alpine and subalpine Plants from New Zealand

[Leucogenes]

Thomas,

Do you start your plants from seed? I have tried Celmisia from seed several times but find it difficult even to germinate them!

Hi Trond

Please excuse the late answer...there is a lot to do in the garden at the moment. The sowing is in full swing and at the same time I have to sink countless pots in the covered sand bed before winter comes.

I have also had different results with the sowing of Celmisia & Co. Some species have germinated very well, others very little and many have not germinated at all yet. I have sown at different times... immediately after receipt (in the European summer, as well as in November). Celmisia gracilenta germinated best so far. However, I have also received some species as pricked young plants or bought them from Ardfearn. My goal is to "produce" as much as possible myself... but it still remains a game of chance

Cheers
Thomas

[Hoy]

Thank you for your answer, Thomas.

Seems I just have to continue trying!


Nice seedlings!

[t00lie]

Lovely to see your success with germinating Celmisia Thomas. C. coriacea particularly is a smashing species when seen in the wild with its striking orange midrib.

Celmisia sps 'grassy leaved' is reliable each season with its flowers and makes good sized growths...



while a recent gift from a friend of a cutting of C.philocremna I suspect will take time...

[David Lyttle]

I have Mr Toole to thank for this specimen of Celmisia philocremna ----

[Leucogenes]

Fantastic... David. I especially like the typical thick floured stem of this species. Also Carmichaelia on the right side is very beautiful.

[Yann]

I admire all these species ungrowable on my side.

[David Lyttle]

Hello Thomas, Yann,

I have mixed success with growing Celmisias and have lost many good plants over the years. Celmisia philocremna has survived so far and I have a second smaller plant grown from a cutting of the original. There is a huge amount of variation in some of the species and hybrids are very common. The woody shrubby ones grow easily from cuttings but the larger tufted ones (Celmisia semicordata) can not be grown this way and are much harder to propagate and keep in cultivation.

[Véronique Macrelle]

I also tried several times to sow it, and I concluded like Yann: even if it germinates, I do not go much further than the seedlings. it's too complicated for our climate.
but it is so beautiful

[ranunculus]

Good morning folks,
So pleased to report that I have just discovered three or four minute seedlings of Lobelia roughii (a huge favourite of mine) ... and, having previously germinated and grown on this little gem for twelve months or so, am now eager to get these to flowering size here in Lancashire, UK.
I know that they thrive in a very pebbly scree of broken stone, but any tips for cultivation and preferences re: sun and moisture levels would be much appreciated please?

[Maggi Young]

Good morning folks,
So pleased to report that I have just discovered three or four minute seedlings of Lobelia roughii (a huge favourite of mine) ... and, having previously germinated and grown on this little gem for twelve months or so, am now eager to get these to flowering size here in Lancashire, UK.
I know that they thrive in a very pebbly scree of broken stone, but any tips for cultivation and preferences re: sun and moisture levels would be much appreciated please?

I get  confused- it  was  Stellaria roughii that we  grew - it  died  after  flowering  and we  got  no seed- so I'm not  much help - but  we  did  love  it  while  we  had  it!


Stellaria roughii form the  Craigieburn Range

[ranunculus]

Another small gem from similar locations, Maggi ... and congratulations on growing such a fine example.  So many very  special plants from these fabulous mountains. x

[David Lyttle]

Hello Cliff, Maggi,



Field notes for Lobelia roughii are; occasional plants on mobile screes, 1550 m, Hawkdun Range. Beneath the top mobile layer the scree is quite silty/fine and packed quite. hard.  Possibly a bit hard to replicate in a domestic garden. I would use a fairly gritty mix and grow in an open, sunny position and not let it completely dry out.

I have never seen a Stellaria roughii that looks anything like your plant, Maggii. I think you must have pampered it too much which just goes to show growing alpines so they appear in context is not a trivial matter. Stellaria roughii dies back completely during winter and regrows when the snow disappears. Field notes; Stellaria roughii, common on mobile screes,1300 m, Hummock Peak, Eyre Mountains

[David Lyttle]

This must be the ugliest plant I have ever bought. ( from Hokonui Alpines)



However this year it redeemed itself by producing and amazing crop of violet flowers.







I am guessing it is a hybrid between Carmichaelia nana and a shrubby, wild plant growing nearby (Carmichaelia petriei?)
Compare with Carmichaelia monroi. This plant was grown from seed and still has some of its juvenile foliage. In the wild it is usually pruned down to ground level by hares so you don't see flowers very often.

[David Lyttle]

I have several other dwarf Carmichaelia species. This one is Carmichaelia astonii which grows on limestone.





My Helichrysum intermedium var tumidum which I showed in a previous post is now in full flower.





I also have another Helichrysum, Helichrysum plumeum. Quite a different plant. Its in a pot and I am a bit wary of planting it into the open garden. The branches are covered in white tomentum and the flowers are yellow rather than white.

[David Lyttle]

Celmisia bellidioides more or less completely covered in flowers



An Anaphalioides hybrid that arose spontaneously in my garden.



Mazus radicans which will possibly take over the whole bed.



Coprosma atropurpurea which produces wine-coloured berries in flower.  I just recently planted it out and it seems to be thriving.



Last Ourisia macrocarpa. This is the first time I grown this. It grows only in Fiordland generally in high rainfall areas. Typically it produces a cluster of flowers on an elongated stem rather than the single flower in this photo.