Saxifraga 2014

[ruweiss]

Saxifraga Cassini (aretioides x dinnikii)
a new cross from Karel Lang. G. Stopp offers 108 (!) different crosses
in his new list.

[Tim Ingram]

What an amazing colour! Karel Lang was selling plants at Jiri's garden last May but at the time I was more fascinated by the dwarf conifers being grown in so many Czech gardens. I now know that we should start growing a lot more saxifrages! (which I should have known anyway since David Hoare is a member of the Kent Groups). Where does that colour come from when aretioides is yellow and dinnikii purple-pink? The wonders of genetics!

[ChrisB]

It was easy to be distracted in Jiris garden Tim.    I really didn't want to leave....
But I had preordered from Karels list sent out earlier so just had to collect...

But I know I cannot obtain the tufa one needs to create sax troughs so I am going to have to use something else.  Does anyone know what I should look for?  When I go to the garden centre and see bins of rocks I really don't know which ones are limestone.  Is there a clue?  I know if I ask staff they are not going to understand what I'm looking for or else don't care...  And does anyone know whether slate is acidic or alkaline?  I got some quite nice slate chunks at the garden centre the other day was supposed to be for fish tank so I assumed it is probably neutral but not sure now...
If I buy one big rock I thought we might be able to smash it with our sledgehammer to make the chunk sizes I want and that wouldn't be too expensive.

[David Nicholson]

...................If I buy one big rock I thought we might be able to smash it with our sledgehammer to make the chunk sizes I want.....

They are good at that in Dartmoor Prison, so I'm told. I have no direct experience of course

[ranunculus]

Hi Chris,
Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about the composition of the 'rock' structure for your sax' collection.  The compost (growing medium) is of greater importance.  I have been growing cushion sax's very successfully between small flint 'boulders'; in a 'scree' of (washed) weathered beach pebbles; in small slate chippings - and in the more traditional limestone and tufa settings.  Unless you have a desire to actually grow the plants within holes drilled in the lumps of chosen rock, then a good open compost with limestone grit and chippings will be totally adequate. These alternatives may not be as aesthetically pleasing perhaps, but tufa is so hard to find these days.

[ranunculus]

They are good at that in Dartmoor Prison, so I'm told. I have no direct experience of course

Was it Wakefield you 'attended'?   

[Maggi Young]

Limestone  rocks are not thick on the ground here and, as can be seen from pictures in Ian's Bulb Logs - e.g. Bulb Log 13 of this year - we are having great success growing saxes in troughs built up with broken building  blocks ( breeze blocks- lower density ones for preference).

[David Nicholson]

Was it Wakefield you 'attended'?   

Strutted my stuff at Wakefield Mecca in my younger days. Only visited the other place when I worked at Wakefield Technical College and was served tea by a "Lifer" in for two counts of murder. I drank-up pretty quickly.

[ChrisB]

 I remember a visit to Hull many moons ago.  We had a Jobclub in there and were doing a press call.  It was some sort of 'milestone' event and we had a celebratory cake.  I got quite worried when a sharp ended knife was produced to cut it ...
Thanks for the tips folks.  I remember Ian donating a sink he'd created out of concrete chunks at the DW last year which was impressive.   We've got a few of those in the garden maybe I'll use those.  I notice any time I grow saxes near them they do quite well....

[Tim Ingram]

Chris - this is a simple hypertufa-covered Butler sink my wife has planted up and we used some 'rocks' made up from left over hypertufa mix. I quite like the idea of doing this on a larger scale because it's easily drilled into and just as effective for growing plants as tufa itself. Some experimentation needed. Low density breezeblocks sound equally effective - will look up Ian's Bulb log - and it would be great to grow a lot more saxes. We have refrained so far from visiting Waterperry on the proviso that it might make us run before we can walk!

[Ian Y]

Broken up breeze block has become my first choice rock for landscaping troughs etc.
It is environmentally sound as I am recycling old material that would go to landfill.
I am not depleting fragile natural areas of water worn limestone etc.
It is free from any building site - or very cheap if you do need to buy a few blocks.
The plants love it and will seed and grow into the porous surface - I have been using it for at least five years now.
Visitors have been unable to tell the difference between by side troughs with limestone and breeze blocks.

Pictures below first of a cement covered fish box trough landscaped with breeze block followed by a group of detailed pictures of the same or similar plantings.

[ChrisB]

They look lovely Ian.  I'm convinced.  Must start looking for skips at building sites I think...

[Tim Ingram]

They do don't they - amazingly effective! Must have a go at this - lateral thinking at its very best!

[Matt T]

Saxifraga 'Your Song' seems to flower over a prolonged period with me, no big flush of flowers all at the same time. It grows exposed to all the element can throw at it here but doesn't look too bad for all that.

[David Nicholson]

A few Saxes from the garden today:-

Saxifraga 'Winifred Bevington' a fairly common S. paniculata cross with S. umbrosa
Saxifraga cotyledon 'Pink Form'  at least that's what my label says but it doesn't look very pink to me? Sorry about the fuzzy close up.
From seed (AGS 08/9 4776) labeled as Saxifraga paniculata 'Archdale'. Originally sown February 2009 and second year of flowering. Chris Boulby I hope you see this as I think you posted a similar plant, maybe last year or year before, asking for an ID.