Tropaeolum

[Susan]

Add to that one of the Erigerons (karvinskianus maybe?) which in the north forms a deep cushion and stops native bush from regenerating.  Gunnera tinctoria and Lonicera japonica, and you have a number of plants which grow rampantly once they hit our shores.  I suppose you can see why we have such stringent seed and plant import laws.  Although give me a chance to get snowdrops and trillium growing rampantly.......

Susan.

[David Lyttle]

While we are on the subject of environmental weeds there is also Calluna vulgaris, Erica lusitanica, Myrtus ugni, Rosa rubiginosa, Berberis darwinii, Hieracium lepidulum and Hieracium pilosella not to mention Ulex europaeus and Cytisus scoparium. The list could go on and on and on -----.

[Lesley Cox]

I didn't realize Myrtus ugni (the so-called NZ cranberry, though not a native and related to guava, not cranberries) was a weed here too David. I grow a few bushes of this but I never get to eat the fruit as our little flock of chooks gets the fruit before they are fully ripe. I suppose the seeds go through their systems but I've never seen a seedling anywhere about.

[David Lyttle]

Lesley,

It is a problem on the Chatham Islands and parts of Southland where it is spreading into the peatlands.
You can probably still grow it with clear conscience but I would put it on watch.

[Susan]

Myrtus ugni is quite delicious to eat raw  or put in tarts, sauces etc.  I have never seen it seeding here either, unlike some of the others. I understood that it was being trialled as a crop in Southland.   

Hieraciums find their way into the lawns and I seem to have a never ending task getting rid of them.  Broom and gorse make very good firewood when dry. Then there are always sycamores. At least none of them actually eat bulbs as mentioned in one of the other threads on this forum.

Susan.

[Maggi Young]

Hello, Friends!
 At the Glasgow Show on Saturday 3rd May, I was delighted to be shown, by Steve McFarlane, a selection of flowers of various Tropaeolum hybrids that he is growing. He received these hybrids, some as seed and some as tubers, from an English grower who is very keen on these plants. I believe that the hybrids include Trop. hookerianum in their parentage, but I am not sure. I am trying to persuade Steve to join us here to tell us more!
Steve showed me details of these interesting forms in a publication of the Geraniaceae Group.... though what that Group  has to do with Trops, I am at a loss to say!!
Here are a couple of pix of these very pretty hybrid flowers.... the largest of which is about 23 mm across.....

The colours are lovely, with delicate markings

Steve has a website, though he tells me these flowers are not yet featured there.
URL for the site is: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.mcfarlane/index.html

[Susan]

They look wonderful.  Please encourage Steve to join and keep us updayed. 

Susan

[Lesley Cox]

Absolutely! These look amazing, with subtle colourings and markings. Something to look forward to when some seed gets about.

[Michael]

Nice pictures! Have the blue ones T. azureum genes?

[Paul T]

Wow Maggi (and Steve),

Impressive!!    Love the shadings and markings.  I'm with Lesley. 

[Steven McFarlane]

OK I've been Maggied (Maggied - being given no real alternative to doing something that you know you should have done ages ago). The hybrid Tropaeolums shown by Maggi Young were grown by myself from seed and tubers supplied by Rosemary Wilson of Suffolk.  She has been producing many wonderful colour forms over the past few years as has Emiko Tsujii in Japan.  My own efforts have produced one washed out purple specimen which was not worth keeping.  Rosemary's hybrids are largely between T. beuthii and T. hookerianum ssp. austropurpureum but I am sure there are a number of other species in her greenhouse.  Since last week another attractive form has begun to flower but unfortunately I cannot work out how to get pictures onto the forum.  Perhaps someone could help.  For general information I am at present growing around ten species in my greenhouse, four outdoors as well as a few tender species and forms.

[Maggi Young]

Dear Steve, the warmest of welcomes to you!
Now, that was really easy, wasn't it? And there aren't even any bruises
What you need to do now is have a read of the Help pages, accessed from the Help button ( second left at the top of each page) and also read the threads here:  http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=41.0    which explain how to get going with posting photos
It's a doddle, honest... after all... I can do it!


Bt the way, I was impressed that the cut Trop. flowers you gave me to photgraph lasted six days in water in an egg cup on my kitchen window sill! Not bad , eh?

[David Nicholson]

Welcome Steve, keep trying you will soon get the hang of posting pictures, the first time is the worst.

[Michael]

Welcome Steve!!!

BTW, what time of the year does the tuberous tropaeolum start to to yellow the leaves and enter dormancy?

[Steven McFarlane]

Here is another of the hybrid tropaeolums.

Rather pretty!

The winter growing tropaeolums in my greenhouse in cool and damp west of Scotland tend to stay green until May but I think that dormancy is triggered by a combination of high temperatures and any dryness at the roots.  Some species - pentaphyllum, sessilifolium, incisum tend to flower rather late in the season but even these can go dormant if kept too warm or dry.

I thought members might be interested in two forms of T. azureum that have flowered for me this year.

very round flowers probably the form normally seen and probably more attractive

much narrower petals