September 2013 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Roma]

Most of my autumn gentians are in pots.  I was struggling to keep them watered this year.  They were repotted last year and did not flower well but I think that was due to the dull wet summer.  This year they got lots of sun and are covered in buds.  They do need sun to set buds this far north but it is usually temperature, not sun which opens the flowers.   They have been fed 2 or 3 times with an ericaceous liquid feed.
I had some planted out, an unnamed seedling which did well for a year or two then seemed to be losing roots in the Spring.  When I forked over the ground I found lots of leather-jackets.
I think they need a fairly rich soil and  need splitting up and replanting every few years.  Some can last longer than others without replanting.  I have a small patch of 'Strathmore' which has not been moved for maybe 10 years.  Must rescue it soon.  x 'Caroli' is one which needs frequent splitting and moving.  It is a glorious colour but I left it too long and no longer have it.  I think those derived from Gentiana farreri are less tolerant of less than ideal conditions.
They should have done well in your peaty bed, David.  You get plenty water.
I have seen pictures of Gentiana sino-ornata in the wild and it is usually growing in boggy conditions though I do not think it likes to be that wet in cultivation.     

 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Thanks Roma ! Very interesting .

[David Nicholson]

Many thanks Roma, I shall try them again next year.

[Tim Ingram]

Going back a few posts - Pete that plant of Colletia hystrix is exciting to see. Not an alpine (!) but the only place I have seen it before was outside the previous alpine house at Kew, and it made a superb free-flowering shrub. I shall look out for seed.

[astragalus]

I've shown this plant elsewhere on the Forum but it just keeps getting better and better and I can't stop photographing it!  Mea culpa.
Zauschneria californica 'etteri'

[Maggi Young]

Heck, Anne, if you've got it, flaunt it!     A  Super plant.

[astragalus]

Thanks, Maggi.  I think the zauschnerias are fabulous in the garden and they start blooming in August until heavy frost, what could be better?
Also blooming now is Chrysanthemum weyrichii, probably quite common but for me, there's nothing nicer than daisies underfoot.

Chrysanthemum weyrichii

[Maggi Young]

I'd be agreeing even more happily if the Zauschneria didn't last such a short time here, expiring without leaving seed......

[krisderaeymaeker]

I've shown this plant elsewhere on the Forum but it just keeps getting better and better and I can't stop photographing it!  Mea culpa.
Zauschneria californica 'etteri'

Great colour Anne , and it's an ideal combination with "the Indian Summer" .....   

[astragalus]

Maggi, have you tried the dwarf zauschnerias?  They seem to be tougher for some reason.  They all want super drainage, some of them are semi-desert plants.

[Maggi Young]

It is only the dwarf

Maggi, have you tried the dwarf zauschnerias?  They seem to be tougher for some reason.  They all want super drainage, some of them are semi-desert plants.

I think our usual summer wet is what kills them here, Anne and of course our winters can be too wet as well....  I've tried your little red beauty several times and watched it fade away.

[johnralphcarpenter]

Dahlia merckii and Camellia sinensis in the garden today.

[meanie]

This is gracing our kitchen window sill at the moment.  Its a Crinodendrum Clerodendrum ugandense and a pretty little thing it is too.  Given to us by a generous forum member.

Glad that it bloomed for you! Trust me, in three or four years it'll not be a little thing any more! Good news is that cuttings strike very easily. Mine goes in the ground next year as I now have good sized back up plants (which there is a 99% chance that they will be needed).
I actually got three seeds from mine this year which is a first in all the years that I've had mine.

[Brian Ellis]

Glad that it bloomed for you! Trust me, in three or four years it'll not be a little thing any more! Good news is that cuttings strike very easily. Mine goes in the ground next year as I now have good sized back up plants (which there is a 99% chance that they will be needed).
I actually got three seeds from mine this year which is a first in all the years that I've had mine.

Thanks again, I think it would have flowered again if the weather had not turned colder!  Will take cuttings in the spring.

[Maggi Young]

..... I think it would have flowered again if the weather had not turned colder! 

I like  it when plants show an inclination to repeat flower - even if the weather conspires against them doing so  , that "showing willing" is a good sign to me