Flowers and foliage April 2008

[Katherine J]

When I was at school we painted this way a lot of cut galanthus, white Narcissus and Dianthus with blue red, or black (!) ink.

[Katherine J]

Here is another carpet (which also smells very intensely ). Corydalis cava and solida.

[Martin Baxendale]

Here is another carpet (which also smells very intensely ). Corydalis cava and solida.

Wow! I'd like to walk around that bit of woodland, Kata. I really love corydalis, both solida forms and cava. I wonder how many people realise just how strongly and sweetly scented Cordydalis cava can be. The first cava I bought a few years ago from a Dutch grower turned out to be a very large-growing and very strongly scented selection of white, pink and purple flowered plants which were superb. Unfortunately I had to move them to another part of my garden due to building work, and it was too dry so they died. But I have some seedlings from them starting to flower now, and I buy a few more every year from Janis Ruksans in Latvia to select the best scented ones. If grown in pots, the scent under glass is beautiful.

[Olga Bondareva]

Hi all! What a beautiful flowers are blooming in your gardens!

Symplocarpus foetidus

http://cs1252.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/20107304/x_1f2a668e.jpg

Galanthus

http://cs1252.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/20107304/x_a3b34a20.jpg

Merendera trigyna

http://cs1354.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/20107304/x_d5e22a9c.jpg

Galanthus

http://cs1354.vkontakte.ru/u6450879/20107304/x_49f904cf.jpg

[hadacekf]

Thank all for the magnificent pic!
Here are some shots of Anemone blanda in my meadow. Over all appear self seedlings.

[mark smyth]

Franz do you ever get a cloudy day? How far do you live from the Czech border? The AGS Ulster Group may be in CZ next year

From seed sown back in August and potted on in October my Pelargonium collection is now growing very fast. I may pot them on again on Sunday if it's a nice day. One of them is the obviously named P. ranunculophyllum

[Paul T]

Franz,

Lovely display of Anemone blanda.  They're such beautiful flowers.  Great pics.

Kathrine et al,

I've never heard of Corydalis cava before.  I've heard of solida and hopefully should still have some small seedlings coming along, but what is the differences with cava?  Your woodland looks simply stunning, but I can only try to imagine the smell as I didn't realise that any Corydalis were scented. 

[illingworth]

I went to the recent NARGS meeting held near Hartford CT. Not much was in bloom for the garden visits but these two plants caught my eye. The first is Daphne jezoensis.  I was told it was 4 feet in width.

The second was this remarkable yellow flower cluster.  Without the flowers the plant wasn't impressive; a naked stem like a sumac with 3 short branches and with a flower cluster at the end of each. The cluster was about 2 1/2 inches wide and the plant perhaps 18 inches high in total.  Can anyone ID it for me?
-Rob

[Paul T]

Rob,

Looks like some sort of Edgeworthia to me I think.  18 inches sounds a bit short though, unless a dwarf variety or young plant?  Others will likely know the area more clearly.

[illingworth]

Thank you Paul. That was prompt indeed>
-Rob

[olegKon]

Olga, nice to meet you in the forum. Spring has really come to Moscow to let us enjoy the beauty not only as fantastic pics of the forumist. Here is the first flower of Eranthis cilicicus which has just exposed its yellow shine to the sun.

[Katherine J]

Kathrine et al,

I've never heard of Corydalis cava before.  I've heard of solida and hopefully should still have some small seedlings coming along, but what is the differences with cava?  Your woodland looks simply stunning, but I can only try to imagine the smell as I didn't realise that any Corydalis were scented. 

Paul,
Corydalis cava (=bulbosa) has a cave in it's tuber (at least the older plants), has no scale below the lowest leaf, and it's bracts are untoothed. These are the main differences between the two species (cava and solida) as far as I know. And has a very intense, sweet scent. To be sincere, I didn't know that Coridalys solida is not fragrant. In this woodland they are mixed, and I had never smelled them separately.

I never collected corydalis seed, but I think I could manage, if anybody needs. There are millions of plants, not far from my home. I don't know if they hibridize or not.

[Paul T]

Kathrine,

Thanks for the clarification.  I've never flowered solida as yet, but hopefully one of these years if the seedlings still survive. 

[gote]

Katherine,
I know from experience that it is difficult to save seeds of Corydalis. One day here - next day gone.
Nevertheless I would be very happy to receive some seed of cava if you think that it is possible to locate a white one. I do appreciate that most seedlings from a white plant might be red but I lost my only white cava some years ago and find no replacement.
I assume you know that the seed must be sown very quickly before they dry out completely.
My experience of solidas is that they come surprisingly true to colour.
My Corydalises are just starting. I hope I can post something next week.
Göte

[Martin Baxendale]

Corydalis cava also has just the one perennial tuber which gets larger every year, instead of splitting and increasing to form a clump like C. solida. However, when the tuber gets very large and hollow, you can multiply a good clone by breaking up the brittle hollow tuber and replanting - every piece will regrow into a separate tuber. I don't think cava and solida hybridise as they're from different series. The scent from cava flowers really is quite intense and I think it's an under-rated plant.