Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Lesley Cox on December 02, 2012, 08:22:37 PM
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Here we are on day 3 and no-one has started this thread yet?
On Saturday at the market I bought Olearia angustifolia from a plant stall which only does natives. It is a smallish shrub at present and I thought it might grow to perhaps a metre or 1.5m. I checked with the Flora this morning and find it will grow to 6m!!! It loves wind and though it grows around all our coastline, this form with lavender flowers was collected originally at the Wellington Heads, surely one of the windiest places on earth - and I am moving to a very sheltered garden. ::) Already there are cuttings crying to be taken and I'll do a few today. The first pic shows a foreshortened plant. It is about 60cms high at present. The lavender rays and dark discs are very beautiful especially when sprinkled with golden pollen specks.
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Not exactly flowering now as I missed it, but then I wasn't really expecting a flower of this Acis nicaeensis, seeing as the seeds were sown in August 2011! :o
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Hmmm, I thought Paul or Lesley would've started off this topic already! 4 days in and no SH tread?!
cheers
fermi
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But I DID Fermi. I'm sure I did, on the 3rd, or is my mind going completely? I don't see it in the Index so maybe it is. I've had some issues with things not uploading properly and maybe it's slipped through the cracks. I thinks there were pics but I can't remember what they were.
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I've found it now. I accidentally started it in the General Forum instead of Flowers and Foliage now. It was on the 3rd and there are some pics of Olearia angustifolia. Maybe Maggi could move mine to the right place please? So much on my mind lately.
In the meantime Fermi, have a look at Blog 661. :)
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Well here are a few photos from a very flowerless garden at present.
Lilium columbianum grown from seed and it flowered last year as well. I have fun trying to keep Liliums going.
Iris fulva hybrid taken late November. Anyone know how to join lead statue pieces back together? This statue was originally in the Adelaide Botanic Garden with Venus rising above the two cherubs on the dolphin. Harry found the base of cherubs and dolphin in pieces in a recycle shop years ago and it was put in the courtyard before the house. One poor cherub has lost its head and there is an arm there somewhere too.
'La Mortola' - not for the rock garden! but great to cover a shed. Stays green and has lots of small red hips later on. A Rosa brunonii hybrid. Beautiful grey green leaves.
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Pat is that a red telephone box in the bacckground?
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The roof is wrong. :o
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Hmmm, I thought Paul or Lesley would've started off this topic already! 4 days in and no SH tread?!
cheers
fermi
But I DID Fermi. I'm sure I did, on the 3rd, or is my mind going completely? I don't see it in the Index so maybe it is. I've had some issues with things not uploading properly and maybe it's slipped through the cracks. I thinks there were pics but I can't remember what they were.
It was in the General Section, Lesley, rather than "Flowers and Foliage Now" - I hadn't spotted that, but I've merged the two here now.
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Thank you Maggi. One day I'll hear you quote my mother. "I'm tired of always having to clear up after you." ???
Gorgeous rose Pat and I must try Iris fulva again though Louisianas don't do well here. They grow fine but don't have many flowers. Not warm and humid enough in the summer I think.
We had a great Iris show at this last weekend but I didn't have my camera. It was on Saturday and I could only go in for an hour or so after work though I'd helped with the set-up on Friday night. Brian Harris whom I'm sure you'll know, was there with stems for ordering and I was allowed to bring 5 home with me, really sumptuous things, mostly blues and of course I ordered some. Don't know where tall beardeds will go yet, but I'll have a little hot, dry border by the house where oncos may do.
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Yes I have met Brian Harris and his sisters Lesley. Yes it is an old telephone box! ::)
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These two gems are in flower now. The primula is one of two plants from Hokonui (I lost my previous ones) and the second is going to flower but a little later. I hope a few flowers will be out before all of these ones go over, so I can cross pollinate. 3 pics showing the whole plant, from the top and the floury insides and stem. This is a choice species we are lucky to have. My original import was in 1981 and I found it could be propagated from little cuttings which sprouted from the roots as it was damaged slightly during weeding around it.
Then the dramatic - Roger says sinister - Iris chrysographes a wonderful black seedling. It varies though dark purples, bluish or reddish and this wonderful black, often marked with fine gold veining or dotting. All are beautiful I think and it makes lovely hybrids of purple and gold, variously marked, with Iris forrestii. A super thing all round.
