September 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[meanie]

Continuing the Fabaceae theme here is Sesbania punicea..................


It has been very slow growing this year and it is very late blooming. Strangely this is one of this years seedlings and not last years plant.

A couple of Salvia now. The first is a real favourite from last year – Salvia urica..................


The performance of this plant this year is a measure of the summer that we've had. Last year they  grew to almost two metres from seed but this year they have struggled to 80cm in the same positions.
I suspect that the next one is also suffering from the lack of daylight warmth and the cool nights that we've had this season. It has the gorgeous name of Salvia SL411 and was grown from seed from Robin Middleton.................


Sadly the buds are struggling to open properly now and I'm going to put it in the greenhouse at the weekend to see if it cheers up. As you can see from the photo below it has grown well and has all the makings of a nice annual or tender Salvia in a half decent summer.............

[johnw]

Always nice to have a few things of note in flower, leaf or fruit at this time of year.

Hedychium densiflorum 'Assam Orange'
Eucomis hybrid
Dianella tasmanica
Aralia elata
Sambucus canadensis

john

[johnw]

And a few succulents including Aeonium 'Zwartkop' in alternating fog & sun yesterday, quite extraordinary how it changes colour with the light.

john

[Maggi Young]

Returning to the subject of the small species of lupins ( as we call them in the UK) or lupines as others refer to tem - there is a very tiny species shown, without ID, here in the NARGS forum -
https://www.nargs.org/forum/smallest-lupine     - sweet little thing - any ideas as to what it might be? It's found  in " the Owyhee uplands in Idaho"

[hadacekf]

Gentiana scabra 'Royal-Stripe' - A nice autumn flowering species.

[Roma]

Lovely, Franz.  Most unusual colour.

[Jupiter]

John I have Aeonium schwarzkopf in my front garden. I don't usually go for succulents but that one caught my eye. I like your Eucomis.

[Roma]

Attractive succulent bedding scheme, John.  Do they all have to be lifted for winter?  The pansy in the last picture looks a bit worried to be so close to the Opuntia

[johnw]

Yes Roma many of them must come out before a frost.  The Opuntia, Semps, Jovis and some Sedums stay. I started this planting about 3 years ago and am slowly getting the hang of it; every year the growth rate and offsetting is different so the best of schemes don't always pan out. I got tired of lugging water so resorted to succulents.  The Rudbeckias that someone planted are driving  me mad, they seed everywhere by the thousands and I plan to yank all the flowering ones & the remainder of this year's seedlings out shortly.  The pansies are still sprouting from a planting someone did 5 years ago - that particular one I won't go near without a good long pair of tweezers - those glochids on O. humifusa are downright nasty.

john

[johnw]

John I have Aeonium schwarzkopf in my front garden. I don't usually go for succulents but that one caught my eye. I like your Eucomis.

Jamus

There are splendid new Aeoniums, one is called 'Velour' and it is much like 'Zwartkop' but it branches like mad. Granted none of them are as dark as 'Zwartkop' but 'Voodoo', Elektra' and 'Pomegranate' are pretty special in their own right.

john

[Robert]

Returning to the subject of the small species of lupins ( as we call them in the UK) or lupines as others refer to tem - there is a very tiny species shown, without ID, here in the NARGS forum -
https://www.nargs.org/forum/smallest-lupine     - sweet little thing - any ideas as to what it might be? It's found  in " the Owyhee uplands in Idaho"

Under satisfactory growing conditions it is possible to casually identify many Lupinus species. Unfortunately growing conditions can vary considerably even at the same site season to season. I have been fooled too many times making a casual identification, so now I always always check completely. To make a positive identification it is necessary to check all parts of the flower and flower bracts or lack of, as well as features of the leaves and the presence or lack of stipules.

I have been in the Owyhee uplands in the past so I will take a wild guess based on the few feature I see in the photographs that it is something like Lupinus lepidus var. aridus. There are other possibilities but this might be a good place to start. Being able to examine a blooming plant will make certain identification possible. If possible I would return when they are blooming. To the NARGS member - may it be possible for you to return to the site when they are blooming. I would like to know how I did on a long shot guess.

[Anthony Darby]

Did you mean to post in the Southern Hemisphere thread John?

[ian mcdonald]

These are autumn crocus and cyclamen hederifolium in the garden today img 4619.

[Maggi Young]

Did you mean to post in the Southern Hemisphere thread John?

 I'm guessing he didn't!  All moved here now.

[Maggi Young]

These are autumn crocus and cyclamen hederifolium in the garden today img 4619.

  I think those are  Colchicums, Ian, rather than "crocus".  Since real autumn crocus exist, it is one of my pet  projects to call these plants by a proper name.