September in the Northern Hemisphere

[meanie]

I've been absent for a few weeks thanks to a work trip and holiday so I've a bit of catching up to do. It was interesting (and surprising) to see a mini discussion on annuals going on.
As far as N.sylvestris goes it will survive a mild'ish winter but frankly the results are disappointing. Far better to sow seeds under glass in April and grow on as an annual. The trick seems to be not to plant them out too early - mid June is time enough for them to flourish.............


I planted N.glauca (Tree Nicotiana) out in my brothers garden last year and that has done pretty well this year. It lacks any fragrance but the glaucous stems and foliage look good complemented by plenty of interesting (to my eyes) blooms.............


Annuals are good if they're unusual enough to warrant the effort but not so fussy that they consume too much time. At the moment I have the following looking good;
Salvia urica. Dead easy late blooming Salvia that can reach 1.5 to 2 metres in height............


This unidentified Amaranthus germinated alongside a plant that was sent to me by someone on another forum..................


Amaranthus look especially good planted alongside Cleome and I will make the effort next year to return to that combination.

Salvia splendens "Yvonnes Giant". The garden is heavily sloped so the trellis on top of the fence starts at two metres to give you an idea of the size of it...............


Schizanthus pinnatus...............


Salvia coccinea is a cracking Salvia to treat as an annual...............

[meanie]

Other stuff looking good at the moment (largely in my parents garden which I am slowly taking over and is better for many of my Salvia) includes;
Desfontainia spinosa..............


Brugmansia 'Grand Marnier'.............


Solanum rantonnetii...............


Cyrtanthus elatus..........


Calydorea amabilis...........


This cheeky little Abutilon has barely grown since the seed was sown in April but it has the nerve to bloom!


Eccromocarpus scaber..............


Commelina tuberosa...............


Canna paniculata.............

[meanie]

Finally, some Salvia;
Salvia microphylla "Pink Blush"..............


Amistad is a phenomenal doer and still going strong...............


Salvia "Black and Bloom"..............


And to close, yet another photo of S.oxyphora which is a firm favourite of mine............

[Leucogenes]

I have seen a few Mutisia in Argentina and always wanted to grow them at home but never managed to get flowers.

Trond,

I had also a copy of Mutisia oligodon this summer. Unfortunately it was too sunny and hot, and died after flowering. I'll try to get new plants.

Should i get what you also?

Greetings Thomas

[Robert]

Annuals are good if they're unusual enough to warrant the effort but not so fussy that they consume too much time. At the moment I have the following looking good;

Hi Meanie,

I completely enjoyed your selection of photographs! 

I have to admit that I also grow "common" annuals too. Heirloom Pansies and my own strains of Zinnia elegans are two of my favorites, however there are others.    I missed sowing Salvia splendens this year. I grow a hot pink strain that gets a meter tall or more. I love your red Salvia splendens! Very    Salvia coccinea 'Brenthurst' is a good pink variety that I first obtained from Ginny Hunt (Seedhunt). I save seed on this line too and hope to have a good crop next year.

As a vegetable farmer, i.e. I think that I will continue being a farmer, it is important to be very efficient at growing annuals. For me it is very easy to grow a large number of annual transplants using soil blocks. I am just get this system set up at our Sacramento home. Once the system is up and going it is very easy for me to grow hundreds of annual transplants and plant them out very quickly and easily. Without a good system I can understand completely why growing a large number of annuals is not worth the effort.

Cyrtanthus elatus and Calydora amabilis look quite nice. 

Thanks for sharing!

By the way.... I stated that I do not like plants planted out in straight lines. We this is a mistake. Check-out Eliot Coleman's fall lettuce plantings at Four Season Farm. Gorgeous! (Four Season Farm.com) 

[Hoy]

Trond,

I had also a copy of Mutisia oligodon this summer. Unfortunately it was too sunny and hot, and died after flowering. I'll try to get new plants.

Should i get what you also?

Greetings Thomas

Thomas, I have sent you a PM.

[Hoy]

Meanie,

you certainly have plenty of good-looking plants!

[Hoy]

Robert,

I have seen Bermuda grass in action! However, it is not an issue here. We also have a few Oxalis weeds but they are annuals and easily removed. Dandelions and Meconopsis cambrica are other weedy plants that self-sow everywhere but they are easily removed when small! Takes time though

[Robert]

Hi Trond,

Dandelions seem to be weeds everywhere! 

