Gueldenstaedtia himalaica cultivation

[Gabrigarden]

Hello! I am a 14 year old girl from Sweden and a newbie to this forum. I find nature and gardening very interesting, especially the cultivation of true plant species. Last year me and my parents built a small rock garden where I (try to) grow high-alpine plants. This year we also made a peat bed for some meconopsis and members of the ericaceae family. Over the last few years I have also tried to sow numerous seeds, of which some have germinated while some have not.

This year I bought seeds of Gueldenstaedtia himalaica, which germinated well. A month ago I planted one I the rock garden, in almost pure sand and grit, but it seemed to just die away. Now I have two (many died along the way...) healthy plants left in the cold frame, and I'm wondering if the peat bed is a better alternative for them to settle down. I get the feeling from watching pictures of it in the wild that it may require a moister compost. Since there are very little information about this plant on the internet, I turn to ask you people for advice.

Regards, Ida

[Gabrigarden]

Oops, this was meant to be posted on the general forum but oh well...

[Maggi Young]

Hello Ida - first, I'll move this to "cultivation problemsl" .....   

Must admit I haven't grown this plant..... but I believe it grows in quite dry, rocky places in nature - and, of course, at quite high altitude.  So I don't think a peaty place would suit it.
Quite a few of the Fabaceae family are  tricky in cultivation.

 I believe, according to another thread in the forum, that this plant now has a "new" name - Tibetia 
See this thread : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=14163.0

[Maggi Young]

A rewarding little plant to grow - worth more attempts, I am sure. What sort of plants are you having success with?

[ian mcdonald]

The AGS say "open rocky slopes in the drier regions." Parham Bungalow Plants used to supply it.

[Gabriela]

Hi Ida,
Trying to see the wild habitat where a species grows is a very good way for understanding its needs in cultivation.
I've never grown Tibetia but other Leguminosae/Fabaceae are hard to establish in part, because they form symbiotic relationships with nitrogen fixing bacteria (which in few cases are quite specific) - called rhizobia (root nodules). Using an 'artificial' growing mix doesn't supply them of course with the bacteria they like.

Otherwise, I can quote for you the growing habitat from Guide to the Flowers of Western China: "heathland, stony meadows, rocky slopes, sandy soils, 2,800-5,000 m." Also there is the mention that they form a thickened rootstock.
Good luck!

[Philippe]

Hi

I "grow" that Gueldenstaedtia in rather mineral soil, and as others said or wrote, wouldn't try it at all in peaty soil, which is just likely to make the collar and roots'plant rot too easily in my opinion, especially during wet weather periods ( summer, and winter above all).
I mean seeds can fairly sprout in any standard sowing mix, that's not the problem, but they have to be put quite quickly away from any surplus organic stuff after that.
Also root disturbance should be the less possible, if you make further tries with seedlings ( Fabaceae generally don't like to be tickeld too much at the roots, and I guess this is probably naturally even more true for the most interesting species )
Best way is to sow some seeds in a pot with not too much organic stuff right from the beginning. Germination is often good with Fabaceae so don't put too many together. Then, after several weeks, or even a whole year if you can handle the pot correctly during that time ( not too much water in the growing season and just the strict minimum needed in winter, shade, snails/slugs, aso...),  just place the whole seedlings pot directly in its, hopefully, final place, without breaking the root/soil ensemble ( that's pretty complicated sometimes, I know and keeping the seedlings several months in the pot allows a better cohesion as roots will colonize the mix )

All that said, I added "" to the word grow above at the beginning of the message, because my 2 years old plants still are very young, and didn't seem to burst into growth this summer.
Nevertheless, they didn't die so far.
As Gabriela told too, growing Fabaceaes is not the most peaceful thing, because of root associations with bacterias. Probably that's what makes the plants I grow linger in the "not growing but either not dying stage" for the moment.

Best of luck !

[Gabrigarden]

Hello again! I'm sorry for answering so late (school etc have made me busy the past month), but I thank you all for your very helpful advices. I have now planted one of the three remaining plants in my rock garden in some sand, grit and bone meal. Hopefully it will thrive, and if not then I just have to try again.
By now it's almost winter up here in northern Sweden, which means that most of the plants have withered and are now sleeping until spring - including the Tibetica. The patient waiting for spring has yet again begun!

Regards, Ida