Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Gerhard Raschun on January 11, 2009, 07:05:21 PM
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I have decided to open a new topic for the " Northern Hemisphere " !
Outside it is very cold here in Austria, but under glass spring is coming. So here are the first flowers of different families.....
Crocus baytopiorum
Crocus flavus ssp. flavus
Colchicum kesselringii
Ophrys sitiaca
Corydalis ledebouriana Usbekistan
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Good start Gerhard !
Your C. baytopiorum seems a shade darker blue than mine. Very nice !
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Some photos from today:
One from South Africa- Neobakeria angustifolia.
And two from Israel- Arisarum vulgare and Bellevalia flexuosa.
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Love the Bellevalia and the Neobakeria Miriam, the latter is a species I hadn't heard of so shall do some research later. Arisarum to me are very much an acquired taste and I just haven't acquired it yet ;D
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Lovely photos Miriam. What camera do you use?
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Having already seen my first 'grass verge' clump of Daffs of the season (about a fortnight ago, and didn't have my camera with me!) today I saw my first clump of the season of 'grass verge' wild primroses (Primula vulgaris) and I didn't have my camera with me again. Spring is on it's way-it is isn't it?
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I have also seen Primula vulgaris and Hazel lamb's tails and willow catkins. We call the latter pussy willow but dont know why.
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A brilliant web site for macro photography
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep07/bj-willow.html (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep07/bj-willow.html)
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Thanks David and Mark.
David, Arisarum is not my "first choice" too...it grows wild in my garden and in the area.
Mark, I use Olympus C5050Z. Here are some photos of drops with reflections, taken with this camera:
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Great photos, Miriam. I love those drops and the Arisarum, too.
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Exquisitely artistic photos, Miriam! Very clever 8)
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Just brilliant. Please show more.
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Superb images, Miriam. Many thanks for dropping them in! ;D
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Miriam very artistic and super clarity. Thanks
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Miriam, great pictures! Never thought of catching flowers in a drop!
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Glad you like these photos :)
A photo dedicated to you all:
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I tried this once photographing Roas 'Canary Bird' through a rain drop. I cant find it ::)
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Miriam, thanks for showing this wonderful artistic pictures! :D
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Here is my Daphne 'Jacqueline Postill' taken today. It amazing what a year came make of a plants that was dying. I have had this plant about 6 years now and foolishly allowed the root stock to grow and flower. At least one person got seeds. Within weeks of me removing the root stock growths buds appeared all over 'Jacqueline' including 'inside' the bush. They produced all the new growth that is at the top of the photo. Roll on 2010!
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Mark
can you tell us, what species 'Jacqueline Postill' belongs too? Or is it a hybrid?
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D.
bohlua bholua. I'm never sure of the exact spelling
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There is an article in the February issue of "The Garden", the magazine of the RHS by Roy Lancaster ( one of my favourite plantsmen) on selections of Daphne bholua whcih he calls the "Himalayan Perfumier".
Uli, let me know if you'd like to read it and tomorrow I'll copy it for you.
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Dear Miriam: superb picts, my favourite is the pict with roses !
here are some more plants from my glasshouse:
especially Corydalis kamelinii is a surprise, flowering for the first time and it schould be correct :D
Corydalis kamelinii
Corydalis henrikii
Iris stenophylla bud
Iris rosenbachiana Tovil Dara
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Lovely pictures Gerhard, the Iris rosenbachiana is a real stunner.
If you have the time would you mind re-posting it please on the Juno thread so that they may be kept together.
edit by M: I'll do that now, David.
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Quite a good Daphne article Maggi. My plant drops all it's leaves but Roy says bholua var gracialis 'Gurkha' is deciduous.
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Thanks Maggi for the offer, but whit these species, to tricky for us.
Cultivated in the nursery I work, some years ago, but all lost in a mild, rainy autumn (That's our main problem to the last years).
It is good to hear Roy Lancaster does a good job. Meet him in 2005 and was surprised on "his" way of talking about plants.