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That looks a very nice form of Iris chrysographes Lesley. Some of the ones I've seen around are a bit wishy-washy, maybe they are hybrids.
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And the Primula is just beautiful! Does it have a scent? Many, many years ago I grew P. reidii (seed from Jack Drake's nursery) before I knew this was impossible in the south of Britain, and its fragrance is unforgettable.
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And the Primula is just beautiful! Many, many years ago I grew P. reidii (seed from Jack Drake's nursery) before I knew this was impossible in the south of Britain, and its fragrance is unforgettable.
;D ;D ;D
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Yes Tim, it is scented but to mind not a particularly pleasant one, nothing like P. reidii which I agree, is deliciously perfumed. Years ago when I had a hundred or more in my (previous) shade house, they scented the whole garden for a couple of weeks each early summer. I struggle with it now. My originals were also from Jack Drake seed. I daily thank heaven that Hokonui Alpines in the south of NZ are keeping these treasures going when so many other alpine nurseries have given up the ghost.
Mmmm... I don't think section Soldanelloidae would flourish in Ak Anthony. ::)
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I'm hoping Marcus or another Aussie in the know might be able to confirm that the seedling in the picture below IS Trochocarpa thymifolia. It was Marcus' seed, sown in June 2009 and had it not been that I noticed two seedlings yesterday which I hope are the real thing and not some previously unknown weed, it would have been one of many for the throw as I clean up various parts of the place. If it is, then I'll have to keep a number of others which would otherwise suffer a similar fate. Seems 3 and a half years is not too long to wait for such things.
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Trochocarpa thymifolia
A tad small for a good ID.
thymifolia has leaves with stalks 1-2 mm long, blades 2-4 mm long, almost circular, slightly convex, with a blunt point.
Might be T. cunninghamii, the leaves here are held in two alternate rows, arranged horizontally; narrow and oval-shaped but coming to a point and about 7-10 mm long.
Key for Trochocarpa: http://www.utas.edu.au/dicotkey/dicotkey/EPACRIDS/gTrochocarpa_1.htm (http://www.utas.edu.au/dicotkey/dicotkey/EPACRIDS/gTrochocarpa_1.htm)
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Thanks Rob. I'm not good with keys so will probably go with thymifolia for now but always open to suggestion. ;D
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Mmmm... I don't think section Soldanelloidae would flourish in Ak Anthony. ::)
I found some of them difficult in Dunblane. :-\
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Some nice things flowering here, despite the heat.
Lewisia cotyledon seedling growing happily in my east facing rock wall, taken on a 35 degree (95 F) day (while some of my other plants were wilting).
Allium caeruleum.
Triteleia laxa "Rudy Kleiner", "Allure" and "For You".
Laurentia axillaris hybrid "Blue Star".
Laurentia axillaris (aka Isotoma) is native to eastern Australia, often found in damp crevices or in the shallow soils of rocky areas. They flower from spring up to the start of winter. Though perennial they're generally grown as annuals. They produce a mass of flowers over mounded foliage. Mine is just starting to flower now. It grows to 30cm. I took the photo on one of the rare rainy days here so far this summer (I hope there will be many more).
Searching on the internet it looks like Laurentia axillaris will be in the Trailfinders Australian Garden by Flemings at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013, so anyone planning to attend should look out for it. It also comes in shades of pink, mauve and white. Other species in the genus (Isotoma) are native to NZ, the West Indies and the Society Islands (according to Wikipedia!).
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Couple of Campanula flowering for the first time for me. From the 10/11 Seedx. I know they are probably fairly mundane but I do get a buzz in success from seed.
It would be nice for me too if some forumist saw these pics and recognised their "babies" growing well half a world away. Don't everybody rush to claim parentage!!
John
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Jon, some nice trites there!
John - that Camp. argyrotricha - looks nice - what I got under that name was tiny and weedy! But it was a few years ago, so perhaps they now have the correct plant - or at least one worth growing ;D
In the garden the liliums are making a bit of a show, here's Lilium 'Triumphator';
In case any hummingbirds venture into the garden (blown off course from South America?) Ipomopsis rubra will provide them with some sustenance! ;D
cheers
fermi
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Fermi, I assume that Lilium Triumphator has a nice fragrance? I have an oriental lilium cross flowering at the moment that has a fragrance very similar to murraya paniculata (and I really don't like the murraya paniculata frangrance!).
