Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Jupiter on July 02, 2017, 01:32:39 PM
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This Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus is my oldest snowdrop, bought from Marcus as three bulbs in 2014. It has increased well and this year has even produced two buds from one bulb! A first for me.
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Canarina canariensis has flowered! This has been a long time coming. Tried and failed to germinate seeds twice. Succeeded in 2014/15. This is my first flower.
This picture was taken in the dark and the rain this morning before I left for work, hence the flash photography.
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Some better photos taken in daylight this time.
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Good work with the Canarina, Jamus!
Seedlings I got from Harvey and Don on our visit to Adelaide did not reappear this year :'(
1) One of the first snowdrops is a Galanthus elwesii hybrid with a faint green mark on the exterior.
2) Hoop petticoat daff from Lawrence Trevanion, Narcissus 'Nug Nutsch'
cheers
fermi
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A really nice little daff Fermi but can you explain the name please? ???
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I agree it's very pretty. I need more little daffodils... That's a lovely elwesii Fermi, nice green blush on the outers. Things have stalled here for a bit... lots of buds but the cold weather has slowed down progress. You'll have a flood of pics from me soon, so grab your umbrellas and don your gumboots.
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Some snowdrops from today.
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Pretty 'drops, Jamus - is it better for you to keep 'em in pots?
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A really nice little daff Fermi but can you explain the name please? ???
Hi Lesley,
Lawrence named a range of his hoops as "baby talk" and were sounds made by his kids as babies apparently!
I posted some last year as well,
cheers
fermi
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No Maggi they are better in the ground. That old elwesii clone is the only one I keep in a pot, because it's doing well and I enjoy moving it around when in flower. It came as three good sized bulbs from Marcus in 2014 and I'm guessing I have probably close to 20 in there now!
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Snow on the ground today and still snowing off and on. Jolly cold. ::)
Have just realized I haven't a single snowdrop out except a few remnants on reginae-olgae. And while Eranthis hiemalis is in flower further south, mine is still at least 2 cms beneath the ground surface. I had a poke about yesterday. The more orange E. h. aurantiacus is up, just the curved stem and not in flower yet, under some leaves under a tree. On the other hand Cyclamen coum is flowering well and with hundreds of buds and the first Iris reticulata 'Harmony' are in bloom among the cyclamen. Funny season but every one is, in its own way.
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Where can i buy Eranthis seed? I need to have a proper shot at this genus. I only have one plant.
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I don't know where you could buy it Jamus but if you can wait a bit, mine are just about emerged from the ground (late this year) and will flower then set seed as they always do. The seed ripens quite quickly and I'd be happy to send some. It MUST be sown fresh for decent germination within a reasonable time. I find that even sown right away it doesn't usually germinate until the bulbs are coming up the following year so it's not a quick fix. Then it's quite a wait until flowering, 3 or 4 or even 5 years, so yes, you'd better get on with it!
I also have seedlings (to flower this year I think) from a Canadian source of the orange form, aurantiacus and if this too seeds well, can send some of that as well. If you can find a closer Australian source go for it, but remember, FRESH sowing is vital, at least as much as for other ephemeral Ranunculaceae such as Hepatica or Helleborus.
We (in NZ) were promised some seed of a double form (named, but my mind has gone blank for the moment, somebody Ayres?) which apparently comes true from seed, by one of Steve Newall's visiting speakers but it never arrived. Or maybe it was sent to Steve himself but if so it hasn't gone further. I'm not usually a fan of double flowers on bulbs, tulips, daffodils for instance, but this one looked super and I'd love to have it. Maybe Noel Ayres?
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Where can i buy Eranthis seed? I need to have a proper shot at this genus. I only have one plant.
There is always some on the SRGC Seed Exchange.
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It MUST be sown fresh for decent germination within a reasonable time.
Hello Lesley
My experience mirrors yours in that seed sown fresh is best .Interestingly I obtained seed of Eranthis h. aurantiacus seed from the Gotenborg Botanical Garden Index Seminum list of 2015 which germinated well last year.
While the seed may have been picked at the appropriate time it was quite some months later before arrival in NZ so I wonder whether the success or otherwise is affected by how the seed is handled/stored before distribution . :-\
Gotenborg have at times also listed the double E.hyemalis fl.pl.
Jamus please let me know if you want the Got. Bot. seed contact details.
Cheers Dave.
