Corydalis 2016

[Tristan_He]

I may be biased ( surely not, I've made a career of logically analysed comments!) but I do love 'Craigton Blue' - when it is happy it is a truly superb garden plant that gives interest over a very long period

It is Maggi - puts those Mecs to shame! Much nicer foliage too. It often gives a second display later in the year for me.

[David Nicholson]

I've just been doing a bit of research on blue Corydalis that others might find useful and/or interesting.

As a starting point I used The Plant Finder aiming to pick out as many blue Corydalis as I could. We all know that The Plant Finder isn't the useful tool it used to be and there may be many others out there, and I may well have missed some that were there, but here we go.

According to The Plant Finder there are the following flexuosa clones. This doesn't mean that all of these are 'pure' flexuosa' (just that I read them to be) or that they will be in cultivation.

Purple Leaf
Pere David
Nightshade
Norman's Seedling
Blue Skies
Hidden Purple
Blue Dragon
Hale Cat
Blue Panda

We know that 'Ian and Maggi's cross 'Craigton Blue' is a cross between C. omeiana and flexuosa, and there may well be other clones from this cross out there.

There is a flexuosa x cashmiriana cross named 'Sapphire', and one named 'Kingfisher',  and there may be others.

There is a C. curviflorum ssp rosthornii 'Blue Heron' , and again there may well be other clones.

There are a number of clones from a C. elata x flexuosa and I have found reference to the following.

'Spinners'
'Heavenly Blue'
'Tory MP'
Electric Blue'
Rainier Blue'
Edrom have an unnamed clone
and possibly 'Wildside Blue'. I shall be visiting Wildside at the end of the month and if Keith Wiley is available I shall ask him about the parentage

 

[Gabriela]

That's most useful David; I wish I'd have at least half of them available!

Meanwhile, the only blue I have is not mentioned :-) Corydalis 'Kingfisher' - cross of flexuosa x cashmeriana. It was gifted to me last fall and just starts flowering. Unless it goes around by other name in UK?
I will post a picture later in the week.

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Gariela, I've added 'Kingfisher'

[Lesley Cox]

and possibly 'Wildside Blue'. I shall be visiting Wildside at the end of the month and if Keith Wiley is available I shall ask him about the parentage

Well it's a wise (lucky) father knows his own child David.
Your research does you proud. I wonder if they were all planted together, would there be enough real differences to tell them apart. Or are we embarking on another snowdrop saga?

[Leena]

Thank you David from me, too.

I wonder if they were all planted together, would there be enough real differences to tell them apart. 

I have been thinking the same thing! I have C.flexuosa x elata 'Blue Dream' which I'm not sure I can tell apart from an unnamed flexuosa, and I have an unnamed C.elata and C.elata 'Blue Summit' which are similar, and I can tell them apart from flexuosa hybrids from their leaves and that they start to flower a bit later, but if I was to tell which is which from the flowers I'm not sure I could do it.

[David Nicholson]

.................I wonder if they were all planted together, would there be enough real differences to tell them apart.....................

You're probably right Leslie.

[Tristan_He]

Is 'China Blue' still going? One of the original three flexuosa clones along with Pere David and Purple Leaf, and my favourite of the three. I agree that there are probably too many clones although it's always hard to tell their habit on website photos (see also: blue poppies, autumn gentians). David, maybe it would be worth adding characteristics with them (height, flowering season, leaf colour etc?

In fact there seem to be a confusing number of Himalayan blue corydalis species which don't seem to be in cultivation (I would love to get my hands on C. panda for example).

[Gabriela]

I said I'll have an image with it, so yet another blue Corydalis, C. 'Kingfisher'.


And the NA, biennial Capnoides sempervirens (formerly Corydalis).

[David Nicholson]

Interesting article in the June edition of 'The Plantsman', "Developments in Hardy Corydalis" by Brian Whitton who holds a National Plant Collection of the genus.

[Yann]

Kingfisher has a wouahh deep blue

[Gabriela]

Kingfisher has a wouahh deep blue

The silvery-gray foliage of Athyrium 'Ghost' may have some involvement in this

[Roma]

I think this is Corydalis elata.  I had a pot labelled elata and one labelled 'Craigton Blue'.  When I planted them out two years ago one split easily into 5 or 6 pieces which I planted in different places.  The other was planted in one clump and is not flowering yet.   

[Leena]

Interesting article in the June edition of 'The Plantsman', "Developments in Hardy Corydalis" by Brian Whitton who holds a National Plant Collection of the genus.

I hope this article comes available online later, it sounds very interesting. David, what does it say about differences in named cultivars?

[David Nicholson]

Leena, I am away from home at the moment and will reply when I get back home.