Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on November 30, 2014, 10:07:47 PM
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Is it that late already?!
The official start of summer here and we're having a summer storm to celebrate :o
Here's the first flowering on a lovely "new" lilium, 'Lankon' which we got from Adrian at Club Creek Bulb Farm
cheers
fermi
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First day of summer, but where is it? ???
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Oh Fermi that is beautiful. I love Liliums and that's a beauty. I'm working towards building a collection in the future... by the time I retire I might have flowers like yours.
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Much excitement on Monday (and a very hurried clean-up of the "public" parts of the house) before a 3 hour-notice visit from Ann and Ian (of the Christie kind). Steve N is a honey but is so casual about some things he forgets one needs to know in advance of certain things!
Anyway, it was great to see the Christies and have a decent chat, then I was able to go south to one of Ian's talks and will hear another tomorrow in Dunedin, hosted by my own group, Otago Alpine Garden Group. I think they have had an enjoyable time in NZ and have certainly seen some good gardens (this one definitely a work in progress) and will see something of our native flora too before they go home to Scotland. They have been very welcome and I'm sure we are all saying to them, "Haste Ye Back." :)
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I was more than a little disparaging about Galanthophilia, while we were having a cuppa, but Ian showed some of his own plants at Monday evening's talk in Balclutha and for the first time ever, I could see how the obsession could take hold. He showed many I'd never seen even on the Forum, some of them so very differently marked and so very attractive, that I'll never again make pejorative comments about the lack of variation among these little green and white jobs. ;D So sorry Ian. Given the opportunity, would I travel many miles to a Galanthus Gala or other event such as we hear about in the UK and elsewhere? By golly, I think I actually would! ;D
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Ian the Christie Kind is a silver-tongued devil, Lesley - you have clearly fallen for his charm - I expect in a few days you will regain your senses! ;D ;) ;)
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I'll have my first trip south next week. A friend visiting, so I'm giving him "the trip of a lifetime". Alas, no botanising, but plenty of photo opportunities.
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Lesley - one can be quite ambivalent about snowdrops and Galanthophilia until you actually start seeing them established in gardens and naturalised in woodland, and then that discriminating eye takes hold. If you are a nurseryman then more mercenary motives begin to come into play :D. I have a friend who views(ed) them in the same way as you until he discovered that he grew 10 or 20 different snowdrops that various friends had given him over the years, and his attitude softened. I suspect a lot of people view our obsession with alpines (and maybe plants in general) with similar puzzlement. Perhaps finding plants so interesting is difficult to understand, and we can be a bit snobbish when we succeed in growing Galanthus platyphyllus or krasnovii (neither of which by the way I grow :(. It's good to be in at the start of a growing interest in them - in the UK you need to have a collection of several hundred before you really become a member of the Galanthophile intelligentsia!
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.......................... or Galanthophile Glitterati maybe ;D
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Ha ha David - that may be too much of an 'in' joke. There is though a difference between the terms 'Glitterati' and 'Intelligentsia' - I prefer the latter.
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Not much danger of us South Australian's reaching the levels required to join your prestigious intelligentsia! Galanthus are as rare as hens teeth here, if I meet a gardener who even knows what a snowdrop is I'm suitably impressed! I hope mine survive this coming summer which is shaping up to be a doozy. This is really not the climate for them.
Sprekelia formosissima never fails and always surprises.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7546/15936294102_fe185a39c6.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qheF2q)
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in the UK you need to have a collection of several hundred before you really become a member of the Galanthophile intelligentsia!
Hmmm, I am reminded of that quote " never mind the quality, feel the width" from an old TV show featuring a couple of old tailors. I'm more of a believer in the former - collections of several hundred cultivars of anything - often acquired very quickly- smack more to me of train-spotting than plantsmanship!
Cynical ? Me? Yes!
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Sprekelia formosissima never fails and always surprises.
Combination of colour and shape that speaks volumes about richness and elegance.
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Jamus - from seeing the contributions from down under I think you already have a gardening intelligentsia which we benefit from all the time :) I would love to grow that Sprekelia in the garden. (The real thing about snowdrops is how they bring gardeners together and it's always nice to have something special of your own to exchange with another gardener).
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Jamus , don't despair .You too will have drifts of Galanthus in yourgarden in years to come . I started with just one or two bulbs each of a handful of species and cultivars over 50 years ago - that was all that was available then in Australia and only grown by very few enthusiasts . My garden here in the Dandenong Ranges just outside of Melbourne ( altitude circa 500m ) seems ideal for snowdrops .They grow like weeds and have multiplied , in their thousands of circa 80 species and cultivars . What altitude are the Adelaide Hills ? you should have success too , as here we get the odd day in summer when the temperature climbs to 40 C.
Good luck , Otto.
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A couple of Americans in the Rock garden:
Brodiaea californica
Aster spathulatus
and one in a seedpot- Gilia capitata from seed from NZAGS
cheers
fermi
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Thank you Otto for your kind words and encouragement.I appreciate it more than you know. I have been meaning to call you as I have some questions I'd like to talk with you about, but we've had a run of sick kids, sick mums, sleepless nights, dramas and even a minor car accident just to top it off, as if everything else wasn't enough! So if I seem a little bit doom and gloom it's nothing but a temporary symptom of a run of bad luck.
Here's an incredibly rare Apiaceae of exquisite grace and beauty. Can anyone ID it? ;)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7532/15757035510_c49d20629a_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/q1oVG3)
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Selinum wallichianum ???
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Have you been sowing from the spice cupboard? Is it caraway, Carum carvi?
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A couple of Americans in the Rock garden:
Brodiaea californica
Aster spathulatus
and one in a seedpot- Gilia capitata from seed from NZAGS
cheers
fermi
Fermi,
Nice to see our California Natives doing so well. I hope that the Gilia reseeds itself in your garden. They are nice to have around and look good reseeding with Eschscholzia and annual Lupinus, as they do in their natural habitat.
Cheers
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Parsley! :P
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Parsley! :P
;D ;D ;D Well I admit that Petroselinum crispum sounds much fancier - but there's no denying how pretty the parsley flowers are!
