Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: PaulM on August 31, 2009, 08:17:10 PM
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Hello ! I haven't posted in a while, and have accumulated a large quantity of pictures from the month of August. I really don't think I will be able to post them all tonight, but I hope it won't be frowned upon too much if I post some during the first days of September. Here we start. First off some pictures of Asclepias
1) Asclepias tuberosa. I've had these plants for many years, and they started out flowering in an orange -red tone much like nr 3, but they have turned more and more yellow. I wonder if it is due to the soil, or the location, or if there is some other factor making them change color.
2) Asclepias tuberosa close up
3) Asclepias tuberosa, not as old as the yellow flowered plants, but maybe this will turn yellow in a few years time too ?
4) Asclepias exaltata- almost looking as malevolent as something Sigourney Weaver would encounter in a space ship.
5) Asclepias speciosa spreads some by stolons, but is really stunning in flower and smells sweet
6) Asclepias speciosa
7) Asclepias speciosa even closer
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Paul, why not have a little thread for these August and September flowers in your part of Sweden? 8)
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Oh, so that's where they went! I thought I'd been seeing things ;D
Lovely set of pics Paul and yet another plant I haven't had the pleasure of trying. I shall put that to rights.
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love the selection of asclepias!
exotic maybe, i dont think i'd go as far as malevolent!..lol ;)
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Okay, Thanks Maggie ! I don't feel as much pressure sitting up all night now, but I will post a few more before I go to bed. My son is sleeping soundly, so I have some speare time now ; )
1) Aconitum heterophyllum var heterophyllum is according to my books the species with purple veined greenish -blue flowers, while var. bracteatum has light to dark blue flowers.
2) It is in the section Sinaconitum stems from NW Himalaya
3) Agastache rupestris is marginally hardy with me, but comes back and this year there are two flowering stems so maybe there will be double next year. It has a fresh bubble gum scent.
4) Agastache cana is definitely hardier and although lacking the scent it makes up for it in flowers.
5) Arnoglossum muhlenbergii ( previously Cacalia ) is a nice foliage plant from E North America.
6) The flowering stalks are red, and the peculiar looking flowers off white, but even though not very decorative they are much appreciated by insects.
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Paul, it will be our pleasure to enjoy them as your time permits. :D
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1. Calceolaria mexicana from ORG & HPS Seed Exchange has been a very rewarding plant which fast reached flowering and has kept on producing its yellow balloons all summer.
2. Calceolaria mexicana - close up
3. Callirhoe triangulata is a prairie plant from the Malvaceae family. Would probably look much better sticking up through prairie drop seed, blue gama grass and other grasses
4. Callirhoe triangulata - close up
5. Campanula grossekii easily becomes a weed if you don't cut it down before it goes to seed, but it is a tap rooted species which only spreads through seed, so it can easily be pulled. In a moist spot like this where it came up by itself it has grown very big and floriferous.
6. A close up of the hairy flowers of Campanula grossekii which hails from Eastern Europe
7. Campanula versicolor is a more diminutive species which I got through the SRGC seed ex 2007/08. It broke off in the summer but this seem to have resulted in a tighter flowered stem.
8. Carlina acanthifolia forms side rosettes every year with me, and stays perennial. The flowers are the size of tea saucers. I've placed a credit card- sized card next to it for comparison.
9. Carlina acanthifolia needs quite a bit of space in the rock garden.
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Just a few more pictures this evening of Onopordum bracteatum. I have grown many Onopordum species but I must say that this is top of the shelf, and I will make it permanent feature in my garden. It took about three years to reach flowering size here, but the flowers are bigger than any other Onopordum species I've grown, and the plants are quite slender and dont spread out all over the place like Onopordum acanthium for example.
1-5 Onopordum bracteatum
and a more modest thistle:
6. Cirsium eriophorum is another nice thistlle which self seeds
7. Cirsium eriophorum- flowers
8. Cirsium eriophorum
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Most interesting to see what you are growing Paul, how tall is your Onopordum bracteatum?
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While we are on the subject of handsome thistles and their like.... can anyone tell me what the species of Onopordum (?) in this post (from Cliff in Turkey ) might be? ???
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3653.msg107617#msg107617
(...particularly seen in pix 7 and 8 of Reply #38 of page 3 of the thread)
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Paul,
Excellent pics of some wonderful plants. The Asclepias are amazing. I have A. tuberosa, but the flowers on the other two you've shown are so striking. Gorgeous! And that Calceolaria mexicana is a beauty. Such a lovely clean yellow to them by the look of it. 8)
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Good show Paul !
Don't worry about posting a bit later than the plants flowered - it's just lengthening our Summer somewhat !! ;D ;D
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Some seldom seen and well grown plants, Paul!
