Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: ruweiss on February 27, 2011, 08:52:22 PM
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In the last cold and rainy days it was a real pleasure to watch the opening
of the first flowerbuds in the Alpine house, moments missed for such a long
time during wintertime.
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A real pleasure Rudi to see your alpine house coming to life for the spring season. I look forward to many more pictures of your beautiful and beautifully grown plants. :D
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Ah yes, Lesley, I see you recognise Rudi as one of the Forum's Alpine Treasures, too!
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The androsace is the kind of plant that has caused me to become passionate about alpines. Small but perfectly formed! The Dionysia curviflora (another special plant) looks as though it is growing in the plunge but perhaps it has just overflowed its pot? The lower parts, in contact with the sand look very compact.
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Some photos from Dionysias taken in my alpine house in the last two weeks.
All plants are seedlings from D. afghanica.
( Edited by maggi to show plant names so the search facility can locate the pictures.)
Dionysia afghanica GW-H 1308
Dionysia afghanica zaailing (2)
Dionysia afghanica zaailing (3)
Dionysia afghanica zaailing
Dionysia aghanica x iransharii
Dionysia 'Judith Bramley'
Dionysia 'Ludek Zvolanek'
Dionysia 'Perlmut'
Dionysia 'Zdenek Zvolanek'
Dionysia zaailing van afghanica.JPG
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Á few yellow flowering species and forms.
( Edited by maggi to show plant names so the search facility can locate the pictures.)
Dionysia aretioides 'Bevere
Dionysia tapetodes GVDB-MK 0631 F1 hybride
Dionysia tapetodes ex. John Dixon (2)
Dionysia tapetodes Hewer 164
Dionysia 'Yellowstone'
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WHen I grow up I'd like to grow these !
Absolutely stunning plants guys - you have my admiration
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Unbelievable Ger! I wish I was visiting again just to photograph these amazing plants! (Actually seeing the two of you again would be the real prize!).
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Ger, fabulous plants.
I really like the purple shades. One day I may live somewhere with a garden big enough for an alpine house and then I can try growing these. I have a real liking for cushion plants.
Graham
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Ger:
Do you have a long range shot of the entire greenhouse.
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Here's silent in admiration... :-X
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The range of colours in the D. afghanica forms and hybrids is superb... those dark eyes! 8)
Would you care to give some notes about your regime in the alpine house, Ger.... is it kept frost free, what is your potting mixture and so on?
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The range of colours in the D. afghanica forms and hybrids is superb... those dark eyes! 8)
Would you care to give some notes about your regime in the alpine house, Ger.... is it kept frost free, what is your potting mixture and so on?
Well Maggi, it is not necessary to make a secret from it. Very important to have good air movement in the alpine-house. Also good light conditions are indispensable. The compost I use for my Dionysias is a mix of equal parts perlite, seramis, grit and a very small amount of potting soil.
Especially in winter during damp conditions I'm using 2 vents encouraging additional air movement.
Not important to keep the alpine frostfree because these plants are completely hardy.
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Thank you, Ger.... I hope this will help others decide they can try to grow these beautiful plants for themselves.
Do you water into the pots or only to the sand plunge?
Do you rotate the posts regularly to keep the growth even?
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Thank you, Ger.... I hope this will help others decide they can try to grow these beautiful plants for themselves.
Do you water into the pots or only to the sand plunge?
Do you rotate the posts regularly to keep the growth even?
Basically I keep the plunge moist, but during dry periods and especially in spring when plants are actively growing it is necessary to give the plants an additional watering.
Important to water the plants along the edge of the pot and to be sure to keep the plants dry.
Unfortunately we do not have those fantastic plant shows like you have in the UK. So it is not really necessary to rotate the pots to have an even growth or flowering.
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Unfortunately we do not have those fantastic plant shows like you have in the UK. So it is not really necessary to rotate the pots to have an even growth or flowering.
Your pots are looking very evenly flowered , for sure..... you should try to make a Channel Hop to the shows, Ger!
Will you be selling plants at any UK shows this year?
