Meconopsis wilsonii

[Chris Parsons]

Hi all,

I'm interested to learn more about the experiences of people growing Meconopsis wilsonii, which is a species I'm very interested in as I saw subsp. wilsonii in the wild near Mianning in Sichuan, China.

According to the monograph by Chris Grey-Wilson (2014) on subsp. orientalis, seedlings overwintered under cover then planted out in the spring, thrive without any further protection. I am aware that these Mecs form evergreen overwintering rosettes of foliage and dislike winter wet, but im interested in just how much winter wet they will tolerate. Do they appreciate being covered with a cloche/ pane of glass or similar?

Has anyone grown subsp. australis from the seed that has become available through Chinese Alpines sourced from the Nujiang valley in Yunnan? Have people found the seed offered to be viable?

Any experience people can give will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[ArdfearnAli]

Hello Chris,
                I haven't grown Mec wilsonii but I have grown Meconopsis staintonii from seed. I have a few covered with glass frames in 8cm pots which are looking very good but I also forgot to cover a couple and they are not very happy at all. Most of the outer leaves have died back although the central rosettes seem ok. I have found in the past when growing similar monocarpic Meconopsis that they seem to tolerate some winter wet but if its prolonged they can rot off at the base. They don't seem to mind being covered in snow but if there is a wet autumn followed by a mild wet winter they can suffer. My frames are covered with glass over the winter but with plenty ventilation and air movement. In the garden I tend to put a sheet of glass raised up on some bricks etc so there is protection from above but again plenty air movement around and over the plants. Another point I have found is to get a large rosette/strong flowering stem they need to be kept well fed. If they become starved/too dry I find it triggers them into flowering. I usually dig in plenty of rotted compost and manure when planting them.
Hope you have success.

Alasdair

[Chris Parsons]

Hello Alasdair,

Thanks for your advice. I thought the answer to growing it well would be found in the experience of growing other similar species.

Chris.

[Maggi Young]

Apropos very little .....  we will soon be able to see more of Chris in Scotland, rather than his  quick visits - he's going to be working at Logan Botanic Garden!     Yay!!

[ptallbo]

I am growing very many different Meconopsis incl wilsonii. I got seeds from Chinesealpines and they germiante last season and have been covered by snow from early December. They germinate very well in the pots that I kept outside during last winter. Seeds arrives very late so they are sown and placed out into the sandplunge and then get the real winter treatment. Most of the other species are doing well most of the time if we have real cover of snow. I had the red staintonii in flower last summer and still some rosetted left that didnt flower so hopefully some more flowers this season. I also have several from last season and also the season before that..so this will be an intresting summer both about wilsonii and other specie.

[P. Kohn]

I grew and flowered M. wilsonii (unsure of which ssp) about three years ago here in Sheffield. My memory is that it went into the ground in the Autumn but it might have stayed in its pot until Spring, Either way, it was given no protection - but it would have been  a mild winter, unlike the last one.