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I often wonder whether Petroselinum crispum is a misnomer. I think it ought to be Petroselinum sativum var. crispum, makes sense no? I mean, the one I grow is the "Italian" flat leaf variety and there's nothing crisp about it. I prefer to call it P. sativum.
Matt, spices are a side passion of mine and I've grown many things from the spice cupboard. Caraway, anise, cumin, fenugreek etc. Spices are endlessly fascinating, these products of plants, seeds and bark and fruit and roots and flowers. Most people still have no idea where they come from and what goes into producing them, let alone the incredible history of their trade.
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The venerable history of the use and trade in herbs and spices is a fascinating one and has had much more impact on world events than many might suppose - a good subject for winter study if one were needed!
I've seen Italian flat leaved parsley given as P. crispum var. neapolitanum :-\
There seems to be quite a lot of indecision on parsley names- just the same as so many other plants!
http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Petroselinum.html (http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Petroselinum.html)
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Good morning Jamus , I hope you have a more enjoyable this coming week and all your loved ones have recovered from their sickbeds .
re Parsley : the flat leaved one is much more popular and available in Italy and Germany . It is also more pronounced in flavour , it is the one I use .
Have you tried a few seeds of Caraway in Sauerkraut ? Good for the digestion .
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Hi Otto, I've had caraway seeds with cabbage but I confess I've never tried sauerkraut. Is that shameful? I grew up eating fresh food and haven't really explored the world of pickles and preserves.I like gherkins with dill. I love caraway in that really crusty sourdough rye bread which the Germans make. We use a lot of spices in our cooking; heavily influenced by the Indian, Malaysian, Thai traditions of cookery as most Australian's are these days.
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My Arisaema fargesii is up and growing at a huge rate. The shoot is so interesting I had to take a photo to share with you all. There's something almost animal about these plants...
[attachimg=1]
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7526/15337321033_f9a2c86295_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/pniMcx)
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Limonium bellidifolium in the rock garden this morning.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7552/15778091419_31ca2a1ac0_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/q3fQSX)
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What a lovely little plant. Would look great in a trough too. Where did you get it, Jamus? Is it from seed?
Sources suggest that the inflorescence of L. bellidifolium has many branches without flowers. How certain is the DI from your source, or is yours a particularly floriferous form? Notwithstanding, it's a very attractive plant.
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Hi Matt, it's not uncommon here in Australia at all and in fact has even escaped as a weed of roadsides and coastal areas in some places. Very hardy and very adaptable. I'm not at all certain of the ID. I don't have a positive ID for it, bellidifolium is the closest I could find but I have my doubts too. Even Otto called it Limonium sp? .
I'm happy to send you seed. Seed should be ripe in a month or so. I'll make myself a reminder so I don't forget.
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I gather that Limonium taxonomy is complicated with a lot of microspecies and apomixis. Thankfully none of this prevents our enjoyment of the plants themselves. If you can send some seed that would be great. Will drop you a PM
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I've just had an email from a very kind and helpful plantsman who identified the little Limonium as Limonium companyonis. A bit of googling and I'm now convinced that this is right. Believe it or not it is a weed, predominantly of coastal areas in Australia, but a very pretty one I think.
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I am not afraid of that kind of weed!
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I still think that the Limonium is bellidifolium have a look at lexicon.freenet.de Limonium bellidifolium some one, some where must know the truth?
still wondering Viv
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Viv I thought the same but if you look at these pictures bellidifolium looks quite different.
https://blakeneypoint.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/matted-sea-lavender-limonium-bellidifolium-gouan-dumort/
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Flowering their heads off at present are some of the Emu-bushes; here are some pics:
Eremophilas
Eremophila bignoniiflora x polyclada hybrid
Eremophila 'Summertime Blues'
cheers
fermi
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They are beautiful fermi and very well captured. I've always liked Eremophila. I wonder have they caught on overseas at all? I suppose the Americans are growing them?
Very dry and windy here, we are officially in drought.
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I would love to grow them in my garden but that is impossible I assume!
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They are beautiful fermi and very well captured. I've always liked Eremophila. I wonder have they caught on overseas at all? I suppose the Americans are growing them?
Very dry and windy here, we are officially in drought.
Thanks Fermi. I agree with Jamus, the photographs of Eremophila look very nice. I would not mind growing them myself.
Jamus,
Most likely Eremophila are grown here in the U.S.A., unfortunately I have never seen them at the local nurseries around our parts. This is not saying much as the nurseries around here are not known for there selection of plants. It has been years since I have visited any nurseries in the San Francisco Bay area. In the past that was the place to find interesting plants. I'm clearly city phobic which I'm sure does not help my cause.
12-13cm of rainfall the last 24 hours. Maybe our drought will be ending. I certainly hope so. Finally some good snow in the Sierra Nevada too.
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The impression I have of California is, you name it someone is doing it/tried it. Robert many of the Emu bushes are great garden plants with beautiful silvery foliage. They respond well to pruning and I've seen them hedged.
We won't be getting anything like 120mm (we use mm for rainfall down here) until autumn. The most we can hope for is a good summer storm which we often get around Christmas.
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Jamus,
Thanks for the information.
Any of the "doing it/tried it" ain't happen around our parts. Most of the intense horticultural activity is in the coast part of California, anywhere from San Diego to the Oregon border. In the past there were incredibly talented horticultural people in this part of the state. My guess is that this is still true. I lost track of all this decades ago, however this information may be helpful to you, in this age of the internet.
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Weldenia candida looking lovely at the moment needs to be covered in Winter does not like it too wet, and hates the small amounts of snow and hail we get occasionally.
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Wow Vivienne, your Weldenia is fantastic! I'm off to read about them now. I love this forum, always something new. :)
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I have already read about it!
I would love to grow anything like that in my garden but neither the winters (too wet) nor the summers (too many slugs) would allow me :(
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Thank you Hoy and Jamus for your lovely comments, Hoy you have mentioned these slugs or slugges (is that how you spell it) before on the forum, you can drown them in beer in a dish, I know that is one way I get rid of them. Do you have a lot of them in your garden or do they come in from the neighbours? It must be very difficult for you to garden if everything is being eaten.
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Hi Guys,
I haven't posted for a while so here goes. Nothing brilliant.
Lilium hansonii - early species. Native to East Asia.