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No Maggi, this year no crossover with plants to the Kent show. I only will bring plants for sale for the Discussion weekend in Dumfries.
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No Maggi, this year no crossover with plants to the Kent show. I only will bring plants for sale for the Discussion weekend in Dumfries.
Aha! That is good news for the Discussion Weekenders then! 8)
Will we see you at the Alpines 2011 Conference in Nottingham?
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The compost I use for my Dionysias is a mix of equal parts perlite, seramis, grit and a very small amount of potting soil.
Thats not compost it's a gravel driveway ;D
You have even more of my admiration now!! Maggi's right about the colours in some of them - couldn't begin to pick a favourite but I'm quite taken with Judith Bramley & ZZ
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No Maggi, this year no crossover with plants to the Kent show. I only will bring plants for sale for the Discussion weekend in Dumfries.
Aha! That is good news for the Discussion Weekenders then! 8)
Will we see you at the Alpines 2011 Conference in Nottingham?
No Maggi, no Nottingham. It's a shame but you know if you are retired you do not have spare time. I would wish to be there because several people who are joining me on our next trip to Mendoza are attending the conference. So this would be a good opportunaty to meet those people.
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Hello Gert,
your pictures reminds me memorable time in your greenhouse in early spring. I found 3 pictures from this visit representaing well your amazing collection :) And retired man must have plenty of time for his garden or not? That is what I am dreaming about considering to work next 20 years...
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What an amazing sight :o 8) oh to be as good a grower as that would be a dream come true.
Angie :)
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Hello Gert,
your pictures reminds me memorable time in your greenhouse in early spring. I found 3 pictures from this visit representaing well your amazing collection :) And retired man must have plenty of time for his garden or not? That is what I am dreaming about considering to work next 20 years...
Hi Jiri, nice to meet you on the forum, long time ago we met.
Good to see the photo's you made in my alpine house. It is a good selection. Last time I'm spcecially focused on D. afghanica and his seedlings.Also I'm sorting out some good forms of D. curviflora. These species have my special attention by there stunning hard cushions. Even without flowers these plants are an asset for the alpine-house.
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Now flowering:
Draba ossetica, still small, but quite floriferous. Yes Michal, that's your baby.
Dionysia iranica
Korolkowia(Fritillaria) sewrzowii
Townsendia condensata with crested flower
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Now flowering:
Draba ossetica, still small, but quite floriferous. Yes Michal, that's your baby.
Dionysia iranica
Korolkowia(Fritillaria) sewrzowii
Townsendia condensata with crested flower
Like them all Rudi , but the Townsendia is very special. (the crested flower and also the colour)I grow Draba ossetica outside in tufarocks .
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What fabulous Dionysias. I can only admire from afar - very, very afar. NOTHING like any one of therm here. :'(
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Kris, the crested flowered plants sometime occur among the seedlings of
'normal' plants. The flower shape is a matter of taste - like it or not.
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Kris, the crested flowered plants sometime occur among the seedlings of
'normal' plants. The flower shape is a matter of taste - like it or not.
I think that Townsendia 's are not very popular Rudi ...I don't know why ?
Here today flowering in a trough : Townsendia hookeri with 22 flowers . The trough is covered during winter.
(crested plants are often find between cacti)
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Are townsendia difficult to grow. I would like to try and get some just because its a bit like my last name and also l like daisy flowers. Someone did say to me that they are short lived, is this true.
Angie :)
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Hello Angie , I keep them in troughs . They need a lot of sunshine en I cover the trough during wintertime (november - march)
I use a mix of 60% coarse sand and 40% sharp grit. I raised them from seed and they are now about 5 years old .
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hello kris,
fantastic, your through with the townsendias looks very fine, do you have more alpines from the north americas or mexico ???
cheers from germany
chris
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I don't find Townsendias so difficult to grow but with me they frequently flower then die, so perhaps some are monocarpic in which case that would explain why they are not wildly popular. The more perennial ones, for me, still only live for perhaps 2 or 3 flowerings.
