Tuberous Corydalis 2021

[Gail]

Corydalis solida Crossbill


I bought this one as Corydalis ornata ‘Blue Favourite’ but it doesn't look blue to me, more of a mauve colour.

[Andrew90]

I really like the bi-coloured flowers on Crossbill. I had a similar variety (who's name evades me) which disappeared, but a couple of seedlings have cropped up with similar colouring.

Hmm, the ornata doesn't look particularly blue: 'Lilac Favourite'?!

[Tristan_He]

Love 'Crossbill' Gail. That's a super thing. Where did you get it?

'Blue Favourite' maybe would be better named 'Blue Rinse' 

[Gail]

That was from Paul Christian Rare Plants - very easy to spend way too much money looking at his site!

[Gabriela]

The Corydalis season is just starting here (early, due to the summer-like weather).
Their colourful display is always a joy after a long winter.

A mixed patch of C. malkensis and C. solida - thanks to Leena which I like a lot.


Corydalis caucasica 'Nadezdha' - my naming, chance seedlings from a batch of C. caucasica f. alba.


Corydalis paczoskii

[Andrew90]

The mixed patch looks really good, a nice strong red at the back too.
'Nadezdha' looks great, is there a story behind the name?

[Leena]

Gabriela, your spring is full steam ahead! I'm glad you got at least some reddish ones from those seeds.
Also here purple/blueish ones dominate in seed grown Corydalis, even when seed is taken from red flowering plants.
I'm trying to move purple ones away from red Corydalis, but there are always some left, and with bees pollinating you never know.

[Gabriela]

The mixed patch looks really good, a nice strong red at the back too.
'Nadezdha' looks great, is there a story behind the name?

Yes Andrew, not a story per se, but the name came to mind last year when I saw it flowering well in the ground in April (before that I had it in a pot). The Covid pandemic was just starting so I thought 'Hope' would be a good name.
Since the seeds came from Russia, I wanted to go with their name for hope = nadezdha; also for the reason that in my native tongue (Romanian) we also have 'nadejde' as one of the words for 'hope'.
So now you know

[Gabriela]

Gabriela, your spring is full steam ahead! I'm glad you got at least some reddish ones from those seeds.
Also here purple/blueish ones dominate in seed grown Corydalis, even when seed is taken from red flowering plants.
I'm trying to move purple ones away from red Corydalis, but there are always some left, and with bees pollinating you never know.

Yes Leena, we had temp. around 20C for a while! Looking fwd to go back to 'spring' actually.
I have plenty of red Corydalis, in all shades, no worry. And there is a small patch of pure C. malkensis now (this was my goal actually).

From that mixed patch, the blue ones are incredible fragrant!!! I mean, REALLY fragrant. I have others but not like them.


And some of my reds, which are spreading everywhere. If you try to separate them a bit after colors, the seedlings populations will be more true to color.
I sowed experimentally seeds from red ones and then planted them in a group and almost all are red. But of course, the bees and bumblebees will always have a word to say on this.

[Leena]

From that mixed patch, the blue ones are incredible fragrant!!! I mean, REALLY fragrant. I have others but not like them.

Interesting!
I haven't noticed scent here, but I will have to take some inside when they flower. Maybe in low temperatures they are not so fragrant.
All Corydalis are still in bud coming up waiting for warmer weather.

[Gail]

I had a few mixed solidas potted up last year and gave one to a friend's son to pass on to his mum. He put it to his nose to smell the flower and I said "oh, they don't have a fragrance" (based obviously on a complete lack of testing!). But that one actually did have a lovely perfume. Once he'd gone I went round and sniffed all my others and couldn't find another one with a fragrance. I trying to resist the temptation to ask for that one back...

[Leena]

Now I really must try to go around sniffing Corydalis when they open! 
I have one C.solida from an old garden in Finland, and they are quite small, and in a different part of the garden than my bought C.solidas.
The other blue/purple ones are all originated from 10 bulbs I bought about 12 years ago from Janis and they were from Penza. They are bigger and have mostly larger flowers than the Finnish clone, and I have collected seeds from only those Penza strain plants.

[Andrew90]

Gabriela -  great choice of name, thanks for sharing 

[Gabriela]

Now I really must try to go around sniffing Corydalis when they open! 
I have one C.solida from an old garden in Finland, and they are quite small, and in a different part of the garden than my bought C.solidas.
The other blue/purple ones are all originated from 10 bulbs I bought about 12 years ago from Janis and they were from Penza. They are bigger and have mostly larger flowers than the Finnish clone, and I have collected seeds from only those Penza strain plants.

You do that Leena! Others, less fragrant, are some of a regular raspberry color and a purple clump (which has bluish tones).


And here is one more malkensis-solida mix, this time with few strong pinks - maybe you have a named cv. like them?

[Leena]

And here is one more malkensis-solida mix, this time with few strong pinks - maybe you have a named cv. like them?

I can't remember any more from which plants I took the seeds (and so what was growing near by), but I have pink 'Beth Evans' which could be the father. I know I haven't taken seeds from it.
Also in the Penza mix was one good pink, but somehow yours doesn't look quite like it, or I don't remember well.