Lilium "Lankon" - Fermi has already posted this. Seems to be everywhere in Australia. Cross between L. longiflorum and L. lankongense.
Lilium "Pearl Jessica" - marketed as a Tiger Lily but must be a hybrid. Very strong, lovely long stems and full heads.
Cheers, Marcus
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I wouldn't mind growing those! Good wishes for Christmas for all those enjoying the summer in the south :)
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Hi Marcus,
nice to have you back on the Forum!
I think this Calochortus is from you - possibly C. plummerae - can't be sure as the echidna has destroyed/buried/eaten the label!
cheers
fermi
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It's the variability of Lankon that I find so arresting - some of those open in my garden are wonderfully dark, so that the throat resembles nepalense.
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Nice to have you back Marcus, I've missed your photos here. Lilium lankon is beautiful. I'm just starting my voyage of discovery into the mysterious World of liliums.
I was given a bucket of lilium bulbs of uncertain identity and they are flowering now. I'll take a photograph tonight and perhaps you can help me ID it. I suspect it might be L. regale, but really not sure.
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Hi again,
Yes Fermi, its Calochortus plummerae. I have sold it a few times now. It never sets much seed for me. How about you? Oh for another Ron Ratko.
Thanks Jamus - its nice to be back posting a few things.
Rob, have you got any pictures of the darker ones?
I have posted this daphne pic. Grown from JCA seed as D. gnidium but looks like D. oleoides. Any thoughts?
Plus a picture of Daphne oleiodes on Mt Falakron in Macedonia.
Cheers, Marcus
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Thank you Hoy and Jamus for your lovely comments, Hoy you have mentioned these slugs or slugges (is that how you spell it) before on the forum, you can drown them in beer in a dish, I know that is one way I get rid of them. Do you have a lot of them in your garden or do they come in from the neighbours? It must be very difficult for you to garden if everything is being eaten.
Hi Vivienne,
It's a lot of advices how to kill the slugs but they are innumerable. I have lots in my garden and they creep in from the neighbours. In summer I take several rounds in the garden especially on moist days or evenings and kill every slug and snail I find.
The worst one has recently come from Europe (Arion vulgaris)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Wegschnecke-2010-011.jpg/260px-Wegschnecke-2010-011.jpg)
(Wikipedia)
but I have several species here. And of course they'll always take the most precious plants! With the mild weather we have now they're even out eating these days. A couple of new plants I achieved and planted in October are completely gnawed to the soil surface already (and they continue down the roots).
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Here's a quick pic of one of the lilies I was given. Does it look like regale or more likely something else?
[attachimg=1]
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Hoy I feel sorry for your plants it is difficult to plant new things out and the next day they are gone.
Marcus your Liilium lankon petals reflex right back, mine do not they just slightly reflex like a bell, are there different forms
Viv
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I really hate slugs and snails. My daughter and I do late night scouting missions of the garden looking for them with torches. They all go into a plastic bag then straight into the bin.
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Lovely to see an Australian Weldenia doing so well. Mine is flowering now too and after a single bite the bunnies have left it alone so maybe it has something in it they don't like. I'm sooooo grateful for that! Today I had to dig and replant two yellow tree paeonies which were doing nicely and settling in after planting about 2 months ago but last night they had been almost dug out, the main tap roots exposed and gnawed on. I hope they'll survive but I'm not sure about it as they were quite badly damaged. I replanted then placed flat rocks around them so further digging will be in vain I hope.
Have finally finished repotting my entire collection of frits except a couple in troughs, the first time in probably 40 years I've got the lot done in one go, though it's taken a few hours most days over a fortnight. Most have gone back, some badly, having not been touched for a year or more since before we moved, getting on for two years ago now, a few, not necessarily the most precious, lost altogether. I've planted out the easier ones, meleagris, acmopetala, pontica, affinis, in the cooler bed which is now so packed with things they've hardy room to breathe and planted some more in a curved, raised bed around the top of the driveway/nursery. These are among dianthus, campanulas, dwarf bearded irises, auriculas and a large number of other sun-loving rock garden things and for now, the whole bed is covered with pieces of wire netting (rooster and 2 chooks this time as well as bunnies). It doesn't look good but is effective until things are well established. The rest of the frits are in pots, and hopefully will flower next spring for a big display we are planning instead of our usual competitive show. Most pots had one to a few flowering size bulbs and a number of rice or very small bulbs so it will be a time for much patience I suppose until they build up again. Surprisingly, F. recurva has thrived on neglect and as well as the pot of fl size bulbs, another pot with only loosened rice and placed there and labelled in 2011, has made big bulbs, with about 15 fl size and a number of smaller as well as many rice as well so not a total disaster.
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Hoy I feel sorry for your plants it is difficult to plant new things out and the next day they are gone.
. . . .
Viv
Yes, I feel sorry too! But we have all our kind of problems I think - too hot, too dry, too cold, too wet etc ;)
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Nice lilies, Marcus and Jamus!
I like lilies and some of them are spared by the slugs like this L. hasonii (or is it something else, it doesn't look quite like the one shown by Marcus?).
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Lesley, seems you have been very busy!
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I have indeed Hoy, trying to get things done before Christmas. I think it may be less hectic for those in the northern hemisphere with colder weather and a shorter holiday season. Here there is the garden in full WEED growth as well as all the things to do for Christmas itself - and we always seem to overdo those, right over the top, then thinking about preserving and jam making, (some of us anyway), the long summer school holidays with children or grandchildren, maybe a holiday away somewhere, and catching up on visiting friends and doing all the other things we meant to do through the year but didn't get around to for whatever reason. Seed harvest is well under way too. It never stops. :)
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Hi Viv,
"Lankon" should be a clone. That's why I asked Rob about his darker ones. I don't know why the variation. Seems odd - maybe different conditions?
Hoy maybe your lilies are the clone or (grex) "Marhan"? I am no expert on these but it does look a lot taller and lighter in colour.
Cheers, Marcus
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PS Jamus your lily looks a lot like what I know as L. regale album.
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Thank you for the confirmation Marcus, I'm glad I got to that on my own. :P
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Lankon is reportedly several different clones*, though sold as a single one. Photo will follow.
* One online source I've read suggests it's a chimera, though I haven't seen this reflected in my own flowers.