I’ve tried all these Asclepias myself (and I think you sent me seed at some stage!) but I struggle with overwintering them (any tips?). The only one that I’ve succeeded with is the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata); picture below.
Agastache rupestris has overwintered here, but I’ve not succeeded with A cana (but that was a few years ago before milder winters kicked in – must try again!)
Cirsium eriophorum (Wooly Thistle) – one of my favourites, although biannual, it seeds itself. However, yours looks a bit different to mine (better!) with more flattened flower heads and it seems to lack the purplish bracts you can see on mine below. Do you know where you got it from? Incidentally, although fiddly, try some wooly artichokes, very tasty and not that wooly! Onopordum bracteatum with its bigger flowers looks worth trying! Hope you send in some seed!
Campanula versicolor - I probably got seed from the same source as you, but again it sadly didn't make it through the winter - had been keen to try it as Ken Fern of pfaf.org writes that the leaves have "A delicious mild flavour with a slight sweetness that reminds people of freshly-picked garden peas"
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Beautiful plants Paul. I wish I could grow Agastache rupestris as it is such a nice plant with wonderful colour and lovely scented foliage.
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I must try the asclepias again. I think the stock from catalogues is not suited to my garden? Great for breeding Milkweed (aka Monarch) butterflies (Danaus plexippus). ;D
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Hello Paul, you have an astonishing range of plants ::) Do you protect them in winter and in this case, how do you do ? What is your hardiness zone ?
Cheers
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Onopordum bracteatum grows to around 2 meters.
I don't know where I got the Cirsium eriophorum seeds from Stephen, but I remember growing some from wild collected seeds which I got through the AGS some years ago, and they looked more like yours. I guess mine are garden collected originally. I'd be glad to send you some seeds if you'd like.
Overwintering Asclepias can be sometimes be difficult depending on where they come from, but A. tuberosa, speciosa, syriaca ( very aggressive ), purpurascens, exaltata, viridis are all hardy and don't need any special protection during the winter. A. tuberosa and A. viridis are better kept on the dry side.
I cover some of the dryland species with a plastic sheet in the fall, and use ferns for a cover against the cold.
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Thanks, Paul - a few seed would be nice. I'll remind you when my seed list is ready.
Re-overwintering Asclepias, I suspect it's winter damp that they don't like, so I should maybe try protecting them - after all it's only the "Swamp" Milkweed that I've succeeded with. By the way, the season is unfortunately too short here for incarnata to ripen seed, but it flowers prolifically.
Our butterflies don't seem to be interested in it though.
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Your Cirsium eriophorum is really gorgeous, Paul, what a wonderful collection of plants with such character - lovely to look up as well as down to enjoy favourites grown from seed ;)
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Paul, those are some great plants! Your Ascelpias have inspired me for next year. Some wonderful natives here that I should be paying more attention to. Thank you for taking the time to post the pictures.
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Thank you everyone for the responses posted to my pictures. It's a pleasure to share pictures with other plant afficionados. Here are some more:
1) I ordered this as Jurinea mollis from the Swedish garden society's exchange but it turned out to be Centaurea scabiosa : (
2) Centaurea stenolepis
3) Cirsium muticum is called swamp thistle but it requires drier conditions here. Grows really tall; 2,5m), and is not very spiny
4) Clarkia rubicunda ssp blasdalei has been another very rewarding annual with copious numbers of flowers.
5) Clematis mandschurica is nice clambering through bushes, over a stone or other type of structure.
6) Clematis mandschurica again
7) Clematis ochotensis flowers in late May, but evidently it can re-flower as this was taken in August.
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Centaurea scabiosa looks fantastic with the backdrop of your countryside, Paul, your rockery looks well placed for this effect.
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1) I grew this species last year, and evidently it produced some seed as this plant came up. Delphinium staphisagria has been very difficult to germinate from seed.
2) Delphinium vestitum is a nice species with quite hairy rounded leaves.
3) Close up of the flowers with their black bees.
4) Dianthus giganteus and Salvia regeliana
5) Digitalis ferruginea ssp schischkinii
6) Digitalis ferruginea ssp schischkinii close up of the flower. This grows much shorter than a regular D. ferruginea, but I am not sure how this subspecies is different to D. ferruginea otherwise.
7) Dianthus zonatus ?
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Hi Paul,
Delphinium vestitum is very amazing !
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Thank you Nicole. I like it very much too, and it flowers late in the season which is nice. I'll probably donate some seed to the seed exchange.
1. Digitalis lutea x purpurea. Nothing I have strived for, but a spontaneous result.
2. Another picture of this crossing.
3. I sowed this as Hystrix patula many years ago, and it is now referred to as Elymus hystrix
4. Eryngium giganteam is a steadfast freind
5. When I took this picture it dawned on me why this gentian has the name cruciata
6. Geranium farreri flowered June 8, but made a re-appearance almost 2 months later.
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Paul, you have a wonderful collection of plants, I have never seen most of the asclepias before.
