May 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Cooler conditions are promoting flowering on the nerines, but we could do with some rain!
Took a few pics with the new Lumix this evening and had to use the flash - still learning how to use it!
The Ipheion (syn Nothoscordum, syn Tristagma) hirtellum had already closed up for the night, but that shows their exterior stripingmuch better.
The next 2 are nerine hybrids bred by Peter Genat and are from N. sarniensis and are fertile which is an advantage for those of us who love growing things from seed
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

OOooo fermi, Ipheion hirtellum is different isn't it? I like that.

Just one from me, Crocus caspius.

[Lesley Cox]

We've had good rain here - last week with snow and hail as well, in the south but still no frost to follow. It's inexplicable! Now we're having a few more beautiful late autumn days following gale force southerlies mid week and hardly an autumn leaf left on the deciduous trees. Crocuses, cyclamen, nerines, oxalis and others are making the cold bearable.

[fermi de Sousa]

Lesley,
we're still waiting for decent autumn rain
Jamus,
when that ipheion is dormant I'll send a couple of bulbs - not something I'd want to carry in a closed car as it really smells strongly of garlic! You don't notice the smell in the garden but in the confines of a car it's just a bit too strong.
Here's some pics of Oxalis palmifrons in flower:
1) The "trough" which Oxalis palmifrons has totally taken over and is now trying to escape from into the bed behind;
2) close of of flowers;
3) the escapee (now safely potted up)
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

I just put my Oxalis palmifrons into the rock garden last weekend after having it in a pot for a few years. It's in a small triangular nook formed by three rocks, so it shouldn't escape... 

[fermi de Sousa]

Jamus,
that's what I thought!

Here's a well behaved Oxalis lobata (syn O. perdicaria)

cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

That's very pretty fermi. You know I just did a count on my fingers and I have seven oxalis species here in the garden, but four of them I consider weeds! Oxalis pes-caprae is my arch enemy. I fought it in my last garden and I'm fighting it in this one. It's the curse of lazy gardeners. If you 'garden' you get on top of it and keep it out of your beds. If you leave it be it multiplies horrendously.

I came across some pictures of some gorgeous Oxalis on flickr. O.adenophylla is one I'd love to grow... don't suppose it's in the country though?

[Lesley Cox]

I just put my Oxalis palmifrons into the rock garden last weekend after having it in a pot for a few years. It's in a small triangular nook formed by three rocks, so it shouldn't escape... 

It will if the bulbs can burrow UNDER the rocks - as they can and will!

Fermi, O lobata was well behaved for me for many, many years, either in pot or trough or garden but about 4 years ago, it produced seed for the first time. I don't know why or what was different that it should do so, but by late winter there were thousands of tiny seedlings over an area of maybe thirty square metres. I took out as many as I could find and handle but there were still hundreds when we left Saddle Hill. Strictly one for a pot now.

[Jupiter]

I want it in the rock garden so I choose to ignore all your warnings! 

Let me find out the hard way then you can all say, "told you so".

[vivienne Condon]

Jamus, we would all love to be able to buy and grow Oxalis adenophylla and all its hybrids, but they are considered weeds in this country. It is one plant that we all hanker after but to no avail. It is not as easy as the other Oxalis and it needs more water it does not like a baking like a lot of the other Oxalis. When we were all over in the UK for the garden visits and conference Otto, Fermi, and I would just drool over the Oxalis adenophylla

[Jupiter]

Vivienne, that makes sense. Of course they would treat all the Oxalis equally and exclude them all from import. I guess I'll have to be satisfied with pictures... until I travel to Patagonia.

[Anthony Darby]

Here's a tantalising glimpse of what will be flowering tomorrow. 

[Lesley Cox]

I want it in the rock garden so I choose to ignore all your warnings! 

Let me find out the hard way then you can all say, "told you so".

which we'll no doubt do, with much pleasure.

[Lesley Cox]

Oxalis adenophylla is in New Zealand and has been for many years but it is very rarely seen, I suspect because, as you say Viv, it is more difficult to grow than other species, even including other South Americans such as enneaphylla and laciniata. I've had it at least three times and lost the lot. It always seemed to present a problem in the bulb itself, which appears to be made up of lots of little slivers and these seemed to rot or disintegrate or something and not grow on properly. I never could quite figure it out. I tried to keep it a little damper than the South African species as I do the other choice South Americans but that didn't work either and in fact the best plant I ever saw of it, in NZ was in a hot, sunny place where I'd never be able to establish laciniata or enneaphylla or its hybrids. Adenophylla may be one of those numerous plants which while we had it here some years ago or even until recently, has disappeared for whatever reason and of course we can't replace it from overseas unless we can find a seed source. It is on our Biosecurity Index as permitted, as seed but as with laciniata and enneaphylla forms, probably needs to be very fresh to get any germination.

[Lesley Cox]

What is that Anthony? A chlidanthus or something? (Not sure of my spelling ther.)