Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on January 31, 2016, 10:23:25 PM
-
The recent rain and cooler weather have prodded this Cyclamen rohlfsianum into bloom!
cheers
fermi
-
OOoo! I must keep an eye on my cyclamens... more rain forecast for tomorrow, but not for you Victorians by the looks of it. It's nice gentle weather we're having for the moment...
-
Lycoris incarnata is flowering well this year; the second clump is coming up through a patch of Habranthus tubispathus (x2 pics), but what is this coming up next to it?
cheers
fermi
-
A pink Scilla.....?
-
Not in summer ;D
cheers
fermi
-
Hmmm..... a very confused pink Scilla ???? ;) :D
-
Hmmm..... a very confused pink Scilla ???? ;) :D
;D
A day or so later and it's now obvious!
Australia's own "Garland Lily", Calostemma purpureum,
cheers
fermi
-
My word, that put on a spurt of growth, didn't it? How lovely.
-
A few other things in flower:
Commelina elegans
Daphne genkwa
Zephyranthes 'Grandjax'
Habranthus martinezii
Lycoris incarnata
cheers
fermi
-
Fermi you have an amazing collection of late summer bulbs. Not much happening here at present but I'm quite partial to this green gladioli. I don't know what it's called.
-
Jamus,
Green flowered gladdies are quite intriguing.
Here's a little Australian native plant - Mimulus repens - I think I posted a pic of it when I first got it a year or so ago. It survives in a pot sitting on top of a pot of water-iris in a water-pot, so it does not dry out!
cheers
fermi
-
Fermi,
I have a considerable interest in the Genus Mimulus. I read a bit about Mimulus (Thyridia?) repens. It is stated that they can be annual or perennial (sounds like some of our California Native species). What is your experience?
Being native to coastal areas, is it cold hardy? It is too often difficult to get good information in this regard.
-
Hi Robert,
my memory is playing tricks as I thought I'd answered you already! I bought this (Mimulus repens) plant in 2014 and as far as I can see it has stayed alive and this isn't a seedling. It is also found inland so I'm presuming that it can stand some frost (it has survived -5oC here so far.
The Calostemma purpureum now has some florets fully open; Another one appears a bit darker but this may just be seasonal,
cheers
fermi
-
Fermi,
Thank for the information.
I might start a Mimulus thread this spring-summer. I am grow a fair number of our California native species, both annual and perennial. I love growing them and hopefully others will find the photographs interesting.
-
I might start a Mimulus thread this spring-summer. I am grow a fair number of our California native species, both annual and perennial. I love growing them and hopefully others will find the photographs interesting.
.... others will find the photographs interesting.
... Robert, Yes please!
Gerd
-
Gerd,
Thank you for your input into the idea of a Mimulus topic.
Your comment is enough for me to put the idea into action (when the time arrives).
I am sure others are interested too. 8)
-
Autumn is just around the corner... Colchicum bivonae surprised me when I came home from work the other day. I look forward to this multiplying into a nice clump.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
-
Robert, do you know much about Mimulus aurantiacus? I gather it is American and perhaps from much warmer, drier regions than one would expect for this genus. I ask because I used to have a lovely deep apricot flowered plant (the colour I mean) and more recently found one that is crimson, in a garden centre plant sale. The apricot grew to about 2 metres in a hot, dry bed which rarely had rain and never was watered yet thrived there. I brought cuttings with me to this garden but lost them somewhere in the general confusion of starting a new garden. I think I can find it again. All their leaves are sticky and trap small insects.
Last week I spent some time with my sister in the North Island city of Tauranga. We had lunch in the large cafe of a huge garden centre called Palmer's. No way was I buying plants to bring home. (I'd already spent two days at Bill Dijk's place!) but then I saw, a white flowered form of this Mimulus. It was the lovliest of all, a thick white with a creamy centre, so I did buy it but left it with my sister having first taken a dozen cuttings to bring home. I hope they root or at least a couple. The wood was firmer than I would have liked.
-
As mentioned above, I've been in Tauranga for a week and did some lovely things (with my daughter) such as riding on a little antique train, snapper fishing (yes I did Fermi, before you ask and jolly good it was too), and brunching out a couple of times at lovely places near Katikati and beside the sea at Waihi Beach. So warm but very humid too. Even when it was raining heavily it was pleasant out in it.
I spent the better part of two days with Bill Dijk (occasional Forumist) and Willy his wife who fed me on delicious food and sat me under palm trees for lunch both days. The second day, Forumist and ex former UKer Anthony Darby came down from Auckland with Ina Crossley who is a great grower of the South American rain lilies and other Amaryllidaceae (you should contact her Fermi) and we had a lovely time among Bill's mostly dormant bulbs though some were already up and in bloom, Brunsvigia josephinae for instance, flowering on stems as tall as I am (over 1.5 metres) from bulbs the size of footballs, no leaves showing, and the lovely white form of Cyclamen graecum, flowers pushing through a mass of still full seed pods (I brought a handful home).
