Catching up on the successes and frustrations of 2018

[meanie]

Family reasons have kept me away from the forum simce May, although I have looked in the pressures have left me disinclined to post. I was going to start a thread in Flowers and Foliage Now but as this will be more about most of 2018 I thought that maybe it would be better here - if I'm wrong I'll leave it to Maggi to sort out 

I'll kick off with what was a new purchase in May. As we had no idea what was in store for us back then I had decided that a couple of new bodywarmers would be a good idea so off we went to a local garden centre. Ii's ironic that I use this GC for clothing primarily and rarely leave with anything plant related but that is the way of things now. So having failed on the bodywarmer front we had a look at the green stuff and it was all very hey ho samey samey until we got to the bargain bin..........
Kalanchoe 'Dorothy' by longk48, on Flickr

It's called Kalanchoe 'Dorothy', a hybrid from the Dutch sheds, but as it was reduced from twelve quid down to two quid it had to be had. It has been a star all summer and as I look out the window even now it is still putting a few blooms out. Dead heading has been far from a chore, it has been utterly therapeutic and calming. When I got it home it had a couple of plantlets on the leaf tips that I potted up and have grown on nicely and I have taken a few extra cuttings of late - we're hoping that a mass planting next year may result in a real wow feature.

My little pot of Pleione not only survived the beast from the east nestled in with a bunch of other pots under some staging next to the house but they also put on a good show..................
Pleione by longk48, on Flickr

Justicia rizzinii was another of my bargain bin recues from last year and it seemed happy enough in the unheated greenhouse over the winter. Borderline hardy plants that bloom on last years growth are always a bit of a punt but I aim for warm enough to survive yet cool/cold enough to enforce some sort of growth check. I can't say that I was spot on with this, although it was still a small plant, but it did put out a few blooms and suffered no die back............
Justicia rizzinii by longk48, on Flickr

Salvia gesneriiflora (mountain form) is one of my favourite Salvia and kept just frost free over the winter it is always a spring highlight..........
Salvia gesneriiflora (mountain form) by longk48, on Flickr

Keep it too warm and it blooms badly over the darkest winter months, get it right and it is worth the wait (as you can see it was pretty loaded with inflorescence).............
Salvia gesneriiflora 'Mountain Form' by longk48, on Flickr

I got some seed for Polemonium reptans last year and this single plant came through the winter planted in a sheltered sunny spot to bloom nicely. Small and unassuming as it is it really deserved a better spot.............
Polemonium reptans by longk48, on Flickr

Vestia foetida is one of the stand out plants of spring and even this year it did not disappoint..........
Vestia foetida by longk48, on Flickr

Vestia foetida by longk48, on Flickr

[Robert]

Meanie,

This is a great thread! Love it!     

Both my wife and I understand family stuff, too well. Good luck with everything. The plants look great.

Our garden goes through endless phases of this and that due to care-giving.

By the way...... my wife used to go to the bargain basement!    She ended up with some nice plants from the throwouts on the street. Amazing! 

[meanie]

Meanie,

This is a great thread! Love it!     

Both my wife and I understand family stuff, too well. Good luck with everything. The plants look great.

Our garden goes through endless phases of this and that due to care-giving.

By the way...... my wife used to go to the bargain basement!    She ended up with some nice plants from the throwouts on the street. Amazing! 

Hello Robert.
Yup, families can be a burden (is that the correct word?) at times. Hey ho.............

[meanie]

I grow my Lewisia in pots here as I find that the only way I can overwinter them is in a dry spot such as a lean-too but they were unfazed by the winter and have been in bloom pretty much since the spring which is not the norm here............
Lewisia by longk48, on Flickr

Lewisia by longk48, on Flickr

Lewisia by longk48, on Flickr

Lewisia by longk48, on Flickr

Lewisia by longk48, on Flickr

I have to grow Cypripedium the same way - cold and dry.............
Cypripedium by longk48, on Flickr

No such problems with the next two. Fritillaria camschatcensis (not sure that this is correctly named) took a year off last year but was back in bloom this spring.............
Fritillaria camschatcensis by longk48, on Flickr

And Asphodeline lutea. It's not rare but it is a damned fine plant for British conditions (even if it is a little invasive)............
Aspodeline lutea by longk48, on Flickr

Ceropegia woodii lives in the unheated porch during the winter but it goes out as early as I dare and by mid May it was blooming...........
Ceropegia woodii by longk48, on Flickr

Last Sunday I untangled its stems prtor to bringing it back in and some were almost five metres long. It has also produced seed for the first time this year.and

[David Nicholson]

Great to see you back Meanie. I always enjoy your posts and I have missed them.