Below is another picture of Allium caeruleum but this flower head was more of a tight ball than the one I posted earlier. And after reviewing this photo I realised I captured an ant on it in the top left corner! I find it can be hard to capture the true blue colouring of this flower.
I meant to post the second picture earlier this month (it was taken on 6 Dec). Not the best photo or flower but peculiar because it's a scilla siberica flowering in summer! The strong sun has bleached the blue flowers. This was one I bought last year in flower. It didn't look like it was going to flower for me this year. The leaves appeared on time but no flowers until December. Other bulbs of scilla siberica that I purchased only this year have already flowered and died back. Very strange.
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Both my Prim wollastonii are in full bloom now and though both thrum-eyed, I've tried pollinating each with the other, using a fine artist's paintbrush, trimmed down to just a couple of hairs. I think there's pollen moving about but then think it's just the farina. Time will tell. They are just gorgeous, whether they seed or not.
Two in flower now are the lovely but plaguey Tropaeolum ciliatum, and Rigidella orthantha. I know a couple of Forumists want seed of the Tropaeolum so if it is ready before we move (less than 8 weeks) I'll collect and send. The Rigidella is grown from seed donated to Otago AGG by the expert plantsman Stewart Preseton who lives just down the road. This is the first flower I've seen on it but there must have been another because already there is a little seed pod forming. I just noticed this one yesterday hiding in a tray which was overshadowed by a young Malus, also a seedling which I hope to move if possible because it is very beautiful in flower.
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Rigidella orthantha ... never seen such a beautiful red tigridia before, Lesley! Thanks for showing :D
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Like Tigridia, the flowers only last a day but what a day! There seem now to be two pods forming so if they mature Luit, you may like a little :) seed? Too early to tell yet but I'll keep in touch. In spite of a filthy, cold, wet spring and an almost as bad early summer, I've better seed on bulbs this year than for many years past.
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Lesley your Rigedella orthantha is really lovely 8)
Angie :)
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My R. Orthantha has flowered for the first time also. I just love the intensity of the colour.
John
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Can you imagine how exciting and cheering that red of Rigidella orthantha is here to us in the soggy UK at this time of year?
A real treat. How tall is the flowering stem and what size is the flower?
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Like Tigridia, the flowers only last a day but what a day! There seem now to be two pods forming so if they mature Luit, you may like a little :) seed? Too early to tell yet but I'll keep in touch. In spite of a filthy, cold, wet spring and an almost as bad early summer, I've better seed on bulbs this year than for many years past.
YES Lesley, that would be great :D Hopefully, by the time needed I'll have a small sort of glasshouse then to grow-up plants like this ...
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How tall is the flowering stem and what size is the flower?
For me they're about 40 cms high, with less of a tendency to sprawl if grown in too rich a medium than vanhouttei or pavonia. The flowers are about 7-10 cms across. Mine do best in full sun, with a well-drained but moist soil. Self-fertile too.
John, did yours come from the Gillanders or another source? If they're definitely from a different introduction could I ask for a seed or two at some point?
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I think mine is a little shorter, say 35cms and the flower a little less wide, maybe 6cms across but these are its first after all and it has lived all its short life (3 years) in a pot. Yours is a better picture than mine John. I noticed this morning the remains of a third flower on the same stem. It must have been out yesterday because apart from it, there are the two previous remains (pods) so a good clump must be quite spectacular over a period. I have maybe 3 or 4 more plants in my pot, not yet flowered.
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Yes it is ex Ken Gillanders My stem is 60cms with the flower 7cms. I am growing it in a pot at present so it does get a little bit pampered.
Rob, I notice I have at least two seed pods forming on one stem so I will collect them for you
John
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Thanks for the offer John, but mine are from Ken as well. I was hoping for something with a different origin.
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Mine then Rob? if the seed develops. I can't imagine Stewart's came from Ken.
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That would be very gracious - especially at a time when you're so busy.
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Well they'll be a good while yet I'd guess, assuming they develop properly anyway. I'll let you know later.