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I get almost 100% germination with fresh eranthis seeds. I tried some dry seeds from the seedex in a solution of GA3 and had reasonable germination, so you could try that if you can only get dry seeds.
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Hello Lesley
My experience mirrors yours in that seed sown fresh is best .Interestingly I obtained seed of Eranthis h. aurantiacus seed from the Gotenborg Botanical Garden Index Seminum list of 2015 which germinated well last year.
While the seed may have been picked fresh it was quite some months later before arrival in NZ so I wonder whether the success or otherwise is affected by how the seed is handled/stored before distribution . :-\
Gotenborg have at times also listed the double E.hyemalis fl.pl.
Jamus please let me know if you want the Got. Bot. seed contact details.
Cheers Dave.
Sadly, Gotenborg have closed their seed distribution programme.
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Thanks everyone. Lesley I will take you up on your offer or fresh seed. I've had quite a bit of luck with these "sow immediately" things... Trilliums, Galanthus etc.
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Sadly, Gotenborg have closed their seed distribution programme.
Yes I thought so as well however I'm sure I received the smaller 'specialist' list earlier this year ...or am I getting a bit confused as I have the 2016 version of that list in front of me as I type this reply.........
Cheers Dave.
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Will do Jamus. I have seed from last season ready to send now to SRGC seed exchange but it will be that whole year older than what I can send you a bit later. Anyone ordering it won't receive it until Jan '18, more than a year after harvest so germination will be problematic at best and not quick. For that reason I did send some to 2 people in the NH who wanted it, as soon as it was ready.
I think I'll start to assemble a list of seeds which are best distributed privately "as soon as ready" rather than waiting for the seed list. There really are quite a lot if I think about it, arisaemas for example. They are probably fine for people in the same hemisphere but for those at the other (either) end of the world, private distribution is probably better.
I am awaiting a package from Oron Peri and will try the forced germination methd for the oncos but I'm wondering what effect our winter as opposed to the northern recipients' summer, will have on germination. I'll probably be wanting your experience here Jamus.
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Went into my local small garden centre yesterday to buy some perlite and was told by a newish staff member she'd never heard of it and they didn't stock it. Fortunately another person arrived just then and said yes, they did, and trotted off to get me a bag. Half a kilo (a lot as it's very light) for $7.50. Excellent.
On the way out I had a look at a new consignment of new hellebores which are really good winter plants, almost shrub-like. I think their origin is English, or at least UK and they include 'Anna's Red,' Polly's Pink' and a new one to me, 'Molly's White.' I need to replace the first two as a rabbit last year ate the tops, then dug the roots out and ate those too. Then there were half a dozen others with various romantic names but were lovely plants with stems of many flowers, stiffly upright and with subtle, pastel colours in pinks, creams, greens. Just about to choose some, I remembered that my little car requires a new gearbox! I have an estimate for $700 not including GST, so reluctantly left the hellebores for now. However,I did pick up a lone specimen of Delphinium nudicaule with the added cultivar name of 'Redcap' though I suspect this is a selling aid rather than an actual selected form. There must have been a number as I was assured it is a lovely plant (I know that). This last one was quite bushy and I can carefully take shoots from the stock as cuttings. Just as well as the plant had had all its seed bearing heads carefully trimmed away.
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Hi Lesley, the forced germination protocol will eliminate the dormancy mechanism and seed will start to germinate pretty much immediately. Coming from the other hemisphere out of phase won't matter at all. Good luck with it! I'm looking forward to hearing how you go. I sent some onco seed to Hamish Brown a few months ago and he is going to try a similar thing. Do you know Hamish Lesley?
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Jamus,
I'm surprised Otto hasn't offered you some eranthis already! Many AGS VG members grow eranthis and sometimes offer them at The Bunfight ;)
I'm sure someone would be able to collect fresh seed for you.
1) Another of Lawrence's hoops 'Quen Dor'
2)Acis tingitana
3 &4) Grevillea lanigera 'Mt Tamboritha form'
5) Eremophila glabra
cheers
fermi
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Yes Jamus, I know Hamish quite well and know he's interested in irises so I'll be in touch with him soon and we can compare notes.
I need to know about what happens after the cutting process. Into slightly damp bags with perlite? Then what? I don't have a warm airing cupboard but could arrange some room in the cylinder cupboard. Or is it refrigerator first until a root appears - or what? I know I can get all this by going back through the iris threads but am looking here for something general so I'm not taken too much unawares when Oron's seed arrives.