Your geranium farreri is absolutely beautiful as is the clematis ochotensis.
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Paul, is that the usual flower form for Clematis ochotensis? Some photos from the internet seem to show a more compact flower with shorter petals with more substance... or is it quite variable?
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=348
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/plants/clematis/ochotensis.html
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Dear Lori,
I am not sure as this is what I ordered as Atragene ochotensis from Alexandra Berkutenko. I agree that it looks very different from the pictures depicting Clematis ochotensis on the web. Maybe it's something entirely different. We should ask in the plant id forum.
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1) Geranium sp collected in the Fan Mountains of Tajikistan has flowered all summer
2) Same as above
3) Iliamna remota
4) Ipomoea lindheimerii from central Texas has proved hardy here in Sweden and in it's second season it has produced lots of growth and many flowers, and seed is setting as we speak
5) Ipomoea lindheimerii- leaf
6) Lobelia cardinalis - an exquisite pink form from Plants of the Southwest
7) Same as above
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Just echoing what others have said... you certainly do have a nice variety of plants! Lovely to see! :)
What is your zone or minimum winter temperature?
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Hi Paul, I really like the geranium, how big does the plant get?
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Hi Lori and Helen ! I'm gardening in two different zones. For one in Norrköping, which is close to the Baltic Sea and is considered zone 6 according to the books -23 to -17 is the lowest we get, and at Börjesbråte in Värmland where it is zone 5 ( -29 to -23 ).
The Geranium sp gets to about 60cm tall and is very airy and good growing with some kind of support. I have a few seeds if you'd like to try it.
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I have a little bit of time, so here are a few more of the plants which have been or are flowering with me:
1) Nicotiana sp ( Brazil ) from Seed Hunt has been very nice and has flowered for a long time. The flowers start out white and fade to a soft lilac or pink as they get a day or two old.
2) Nicotiana sp - whole plant
3) Oenothera stricta from Chile
4) One more of this evening primrose which flowers first year from seed
5) Oplopanax horridus- nice foliage plant, but very spiny!
6) Penstemon digitalis
7) Polygonatum odoratum - a very short colony growing in a depression on top of a cliff
8) Same colony from a different angle. I wonder if they would come this short from seed if grown in a rugged spot ?
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I have a little bit of time, so here are a few more of the plants which have been or are flowering with me:
7) Polygonatum odoratum - a very short colony growing in a depression on top of a cliff
8) Same colony from a different angle. I wonder if they would come this short from seed if grown in a rugged spot ?
this is a great spot! i would love to have a rock like this in my yard ;) given my choice, i'd rather truck in soil for veggies, and have the rocks already here (there are none) ...lol
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Gosh Paul what fabulous views over the rock...lovely things still growing with you the Penstemon digitalis is great
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...ooops ! maybe I should have clarified that the pictures of the Polygonatum is not from my garden, but taken in nature close to where I live.
Wish I had rocks like that too though.
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Rocks or no rocks your garden is full of gems ;)
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...ooops ! maybe I should have clarified that the pictures of the Polygonatum is not from my garden, but taken in nature close to where I live.
Wish I had rocks like that too though.
i did understand its not in your yard :)
wouldnt we all love that?..lol
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5) Oplopanax horridus- nice foliage plant, but very spiny!
I've always wondered why these plants aren't more often grown - they are interesting at all seasons. The RHS Plant Finder notes only one nursery listing this plant. My plants originated from a trade I did with a woman in Alaska who told me that old growth Oplopanax can reach impressive dimensions.
If I may, here are a few more pictures.
By the way, have you come across Oplopanax japonicus, Paul?
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Oplopanax horridus- nice foliage plant, but very spiny
I've always wondered why these plants aren't more often grown - they are interesting at all seasons.
With my seed name checker's hat on, can I warn that there is a great confusion in the trade and on the internet between Oplopanax horridus (Araliaceae) and Opopanax horridum (Apiaceae). The former is a North American shrubby relative of Ginseng (hence the panax in its name), the latter is a Mediterranean herb used in perfumes. Both are spiny (horridum). The pictures and names on some internet sites are confused!
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I was going to collect seed of Oplopanax yesterday, but the birds (either Starlings or Fieldfares) got there before me and I didn't find a single berry... Haven't experienced that before.
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Oplopanax; Greek (h)opla, (h)oplon = weapon
Opopanax; Greek opos= plant juice
Panax ; Greek panakes= which heals all ; pas= all; akeistahi= to heal
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I still haven't woken up properly, so I read your explanation as
Greek pancakes= which heals all
I'm looking forward to the rest of the alphabet!