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I have raised a few townsendias from seed and they are not difficult given good drainage. Under glass I find them prone to aphid attack. Given really sharp drainage and the winter cover recommended below (or above depending on which way you have posts displayed :P) you should be able to grow them Angie. If I was coming to the International I would bring you a pot of young plants .... anyone reading this who can collect from me and deliver to Nottingham?
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Thanks everyone for the advice on growing Townsendia.
Tony you need to go to Nottingham that I can get my Townsendia, only joking ;D
It would be nice to give them I try. I have seen them on the show benches and think they are lovely.
I need to get better with seeds and then I can have all these lovely plants.
Angie :)
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hello kris,
fantastic, your through with the townsendias looks very fine, do you have more alpines from the north americas or mexico ???
cheers from germany
chris
Thanks Chris ! Yes , I also have others like Eriogonum , Phlox, Kelseya ,Aquilegia, Trifolium , Lewisia , Hymenoxis , and also many many cacti/succulents....
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hi kris,
thanks, please show us more from the northamerican country.....
cheers
chris
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hi kris,
thanks, please show us more from the northamerican country.....
cheers
chris
Hi Chris, wil post some pics in the near future when they flowering...
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Lewisia tweedyi rosea starting.
Alex
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Now flowering:
Draba longisiliqua and Asarum maximum
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Now flowering:
Draba longisiliqua and Asarum maximum
Rudi, a plant of Draba longisliqua won the Farrer Medal at the South West AGS Show in Exeter last Saturday
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David, thank you for the picture of this out standing plant. D. longisiliqua is one of my favourite, easy to cultivate in the Alpine house and very floriferous. I tried it several times in the open garden without succes, maybe it does not like my climate. It could maybe grow under an overhang like Primula allionii, but I don't have the space to try it.
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Androsace bryomorpha is the most slow growing species.
Androsace neuwirthii is a fairly new introduced species from Bayan Har Shan – Qinghai (China). Sorry, the flowers at the top of the cushion already started fading. But suddenly it went very quickly.
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Jozef, thank you for sending us the pictures of these rare and beautiful alpine cushions.
It is amazing to see the big flowers of A.bryomorpha in relation to these small rosettes.
In these days it is always a pleasure to enter the Alpine house. Androsace vandellii,
Claytonia megarhiza, Clematis tenuiloba and Lewisia tweedyi are in full flower. I am
especially pleased with the flowers of Townsendia condensata and T. condensata
'Alberta form'; the later ones are the second generation of the plants I raised from wild
collected seeds from the AGS seed exchange.
It is only a pity, that these beauties are monocarpic and don't like any overhead watering
so cultivation under glass is a must in our climate.
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Stunning plants Rudy and Jozef !!!
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Seconded. I like the yellow Lewisia tweedyi particularly.
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Rudi, I also like the yellow L. tweedyi very much. Where did you obtain this plant?
Do you collect the seeds of your Townsendias?
Here are 2 from my alpine house.
Anemonella thalictroides 'Double Pink' (or is it Thalictrum thalictroides now). Maybe I keep this plant better in the open garden.
Townsendia ?spathulata 'Cottonballs' lost its original character, probably because lack of sufficient light.
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Luc and David, thanks for the friendly comments.The yellow Lewisia tweedyi was raised
by Rudolf Duchac, husband of Olga Duchacoca from Czech Republic. Both were were well
known in the world of alpines, but now they must reduce their gardening activities because
enormous health problems. They are so sorry about this fact, their garden was always a
botanical paradise and they were so generous with good advice and plants.
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Jozef, of course I try to collect all the seeds of both Townsendia species, but at
some years the number of good seeds is rather low.
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i have been busy using the search mechanism today trying to find an old discussion of the practical details of the alpine house.
A new greenhouse here has me wanting to devote a large section of it to an "alpine plunge".....i feel very stupid, but what is different/unique about an alpine house vs. a greenhouse? is it the structure itself, or the fact that alpines are grown inside in a plunge?
mine is not a serious/permanent structure---a hoophouse in effect and will be unheated, with good air movement as well as fans. i would like to devote one or more "rows" of benches to alpines.
also, i see various construction ideas of the "plunge" ---can members please share what they have used that is both economical and easy for an arthritic lady to construct herself. does one just build "boxes" a barrier underneath to keep the plunge material in, and then "sides"---how deep? does it matter what you use for the plunge material? (i assume sand???)
any other comments would be appreciated, as the house is being constructed now.