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In the fridge Lesley. There is a good thread dedicated to it in the Iris genus section.
John
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Lesley the method written up by Bob Nold is really excellent. He doesn't use the fridge but rather coffee filters at a cool room temperature (should be easy for you to provide).
http://files.srgc.net/general/ForcedArilIrisGermination.pdf (http://files.srgc.net/general/ForcedArilIrisGermination.pdf)
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Thanks John and Jamus. I'll need to do some homework over the next week and become really familiar with the process before having to put it into practice. I'll take detailed notes of everything I do or observe and hopefully build up a reserve of information of what works (or doesn't) for me.
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Hi Jamus, Leslie, and all,
Eranthis are beautiful but so hard to grow in our heat. Ive seen them in kew gardens en masse a few times and would love to give them a good try.
This is such a fabulous time of year. The garden has been so depressingly bare and bleak but this week little gems are popping up all over - some in pots, some in situ.
jacqui.
A few photos:
1. Tiny Galanthus rizehensis is finally naturalising despite the boggy conditions in that particular garden bed
2. My favourite cyclamen that came as a special present - now in bloom
3. The hellebores are finally starting to bloom after the dreadful last season (mildew)
4. A hyacinthella gifted by Marcus
5. A little patch of colour in the oak garden
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Hi Jacqui, nice to see pictures from you! Great plants, especially the Cyclamen. Which species is it? I know what you mean about bleak and bare. It's the same here too but things are turning around slowly. I did a lap of the garden in the dark with a torch tonight and saw several Crocus about to open! If it would just stop raining they might have a chance. ::)
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Hi Jamus,
You are keen. Garden with a torch. Far too dark to see much I should think, but maybe not. I've had a couple of tiny crocus too. Such a pleasure.
I think the cyclamen is a hederifolium, but a particularly beautiful one. Not 100% certain.
Yes it's nice to be back. J.
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My fabulous time of year hasn't started yet, with heavy frost this morning and thick fog on top of it. So I'm going back in time with a picture for John Good if you are out there John, with a little bit of boasting from a few years ago. It relates to a photo on Facebook this morning and John's comment. I couldn't resist responding while my porridge cooks. (I'm up very late today.)
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I don't remember how many flowers there were, but almost 200 I think. This above is just a small part of the plant and it's all over a trough now, winding through other things but didn't flower at all this last summer. The seedlings are from one single pod a couple of years later and there were 110 seedlings in all. I potted 2 per pot, very carefully and within a month, all but one had died off. There has been no seed since! When spring gets going properly I am going to take some chunks to put elsewhere and feed them well with tomato fertilizer.
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Very disappointed this morning as I've just looked to see the seedlings of Eranthis hiemalis aurantiacus. The first one is flowering for the first time and it is bright - YELLOW, exactly the same as ordinary hiemalis, though a bit smaller. No vestige of orange at all. Five or six are going to flower within a few days so will report on those soon. These seedlings have taken several years to flower, much longer than I would have expected eranthis to take but my other original yellows took 5 or 6 years as well. It's a long time only to find they are not true. Seed, I now remember was given me by a Canadian (BC) Forumist.
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Hi Lesley,
I guess this form may not breed true from seed - however the second generation may revert to the orange coloring! :-\
Save the seed and try again - only another 5 or 6 years to see if they do ::)
You'll have something to look forward to ;D
Stephen Ryan likes to mention his friend Barney Hutton who was sowing tree peony seed when he was in his 90s - it seemed to keep him going!
cheers
fermi
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Here are some Galanthus elwesii growing in a rock garden where it is starting to "naturalize".
In the first pic you can see there are 3 groups, the one in the middle was the original and the ones above and below are presumably seedlings.
The second pic shows the distance between the top two groups. I also presume that ants were responsible for moving the seeds uphill.
The third and fourth pics show the bottom group 2 days apart
cheers
fermi
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Fermi your G. elwesii look great and are doing so well. They inspire me to remove my own G. e. 'Emerald Hughes' after they flower, from their crowded pot and plant them out over a reasonable space to make a good planting in a couple of years or so. I could do the same with reginae-olgae and 'Lady Beatrix Stanley which are both very vigorous for me.
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Lovely pictures of your rock garden Fermi and impressive snowdrops. I can hardly wait for mine to multiply up like that.
