Corydalis 2014

[Mavers]

Craigton Blue is superb, I grow it in my own garden.  It seems to be seeding around.

To me it smells of coconut.

Diane's photograph really has captured the wonderful colour.

[Leena]

I have looked at my Corydalis which I wrote about in the previous page. All of them flowered only once and the foliage of C.elata and C.elata 'Blue Summit' (no 1 and 4 in the picture) grew right on after flowering, but the foliage of other two (possible 'Tory MP, no 2, and C.flexuosa x C.elata 'Blue Dream', no 3) disappeared after flowering and only now some new shoots are showing. Is this typical of also other C.flexuosa-hybrids and 'Craigton Blue'

[Ian Y]

Leena

Yes most of these corydalis, including Craigton Blue lcan oose their foliage after flowering especially in warm dry weather of summer and new growth starts as the weather cools and moistens in autumn.
This growth pattern will vary according to the weather and the growing conditions - for instance some of our long established plants of Craigton Blue in the back garden lost their leaves some time ago and are now re growing while recently divided and replanted specimens in the front garden still have green flowers stems and the old foliage.

[Leena]

Thank you Ian. July was very hot here, August cooler and more rain and September has been very dry. I think the two which lost their foliage did it somewhere around end of July. Perhaps I should have watered them in July. Now it is too late here for new growth, there has been frosty nights but not yet winter at least for a month, hopefully longer.
My C.elata (or a plant I have gotten with that name) doesn't loose it's foliage at all, I was wondering as there is some confusion over C.elata and C.omeiensis if there is difference in this regard in those species? I grow this plant in two different places in the garden and it behaves the same way in both places.

[gote]

Dear friends, what do you do, that your flexuosas stand upright so nicely?? My ones stand upright as long as there are no flowers. As soon as the first flowers open they start to bend and soon lie completely on the soil when not supported.

I had some very close to a net (on the side with less light) intended to keep various animals out. They climbed the net quite well. The only upright ones i have ever had

Happy new year
Göte