March 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks, Lesley,
your Camanula looks very similar though more compact, but then I'm growing mine in a Shadehouse. Would you recommend dividing up the pot of seedlings now or just potting on into a bigger pot? I could try one in a crevice area when the weather's cooler to give it a head start on next summer's heat!
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

Fermi I'd divide up the pot when it's a little cooler and you've had a bit of rain. I would be too miserly either. Put a tuft of seedlings out rather than trying to separate each one. They never make a bog clump, just little tufts.

Luc, I'll send some seed later if I can capture some. It is a really nice species, said to be short-lived but my original in its trough is a least 10 years old now and still going strong. They love a really gritty or even gravelly place.

[Paul T]

Biarum davisii is flowering for me today!!  Yeah!!

Unfortunately it is due to the fact that a little parcel arrived in the mail for me this week from Otto, which contained a tuber of Biarum davisii in bud for me.  Nice to see it in person.

Having a look at this in person, plus seeing pics on the Net etc, I am thinking that this one of Otto's is somewhere between the straight davisii and the one of Rob's.  it isn't as elongated as Robs, but nowhere near as chunky as any of the pics I can find of davisii.  I've attached front and side view pics for people to view who may be able to help with identification for sure.  Whatever it is it is just divine, although not as "cute" as the pics of davisii I have seen prior to this thread.

Thanks Otto!!!!!!! 

[Paul T]

And a couple more flowerings for me at the moment...

Calydorea amabilis is a regular flowerer for me, and sets seed from anything that isn't dead-headed.  I have three nearly fully developed seedpods that I haven't the heart to remove after they've done to all that work.  It will minimise how many flower it produces this year though.

Another of the smaller species, this is Nerine humilis.  Quite distinctive from the others.  otto, this is one of the Nerines I sent you this week.

Thanks to IDs late last year I know that this splash of orange and yellow is Lobelia laxiflora.  So glad the open garden owners gave me a piece.  I just lvoe it, although still working out whether I am game to put it in the garden.  Maybe a nice big pot to keep it constrained. 

And lastly for now (I'll post some Cyclamen pics in the March Cyclamen thread as well) is Bessera elegans.  I VERY nearly lost it last season apparently, as there were only 2 bulbs left in the pot when I repotted.  Glad to have not lost it as I love the little red satellite-dish looking flowers.  Great colour combination, although you san't really see the deep blue in the stamens in this pic.

Enjoy.

[Paul T]

First jonquil of the season..... very, very early.  These are from a seed strain that were trying to get a range of colours as early as possible (he was calling them Autumn Colour Strain).  They normally start here by mid may, which is fantastic as it really is very early compared to most of the jonqs, but March is pushing it.  Not just a single scape either, but there are 5 of them coming up on this clump, plus another lot has some buds starting as well.  I'm very pleased with these as they extend the colour from the daffs and jonqs from mid May through until late spring.  Traditionally June is pretty quiet here in the way of colour, but these will help once I establish clumps of the different seedlings in different parts of the garden.  So far I have about 7 different combinations which range in start time from mid may to July.  This year has been such a strange summer that everyone is confused!! 

Anyway, here's the pic of the first flower, open today.

[Paul T]

And a couple more pics taken a few minutes ago.....

Can't recall the name of this little species Scabiosa.  Something like S. alpina var japonica or something like that, so if anyone can confirm that would be great.

The Hamemalis is just plain confused, as it shouldn't flower for months here.  last year it was orange, but it was lighter when it opened as far as I recall..... but not THIS golden yellow as far as I remember?  Only a small plant in a pot, but the whole thing is flowering and they are all pure yellow at the moment.  i'm assuming they'll age to orange like last year, or maybe they won't because it is flowering out of season and totally confused?

[Otto Fauser]

 After a long ,hot and very dry summer, the soil is still bonedry , the first autumn bulbs, no rarities, are very welcome.-all in yellow for today.

[Paul T]

Very nice Otto.  Great to see the serotinus and the assorted Sternbergia.  Great Stuff!! 

[Lvandelft]

Paul this Jonquilla is interesting, because it would mean flowering in October here??

And a couple more pics taken a few minutes ago.....

Can't recall the name of this little species Scabiosa.  Something like S. alpina var japonica or something like that, so if anyone can confirm that would be great.

S. japonica var. alpina.

[Paul T]

Luit,

Yeah, this is VERy early for this Jonquil, but it would still be flowering here in mid May.  When do the first of your jonquils start flowering?

Thanks for the Scabiosa name confirmation.  I almost had it right, just wrong order!!    I like it as it is small and well behaved.

[David Nicholson]

................. I like it as it is small and well behaved.

That's why I married my wife, but things change!

[Paul T]

   

David,

You're on dangerous ground there I think.  Obviously your wife doesn't read these forums then? 

I doubt the Scabiosa is going to change size much, but you never know re the well behaved.  I really like it as it is a little mound of leaves and then good sized flowers in proportion to the plant's height (more or less).  Seeds a little, but only a little.

[Lvandelft]

................. I like it as it is small and well behaved.

That's why I married my wife, but things change!

The same with me David, but mine is still small.

[Lvandelft]

Luit,

Yeah, this is VERy early for this Jonquil, but it would still be flowering here in mid May.  When do the first of your jonquils start flowering?

I only have some 'oldfashioned' Jonquilla in my garden and they start flowering the end of April or in May.
I presume all the others will be hybrids.

[Paul T]

Mine are obviously jonquilla type hybrids, but they were deliberately bred from all the earliest species and hybrids to extend the colour range in autumn.  They have definitely done that here.  In a normal year our normal jonquils (i.e named varieties such as Soliel D'Or etc) start in around July I suppose, some later.  In strange years we can get autumn flowering from them, but to use this year as an example there are no obvious signs of them up yet, although I haven't checked at ground level.  Pretty much all of these "Autumn Colour" seedlings are above ground now, although some are a half an inch up while others have flowers opening.  While it is 6 weeks ahead of normal it is still kind of cool to have them flowering already!!