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Yes, Uli, I know...... "mild, rainy autumn" is death to many plants, almost as manyas mild ,rainy summer! ::) ;) :'(
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Robin White also says 'Gurkha' isnt evergreen.
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Mark,
Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill' must surely be one of the very best winter shrubs. It perfumes the garden for, what appears, miles around. I have often wished to propagate it from suckers - something it does with abandon - but I think I would have to ask some of our friends in the southern hemisphere to see if there are any roots on them as they go down into the ground forever but don't usually have roots. I have the ordinary Daphne bholua in the garden also and it has the most fabulous perfume also and this came from a sucker from Keith Lamb, treasured for this as well as its intrinsic qualities.
Yours seems a lovely shrub and will certainly continue to give great pleasure as it grows quite quickly. Apparently, they have the reputation of dying off suddenly after growing well for many years. I wonder if the suckers would take over in this situation?
Michael Campbell please comment. I'm sure Michael grows this larger daphne as well as the many small ones he so likes. By the way, Michael, the white Daphne mezerium which arose as a chance seedling in my garden continues to thrive and is in flower now though I don't think the flowers are particularly good but then the ordinary D. mezerium is hardly spectacular anyway.
The various sarcococca species are wonderful at the moment also, great scent on small flowers.
Paddy
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Margaret Glynn's huge D. bholua is now starting to sucker and like you just said they go down forever and well removed they have no roots. One of her's did root and is now doing well. Mine plant has never suckered
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Paddy, the sudden death syndrome is common to all Daphne's when they have aged a bit and is not confined to 'Jacqueline Postill'. It will root from cuttings according to Robin White but I have never tried it. The suckers should root but they are very slow,I would suggest severing it from the parent in early summer but leaving it in place until the following spring and them if it starts to grow move it. For convenience I graft them all, except some of the smaller varieties which root easily enough ,but are difficult to get through the first winter if they have not made sufficient growth. There is a good one called Transatlantica Jims Pride which flowers in spring and repeats all summer even up to Christmas, it is perfumed and very hardy with no reports of sudden death syndrome yet. I have a few if you would like one, and I will be down your way next week.
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This is plant again from a different angle
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Crumbs. I think even Vivienne would like that one. ;)
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If only there wash scratch 'n' sniff internet. Lovely here today and the air is filled with perfume
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Here is a winterflowering evergreen Ribes species
Ribes laurifolium and (without flowers but with a beautiful glossy foliage)
Ranunculus ficaria Tortoise Shell (received from the ' Galanthus Queen ' Ruby Baker)
Gerd
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Grow the evergreen Ribes outside? In the second pic I recognized a pot.
I wait for the flowers of Lonicera x purpusii outside. Need only one or two days with some higher temperature (Today 2 Celsius)
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Uli, you are right - the plant is in a pot. Most of the time it is outside however - only when temperatures are below zero it was kept in a frostfree room.
Maybe you can grow it in the garden and I am overcautious.
Gerd
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Here are a couple from me at the moment. First Callianthemum kernerianum Mt Baldo form not yet in flower but looking promising and Helleborus thibetanus just beginning to emerge. Will post again when in full bloom
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Fat buds of promise there, Ian especially on that Callianthemum. Early, to my mind..... but our chums just over half a mile away, Brian and Maureen Wilson, often have their H.thibetanus up well before ours.....perhaps they'll tell us if theirs is similarly advanced this year?
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I don't grow the Ribes laurifolium so I was interested to learn more about its hardiness..... on this RHS page, it says the plant "is hardy throughout the British Isles".......
http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/gardens/rosemoor/archive/rosemoorpom03feb.asp
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You are right Maggi about the Callianthemum I was surprised to see it so forward - a bit worrying though they seem extraordinarily tough. I have been trying these in various areas of the scree and this one seems the most promising. No real sign of the others yet though, hope they have not gone the way of the Norwegian Blue :-\
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Gerd I don't think you are overcautious. My way is to multiply this rare plants by seeds or cuttings and then try it in the garden. Roger Phillips & Martyn Rix write in their shrub book that it is hardy to minus 15 Celsius. Grows in W-Sitchuan at 2300 Meter high. So you can try it too, but multiply it before.
