October 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Sassafras is just SUCH a good name - make me smile every time - I know - I need to get out more!

Gabriela - thanks too  for your "seeds to scale" photos - adding to our resource. 

[johnw]

A rarity, Castanea dentata, in the Annapolis Valley 10 days ago.  The nuts were not quite ready. And another here in Halifax.

johnw - +16c & heavy rain.

[François Lambert]

These are flowering for some weeks already, and the more it rains, the heavier the flowers perfume the air   Hedychium Gardnerianum who grew twice as tall as last year, I assume because they remained in the green for the entire winter and had the opportunity to make use of the spring sunlight with last year's leaves.

[meanie]

It's a treat to see those hot-coloured flowers, meanie - it's flippin' perishin' here!

The same here too!

[meanie]

Another seedling of Calydorea amabilis has bloomed. This one has the distinct markings and the petals and standards which are absent on the other seedling that has bloomed. I'm really pleased as the seed was only sown in January.................


Here's a seedling grown from seed collected from Salvia "Black and Blue" last year..................


Distinctly different to the parent plant but that could be because it is still a young plant or it could be that it will remain different next year............

[Robert]

Meanie,

Calydorea amabilis looks great! 

Cypella coelestis in bloom again after having the tops eaten off them by the deer. 

They would have bloomed all summer if the deer had not come along (more like somehow got through the deer fencing).

There are plenty more buds coming on. The 94 F (34.5 C) weather certainly helps, but this is a bit too hot for this time of year. 94 F was a record high temperature for the date (13 October).

[johnw]

Well I certainly never expected Arundo donax 'Versicolor' to flower in this climate...to say nothing of the bananas  - Musa basjoo - which survived the winter virtually unscathed.

johnw - +20c & sunny

[Tristan_He]

Nice Hedychiums Francois! I got tired of watering, feeding and fighting off the red spider mite in the conservatory, so planted my H. gardnerianum out in the garden. It survived the winter but no flowers this year. Perhaps a warmer summer will entice it to flower...

[Tristan_He]

Some snaps from my garden. The beautiful autumn weather is great, quite a few years things just get battered by gales and we lose all the flowers.


Not-quite-flowering-yet Eryngium pandanifolium. Despite being from Brazil it's completely hardy for me. I grow it in a damp spot at the bottom of the garden and it gets a bit bigger every year. The 4m high (ish - I've never got on a ladder to measure them) flower spikes are very architectural and the red colour is unusual in an Eryngium.


Another Eryngium - paniculatum I think. I got it in one of Plant World Seeds's mixed Eryngium packets so it could be one of several species. Not in flower any more but the developing seedheads are nice and again quite architectural. If only I were a good enough garden designer to take advantage!


Kniphofia uvaria. Really vivid and always one of the last to flower. The flowering stems don't seem to be mollusc prone either, unlike many other Kniphofia in my garden.


Malus 'Dolgo'. A really good doer up here, some of the traditional varieties like 'Red Sentinel' and 'Golden Hornet' don't always fruit for me.


A nice little Aster - can anyone identify it? Bought as 'Winston S. Churchill' but that one is supposed to be magenta. Whatever it is I really like it, though it needs protection from slugs earlier in the year.

[Maggi Young]

Malus 'Dogo' is a super colour - I'm not familiar with such cultivars so it's a pleasant surprise to see them.
No idea about the Aster - but I  like the compact form and neat flowers. 

[YT]

A tiny spider has spun its web on a Narcissus mniatus flower.

[rgc]

Last year on 4th September 2014, I posted the first picture below to show 3 shades of blue. The plant at the bottom right is Gentian farreri Duguid's Form, the one at the top is multiheaded and is G. Balmoral while I think the one at the left I think is G. Lucerna (lost label).

Second picture was taken today (i.e. 6 weeks later than last year) of the same three plants. G. Balmoral is a lot further forward than in last year's picture (although it was still a month behind) while G. Lucerna is at much the same stage. Just shows how much later the season is here compared with last year.
Bob

[brianw]

*****
Malus 'Dolgo'. A really good doer up here, some of the traditional varieties like 'Red Sentinel' and 'Golden Hornet' don't always fruit for me.
*****
My original Red Sentinel, maybe 15 years old is so heavy with fruit now the branches are weighed down to the ground. It will have to be cut back yet again to prevent snapping the branches. A new one just 2 years in this garden is similarly having to be tied to a cane it is so heavy with fruit. Never had fruiting problems with it, other than too many. Odd branches have been cut for flower displays and fruiting branches with the holly at Christmas.  The old one kept a flock of "thrushes" happy for 3 days a few winters back. What a mess. I was recommended to plant one called "Gorgeous" as an improved Red Sentinel. After 2 years prefer RS. Many more brighter coloured fruit on RS, but not having the 2 together I would probably have been happy with G.

[Tristan_He]

Brian, I agree 'Red Sentinel' is usually excellent and I was hoping for something similar from mine. My mother grows one and looks very much like your description, even down to the winter visits of fieldfares and redwings! Mine grows and flowers reasonably well but does not set much fruit. I don't know why as there are plenty of pollinating trees. Possibly it does not like our exposed location and poor soil. Crab apples give so much - blossom, fruit and autumn colour in many cases, and they help pollinate the 'real' apples.

[meanie]

Meanie,

Calydorea amabilis looks great! 

Cypella coelestis in bloom again after having the tops eaten off them by the deer. 

They would have bloomed all summer if the deer had not come along (more like somehow got through the deer fencing).

There are plenty more buds coming on. The 94 F (34.5 C) weather certainly helps, but this is a bit too hot for this time of year. 94 F was a record high temperature for the date (13 October).

(Attachment Link)

How nice is that! 

Salvia "Royal Bumble" from the seed that Hans J sent me.................