Having Meconopsis cambrica as a weed does not seem so awful. Up at the farm Verbena bonariensis is weedy. I always keep a few around and I am considering allowing them to grow down at our Sacramento garden. They bloom spring-summer-autumn and are very attractive in bloom. Verbena litoralis is also weedy up at the farm. It is so ugly that I try to eradicate them. Verbascum thapsus is another common weed up at the farm. I will generally let a few grow in waste areas as they do not need any irrigation to survive. The worst weed pest up at the farm is Bromus diandrus. It grows everywhere and germinates thickly and repeatedly in the autumn and winter. In the late spring the dried seed heads get into ones clothing and one can look like a porcupine after doing weed control with seed heads sticking out of ones clothing everywhere! 

[meanie]

Hi Meanie,

I completely enjoyed your selection of photographs! 

I have to admit that I also grow "common" annuals too. Heirloom Pansies and my own strains of Zinnia elegans are two of my favorites, however there are others.    I missed sowing Salvia splendens this year. I grow a hot pink strain that gets a meter tall or more. I love your red Salvia splendens! Very    Salvia coccinea 'Brenthurst' is a good pink variety that I first obtained from Ginny Hunt (Seedhunt). I save seed on this line too and hope to have a good crop next year.

As a vegetable farmer, i.e. I think that I will continue being a farmer, it is important to be very efficient at growing annuals. For me it is very easy to grow a large number of annual transplants using soil blocks. I am just get this system set up at our Sacramento home. Once the system is up and going it is very easy for me to grow hundreds of annual transplants and plant them out very quickly and easily. Without a good system I can understand completely why growing a large number of annuals is not worth the effort.

Cyrtanthus elatus and Calydora amabilis look quite nice. 

Thanks for sharing!

By the way.... I stated that I do not like plants planted out in straight lines. We this is a mistake. Check-out Eliot Coleman's fall lettuce plantings at Four Season Farm. Gorgeous! (Four Season Farm.com) 

Thanks!
For me it is a space issue. As our spring seasons lean more towards long and cool I need greenhouse space to coax many of my Salvia back into growth. So a few choice annuals nurtured until the ground has warmed up sufficiently is what I'm limited to. Next year will see Cleome added to the list for the first time since 2008.

Meanie,

you certainly have plenty of good-looking plants!

Thanks Hoy. One "good-looking plant" that I somehow forgot yesterday is my Alstroemeria isabella "Fred Meyer". It continues to bloom quite well and it is one of my plants of the year.............

[Tim Ingram]

Must come back and watch this thread more often - some really striking pictures! This is a good large flowered form of Schizostylis coccinea growing in Sue Bedwell's garden just outside Oxford; seems very early. Not sure of the variety but Sue said it came from Ingwersen's Nursery so I must look in an old catalogue. The second plant is a Mexican abutilon Phymosia umbellata, new to me, which came from Nick Macer at Pan Global Plants. Wouldn't mind growing both of these , but our summer drought wouldn't suit the schizostylis. Sue's garden was a relevation (she was trained at Waterperry), so I've written a short description of it on my Kent Diary on the Alpine Garden Society website (a visit to the Oxford Group of the AGS).

[johnstephen29]

Lithrope muscadine in full bloom near a hydrangea, it does really well here.

[Maggi Young]

Lithrope muscadine in full bloom near a hydrangea, it does really well here.

Do you mean Liriope muscari, John?   It's one of the plants I bought, planted and never saw again!

[johnstephen29]

Hi Maggi yes it is, predictive text strikes again , you should try it again Maggi. I have it in a moist soil next to a hydrangea, so it gets shade as well, I have had it for a few years now, so I'm doing something right. Like Carole Klein said in her plant series on gardeners world, the right plant in the right place or something like that.

[brianw]

Do you mean Liriope muscari, John?   It's one of the plants I bought, planted and never saw again!

Another difference between N & S Maggie?
I lifted a large clump of this 3 or so years ago and threw it in a very large pot (18" diameter?); no additional soil rarely watered. Flowering now, poorly, but flowering. Tough as old boots here. Must pull it apart and find a home for it.