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Lilium Lankon - for comparison, here's a photo I posted of mine back in June: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11937.msg307730#msg307730 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11937.msg307730#msg307730)
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Lankon:
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A few unrelated pictures follow, just to keep my hand in.
Asperula nitida puberula is waiting until I get a double washtub trough in place, hopefully tomorrow. I realized recently that to my horror, my garden seems to be becoming a "cottage" garden, which I never intended. Sweet peas, climbing roses (old), lilies, paeones, irises, dianthus and other things are having that effect and the rock garden things are finding it hard to fit in comfortably so troughs are a part solution especially for the very small species.
Recently there were posts somewhere about "hot" colours and I meant to show this one but didn't get around to it. It is Cheiranthus x Kewensis 'Rufus,' aka locally as 'Taieri Sunset' as at the time its name wasn't known and a friend who saw it at my place at Saddle Hill overlooking the Taieri Plain, so named it. It just about flowers to death and one has to cut it off hard before it finishes in order to get it flowering again and to get new growth to propagate. It was originally a gift from a north=of-Auckland friend.
This is perhaps Iris delavayi. Not sure about it but certainly one from the Sibirica section. I. delavayi flowers at nearly 1.8 metres high in a friend's garden. This one has lived in a pot for a few years and is less than half that but looking forward to planting out in the next week or so.
Primula sieboldii 'Winter Dream' from last year's Barhaven seed. What great quality seed that was! Most of these white are this snowflake shape but a few are smoother and rounder in the petals so I'm calling them 'Snowflake' and 'Snowball.'
And a really choice new plant from my friends at Hokonui Alpines. It is Myosotis 'Hokonui,' a hybrid between two natives, the tiny, pale yellow M. uniflora and the much larger M. capitata, a glorious shade of blue, native to the islands of the southern ocean which fall under NZ's jurisdiction. I believe Louise has produced an even better plant now, which another grower says is NZ's answer to the genus Dionysia. I eagerly await its release. ;D
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Beautiful Lesley, I especially like the little Myosotis.
That's funny about your accidental cottage garden. Mine is becoming an accidental dessert garden at the moment with the extreme drought we're having. The spring was great but it was cut short again; a worrying trend. I wonder if it will rain for christmas... it often does.
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Lovely to see some colour Lesley after what seems months of grey, wet days here. I like the little Myosotis too.
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The Asperula gets my vote. What a lovely wee plant for a trough. Seeing any colour is most welcome at this time pf year. Thanks Lesley
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Recently there were posts somewhere about "hot" colours and I meant to show this one but didn't get around to it. It is Cheiranthus x Kewensis 'Rufus,' aka locally as 'Taieri Sunset' as at the time its name wasn't known and a friend who saw it at my place at Saddle Hill overlooking the Taieri Plain, so named it.
There was a mention of Taieri in this from the IGPS ........ so I thought it might be of interest "Another wonderful report on gardens in New Zealand"
https://www.facebook.com/IrishGardenPlantSociety/posts/749062741815813 (https://www.facebook.com/IrishGardenPlantSociety/posts/749062741815813)
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I'll have a few more photos later, maybe today. I'm having lunch with Susan (the shoe pixie) today and have picked a little bunch of dactylorhizas, Primula viali and a clematis with small, deep violet flowers, called 'Romantica.' I'll expect David, her husband, to give her no less than orchids for Christmas. ;D As you see, the day here is dull but very muggy and hot.
Thanks for the Taieri reference Maggi. It amuses me to see a list of nearby cities. I guess East Taieri itself has a population of about 1-200. There are some good gardens round about though and most people love to have visitors to see them. Dunedin now has a population of about 120,000, the biggest in the lower South Island and only Chch is larger in the S. Island. We have to revel in being small because we're never going to be big. Thank goodness for that! :)
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Looks like a Perfect Pixie Posey to me - please give the dear S.P. my very best wishes. :-*
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Lesley , Myosotis 'Hokonui' is a charming plant . Did it originate as chance seedling in the Hokonui Nursery ? Is there a white flowered Dactylorhiza in your orchids for Christmas bunch ? In Australia we only grow D. elata , foliosa , 'Harold Esslemont' and maculate ssp. fuchsii .
Fermi , another picture of Lilium 'Lancon' , flowering here some weeks after yours . It is the tallest lily in my garden : 3 meters plus and the amount of spots varies in individual flowers on the same stem , therefor some darker flowers .
To all on the Forum my Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas and may you get much joy from your plants next year , Otto
a few more lilies flowering at the moment . Lilium duchartrei spreads quite a bit by underground stolons , but it is a beautiful "weed'
L. grayi x canadense 022
L.grayi x canadense 021
Lil. duchartrei 009
Lil. hansonii 007
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more lilies
Lil. rubellum 003
Lil. x marhan 016
Lil.'Lankon' 023
Paris polyphylla 008
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Otto your Liliums are spectacular, I love them all but L. x marhan is really something special, isn't it? L. duschartrei is absolutely stunning and I simply can't believe that it could be weedy! Nothing that pretty could be easy to grow, just not possible... :P
Paris polyphylla... *sign* one day we will move to a cooler wetter place and then I will attempt these mythical beasts of the plant world. Thank you for posting these pictures Otto. It's so nice to see your cool damp garden as things here are really starting to dry out.
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Will do Maggi. Good lunch and flowers well received. But we feel our favourite cafe is going down a little, its wonderful chef doing too many things and maybe not doing them quite so well as when she was more focused. Three little children as well! The S.P. had beauties on her feet, really naked sandals, sort of, with gold flowers. ;D
Otto I have no white Dactylorhiza and while there may be one in NZ, I've not seen it. The pale one I have as maculata ssp fuchsii. I had elata but seem to have lost it, too dry up Saddle Hill, but a few of my foliosas have dark, less glossy foliage and I wonder if they're hybrids. Otherwise, only maculata itself and the subspecies. When he was here Ian of the Christie kind said that foliosa was a synonym of madarense but according to the Kew list (thanks Maggi via Susan), madarense is used with the generic name Orchis and THAT is the synonym. What I have are all revelling in the cool soil under that big conifer at the front gate along with P. vialii and so many other things. including Mutisias spinosa and decurrens, both clambering up the rough trunk in the semi shade and damp. Just what they love.