[meanie]

Great to see you back Meanie. I always enjoy your posts and I have missed them.

Thanks David. It has been a strange year for me.

[meanie]

Anyway, over the last few years I've been collecting a few of the more cold hardy cacti and succulents. Rebutia muscula is reliably one of the first to bloom and then continues for the rest of the season............
Rebutia muscula by longk48, on Flickr

This Echeveria noid put on a good early display and then afterwards grew and multiplied like crazy............
Echeveria noid by longk48, on Flickr

The flowers of Echeveria pulidonis are on the smaller side but the yellow colour makes it a standout and they have a lovely form too...........
Echeveria pulidonis by longk48, on Flickr

Bulbine frutescens took the winter in the unheated greenhouse in its stride and was back in bloom by mid May and is still blooming today. A proper gem of a plant.............
Bulbine frutescens by longk48, on Flickr

[Carolyn]

Good to enjoy your photos again!
Bulbine frutescens looks interesting. Did you grow it from seed?

[meanie]

Good to enjoy your photos again!
Bulbine frutescens looks interesting. Did you grow it from seed?

Thank you Carolyn!

I was given a cutting of the Bulbine which grew like billyo in 2017 and became a woody branching plant. Here's a photo of it at the end of May..............
Bulbine frutescens by longk48, on Flickr

[Carolyn]

What a good value plant, flowering since May. It reminds me of a mixture of bulbinella hookeri and asphodeline lutea, both of which enjoy conditions in my gravel garden. The asphodeline has just started to flower for a second time, but the hard frosts of the last 3 nights will soon put an end to that.

[meanie]

What a good value plant, flowering since May. It reminds me of a mixture of bulbinella hookeri and asphodeline lutea, both of which enjoy conditions in my gravel garden. The asphodeline has just started to flower for a second time, but the hard frosts of the last 3 nights will soon put an end to that.

I've got Bulbinella hookeri. In fact it is b.well everywhere! Invasively so!
I also have A.lutea but I've never had it rebloom. In fact due to my no watering the beds policy I thought that I had actually killed it this summer but it has come back with avengence. I regard it as nicely invasive.

[meanie]

A few seed grown things that bloomed for the first time this year;
Billardiera longiflora...........
Billardiera longiflora by longk48, on Flickr

Allium christophii.............
Allium christophii by longk48, on Flickr

Penstemon smallii..............
Penstemon smallii by longk48, on Flickr

Ipomea quamoclit is just an annual but it is well worth growing...........
Ipomea quamoclit by longk48, on Flickr

These self seeded Amaranthus cheered up the tomato patch no end and loved the summer reaching the best part of three metres before the frosts claimed them.............
Amaranthus sp. by longk48, on Flickr

Dietes bicolor only took six years to bloom!
Dietes bicolor by longk48, on Flickr

Iochroma fuchsioides got there in four..............
Iochroma fuchsioides by longk48, on Flickr

Salvia darcyii took two years..............
Salvia darcyii by longk48, on Flickr

Salvia guaranitica var. Violacea made large early blooming plants in their first season from seed............
Salvia guaranitica var. Violacea by longk48, on Flickr

I have to grow Salvia amarissima as an annual but it is a late summer gem............
Salvia amarissima by longk48, on Flickr

[Robert]

meanie,

I have not seen Salvia darcyii in a long time.

I planted some in our Sacramento garden with high hopes. Unfortunately, they did not persist. Are yours cold hardy? When I grew this species in the Sierra Nevada foothills where it is much colder they always came back from the roots without protection from the cold. Salvia guaranitica would come back from the roots too, but only with row cover protection.

[meanie]

meanie,

I have not seen Salvia darcyii in a long time.

I planted some in our Sacramento garden with high hopes. Unfortunately, they did not persist. Are yours cold hardy? When I grew this species in the Sierra Nevada foothills where it is much colder they always came back from the roots without protection from the cold.

The one in the ground next to the house survived, grew well but did not bloom. I suspect that it really does need full sun as the potted plants all bloomed. Very drought tolerant though.