of the school hockey season. Earlier on the walk I took some pictures of the creek, which is tidal below the cascade. The homestead which bore the name is long gone, but close by is Howick Historical Village, which relives the time of the Fencible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_New_Zealand_Fencible_Corps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_New_Zealand_Fencible_Corps)) settlements of the 1850s, and has many old buildings that have been transported there. Mangroves grow in the tidal parts and there are masses of Allium triquetrum, which seems to be taking over New Zealand. I saw a pair of masked lapwings with a single chick.
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Had a nice surprise yesterday when I found a couple of open flowers on a pot of what I though was just non-flowering foliage of a reticulate iris. They are 'Natascha' which I'd not found when I was moving and couldn't replace from the garden centres this year. I've been wondering for a couple of months when the foliage started to grow through, why the pot was labelled "Arisaema species, ex Bill Dijk" Perhaps that will come up later?
Another pleasant surprise was a couple of stems of bloom on Soldanella pusilla. So small I can't photograph them in my camera.
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There's a lot of Allium triquetrum growing around the area of the Dunedin/Mosgiel interchange on Hwy 1. I often smell them as I travel there, but then Roger told me what I'm smelling is the Factory Road salad factory, where they make large quantities of commercial salads for cafes, restaurants, caterers etc. The factory is just beside the interchange. ???
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At the DBG yesterday after a meeting I saw a planting of perhaps 30 Helleborus 'Flash Gordon.' I hoped these might be available as a seed strain but the Internet so far is just giving two or three sources of individual plants, from garden centres. I bet they'll be expensive. Billed as the result of years of selective breeding, the flowers are in a range of bright red to black, paired with very dark green to deepest red foliage. The one I liked best I thought at first was a paeony, crimson blooms and foliage of deepest plum colour, a spectacular plant. They were surrounded too, by a lot of new seedlings from last year's flowers. I'll take my camera tomorrow and see what I can do. The mass planting was really thrilling.
Further to this post, and some following ones from Lesley on page one of this thread with photos of the lovely Helleborus 'Flash Gordon', I have had this message today :
Message:
Lots of chat about MY Helleborus 'Flash Gordon' on this page. This is my strain and it breeds pretty well true. I have a huge patch of the mother plants growing in isolation on volcanic soil at 2000 feet. In flower now - eat your heart out!!
Tons of seed Lesley!!
Gordon Collier.
gordonsc@xtra.co.nz
8)
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Well I use to know Gordon, it seem ;Ds many years ago. I'll email him and beg nicely.
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Please note that while there are recent posts in this thread, they refer back to previous posts here in 2013 - there is a new thread operating for August 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere for current posts.
New thread : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12120.msg311150#msg311150 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12120.msg311150#msg311150)