I also have had the name magellanica for the senecio, a stunning plant from the Falkland and South Georgia Islands of the south Atlantic. I once saw a slide of it growing in the sand at the end of a tiny island of rocky outcrop, in full bloom, magnificent velvet white foliage and south Atlantic waves crashing though the air immediately behind it. Absolutely fabulous!
A terrible picture of the calceolaria for which I apologise but to show that there is seed forming, if you'd like some Otto.
I would like an ID for the lily please.It is orange with a yellow dotted centre, both buds and flowers fully pendant and the flower petals reflexed strongly as it opens up. It's only about 40 cms high but has been in its pot I think since it was seedlings, about 4 or 5 years so maybe should be much taller if treated nicely. It flowered for the first time last year and then got terribly dry and vanished so I'm amazed that it's still with me. Leaves are in whorls.
Senecio candicans
Calceolaria fothergillii
Lewisia Sunset Strain
Lilium species query?
Dactylorhiza mac ssp fuchsii
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A few irises, again, poor photos especially as some are under that same tree and the pesky flash was going even thought the day was bright and sunny.
Iris gracilipes, also liking the cool and damp
Iris sibirica (possibly) 'Moonsilk.' Came to me as 'Kingfisher' and old blue, from Dykes. Obviously not. Another as 'Moonsilk' turned out blue so maybe the labels were mixed in the packing.
A tall bearded iris, 'Anvil of Darkness.' Fair enough.
Iris clarkei, about to collapse so a better picture from a couple of years ago is (will be) below. One of my favourites from the Sibirica Section, quite tall, a good metre if the soil is damp. This is half that.
And Iris milesii, with gracilipes, from the Evansia section, another crested iris. Rather like an exotic bird.
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Bother, I can't find the better I. clarkei. So Senecio candicans almost in flower then to show I'm not totally plant obsessed, a photo from earlier in the week of my son John, grand-daughter Hayley and great grand son William. Isn't that one cute and delicious wee baby? :)I should be there too, to make 4 generations. :)
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Both wonderful. Congratulations Lesley.
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Lovely Lesley. Great-grandma eh Lesley, I'd settle for just being a granddad!
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Lesley,
The Lily is western american. looks like a pardalinum hybrid.
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Lesley I love Iris clarkei, very nice! The other Irises are great too. Cute family you have, so many generations all together is a rarity for sure. I barely knew my grandparents and wasn't even born ... no that's not true, apparently I met my great grandmother on my Mum's side before she died. I fancy I can almost remember her but I'm really not sure if those little sparks of images are real or confabulated.
ps. Senecio candicans is a nice thing isn't it? I'm a sucker for silver/white/blue foliage plants and that's a new one to me. I might even forgive the yellow flowers... maybe.
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Thanks everyone, more about that later but I've just planted out the lily a few minutes ago and Rob I had come to the conclusion all right that it was western American, based solely on the fact that the bulbs look exactly like those of Fritillaria camschatcensis. So far so good. I'll now look for L. pardalinum.
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I've had good germination of Lilium pardalinum and the little plantlets are growing on nicely in my nursery. I guess they are a couple of years from flowering but it's a good start.
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Was up visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Dunedin today . Four years ago we decided our children would never leave home , so we did instead and moved to Balclutha . However , some of my plants are still there as I could not shift them including the 2 Puya alpestris . They are looking fairly awesome and I will watch their development with interest
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The flowers are full of nectar
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WOW what a beauty looks really interesting hope it does not knock the house down, cheers Ian the Christie kind
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Jandals those are stunning bromeliads. I've always admired Puya but haven't tried growing them myself. I ought to, they would do well in our climate I think.
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Was up visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Dunedin today . Four years ago we decided our children would never leave home , so we did instead and moved to Balclutha . However , some of my plants are still there as I could not shift them including the 2 Puya alpestris . They are looking fairly awesome and I will watch their development with interest
Fantastic!
The great thing about Puya is that they're so easy from seed.
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Lesley, I am certain your lily is l. pardalinum, the easiest and most prolific of the Nth. American species . Here is a picture I took today. I planted 2 bulbs 3 years ago and they have multiplied into a decent clump. I raised it from seed col. in the wild by Ratko .
my little Christmas tree sends you Best Wishes for a Joyful Christmas ,
Otto.
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Jandals those are stunning bromeliads. I've always admired Puya but haven't tried growing them myself. I ought to, they would do well in our climate I think.
I think they would too Jamus . There are a few problems with them however:-
1- The leaves have spines that are bent backwards so that nothing escapes . Weeds that get in tend to stay there unless you have one of those steel mesh butchers glove as well as full arm protection
2- I'm not exactly sure but I think there was a 10-12 year wait from planting to flowering . It's definitely worth the wait because it doesn't look like it is finished yet
I hope to get plenty of seed for the SRGC seed exchange
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Wow, so nice to know December is not all that dark and cold everywhere.
Well, we have sun now, above freezing temperatures, which is kinda unusual.
I love lilies, my favorite bulb. And I'm more and more interested in the species... something not seen around here.
That Puya is lovely. This is a nice color, but I got two P. berteroniana in pots. I think they are 2-3 years old now. They don't grow much, and in winter i keep them cool and dry. I wish they bloomed :)
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Hi Guys, and the best Season's Greetings!
Concur with the previous lily boys but the Bellingham and Bullwood hybrids can throw identical plants.
Which leads me to an area that NO ONE will want to go to BUT the L." Lancon"situation is a prime example of the sort oc thing the EU bureaucrats, who want to "protect" consumer interests by regulating description and ensuring the correct product is in the market, would be rubbing their hands over. Right up their alley - thanks drongo marketing morons!! A case of money trumping commonsense.
Maggi, maybe this issue can placed on/ at the Regulatory Threats to Plant Movements, etc. thread? This is one of the practices which MUST stop if the arguments for commonsense are to be listened to. Seems innocent enough to us but it is a form of dumping which destroys trust and credibility and plays right into the Commissions hands.
Maggi, on second thoughts maybe my comments can be moved there and a reference may from there to here for illustration?
Apologies on breaking the flow but it needs to said somewhere.
