March 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere

[David Nicholson]

................. 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.

So is mine really Luit- not quite as small as she was, but are any of us

[Lesley Cox]

Hello again Otto, nice to see something of your garden at this time of year. It's almost a full year since I visited you. Doesn't seem like that. I'll be posting a little seed today, to you and others. I'm on 2 weeks of holiday from my job so catching up on lots of small things I've neglected. Keep well.

[fermi de Sousa]

Paul, remember that in Australia "jonquils" refer to Narcissus tazetta varieties(e.g. "Soliel D'or"), not just the "true" jonquils.
cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Hmmm.... by inference that is not the case elsewhere?  What should I be calling them then Fermi?

[Lvandelft]

Paul, remember that in Australia "jonquils" refer to Narcissus tazetta varieties(e.g. "Soliel D'or"), not just the "true" jonquils.
cheers
fermi

Well Paul, we were talking different plants.
Your jonquills belong to Div. 7 (in Daff Seek) and mine is Narc. jonquilla L.
That's why I wondered about your early flowering time.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Paul,
the nurseries try to get around it by referring to what most Aussies call "jonquils" as "multi-headed" Narcissus, but basically they are tazetta varieties or hybrids, like the Paperwhites and "Soleil D'or", but also "Grand Monarque" and "Straws". i think in Australia, especially in NSW, true jonquils are rarer to find as they seem to prefer to cooler climates whereas the tazettas love the warmer weather and proliferate quite well!
Last week I noticed a bit of colour at the base of a rock plant:


On closer inspection and the removal of some dead flower stems I was able to reveal


Colchicum montanum (syn. Merendera montana) which came via a friend who moved to Queensland but had got them from another Forumist, Lesley in Tasmania!

Hard to see against the white gravel in another rock garden bed, is the white form of Cyclamen graecum,


just the one plant but kind Paul has sent me seed of his so I hope to increase the population someday!

Finally a pale yellow Zephyranthes hybrid, "Ajax" with its reddish stained exterior,


cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

After a bit of rain last week (after a month of nothing at all) we have had some rainlilies flowering here.  I've attached two different coloru forms of Habranthus estensis which is one of (if not my very) favourite rainlily.  It has nicely shaped flowers that look so very much like a miniature hippeastrum.  Usually between 2 and 4 flowers per stem, unlike so many of the Zephyranthes and Habranthus.

After that we go to the other extreme.... Zephyranthes minima which is a tiny little thing that last for a few hours instead of a few days like the Hab. above.  The flower is maybe a cm wide, and is usually gone by early afternoon.  I grew this for a number of years before I ever managed to catch an actual flower open, but I still rather like it.  once well established it produces lots of flowers, dramatically increasing your chances of seeing one open. 

And lastly a couple of Nerine species that are open right now.  The good old faithful N. rosea which is planted out in the garden and flowering every year beautifully, and the N. humilis which I showed a closeup of a flower of last week.  This is just a clump in a pot which has a number of scapes on it at the moment and I thought you all might enjoy seeing.

Enjoy.

[Lvandelft]

Beautiful, these Rainlilies Paul.
A pity that all Habranthus and Zephyranthus are flowering so short.
Might be the reason you almost never see them in collections.
They seem to grow fairly easy from seed, don't they?
Just read a chapter about Thad Howard in "The Plant Hunter's Garden" (B. Ward)

[Paul T]

Luit,

Yep, they grow easily from seed.  A lot of them easily set seed, and some of them need a separate clone to do it apparently (or at least mine do).  I've tried crossing the two estensis again this year despite no luck last year.  The Z. minima I think self pollinates as every flower sets seed (sort of like Habranthus tubispathus, which I have seeds of for someone when we were discussing it a while back.  Must work out who they're for) unless you dead head.  Some of them can flower quite regularly through summer, after each decent downpour, and there are ways to get them to flower periodically by drying the pots then flooding them every 6 weeks, which will then stimulate a flush of flowers.  They do very well here, although would probably do even better if they were in the ground or repotted more often than they are.

[John Forrest]

Paul & Fermi, Lovely pictures and lovely plants thanks for sharingthem with us.

[David Nicholson]

Luit,

Yep, they grow easily from seed.  A lot of them easily set seed, and some of them need a separate clone to do it apparently (or at least mine do).  I've tried crossing the two estensis again this year despite no luck last year.  The Z. minima I think self pollinates as every flower sets seed (sort of like Habranthus tubispathus, which I have seeds of for someone when we were discussing it a while back.  Must work out who they're for) unless you dead head.  Some of them can flower quite regularly through summer, after each decent downpour, and there are ways to get them to flower periodically by drying the pots then flooding them every 6 weeks, which will then stimulate a flush of flowers.  They do very well here, although would probably do even better if they were in the ground or repotted more often than they are.

May have been for me Paul?

[Paul T]

David,

I don't think so, but if you're wanting some I can add that to the package when I send it?  I'll PM you about it.

[Paul T]

Here's something a little unusual (well I think so anyway).....

I've been awaiting this for a couple of weeks now, since the scape first appeared.  Sown in 2001 this is the first flowering of Cyrtanthus sanguineus x [ C. sanguineus x C. loddigesianus].  Only the one with a scape, but what a flower!!  The flower is a couple of inches across (I can measure it if anyone is actually interested), but rather than being a trumpet shape like elatus it has more of a bowl in the centre (seen in the side shot as well).  The colour is a lovely warm creamy base, with pink flushing on some of the petals.  I think you can see it clearly enough in the photo to know what I am talking about. 

I am VERY pleased with the flower as I had no idea at all what to expect.  I'm looking forward to other seedlings flowering now to see if there is much variation.

[fermi de Sousa]

Very Nice!
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

To finish off the month, here are a few more bulbs, including a few re-visited.
Acis autumnalis (syn. Leucojum autumnale) this is the one that I posted on Feb 15; it then died down due to the heat and has come up to flower again!


With a few more blooms,



the pink and white Cyclamen graecum.
And have I already mentioned that Sternbergia sicula is one of my favourites? I probably have, so here's just one more pic of it in the rock garden!


And one of its "big sister" Sternbergia lutea at the base of a rock wall.

cheers
fermi