May in the Northern Hemisphere

[kris]

Thanks Thomas.
We have going to have one week of rain on and off.
The plants just love it. 3 pictures taken yesterday attached here.
1.Dodecatheon media alba
2.Penstemon davidsonii
3.Dodecatheon pulchellum

[shelagh]

Kris what is rain we have forgotten what it's like. Here in Lancashire we usually have plenty but we are on our third week of hot sun and thundery humidity.  It's not just the plants that are wilting and going over

[Gabriela]

Very nice Clematis columbiana var. tenuiloba Kris.

Shelagh - in SW Ontario as well it is unusual hot this 'spring'; I don't know how hot it is in UK, we've had constant 30C and up temp. Few so called spring flowers were gone in one week or less.

Dianthus superbus ssp. sajanense


Calycanthus floridus

[shelagh]

Kris I should never have moaned about the sunshine and humidity. Just got all the plants out ready to load the car for tomorrows show in Bramhall and the most almighty thunderstorm caught us out. Brian drenched to the skin trying to get things out of the rain. Drains in the road shooting like fountains and the drive inches deep in water.  Goodness knows how we'll do tomorrow.  Plus I'd left all the car windows open so wet bottoms tomorrow. Isn't weather wonderful!!!

[kris]

same here Shelagh.  After record breaking hot weather for  a long time nice rain now. I am not going to complain about it.
Gabriela as you have written the weather here also is really hot with lots of +33 C in May. Never seen it before. Some plants skipped flowering all together. The hostas are out now and  even some of the variegated ones are green now. Strange

[Rick R.]

I think the hot weather has hit us all in North America.  In Minnesota we topped out at 100°F(38C) four days ago. 

Gabriela, that's an interesting form of Calycanthus floridus. Does it never get the woody looking ends to the petals?  And they hardly curl inward?

[Gabriela]

same here Shelagh.  After record breaking hot weather for  a long time nice rain now. I am not going to complain about it.
Gabriela as you have written the weather here also is really hot with lots of +33 C in May. Never seen it before. Some plants skipped flowering all together. The hostas are out now and  even some of the variegated ones are green now. Strange

Yes Kris, various species got very confused about when or if to flower!
I don't have many hostas, but I know that some variegated cv. will revert easily.

[Gabriela]

I think the hot weather has hit us all in North America.  In Minnesota we topped out at 100°F(38C) four days ago. 

Gabriela, that's an interesting form of Calycanthus floridus. Does it never get the woody looking ends to the petals?  And they hardly curl inward?
(Attachment Link)

Maybe I photographed newly opened flowers; they get the woody ends but not quite like yours.
I got mine from a friend as small divisions which I planted together to give it shrubby look fast. It is the first year when it flowers so abundant.

I'll say maybe yours is a cultivated variety? The flowers are very large.

[Leena]

in SW Ontario as well it is unusual hot this 'spring'; I don't know how hot it is in UK, we've had constant 30C and up temp. Few so called spring flowers were gone in one week or less.

Also here it has been a very strange May, all year actually. First very cold March, then snow melted in second week of April, still quite cold, and now May was hottest in all recorded time in history in Finland. There were 14 days above 25C, and most days were above 20C. It rained once in the beginning of May (and actually only twice since snow melted) and now it is very dry! Still no rain in forecasts in next two weeks. Spring flowers went by fast and now many other flowers are two three weeks ahead of usual.

[Lampwick]

Pictures Taken today. . .

    Achillea x lewisii 'King Edward'
    Centaurium scilloides
    Dianthus 'Inshriach Dazzler'
    Erigonum umbellatum
    Sisyrinchium 'Devon Skies'

[Lesley Cox]

Lovely in the chilly south to see photos from the  Northern Hemisphere. The Cypripedium montanum is fantastic. Though we see a lot on the Forum and on Facebook, I've not seen this stunner before. And very happy to see again Mike's Clematis hirsutissima. My own babies (from his seed) are so far not bothered by the cold and most have reached about 5cms!

Just raiding my Paypal account again to buy seed of Lewisias and Eranthis hiemalis cultivars. When will it ever stop? When I lie down for the last time I expect. Best wishes to everyone.

[Lesley Cox]

John, I do like your Brachyglottis. I read its name first as Basil Brush and thought the tips weren't all THAT  brush-like but then I looked again. Your Salix is very fine. It is a plant with great recuperative powers. I was given a plant in a pot more than 30 years ago and its donor told me it was over 30 years old then. It certainly looked it, very gnarled and not a lot of tip growth as if it had reached the end of its time. I fed and watered it for a few years and gradually it had a new lease of life though I was always too afraid to repot it in case I did irreparable damage. Soon after I moved to my present garden 5 years ago, it was heavily grazed and broken right to the roots by rabbits and I thought fatally damaged but after a few months there was new growth at the very base and it is now quite bushy at about 10 cms high! The pot is now perched up above rabbit height.

[Lampwick]

John, I do like your Brachyglottis. I read its name first as Basil Brush and thought the tips weren't all THAT  brush-like but then I looked again. Your Salix is very fine. It is a plant with great recuperative powers. I was given a plant in a pot more than 30 years ago and its donor told me it was over 30 years old then. It certainly looked it, very gnarled and not a lot of tip growth as if it had reached the end of its time. I fed and watered it for a few years and gradually it had a new lease of life though I was always too afraid to repot it in case I did irreparable damage. Soon after I moved to my present garden 5 years ago, it was heavily grazed and broken right to the roots by rabbits and I thought fatally damaged but after a few months there was new growth at the very base and it is now quite bushy at about 10 cms high! The pot is now perched up above rabbit height.

Lesley, it’s nice to hear from you, I do hope you are keeping well!
I didn’t post here much after my lovely Kai passed away, I found it difficult being in the garden without him.
Anyway: – back to the Brachyglottis and Salix. I had not heard of Brachyglottis until I bought it a few years ago.
My Salix must be about 20 years old. There appears to be some sort of “jinks” associated with S. boydii. Most owners have to go through some initiation period of damage before it settled down, and I am no different! About 8 years ago the line prop fell on it!
We had, at the time, a heavy wooden prop with a “V” cut in the end. Every time there was a strong wind off it would come. Then one day it hit the Salix and knocked two main branches off, reducing it to less than half!
We now have a lightweight plastic prop with a spring clip to hold the line in place. It can’t now blow off! 
 

[Rick R.]

I'll say maybe yours [Calycanthus flordus] is a cultivated variety? The flowers are very large.

A trick of photography, I guess.  The flowers are 4.5-5cm wide, petal tip to petal tip.  Not a specific cultivar; they tend not to be as hardy here, especially the ones with Asian species in their heritage.  But Athens seems to do fine here:

[Mike Ireland]

And very happy to see again Mike's Clematis hirsutissima. My own babies (from his seed) are so far not bothered by the cold and most have reached about 5cms!


Lesley,  pleased to hear the Clematis have germinated, slow to start but well worth the wait.

Mike