Cheers, Marcus
This rave may probably not mean a thing to southerners but maybe a few will be savvy to whats at stake.
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Marcus, I have copied your post to that thread : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10845.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=10845.0)
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Re 'Lankon'
Perhaps I can add something to the discussion on this lily.
Having seen many hundreds of these growing I can confirm that they range from almost white with just a few pale pink spots, to mostly covered in dark, red-purple spots, like in Rob's image.
Like many other early LA hybrids (whigh 'Lankon' is), and some Longiflorum lilies (Div. V), it has a tendency to split on one side.
Given the variability, it seems that more than one plant may have been included in the original material from which this "clone" was propagated.
In brief, it is a very robust & desirable plant, let down somewhat by less than perfect flowers. At it's best it is quite beautiful, but only occasionally appears to reach that standard.
Needs more work. A challenge for would-be hybridizers.
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Hi guys,
My tablet froze up just when i was about to make an earlier post on this so I will make it quick.
This plant is clearly not a clone. Its not an improved gene line or strain, its a grex.
So which one is the real "Lancon"?
The launching agents either clearly doesn't understand the rules of nomenclature and they just want a maketing name. Or they deliberately dumped a series of clones onto the market under a single clonal name to make a quick return on investment. This plant appears not to have PBR (in which case it would already be breaking the law) but either way it's deceptive practice and thist is the sort of thing the EU Commission wants to stamp out.
On the face of it that seems great but the Commision wants to include nearly all plants that are sold or exchanged for commercial gain AND they want to include nearly EVERYBODY who is involved in these activites.
The upshot: nearly all plants will require a legal description and these are estimated will cost £800 each. EVERYBODY may include, small specialist nurseries, church fairs, and not for profit organizations like the SRGC and the AGS. There appears to no exemption for common usage plants and still seems unclear if species would be exempt.
Anyway, for those interested thats what at stake: those gardeners and enthusiasts right to gsrden and to exchange plant material. Check the thread Maggi and I are talking about. To quote a well known rock artist, "it seems a million miles away, but its getting a little closer every day".
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
You may have the wrong end of this stick. Mak Breeding only gives one description at their site, whilst B&D Lilies (bdlilies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/lily-review-many-faces-of-lankon.html; good picture of the flower colour range by the way) report that the colour changes only appeared when growing-on field stock. Some of the blooms they show are clearly periclinal chimeras. I did not mean to imply anything other than that the stock was variable.
Neil,
Yes, Lankon has the same tendency to become disordered in bloom as Triumphator. Doesn't seem as susceptible as the latter though. I eventually gave up on growing Triumphator - I got depressed every time I walked past it. Do you know whether VDQB have imported 3080-267, the longiflorum x pardalinum cross?
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Otto, Thanks for the pictures of L. pardalinum. I'm happy with the naming of mine now but goodness knows where it came from. I don't think I ever had seeds as that name. Never mind, I like it very much.
Steve your Puyas are magnificent! May I go along there on Tuesday and have a look please, in the flesh, so to speak. You mention your son and daughter-in-law. Do you mean to tell me that that little lad Cory aka Corwin, is now MARRIED???
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Hi Rob,
thanks for this. I didnt investigate that side of the argument. I wasn't implying that you led me to my conclusion.
If this is the case then either the marketing name needs to change as well as the description put out here in Australia because they now have this information. But they don't, so here is an example of what can happen in an unregulated market where "anything goes", and therefore an argument the EU Commission can use.
On the other hand, this example shows just how complex the situation can be and good reason for the EU to hold back, and they have .... currently. Under their mooted rule changes this company would have committed an offence, fined, the stock withdrawn and compensation paid to the whole chain of supply involved, ending with the consumer.
Cheers, M
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PS Periclinal chimeras are the most stable of the class, ie, they are not likely to change. Therefore the stock listed under this name will probably not change, therefore it will remain substantively a mix of several clones. What to do? Is it "Lankon"? Or is a "Dark Lankon" with "Lankon" or is it a mess?
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Here are some things which have been in bloom over Christmas and still are, of course. You'll see what I mean by my patch becoming a "cottage" garden. :o Irises first. There have been a number of others but I missed a few while away for a few days and some have not had enough water (in pots) so haven't opened properly. I've started a massive programme of planting out in hope of having many more than this year, in bloom for next year's Convention.
A Dwarf bearded form called 'Shamrock Fan,' almost 3 months later than the main plant but nice to have it so late. All the other bearded forms have finished.
Then two cultivars of Iris ensata. No idea what their names are and if anyone can oblige with those, I'd be happy. Christmas Eve was very hot here. I almost melted as I worked to fill a large tub with rocks and mix. But each time I walked past it, this second plant with about 10 flowers out, was so cool, almost limpid with its white and soft blue that I immediately felt able to do a bit more.
A horrible (seedling I presume) form or Papaver orientale which was supplied as 'Patty's Plum.' Will probably pull it out now it's had 2 years to settle down.
The first of the (almost) black poppies that I like so much. This one is 1.2 metres high!
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This red Alstroemeria was here when we bought this place and I retain it not because I like it very much as I always think modern alstroemerias are so essentially garden centre plants and so obvious somehow. That only goes to emphasize my plant snobbery I suppose. But I must give it credit for having bloomed from November 13 to September 14 including right through winter, then had just a brief spell before starting all over again.
Gladiolus nanus 'Impressive' is just that. The only one of 6 forms I planted last year which came up at all though some of the others having missed a year, have come up now and will flower soon.
Dianthus 'Freckly Flake' has a silly name but is a really nice thing and well fragrant too. It's good for picking as well.
Senecio candicans has at last opened a flower which looks good on the white velvet foliage. It's planted against the base of the trough which follows.
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Hi Lesley,
That "black" poppy is sensational! Would love that. Are you ever hastled for growing them?
Cheers, Marcus
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A really nice green Auricula, not named, just one of many seedlings raised by my mates at Hokonui. This is a second flowering since October, and the first gave me some seed.
Perhaps my most favourite thing at the moment, the flowers are so beautiful and the scent is fantastic. I literally dream the fragrance, sometimes waking with it in my nose and all around me. The plant is Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile.' I first saw it at Hillier's in England and wasn't happy until years later when I found it at the wonderful Blue Mountain Nursery, just an hour or so down the road.