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Must take a pic of my Ranunculus kochi just coming out now.
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I have a plant of Helleborus thibetanus in flower,it does not look to good as the flowers are black around the edges. It is too early and I am concerned that it will not survive when we have a cold spell in the next few weeks.
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Will you give it a cloche to protect it, Tony?
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Here is a winterflowering evergreen Ribes species
Ribes laurifolium and (without flowers but with a beautiful glossy foliage)
Gerd
Lovely early flowers Gerd.
My plant is outside and still as compact, like I acquired it last year. ;)
It will not flower before March with me.
It seems to stand -15 / -18 C., I read. We had -10C till now.
Hardy throughout British Isles I read too.
Maybe you should trim your plant and try it outside, in your sheltered garden? :-\
It does not like N.E. winds in winter.
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The first flower buds outside in my garden after the cold:
1) Colchicum hungaricum 'Velebit Star'
2) Colchicum luteum 'Vahsh'
3) Crocus laevigatus
4) Eranthis hyemalis
5) & 6) Helleborus x orientalis
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Will you give it a cloche to protect it, Tony?
No its on its own,live or die. I had them in pots but they did not thrive so out they went. I raised some from seeds and so have held a couple back inside as insurance. They are nice but I think the hybrids are easier and much more reliable
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I have a plant of Helleborus thibetanus in flower,it does not look to good as the flowers are black around the edges. It is too early and I am concerned that it will not survive when we have a cold spell in the next few weeks.
Will you give it a cloche to protect it, Tony?
My understanding of this plant was that it is perfectly hardy (I hope). Thibetanus was well above ground when we had very the cold weather and is now opening because it is now a little warmer though the cold weather is doing the flowers few favours. Have three plants all outside and not protected and they were acquired from Will McLewin about 3 years or so ago. Here is a form known as the Marietta form as it now which was in flower throughout the cold spell. It is smaller and the sepals are more gappy but it has a charm of its own though as you can see it is taking time to establish. So cheer up ;D
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Sorry I forgot the picture
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I think, Ian, that I would be happy to give such a pretty plant all the time it needed ;D Love the colour and flower shape.
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Fat buds of promise there, Ian especially on that Callianthemum. Early, to my mind..... but our chums just over half a mile away, Brian and Maureen Wilson, often have their H.thibetanus up well before ours.....perhaps they'll tell us if theirs is similarly advanced this year?
Maureen tells me that their Helleborus thibetanus has been showing some colour since before Christmas but is still very short.... I think we can expect a photo when it's ready. So, as I thought, theirs is growing earlier than ours ... yet we are only a few feet higher in elevation and a little nearer the sea. :-\
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Michael,
Just catching your offer of daphne now. Many thanks for being so kind but, please, don't put yourself to the bother. I'll meet you at some stage - was thinking of the AGS Dublin show but am off on holidays on the following Monday and will want to stay at home with son for the weekend before departure; he's not coming.
Paddy
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Ian
when we visited Ashwoods which I think is not far from you a few years ago there was a very large clump growing under a tree with dozens of flowers on it so it must be hardy.
here is mine growing in a pot.
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Very nice one Tony. I am afraid if I grow things in pots it usually leads to a disaster though I am becoming a little better. Funny you should mention Ashwood's as I visited there today to buy some Yew for an extension to my hedge but missed the aforementioned Hellebore (if it is still there) :-\. And before anybody asks I did resist the temptation of the Hellebores ::)
Thanks for the compliment Brian
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Lovely Ranunculus Anthony. Are yours pampered or outside? Mine are out and living very well. Their first flowers were pre Christmas.
Gerd do you collect R. ficaria? I could send you plant that I found. I'll post a photo later.
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A few Hellebores peeping out in the sunshine today
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Lovely show Michael !
Very nice selection - nr 8 - the pink and white is my favourite ! 8)
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Goodness they're early, mine are still firmly asleep!