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Traditionally an "alpine house" has had glass only on the upper portion of the sides and the roof with the lower area sometimes being entirely closed off, as support for the plunge area above and made of brickwork.
A glass house is all glass of course, but for those of us who can only afford to buy the widely available and cheapest contstructions, many of us have an "alpine-house" that is a standard, off the peg, glass "greenhouse" that becomes and alpine house by simple dint ogf growing alpines in it. :)
Naturally, with the brick based versions it is easier to build a much deeper plunge for greater insulation or just to accommodate bigger pots but many have great success with a bench frame type plunge arrangement and with the chance to use the under bench area for resting plants, those needing more shade etc.
Plunges can be made from wood, metal, just about anything. Some materials are easier to work with than others and may last longer, but in our case availability and cost are the primary considerations.
You can get very fancy with watering systems ( plunges that can be flooded and drained at will) or just have a container that is strong enough to hold the combined weight of pots and sand... always sand, for the plunge. A slight gradient and/or some drainage holes are all that are needed in the simplest of set-ups.
Is this helping?
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Hi Kristl - it's easy, even a child could do it! ;D
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Seriously though, the staging was constructed like a bench first, then the box on top of that. This was lined with pond liner, trimmed with a strip of wood on the edge to neaten it. The 25cm deep boxes were filled with sand, into which clay potted plants are plunged. This staging was originally constructed for the part at the back of the house to be used for direct planting. The end bed was 30cm deep in the centre rising to 15cm deep at the sides and a drainage tube placed at the lowest point so the bed could be part-flooded then drained to ensure thorough watering.
The ground level boxes are also used as plunges for shade loving plants.
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The mug of tea is an essential accessory.
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Chrysanthemum maresii
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Androsace jacquemontii
Dodecatheon pulchellum
D. clevlandii
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D. clevlandii
Stunning!
Kristl and others;
Would a raised plunge be sufficient in areas with cold climates? I've sometimes forgotten potted bulbs and perennials on the greenhouse floor over winter, and the majority have been dead the next spring... True alpines may be an exception, but a setup like Ian's would never work for bulbs here in Norway.
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I have the Sax as Saxifraga pubescens ssp. iratiana, but is probably wrong.
Ramberlea (x) 'Inchgarth' is an intergeneric hybrid of Ramonda and Haberlea.
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Jozef your Sax looks pretty much like what I have as pubescens 'Snowcap' though it's hard to see the foliage. There were several pictures of that form among the Conference photos so you could have a look there. when I first bought 'Snowcap' (from the man at Pershore whose name escapes me for the moment) he said it and irratiana were "Much of a Muchness." (I keep thinking Ron Leeds and Rob Potterton, but neither of those. Who was that? I don't think he is still selling.)
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Jozef your Sax looks pretty much like what I have as pubescens 'Snowcap' though it's hard to see the foliage. There were several pictures of that form among the Conference photos so you could have a look there. when I first bought 'Snowcap' (from the man at Pershore whose name escapes me for the moment) he said it and irratiana were "Much of a Muchness." (I keep thinking Ron Leeds and Rob Potterton, but neither of those. Who was that? I don't think he is still selling.)
Lesley, I'm guessing you mean Ron Beeston.
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I surely did, thanks Diane.
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Lesley, thanks for the information. I will change the name of my plant to Sax. pubescens.
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I have the Sax as Saxifraga pubescens ssp. iratiana, but is probably wrong.
Ramberlea (x) 'Inchgarth' is an intergeneric hybrid of Ramonda and Haberlea.
Jozef
S.pubescens ssp. iratiana has red spots on the petals and shorter stems.
I don't think it is in cultivation now, Brian Burrow may have it.
Probably S.pubescens Snowcap
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Oh Golly Jozef, don't take my word for it, though I see Adrian has commented too. His info more likely to be right than mine.