The trough I mentioned above is one of two old double washtubs, rare now but still highly sought after and scavenged from house demolitions. This is near the back door and the other will go on the other side of the path, slightly set back due to the way the path is set out. It is perched on top of a calf drinking trough (I have 16!) so that the double outlet will drain into that and from there out to the soil. I've put in half a dozen rocks in each half partly to save on growing mix and partly to give a rocky base for the roots to find. The mix I've put in by now has been tamped down and well hosed a couple of times and then I've to place some crevice-type schist rocks for the inhabitants. I'll do that over the next few days depending on the weather which has suddenly become very hot. Dunedin was said yesterday to have reached 20 degC but here on the back verandah, in the shade, it was 39C at 2pm and still 35C by 6pm. Inside the house didn't go below 27C all through the night and sleeping was impossible. So barrowing rocks and potting compost isn't the best way to spend the day. The trough looks a bit wonky but is, in fact, quite level. I promise! :)
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Hi Marcus, no I'm never "hassled" as such though they are well away from the sight of any passers by who are in vehicles anyway but a lot of people would like the seed and we are not by law, permitted to buy, sell or in any way distribute seeds or plants of the opium poppy. We are allowed to grow them if we have them already though, and I've had this one for years. In a previous garden, after a "looking around" visit from a couple of guys, the whole lots were stolen that night, just pulled up by the roots and they weren't in flower yet so couldn't have been of much use to them. I doubt if the plants survived. They also took my good stainless steel spade and a radio I had left in my open air but under cover potting place. B......s!
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Very beautiful philadelphus and love green edeges. M
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Hi Lesley,
The lengths some people will go. I find gardeners generally are an honest lot but I too have had 3 robberies. My stock plant of Cyclamen coum "Maurice Dryden", large pot of Crocus tournefourtii and a number of auriculas and lilies. Blood boiled. I knew who one thief was but could never prove it.
Still we bounce back.
Cheers, M
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This has to be the prize photo of my day. I wanted to apply "Wettasoil" to a long, curved bed round the top of the driveway, which is raised and planted with rock garden things; easy but good, such as dianthus, campanulas, veronicas, auriculas, dwarf bearded irises and many more (I counted about 150 when I was watering tonight.) The Wettasoil acts to let water penetrate immediately instead of running off even if the surface is hard and very dry so it saves water and the applied water goes in much deeper. The watering can I wanted was under a bench where it had been since we moved here 22 months ago, unused in all that time. It lay on its side so I pulled it out and it seemed very heavy as if it had a brick inside it. I stood it upright and found a partly grown possum curled up in there! I couldn't find Roger at the time and didn't want to shout for him and frighten the possum into leaping out and ripping my bare arms and face to shreds (they have vicious teeth and claws) so left it there with a polystyrene tray over it to simulate dark (they're nocturnal) and went for R to dispose of it. When he arrived with a weapon he had to put it down to lift out the possum which, before he had time to pick up the gun, bolted so it has lived to fight another day. I'm not sorry really because having found it, I almost feel responsible for it. No doubt he's now out there munching on the roses and young apricots. It was very cute though and looked at me briefly with pleading eyes (oh yes, I have a great imagination when I want it. ;D)
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Off to watch some cricket highlights now. Only half an hour unfortunately as we (NZ's Blackcaps) are slaughtering the Sri Lankans, for a change. But it will be good while it lasts. If we throw away this test we should be hanged, drawn and quartered.
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We are having a cracker of a Boxing Day test here. I hope the Indians can match the Aussie batting, well Smith's batting. They shouldn't have let him away yesterday afternnon. Unfortunely I had prior arrangements and didn't see a run of it. Oh well!
M
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You can thank us for the possums. Are the NZers selling them to the Chinese? We are, fast becoming a subsidiary.
M
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Don't talk to me about possums at the moment, one knocked my pot of Cypripedium off the shelf in my nursery and I found it smashed and wilted on the ground. >:( >:( :'( If I could get my hands on it I'd ring its skinny little neck.
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Hi Jamus,
Likewise. I have a beautiful old "Angelina" plum my grandmother planted for me years ago. It was fine then because I had a conventional backyard, its part of the nursery now. When I got out of hospital, a while ago now, the great big lugs had knock over my only pot of Crocus scardicus. Anyone in the south who knows about this species would have the same reaction as me. They cant afford to dry out especially when young. They had been lying there on the ground for who knows how long and it was a very dry September. So it was down on my hands and knees, operstion scar screaming, with a pair of tweezers trying to get as many back into safety as I could. NOT EASY!
Today I noticed my only pot of Belevalia crassa knocked over - not such a problem now cause everything is going down. I cant blame the furry buggers. I should cut the tree down but I can't!
Cheers, Marcus
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Anyone in the South grow Crocus scardicus? I think Otto does cause we swapped. What about you Lesley? You are in a good possie. Sorry about the pelistericus. I have loads of Crocus veluchensis! How far do I have to wade into the bog!! There was still snow lying there in late June. Still flowers, a bit squinny and sick looking. The scilla biflora looked anemic!
M
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Marcus I've considered some kind of contraption made of wire with upward facing spikes to ward them off. I reckon it could be done pretty simply. I did a similar thing to stop the neighbours cat using my garden bed as a toilet and digging up my Allium bulbs. It worked very well and isn't too unattractive.
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Hi Jamus,
The Greeks do a similar thing to protect flower pot seedlings. Not from possums but scratching birds. They stick pallisades of kabab squewers in the pots, pointy, sharp end upwards. Looks wierd but must be effective. I have traps. I take them over the river to the Eastern shore. Some wag said to me, "the people on the Eastern Shore do the same so they all just put back! Now that's a crazy visual metaphore.
Cheers, M
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Had quite an adventure in the South. One box I managed to tick was Ranunculus lyalli, both at Arthur's Pass and Gertrude Valley, the latter on a bus and boat trip to Milford Sound from Queenstown.
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Hi Anthony, how fabulous! Does it allow people to grow it outside its zone or just too miffy?
we have some genuinely beautiful endemic flora here in Tasmania but most should be left where they live to prosper and us humans come visit.