It was super to meet Tony at last and I have various pictures on my camera and my phone I but haven't yet worked out how to process them here (I've had finally to come to my laptop, my PC having died at last). I'll try again soon.
In the meantime I must mention the Tecophilaeas. Forumists have seen Bill's bulbs in flower and gasped at their quantity and glory. I saw only dormant bulbs in large fishbox type boxes. But there were thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands and really big, around 2-3cms in diameter. I brought 36 bulbs home (3), to share half and half with another of Bill's friends who lives near me.
Bill gave me many small species and vars of Narcissus; Tropaeolum; Lachenalia and various other South Africans.
Then there was the seed. I brought home Tecophilaea, 3 forms; white Cyc. graecum; Alstroemeria pelegrina alba; Tropaeolum azureum (Bill had about half a cupful of it) and more. He was incredibly generous.
More later when I get the photos sorted.
(edit by maggi - sorry, don't know why there's a large empty space in this post - cannot fix it!
-
Lesley,
Yes, I have a very keen interest in Mimulus aurantiacus. Depending on the line of thought there are 5-6 varieties native to California. At this time I grow 3 of the native varieties; aurantiacus, grandiflorus, and pubescens. Varieties aurantiacus and grandiflorus are native here in El Dorado County where we have our farm. Most likely these have more tolerance to cold weather than the other varieties that are native to Southern California, however I am often surprised by the cold tolerance of many Southern California species.
The natural color range of the various varieties is yellow, orange, orange-red, thru red. In the wild, I have found various pastel shades and white forms too, however they are not commonly found. Here in California, named color selections have been around for at least 40 years. Some are excellent and are well worth acquiring.
M. aurantiacus is very short lived with excess water. They thrive in coastal California (in gardens) where the temperatures are cool during the summer as long as they are not irrigated (or at least not very much) during the summer. In our coastal climates they will bloom almost all summer, sometimes even into the autumn. Here in the hot interior I give mine some summertime irrigation to keep them looking good. Without any irrigation they will dry-up and look dead. With the autumn rains they spring back to life and look great once again. In the wild I am familiar with populations that have gone through this cycle for at least 40 years and are still thriving. Needless to say, we do not have the extended bloom cycle that those on the coast experience, however even here it is a relatively long bloom period.
Cuttings are very easy to root. I find that firm older current season growth roots the best for me. I often take cuttings in the winter and get nearly 100% rooting by early spring. Softer wood too often rots under my rooting method (simple propagation boxes). Hopefully your cuttings will root well under your conditions and methods. :)
I guess one could write a whole article about this species. I am sure that I have left many details out. Feel free to ask me questions. I have experience with them both in their native habitat as well as growing them in my garden.
-
Here is a new narcissus variety selected by our friend and forumist Lesley Cox in New Zealand - 'Susan Cox'. In flower now in the UK!
-
Some years back, Dave Toole in NZ sent me this nice little daffodil, which I unfortunately killed! But before it departed it left me this nice seedling, after being crossed with Second Fiddle from Keira Bulbs in Australia.
-
Superb New Zealand flowers , Anne - well done! 8)
-
Lesley wrote : I spent the better part of two days with Bill Dijk (occasional Forumist) and Willy his wife who fed me on delicious food and sat me under palm trees for lunch both days.
In the meantime I must mention the Tecophilaeas. Forumists have seen Bill's bulbs in flower and gasped at their quantity and glory. I saw only dormant bulbs in large fishbox type boxes. But there were thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands and really big, around 2-3cms in diameter. I brought 36 bulbs home (3), to share half and half with another of Bill's friends who lives near me.
Forum members may recall that Bill Dijk - affectionately know as the Tecophilaea King -generously sent across a batch of Teco. Bulbs to the UK in 2012 which we auctioned to members (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=8946.0) - raising a very good sum for SRGC Funds. 8) So kind of Bill to do that, wasn't it?
It is wonderful how generous members are in support of the Club and Website which brings us all together.
Thanks to you all!!
-
Superb New Zealand flowers , Anne - well done! 8)
Strictly speaking, that second one is an Australasian as Second Fiddle is an Aussie ;D
In the garden we have a sweet little geranium relative which seeds itself around gently, Monsonia emarginata,
cheers
fermi
PS when did the file size for pics increase to 600KB? This will mean a lot less time to re-size!
-
Forum members may recall that Bill Dijk - affectionately know as the Tecophilaea King -generously sent across a batch of Teco. Bulbs to the UK in 2012 which we auctioned to members (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=8946.0) - raising a very good sum for SRGC Funds. 8) So kind of Bill to do that, wasn't it?
It is wonderful how generous members are in support of the Club and Website which brings us all together.
Thanks to you all!!