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Lovely selection, Michael..... and we haven't even got Helleborus niger out yet!
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One little Romulea flower today.
Romulea Tetragona, I hope.
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That looks spot on for Romulea tetragona Michael. Somewher we have a thread for Romulea species would you mind moving this one please Maggi!
edit by Maggi: I won't move it, David, since Michael has chosen to picture it in "flowering now" .... however, I will copy it to the Romulea thread myself!
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and we haven't even got Helleborus niger out yet!
We have got Helleborus niger and foetidus in flower, but still waiting for most of the other hellebores to open (3 weeks or so later than last year)
However, in flower on the crevice garden a little unseasonal surprise
Gentiana clusii
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Cyclamen hederifolium leaves taken today, showing variation.
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That'sa really good selection Michael
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Cyclamen hederifolium leaves taken today, showing variation.
Michael, the leaves are beautiful, I hadn't realized there was so much variation, they would be worth having even if they didn't flower. :)
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Verry impressive Michael - great variation ! :o
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A couple of Hepaticas starting to unfold.
Hepatica nobilis.
Hepatica japonica.
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I have been waiting for new Hepatica pics. Yours are gorgeous, Michael.
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The hepaticas are beautiful, I have yet to meet one face to face.
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Helen,are you allowed to import them? I can send you some.
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Rather puzzling the genetics of Hellebores.
Here are shots of a 2006 seedling of Ashwood's pink picotee selfed, photos 1 & 2.. This is typical of the progeny and it has replicated the original rather closely.
In 1996 I got a stunning hellebore we call Ashwood pink bowl; selfed the seed in 2006 so far has produced 2 purple seedlings (photo 3) and 5 clear whites (photos 4-& 5) - now in flower under sodium lights. There were no whites in the garden and clean unspotted whites are not so easy to get from seed if that was one's intent! Very strange and frustrating as it's the pink bowl we'd like to replicate, no complaints with the white though. Again from a 2006 autumn sowing.
Ashwood Nursery's seed gives many great plants. It will be hard to resist buying plants there in a few weeks time.
johnw
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Really nice whites John !! :o
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John, your hellebore babies are lovely, exactly how long from germination to flowering, do you remember?
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John, your hellebore babies are lovely, exactly how long from germination to flowering, do you remember?
Helen - The seed would have been planted in the summer of 2006 to get several months warm, and then sprouted in the very late fall after about two months of cold.
Then moved under lights to avoid severe cold and pushed a bit. We once grew several thousand a year.
Luc - I guess Helen Ballard can indirectly take the credit for the good whites. I understand the Ashwood hybrids are mainly based on her work.
johnw
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Two beauties in flower now, both have a wide distribution from Israel to Turkey.
Hyacinthus orientalis [ wish I could attach its perfume...] - common in the upper Galilee and Mt. Hermon
Hyacintella nervosa - rare, found only in a few localities in the Jordan Valley and the Judea Desert.
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Hyacinthus orientalis is an easily growing bulb in my meadow.
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Hyacinthus orientalis is an easily growing bulb in my meadow.
Franz, are you telling us, it is flowering now already in your meadow?
So much snow and low temps. in Austria this week.
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Wonderful pics Oron. All take in the wild ?
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Oron the Hyacinthus orientalis is very nice. I have it from Turkey but it is only just coming through in the greenhouse.
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Uli,
All photos are taken in the wild,
H. orientalis starts to bloom as early as Mid January to continue until Mid March in the Higher altitudes.
Plants from high altitudes origins [above 1500m], can survive very low temperatures.
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Oron is this a subspecies of H. orientalis?
I look to some catalogues and books and the colour of the flowers where described as blue or purple.
Your wonderful plant is a sky-blue! Or is it them same effect we see in the glasshouse. Higher temperature changed the colour of the flowers?
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Uli, this is H. orientalis ssp. orientalis,
color changes from very light sky blue to dark blue rarely pure white.
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No the photo is from last year!
Sorry
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Impressive :o
Never thought one could do that so perfectly!