Cheers, Marcus
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I've never grown it, and suspect it would not tolerate the Auckland climate. It should grow in places that have a warm summer and a cold winter.
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Marcus, I don't have Crocus scardicus. I'm not sure that anyone here does, I've never seen it except on the Forum.
Ran. lyallii is growable here in the south and will flower reliably year after year, for a few years anyway, if it has a cool, composty/gritty mix, and in my experience, does better in the garden than in a pot. Several OAGG members grow it successfully. What it hates is our current hot sun especially with wind as well. Cool and moist, somewhat like for Meconopsis. I have a friend who had seedlings from hers and they turned out to be hybrids with the northern specis, R. cortunsaefolius, slightly smaller flowers than lyallii but a beautiful cream shade. The foliage was more scalloped than lyallii but not so much as cortusaefolius.
No-one will believe me but while the weather on TV says Dunedin is having a high from 19-22degC, further south we are having in the high 20s and it was 39(!!!) on our back porch a couple of days ago. High 30s today. Even as I write this, it is 29C in the dining room. I'm reluctant to go to bed as I can't sleep in this warmth.
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Hi Lesley,
Crocus scardicus is rarely collected (seed). It grows in Albania and I think Janis and Kurt found it in FYROM when looking for that new, and unpronounceable white spring crocus.
Occasionally Pilous has offered it and 3 years ago Pavelka (Euro Seeds) had good viable seed for sale. Its a late snow melt species so you got to be around at a late stage in the season to collect it so more amenable to collectors of perennials. Other ways? Draw your own conclusions.
Its a very jewel-like bicolor but being late its hard to flower Down Under. Maybe you would have the best shot but alas mine haven't set seed and the quaratine gate is now SHUT! You need to ask Maggi ;) I think they might grow it.
Its hard to maintain difficult microclimates when the odds are stacked, ask Otto and I re oncos. I guess if the goal is worth it then for a while there's commitment. You know those two Tasmanian high alpines, Geum talboltianum and Isophysis tasmanica? Most people in Tasmania could not grow them. They'd be better off in Scotland. The only person I know who grew them OK was old Essie Huxley and she did it with neglect! Few handfuls of compost and out behind the water tank. She'd pull em out to show people and plonk them back, she was always pulling things out of wierd places!
I admired her derring do!
cheers, Marcus
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Went to a fresh food shop ("Farro Fresh") to buy a pie for tomorrow and picked up this Disa uniflora for NZ$19.99. 8)
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Like lots of people here I'd dearly like to try Crocus scardicus from seed but haven't found a source yet.
Thanks for this great anecdote Marcus. Galanthus 'Essie Huxley' is about to flower here but I know practically nothing about the person it celebrates. Can you tell us more please?
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Here's a memory from 2014.
ɹǝpu∩ uʍop ɯoɹɟ ɹɐǝʎ ʍǝN ʎddɐH
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Like lots of people here I'd dearly like to try Crocus scardicus from seed but haven't found a source yet.
Thanks for this great anecdote Marcus. Galanthus 'Essie Huxley' is about to flower here but I know practically nothing about the person it celebrates. Can you tell us more please?
Ironically, it was in January of 2008 that Essie Huxley died - so nearly seven years since she passed away. The news was broken to me by Derek Bacon, an old English friend of hers http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1117.msg28718#msg28718 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1117.msg28718#msg28718)
The dear lady has been mentioned often in the forum as being one of the foremost plants people of Tasmania - She is clearly still sadly missed by many -thank goodness there are still many who are lucky enough to have plants from her in their gardens. There will be "southerners" who will be better able to explain her significance.
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Thanks Maggi, very interesting (& I should have searched before posting :-[ ;) ;D) but perhaps we can hear more from those who knew her.
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Hi Ashley,
I can corroborate. She was a great old mate. My plant "Mum". I was very close to her for years. I didnt know about Derek Bacon's report. I wrote a long article about her here in an Australian journal, called 40 Degrees South but I cant recall the series no or year.
Her full story is truly heroic and she had two touches of luck. Her father gave her a seedling waratah from a bush walk which opened MANY doors and Ken Gillanders turned up one day and asked her to sell to him some of her clapped out raspberry farm so he could build a nursery. Ken is an old man now but in his day was the rare plantsman here in Australia and was a member and presenter at the AGS. I am not sure of the SRGC. He was also is a warm friend of Otto and probably Viv's?
In fact, I dont think I'll be speaking out of turn when I say Viv camped in Essies' paddock many years ago. How about that, waking up surrounded by flowers!
I recently wrote the waratah story to Kurt Vickery because he was visiting Hilliers and it had a connection to that nursery. I'll see if I can't fish it out and post an edited, short version of it. If people don't mind another anecdote?
Cheers, Marcus
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It will be grand to hear more of Essie - she deserves to be well -remembered.
And yes, Ken Gillanders is still a faithful SRGC member!
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I'll pop it up as soon as I've had my beauty sleep!
Been out celebrating, it's nearly 2am. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ANYONE WHO READS THIS!
Marcus
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Its a very jewel-like bicolor but being late its hard to flower Down Under.
Marcus - If only there was a purpose built, climate controlled alpine house in Tasmania or Victoria (with attached quarantine beds, of course).
Lesley - are there any alpine houses (like the one at Kew) in NZ?
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Hi Jon,
Happy New Year, I'm still here!
It's a novelty plant. Lovely to have if you're a collector. One more piece to the puzzle, one less itch to scratch.
Pavelka might rouse himself again. Otto always asks me about "just" nipping over the border!
cheers, Marcus
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Here are two more views of the floral house, plus one through the middle, and its reason for being there. Very sad.
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Marcus - If only there was a purpose built, climate controlled alpine house in Tasmania or Victoria (with attached quarantine beds, of course).
Lesley - are there any alpine houses (like the one at Kew) in NZ?
The short answer, very short, is that NO there are not. One or two attempts have been made, at Dunedin Botanic gardens for instance, but not the genuine thing and if someone were to try dionysias in it, they would die immediately I should think. A couple of private people have alpine houses, so-called, but in reality I think they are greenhouses with extra glass panes removed when needed. If for no other reason, the big gardens won't go for such totally useless buildings because of their cost and because the bureaucracy are really only interested in natives and not especially alpines at that.