It was so good to finally meet Lesley, after corresponding through the Forum for 10 years. It was Lesley who kindly sent a parcel of goodies, including a posh cookbook and a calendar, which greeted us when we booked into the hotel at Buckland's Beach, Auckland, on our first day in New Zealand. Her, and Susan More, have been very thoughtful and kind over the years. Bill and Willy are such good hosts. Both have visited when they find themselves needing to come to Auckland. No mean feat, as it is at least 2½ hours driving from Tauranga. Bill has been very generous with his plants, and I always come away with some goodies. 8)
Photo 1: Lesley; Ina Crosley; Willy and Bill Dijk. Ina is another bulb enthusiast who specialises in rain lilies. She lives in Panmure, near Mount Wellington (about 15 minutes from me) and I have visited her and exchanged bulbs several times. I just asked if she was interested in coming down and she jumped at the chance. Ina is Dutch and arrived in New Zealand as a school girl, with her parents, in 1952.
-
Nice photos Anthony, you all look like you're having a ball in that glorious planty environment. What species/cv are the irises in all those bags at Bill's place? That's a very impressive nursery there!
-
Bill called them ABs, but I suspect that means Aril Bred, not All Blacks.
-
PS when did the file size for pics increase to 600KB? This will mean a lot less time to re-size!
No idea - it may be an error caused by an update. Please ignore and use 200kb limit per pic.
EDIT: Yes, it was an error - please note and stick to the 200KB per pic limit.
-
No idea - it may be an error caused by an update. Please ignore and use 200kb limit per pic.
EDIT: Yes, it was an error - please note and stick to the 200KB per pic limit.
That's a pity :( The size had been increased to 300KB a while ago and now is back to 200KB I see! More time needed to re-size properly!
Here is a Clematis we got as 'Golden Tiara' but I'm not absolutely sure that it is - I expected something a bit more substantial - maybe because of the price tag ;D
cheers
fermi
-
G'day Fermi,
The clematis is indeed Golden Tiara, I think mine was bought from Garden Express about three years ago.
Cheers John.
-
Quote from: Maggi Young on February 15, 2016, 11:31:25 AM
No idea - it may be an error caused by an update. Please ignore and use 200kb limit per pic.
EDIT: Yes, it was an error - please note and stick to the 200KB per pic limit.
Quote from fermi: That's a pity :( The size had been increased to 300KB a while ago and now is back to 200KB I see! More time needed to re-size properly!
I'm sorry you feel badly about this, fermi - the "increase" to 300 was also a mistake - something that slipped in with an update - but we really must keep the size down to prevent the forum files from being too huge .
Reducing the size of pictures with ACDSee which is what I use is very simple and , of course, there is the resizing tool provided for the Forum which those who use tell me is also good.
I must also say, to those who think only a larger picture is "any use" (!!) that even a photo of 640 pixels wide and under 100KB can look very good on screen - and there is always the capacity to enlarge a photo on screen if desired. Take for example some shots by Steve Garvie - they are often around 760 x 488 and a file size of 76.5KB - and they are quire superb!
-
N. B. I have moved a couple of posts on the subject of photo sizing to another thread, where they are more relevant, see here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=65.msg351216#msg351216 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=65.msg351216#msg351216)
-
Hmmm..... a very confused pink Scilla ???? ;) :D
What about Scilla autumnalis? Mine is pink, or pinkish anyway.
-
This morning ....
Merendera montana .
Eucomis schijffii.I presume this species can be increased by leaf cuttings like some other of its Genera ?.
Eucomis zambesiaca.
Cheers Dave.
-
Crocus banaticus always surprises me, early and fast. I'm too chicken to plant it in the garden.
-
A few other things in flower:
Commelina elegans
cheers
fermi
I think that Commelina are much underrated and here in the UK they appear hardier than they are given credit for (in my experience anyway).
-
I think that Commelina are much underrated and here in the UK they appear hardier than they are given credit for (in my experience anyway).
I thought that too until I lost Commelina coelestis and C. dianthifolia in a bad winter..... :'(
-
I thought that too until I lost Commelina coelestis and C. dianthifolia in a bad winter..... :'(
I took the risk of planting out the Commelina elegans in the rock garden - hopefully it will survive the winter here ::)
Last Saturday we had our Vic Group meeting and here are a few pics of plants from the bench - mostly some of Viv's:
Viv's Cyclamen colchicum
Viv's Cyclamen intaminatum
Viv's Sternbergia lutea
Viv's Campanula isophylla
Jon's Gentiana (?scabra) and Cynthia's Lewisia
cheers
fermi
-
I thought that too until I lost Commelina coelestis and C. dianthifolia in a bad winter..... :'(
I was always told not a hope in hell but plant the tubers deep enough and they'll take an average Cotswolds winter. So easy from the plentiful seed that losses in a bad 'un are easily replaced.