November 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

meanie,

Salvia splendens will grow 2 meters tall in one season around here too (from seed started in the late winter). It is very dramatic in the garden and I think that is why I like growing the tall, true, forms of the species. They set seed readily so it is easy to keep a seed line going.

My wife and I need to go down to Sacramento today. Maybe I will bring the camera and take so photographs of the Salvias in the garden. We will not have much time so this might not work out.

[meanie]

meanie,

Salvia splendens will grow 2 meters tall in one season around here too (from seed started in the late winter). It is very dramatic in the garden and I think that is why I like growing the tall, true, forms of the species. They set seed readily so it is easy to keep a seed line going.

There  was a seed line going around on one of the US forums that went under the name of Yvonnes Giant. It was talked highly of amongst the Salvia enthusiasts as being a particularly vigorous form of the true species.

[johnw]

Tis one very odd autumn, warm weather - close to 20c - for the next 2 days.  Found this on the weekend near Argyle  - Cornus canadensis.

Hamamelis virginiana is out already.

johnw

[ruweiss]

We also enjoy unusual warm and sunny days (17°C today) and the last flowering
plants of the season.

[Maggi Young]

    Gazania linearis,  Faucaria tigrina,   Faucaria tuberculosa  ..... for instant sunshine!
    Pinguicula laueana   - this Mexican pink is very pretty.

[Robert]

After a long and very hot September and October cooler and average temperatures have returned. The nights are frosty now and the garden is going into rest for the winter. Also good news, rainfall is average to-date and more is in the forecast. I must take a photograph of the Crystal Range white with snow. We have not seen that too often over the past 4 years.

Now a few beautiful sights before winter sets in.



Kiwi Fruit ready to pick and put into cold storage for later use this winter.



The pomegranates are very sweet now and do not store well when fully ripe. We will enjoy them now. 
The red ripe fruits are beautiful hanging on the trees / shrubs. I kinda' hate to pick them.



Not everything was burned up by the drought and heat. Now that it has turned cooler Diasanthus cercidifolius has some colorful autumn leaves.



Hesperantha is the only species in the garden now still putting on a good show of flowers.



This seedling of Chaenactis douglasii was forgotten in the shade. When I found it, it was moved to a sunny location and started to grow more true to form. Maybe it will recover.    I certainly enjoy the foliage of this species ....and the flowers too.

Now with cooler weather and the return of the rains our spring season has already begun with the germination of many of our native California annuals. Various species of Mimulus, Cirsium, Collinsia, Nemophila, Deinandra, Hemizonia, Layia, Madia, and Eschscholzia are all showing themselves and maybe the hope of a glorious spring show, California style where an insect could travel petal to petal in the spring across the whole Central Valley without ever touching the ground. 

The trip to Sacramento was too rushed for photographs... hopefully Sunday, library day for my wife and I.

[Maggi Young]

Robert - I confess I had not, until now, given much thought to the "keeping " qualities of Kiwi fruit.  Can you tell me how you store them and how long they tolerate storage?

[Robert]

Maggi,

What I do is extremely easy. I wait until November to pick the Kiwi fruit. At this time they are "ripe", still hard, but when they soften they will be sweet. If they are picked too early in the season they either will not soften or they will become partly soft and will not be sweet. In the U.S.A this is often the case with store bought Kiwi fruit.

After picking, the fruit goes into a covered storage bin and then into refrigeration, at about 37-38 F, 3 C. They store best if refrigerated by themselves but I store them where there are also other bins containing apples, pears, or sometimes other fruit. (All in separate bins - this is important). They store well this way for 3-4 months (for us until the end of February, if they are not eaten first). If there was not any other type of fruit in the cooler they would most likely store for 6 months.

When they come out of cold storage they can be placed with other fruit at room temperature for 1-3 days until they become soft. Fruit that is already soft will not store, except of a few days in the refrigerator until they are eaten.

I feel sure that a large plastic zip-lock bags and a home refrigerator would work - maybe for a month or two. Too much ethylene gas in a home refrigetor. But the fruit needs to be hard and "ripe".

[Maggi Young]

Thank you  Robert - a good lesson learned today for me!

[Leena]

November is mostly a cloudy month here, and even when the sun shines, it is very low in the sky. Last week we had couple of sunny days. Now it's raining, but I'm glad it is rain, not snow like in the north of Finland.
This is Colchicum 'Lilac Wonder'.

[K-D Keller]

From sunny and to warm South Germany. Not only the South African plants enjoy this weather.

Haemanthus albiflos, Nerine bowdenii, Petrocosmea flaccida, Petrocosmea forrestii and Biarum marmarisense

[johnralphcarpenter]

A few late roses in the garden today.

[johnralphcarpenter]

Well that's the polytunnel ready for winter, if/when it arrives. Still incredibly mild here with temperatures in the mid teens Celsius - and that's at night. No frost so far.

Have moved this Tibouchina inside just in case.

[johnralphcarpenter]

Camellia sasanqua 'Winter's Interlude' is reliable at this time of year.

[Maggi Young]

Nice single roses, Ralph.