July in the Northern Hemisphere 2020

[Leucogenes]

Tchihatchewii isatidea...  sown on 28.12.2018

[Leena]

I have seen Dactylorhiza seedlings popping up in unexpected places: in pots with lilies, in mossy sand used for cuttings, in the middle of a Saxifraga cinerea in a through, etc. The best advice I can give is to sprinkle the seed in various places that are not too shady, never dry out completely, and are not disturbed once you have sown the seeds. Seedlings are easily moved once they have a decent-sized leaf, which is usually after two years.

Thank you Andre!
I know that many people have Dactylorhiza  seeding itself, and didn't know why not here.
One reason might be that the places I have sprinkled seeds may have been too shady and other plants have crowded them, and I may have disturbed them also, now that you said it. I'll try sowing them this year around lilies, and try to think of some other places which would be not too shady and not dry.

[Gabriela]

I am glad that everyone likes D. fissum! The white version is equally beautiful too.

I will write a bit about it: I donated seeds to last year's seedex (if I remember well) as D. fissum ex. Ukraine; it was grown from wild coll. seeds there.
It is a tuberous Delphinium and not very easy to grow from seeds; erratic germination (I believe some seeds germinate after warm/cold and the rest after one more cycle) and it will take at least 3 years to flower. The one in the picture is flowering for the second time and is 5 years old. Worth the trouble obviously!

It is not particularly sensitive to the slugs, but here in general slugs are a problem more for seedlings and not as much in the garden (with some exceptions for ex. Soldanellas which seem to act like 'slug magnets').
It requires a full sun position and very good drainage (companions in my garden are Dictamnus albus, Salvia nutans, Geum triflorum..., in the wild I can mention Lilium martagon, Salvia pratensis, Allium flavum...).

[Gabriela]

I am also glad that Spigelia marilandica was liked. It doesn't grow wild in Canada, only regions of US but it is easy to grow from seeds.

A delightful plant for shade (although emerges very late), the main problem is that the flowers need to be pollinated by hummingbirds, or moths with very long proboscis, in order to form seeds and then the capsules are explosive; all these make for a low seeds count every year.

[Gerdk]

Tchihatchewii isatidea...  sown on 28.12.2018

Congratulations for this extraordinary rare species. May I ask you where the seeds came from?

Gerd

[Leucogenes]

Congratulations for this extraordinary rare species. May I ask you where the seeds came from?

Gerd

Thank you, Gerd.

I got the seeds from a very good botanical friend in Vancouver...

If my plant produces enough seeds, I'll send you some...  so fingers crossed...🤞

Greetings
Thomas

[Andre Schuiteman]

1. Gentiana hexaphylla. The Flora of China distinguishes between G. arethusae and G. hexaphylla. The main difference is supposed to be that the upper leaves of G. arethusae are linear and acuminate, whereas those of G. hexaphylla are linear-spathulate and obtuse to acute. If this distinction is valid then my plant should be called G. arethusae. But others consider G. arethusae to be a synonym of G. hexaphylla, which may well be right.



2. Potentilla nitida. I got this as P. nitida 'Rubra Compacta', and while the plant is indeed more compact and smaller than the regular P. nitida, the flowers do not appear to be any deeper in colour.

3. Roscoea cangshanensis. This is a stoloniferous species which spreads by underground stolons that can be quite long, sometimes more than 20 cm. It is sometimes considered to be a synonym of R. forrestii, which is puzzling, as R. forrestii has an entire, obovate and apiculate lip, whereas the lip of R. cangshanensis is 4-lobed at the apex.

[Knud]

That is a beautiful Gentian, Andre, and Potentilla, wow. I have had a small, silver-leaved potentilla, which I thought was P. nitida, growing in a trough for more than twenty years, but it has never bloomed. Worth waiting a little longer for, I'll say .

Our old Clematis integrifolia blooms well every year, though a bit late this year. The flowers are nice and the buds graceful. The first picture was taken today, the second in 2011. We got this plant as a seedling in the late 1990s, and named C. baikalense.

[hamparstum]

Tchihatchewii isatidea...  sown on 28.12.2018

Hello Thomas, I was puzzled by this crucifer ( brassicaceae). Well it seems that it may become a good antidiabetic . It is a traditional medicinal plant. I was wondering if it is fragrant.
Arturo

[cohan]

Leena-- the form of that Geranium gracile reminds me a bit of native G richardsonii here, which grows in a wide range of spots from sun to shade, mesic-dry to moist.

Andre-- P nitida is also flowering here; two plants from the same seed batch growing side by side, one is definitely more floriferous, but more flowers each year, for both; about the same colour as yours..

Gabriela-- great colour on the Spigelia

[Leucogenes]

Hello Thomas, I was puzzled by this crucifer ( brassicaceae). Well it seems that it may become a good antidiabetic . It is a traditional medicinal plant. I was wondering if it is fragrant.
Arturo

Hello Arturo...  Good to hear from you.

Tchihatchewii isatidea blooms for the first time in my garden  The two plants are in the Alpinum all year round...  with a permanent cover made of a small acrylic plate.  Your question about the scent is valid.  I was only informed of it two days ago... by a German alpine enthusiast.  What can I say... the scent is intoxicating.  It was worth taking a bow for.

By the way...from the seeds of you (2018) beautiful plants of Penstemon hirsutus have developed...see attachment.


Best regards and stay healthy
Thomas

[hamparstum]

Hello Thomas, I'm delighted with what you tell me about T....isatidea. For me the genus is impossible to pronounce.... . One day when your plants multiply I would like to try out them here. I'm very interested about alpine medicinal plants.  By the tubular organization I thought it a scented flower possibly pollinated by some of the scent attracted hawk moths with very long proboscis. Now that we know it is scented could you check whether scent becomes stronger in the evening or very early morning?. If so, it would support my supposition because the moths are crepuscular. How a big plant are they? I couldn't find anything about it, beyond that it is restricted to the surroundings of Van lake, Turkey. Is it a true alpine, from high ground?  You are one of the rare privileged that can see it in flesh!
Now it's cold and snowing outside. I hope to get my sowings in place soon. Good time to study and pick up with delayed reading and correspondence...
Arturo

[Maggi Young]

In International Rock Gardener e-magazine of  June  2019 - Paul Cumbleton writes on page  35 - " At the same time we see the
wonderful “sneeze plant”, Tchihatchewia isatidea beginning to make its presence felt, both in flower
and by its strong, rich perfume. This plant is usually monocarpic, mostly behaving as a biennial and so
we sow seed every year to make new plants to replace those that have flowered."

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Jun271561661867IRG114.pdf

[hamparstum]

Maggi THANKS!!!
    My winter perusal of all the gems available via the SRGC is never ending ( I hadn't flipped through the International R.G. of June yet!!!...well I can spend all my time sitting in front of my PC... .  I must get myself pass the stage of studying and start my winter sowings quick!. My last seedex batch is still stuck in Denmark. Hopefully I'll be able to retrieve them by November next....if flights to Buenos Aires are restored. With so many regulations lurking ahead, I rely on them being hand carried for me by a kind traveller. . I definitely want to try out T...isatidea. It should do well here. Thanks again Arturo

[Knud]

Erigeron vagus just started, with a single flower this year among the five or so plants I have in various throughs. Normally it blooms richer, but never profusely. It seeds reliably in the throughs and is easy to keep going, and each plant lasts a few years. Its fine grey-green foliage is a nice bonus.