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Leucanophora chubutensis flowers for the first time. I raised it from seed collected by Vojtech Holubec
in the Rio Mayo region of Argentinia.
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That's a beauty! Is it related to Oxalis, perhaps?
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Lori, at the first look these flowers are similar to Oxalis, but the plants
belong to the Malvaceae.
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Leucanophora chubutensis flowers for the first time. I raised it from seed collected by Vojtech Holubec
in the Rio Mayo region of Argentinia.
Oh, I like your Leucanophora Rudi ! I also had some seeds from Vojtech but I had bad luck ...nothing germinates... :(
The South American Malvaceae are gorgeous and belong to my all time favorites. I grow only two at the moment and they are flowering now.
The first is Nototriche mackleanii and the second is Lecanophora subacaule .
If there is anyone who can share some South American Malvaceae , I am always interested ...
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Really like your Nototriche mackleanii, have never seen it before. Lovely plant 8)
Angie :)
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Really like your Nototriche mackleanii, have never seen it before. Lovely plant 8)
Angie :)
Thank you .
There homecountrie is Peru Angie . It is not that common I suppose and only suitable for alpinehouse... But if you can give such conditions , it is well worth growing.
It flowers allmost from march untill late autumn ! Had it even in flower by november.
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Thank you .
There homecountrie is Peru Angie . It is not that common I suppose and only suitable for alpinehouse... But if you can give such conditions , it is well worth growing.
It flowers allmost from march untill late autumn ! Had it even in flower by november.
You wouldn't have a name of a supplier that I could purchase the plant. I keep my greenhouse between 3-5 in the winter so maybe I would survive ok. Anything that flowers that long is worthwhile trying to source.
Any help would be appreciated.
Angie :)
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You wouldn't have a name of a supplier that I could purchase the plant. I keep my greenhouse between 3-5 in the winter so maybe I would survive ok. Anything that flowers that long is worthwhile trying to source.
Any help would be appreciated.
Angie :)
Hi Angie , first the easy part ...I think your greenhouse must be ideal for the Nototriche !
But , in our countries (Belgium ,the Netherlands)it was only one time available...Some years ago ,my good friend Ger Vandenbeuken has it on his plantlist.I was lucky and could buy one.
I don't know if he put it on his list this year , maybe you could send him a PM.
My cuttings from previous year all died :( I take again few cuttings , but it is to early for some results ...
I don't know if there is anyone who sell it in the UK. Cheers,Kris
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Thanks for the help. I will see what I can do. Like I say something that flowers that long is worth trying to get a hold of.
Angie :)
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Plants and I believe seed has been offered this year by Peter and Louise Salmond, hokpines@actrix.gen.nz
A brother and sister team and the most skilled growers in NZ, with some fabulous plants for sale, and seeds, some of which are only for overseas people. (Some not available to locals!)
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Lesley excuse my ignorance but why are some not available to locals.
Angie :)
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Will PM
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Trachelium asperuloides
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Michael, is there anything you dont have ;D I have never seen Trachelium asperuloides before, what a beauty. 8)
Angie :)
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;D
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I think that one beats Tim's C. x Wockei 'Puck.' ;D
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Chrysanthemum maresii
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What a beauty! Also, the trachelium is an old favourite of mine - I've never grown it, but it was the picture of that species in Royton Heath's book that set me off on alpine house plants. Alas all turfed out now in favour of bulbs!
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Alas all turfed out now in favour of bulbs!
ooh, that sounds familiar ::) :-X
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Alas all turfed out now in favour of bulbs!
I turfed out all the bulbs except the South Africans into frames and am now growing alpines in the alpine house again. :)
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What a beauty! Also, the trachelium is an old favourite of mine - I've never grown it, but it was the picture of that species in Royton Heath's book that set me off on alpine house plants. Alas all turfed out now in favour of bulbs!
I hope they died natural and merciful deaths Anne and weren't just heaved onto the rubbish heap. Or perhaps were given to good homes? ;D
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Good homes, and quite a lot of natural deaths.... ::)