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Some Salvias, which have been flowering with me in August:
1) Salvia castanea
2) Salvia dolicantha
3) Salvia glutinosa
4) Salvia glutinosa close up
5) Salvia koyamae
6) Salvia koyamae close up
7) Salvia vitifolia
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1) Satureja sp, or some other genus in in Labiatae- family, collected in Uzbekistan 2005. Very aromatic minty foliage.
2) Scabiosa columbaria ssp ochroleuca from the Ala Daglar range, Turkey
3) Scabiosa columbaria ssp ochroleuca
4) Schizonepeta kokanica
5) Solidago rigida which is well behaved and doesn't spread
6) Stipa barbata in seed
7) Verbesina helianthoides from Sugar Loaf Mtn, Heber Springs, AR
8) Stem of Verbesina helianthoides
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Lovely Salvia and Scabiosa, Paul, and the Stipa barbata is fantastic in seed
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You have a really good selection of flowers for this late in the season, Paul.
I particularly like the Satureja sp, how long does it flower?
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I guess the peak was when the picture was taken, but it started about a month earlier and there is still a little bit of flower now. It has got quite woody at the base. It will be interesting to see if it will survive the winter. I'll see if any seed has been produced.
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Some Salvias, which have been flowering with me in August:
3) Salvia glutinosa
4) Salvia glutinosa close up
Paul,
thanks for the Salvia glutinosa ! I've got a yellow salvia from a friend in spring this year without a name. The flowers look like your Salvia glutinosa. Looking for pictures in the Net i see, it is Salvia glutinosa I have. :)
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Paul and Stephen,
Some wonderful things in flower in Sweden right now, it would appear. Thanks very much for showing us. A number of things in here that I haven't seen before, and the lovely Digitalis and Salvias. So different to here right now, where we're in the midst of spring of course. Thanks for the pics.
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It has been a while since I took these pictures, but I hope they will still be appreciated.
1) Alcea nudiflora flowers later than other hollyhocks, but the big snow white flowers are spectacular.
2) Carduus glaucus- rosette
3) Carduus glaucus - flower
4) Clematis virginiana
5) Clematis virginiana -close up
6) Collinsonia canadensis is a nice hardy specimen from eastern North America
7) Collinsonia canadensis close up
8) Coreopsis tripteris
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1. Eryngium creticum in September
2. The same plant but frost-bitten in October
3. Eupatoriadelphus ( Eupatorium ) fistulosus
4. Same plant a month later - the growing season is coming to an end here in Sweden
5. Euthamia graminifolia
6. Solidago uliginosa
7. Solidago glomerata
8. Solidago glomerata with butterfly
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1. Liatris pilosa
2. Liatris pilosa close up
3. Liatris pilosa a cold morning
4. Monarda fistulosa
5. Monarda fistulosa again
6. New part of the rockery, which hopefully will be home to a nice Penstemon rupicola plant in a couple of years
7. ... Just one of the six seedlings survived in my absence ( most likely due to drought before the roots had time to reach down underneath the gravel ), but hopefully this natural selection will be to its advantage.
8. Ratibida pennata
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1) Rudbeckia laciniata
2) Rudbeckia laciniata close up
3) Rudbeckia subtomentosa
4) Rudbeckia subtomentosa in ice
5) Frost on seedheads of Rudbeckia occidentalis
6) Sanguisorba canadensis
7) Sanguisorba officinalis
8) Sorbus koehneana
9) Salvia caymanensis- a foul smelling species !
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1) Salvia exserta plant
2) Salvia exserta- close up of flowers
3) Serratula coronata var insularis
4) Strobilanthes attenuata
5) Strobilanthes attenuata close up
6) Panicum virgatum in a winter shroud
7) Lonicera involucrata with frost
8) Physocarpus opulifolius
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1) Winter cover over the seedling bed
2) Winter cover over the rockery
3) A wild angelica which has dispersed its seed, saying goodbye to 2009
This will probably the last from me in 2009 as well, as far as it comes to pictures. The seed catalogs will soon arrive !
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nice images--i like the look of the frost--it has to be good for something!
is your rockery covered to keep of excess moisture?
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Paul, wonderful images from the end of the season in your garden. The frost on the plants and leaves is beautifully captured...you certainly protect your seedling bed and rockery from the coming cold - how cold will it get and how many hours of daylight now where you live?
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Hi ! Yes, the sheet is to keep off the moisture. It can rain in January, and we rarely have a reliable snowcover which lasts all through the winter. The coldest we get is around -25C, but that rarely happens. It's more usual that it drops to -18C, but the average temperature in February is -5 C. Now the sun rises at about 7.20 and sets at 16.20, so 9 hours of light. The hours daylight keeps decreasing until the end of December though.
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Paul, it can rain in January here too....... ;D
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Paul,
I am coming to your thread rather late---thank you for sharing this---I was particularly taken with the pink Lobelia cardinalis; very beautiful!!!!
Kristl