Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: David Sellars on July 23, 2017, 02:53:28 PM
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We were in Mount Rainier National Park last week just after snowmelt and found some wonderful alpine flowers. The area has heavy winter snow accumulation which brings out the best in the flora and the scenery is spectacular. Two plants were particularly outstanding and are rare in the North Cascade Mountains: Collomia debilis and Penstemon rupicola. Collomia debilis is a highly variable species and prefers to grow on steep extremely unstable scree. Long stems emerge from a deeply buried root crown which allows the scree to move around the flowering leafy shoots. I started Collomia debilis var debilis from wild Wyoming seed last winter and it is flowering already in the plunge bed. The flowers are pinker and the leaves are not as dissected as in the Mount Rainier form.
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Penstemon rupicola grows on the steepest black basalt cliffs which enhances the splendid flower colour. In the garden Penstemon rupicola needs perfect drainage and the flowers are much smaller than seen at Mount Rainier.
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In the meadows the Erythronium montanum were spectacular. In wetter areas, the emerging flowers of Anemone occidentalis were delightful.
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On high rocky slopes the colour combination of bright red Castilleja rupicola and blue Lupinus lepidus var lobbii were remarkable.
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Saxifrages were represented by huge mounds of Saxifraga bronchialis and Micranthes tolmei. Kalmia microphylla also put in an appearance. Cistanthe umbellata decorated the rocky ridges.
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The sub-alpine flowers were also very good. Here is Lilium columbianum and Xerophyllum tenax
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Spectacular!
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Oh mys word - sunshine, fabulous scenery and flowers with fresh mountain air - almost as good as being there with you, David!
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David, thank you so much for these impressive pictures.
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Lovely set of images David, thank you for posting.
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Thanks for the kind comments on my images. I wrote an article in the Summer 2012 issue of the NARGS Quarterly on Photographing Alpine Plants: A Landscape Point of View which is available at this link (page 208).
https://nargs.org/sites/default/files/free-rgq-downloads/roga%2070-3%202012%20summer.pdf
I have evolved my technique over the past 5 years and gave an updated presentation on my alpine plant photography methods ito the NARGS Wasatch Chapter last May in Salt Lake City. It may be time for another article!
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What a gorgeous pictures of stunning flowers before the icy peaks of Mount Rainier. It reminds me of an unforgettable visit, so many years ago. It opened my eyes for the beauty of small American rock plants and after this I started trying to grow them in my own garden. Thanks for sharing these pictures.
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Stunning sequence of photographs David -taking us into the most beautiful landscape - I especially enjoy Erythronium montanum.
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On high rocky slopes the colour combination of bright red Castilleja rupicola and blue Lupinus lepidus var lobbii were remarkable.
:o :o :o My word, what a combintation ! !! An exquisite series David - astonishing photography. Many thanks for showing.
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I have tried on several occasions to grow Anemone occidentalis from Seed exchanges sadly without any germination at all :'(
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I can on repeat the compliments, David. Beautiful photos technically you excel.
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An absolutely incredible display of stunning species, David ... and so beautifully captured.
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very nice pics :)
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David, your pictures are incredible. My favorite plant there was always Collomia debilis v larsenii, basically white with lovely undertones of blue, really amazing. We saw a very steep slope full of this plant in bloom, across from Burroughs Mountain with Mt. Ranier above. That was the only place we found this plant and I wish I'd had a decent camera at the time.
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Anne: Yes, we were across from Burroughs Mountain on the route to Fremont Lookout. The trail crosses scree above Frozen Lake and the Collomia are both above and below the trail. They are fascinating plants as they pretty much only grow on very loose scree which makes it a real challenge to get good photographs.
We have seen Collomia debilis var larsenii in the Olympic Mountains on the trail from Obstruction Point to Elk Mountain. The flowers are a bit pinker than the Collomia in the Mount Rainier area. Here are a few photos of the form in the Olympics including a close-up showing the wonderful blue anthers.
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Wonderful collomia pictures, David. The scree was steep and very slidey, as you say. I tried going up and it was one step up and slide down again. That is the same spot where we saw them along with a few other plants. Apparently the plant is soboliferous (great word), meaning as the scree shifts down the roots lengthen and the plant can be anchored some distance above. It really was my favorite and someone collected some seed for me later that year from this same population. Germinated a few plants, put them in scree, they grew enough to see the wonderful leaves and then were eaten by some critter. It was called Collomia debilis v larsenii. The straight Collomia debilis from the Wallowas has purple flowers (smaller) and grew fairly easily in scree for quite a few years.
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it's very tempting...oh no another travel to planne 8)
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I've admired the pictures last night - plants and landscapes 8) and forgot to express my admiration.
Mt. Rainier and other mts. from the Cascade Range are desirable destinations for all alpine lovers!