I had a much needed day off today and spent it walking in the bush and enjoying my garden. The sunshine was glorious after so much dark, wet weather. There are signs of spring everywhere... the best time of year. Here are some of my pictures from today.
galanthus beatrix-stanley.jpg
beatrix-stanley-side.jpg
Brugmannsia -sanguinea.jpg
camellia.jpg
Crocus chrysanthus 'zwanenburg bronze'
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part 2
Galanthus.....
dumpy-elwesii-monostictus.jpg
Gal-rizehensis.jpg
Gal-transcaucasicus.jpg
Gal-woronowii.jpg
john-gray.jpg
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part 3
Oxalis-versicolor.jpg
Oxalis-versicolor-rock-garden.jpg
Narcissus romieuxii-atlanticus.jpg
Crocus tommasinianus.jpg
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Thanks for the names Maggi! The Crocus in part one is chrysanthus 'Zwanenburg Bronze'
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Today 'Ophelia' opened. She's a stunner and easy here.
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Jamus, such beautiful photographs.
Where on earth did you get John Gray?
I am green with envy (as is john)!
:D
a few from the garden
1. galanthus rizehensis flowers clumping up a little
2. crocus biflorus ssp biflorus
3. a lovely scilla ciliata- delicate blooms contrast against the wide leaves.
4. iris reticulata 'george' is the first iris up this year
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...and a couple more
5. crocus sieberi ssp ?
6. galanthus 'spindlestone surprise' was kindly gifted by otto.
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Jacqui, nice plants! I can't believe you have retics ahead of me! I thought i was cooler over there? I guess not every year. I like your Crocus biflorus ssp. biflorus. What a beauty with those contrasting outer stripes. As for John Gray, Otto gave it to me. How lucky am I? It's extremely rare in Australia I believe. I hope it increases in my garden...
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'George' is early because it is not reticulata, but histrioides, or at lease half histrioides. The other half is probably reticulata. My own 'George looks to be entirely histrioides however, very wide and full and the leaves barely visible with the first flowers. I always understood it to be a selection from histrioides but I may be wrong.
Otherwise, my only retic that is out is 'Harmony,' also a histrioides / reticulata cross.
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You are perfectly right Leslie,
Otto had told me George was a histriodes-reticulata cross.
And Jamus - you are indeed lucky.
But what a great selection you have.
And I'm sure all will multiply beautifully
Dumpy is rather fun too
Jacqui,
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Thanks Lesley, I don't think i have George here. Lots of Harmony and others, and Katharine Hodgkin, which is a selection from histrioides, isn't it? That one isn't quite out either. I sowed some seed of species type histrioides which I'm hoping germinates. It's a favourite of mine with the spots.
Some of my new auriculas have flower buds! I'm excited. :D
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Jacqui I was reading about the Scilla, after Trevor Nottle gave me a nice one from his garden and I was curious. Apparently a few of them have been split off and named Fessia (the one from Trevor was in this category). Do you know which yours is? The Pacific Bulb Soc. wiki has current information. The one I have is Fessia greilhuberi.
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Hi Jupiter,
Sadly, It no longer has a label.
For which I (naturally) blame the very naughty magpies I feed each morning
There is another pot with leaves that looks identical labelled scilla lingulata ssp ciliolata. But not yet blooming.
I may have divided from that one, although normally when I divide some go into the ground, hence the confusion.
But as for reclassification, I guess I'd best look...
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Jamus, 'Katharine Hodgkin,' 'Sheila Ann Germaney' and 'Frank Elder' are all hybrids , not selections from histrioides. They all have the same parents and I think histrioides 'Major' is the seed parent and the Caucasian I. winogradowii is the pollen parent. Very early on when KH was first introduced by E.B.Anderson in the UK, he thought that I. danfordiae was the yellow parent but this was disproved at some stage and I. winogradowii was shown to be the one.
They are similar yet distinct and 'Sheila Ann Germaney' is my favourite with silvery blue colouring and slightly sky blue markings. I don't think 'Frank Elder' is in NZ but may be wrong. I've not seen or heard of it as being here. I bought a single bulb of SAG in 1993 when I was in the UK, for GBP10, a lot to me then but it did well and I have been able to distribute some in the years since. It is still very rare here though, as is KH.
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I've had no success at all with seed of any of these including I. winogradowii from my own plants. Somewhere I saw a photo of the seed harvested while still quite green so I'm going to try that this summer if I get more seed. I don't every year. On yes, I'm pretty sure the green seed was Alan McMurtrie's and if anyone knows, he ought to.
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Cyclamen repandum flowering two years from seed.
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Some pictures from my garden this afternoon. I had to come home from work to meet a plumber, so took the opportunity to do a lap of the garden with my camera.
Iris 'Pauline'
Crocus chrysanthus 'Gypsy Girl'
Galanthus elwesii (I want to call this one 'grumpy face')
Galanthus S. Arnott
Galanthus woronowii - these bulbs from Otto a couple of years ago produce tiny perfectly formed flowers! I love them.
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Some more from this afternoon
Spindlestone surprise just getting going.
Saxifraga paniculata minutifolia
woronowii portrait
Cyclamen coum
Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin' just days away from full display
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Lovely plants Paul and Jamus,
Gosh, iris Pauline is beautiful.
I have just three from today.
1. Galanthus S. ARnott is clumping up a little each year
2. Narcissus Ben Bler has a phenomenally large bloom for a hoop petticoat
3. This is a teeny weeny eranthis hyemalis from the AGS Vic. i had thought extinct in the garden - to my delight it has popped up again - wish it would multiply though. A small, but welcome, prize.
jacqui.
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A few things in flower now on our way out of winter:
Anemone coronaria;
Narcissus seedling ex 'Julia Jane';
Narcissus muņozii garmediae from seed from Rafa in 2008;
Narcissus 'Jessamy';
Narcissus 'Viristar'
cheers
fermi
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Aha! I wondered where that scent of Spring flowers was coming from!
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Aha! I wondered where that scent of Spring flowers was coming from!
Fred's fixed the button??
;D
cheers
fermi
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If only! I think I've finally trained my brain to connect photos of good scents with memories of those!
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Maggi...
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
It could hold for the nose as well ;D
cheers
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;D ;D
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Fermi you have a wonderful collection of daffodils. I love the ex 'Julia Jane'! Impressive. Your Anemone coronaria is lovely too. I have sown seed from MH, so have some waiting to do before I can enjoy them in person.
Jacqui your S. Arnott looks SO good. When Otto told me it was his favourite snowdrop I didn't really comprehend why, but I see it now. Such perfectly formed, rounded outer petals. Mine are starting too.
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I've been lucky enough to see Fermi's garden and he really does have a huge collection of exquisite narcissus planted out in the rock garden. Absolutely lovely.
Ours are a little behind it seems, most only just starting to bud.
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Hi Jamus,
I also think Mr Arnott's famous seedling is outstandingly beautiful. The flower is of understated elegance, neither large and ostentatious nor diminutive, and at night forms pearl drops large enough to view from my window through the darkness. More than that, the leaves are neat and well formed with the flowers rising well above them.
The photo is of crocus minimus.
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This is not Crocus minimus,but perhaps one of the many forms of C. biflorus or its hybrids. C minimus tends to be quite consistent both in ground colour, more red/purple than this blue, and in outer markings which are feathered dark purple on the lighter shade. The exceptions are C.minimus albus (pure white) and the form 'Bavella' which has an almost solid purple outer petal. I also have a solid purple form which is not 'Bavella' as it appeared as a seedling in my "ordinary" patch, before 'Bavella' was ever mentioned. I also have 'Bavella' from Marcus Harvey and its inner colour is even closer to red, true magenta actually.
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You are perfectly right Leslie, my error.
I just checked the label which says crocus biflorus atrospermum (although I can't find a ref to atrospermum on line so may be my mislabel)
Your dark outer petalled is marvellous.
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Lesley your Crocus minimus looks a dead ringer for the one I bought commercially as Crocus "Springtime", so I'm pretty sure it's a minimus. I will try to post pictures but the flowers are in the shade now and all wet from the showers this afternoon. I'll give it a shot anyway.
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What do you think Lesley? I know the flower is mangled and the photo isn't great, but you can see the colours and the details.
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The kids were watching a movie so I dissected the little crocus flower.
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Jacqui, I have one from Marcus as C. biflorus ssp (or var?) astrospermus. It was that one, not out yet so rather from memory, that made me suggest a biflorus form. The colouring is strong and clean and is one of my favourites.
Jamus, I haven't looked at the style etc but yes, I'm still sure it is minimus.