September 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

This is a scene of our late summer garden, 3 September 2021. This is the view when I exit the side door and round the corner into the backyard garden.



This is another view of the backyard garden.



Currently, the weather is cool with below average temperatures for this time of year. Despite the current spell of cool weather, this summer may turn out to be the warmest on record, at least for interior “continental” regions such as our El Dorado County property. At our Sacramento home there has been considerable marine influence this summer. Summer temperatures have fluctuated considerably, so this summer temperatures have been slightly above average.

There are still flowers blooming throughout the garden.



Zinnia elegans is a favorite summer annual in our garden.



This is a good form of Epilobium canum ssp. latifolium. I grew this plant from seed I gathered near the Lyons Creek Basin, which was burned over by the Caldor Fire a few days ago. When it is safe, I am anxious to return to this area to see how the fire impacted the area. The whole upper Lyons Creek Basin was burned over. I have been visiting this area since 1960, so for me the effects of the Caldor Fire are very personal.  Jasmin notes:  The fire has burned areas we both knew intimately.  It is traumatic, the loss of a dear friend or family member, or learning they are in the hospital and you do not know if they will live or not.  We also know people who are among the evacuees, or chronically packed and ready to evacuate.  It is distressing, constantly worrying; yet realizing we are helpless and can do nothing more than wait, or remind people we have space for them should they and their animals need it.

[Robert]

I like this combination of containers. In the rear container Epilobium canum ssp. garrettii is blooming. In the foreground, Diplacus auraniacus is blooming with its yellow-orange flowers. Cercis occidentalis grows in the container to the right and a bit of foliage of Quercus durata var. durata can be seen to the left. These are all California native species.



I have two nice plants of Erythranthe guttata. Both are perennial, especially if they are given attention each year to keep them growing well. This plant blooms heavily each spring and then sporadically all summer.



Parts of the shade garden are coming into bloom again.



Thanks to the kindness of a forumist, we grow Cyclamen intaminatum. The foliage and flowers are very beautiful.



This container with Cyclamen graecum is looking good. The hose is an appropriate scene. Watering is necessary almost every day during the summer.

[Robert]

The early blooming Colchicum species are blooming throughout our semi-shaded garden. Pictured are Colchicum macrophyllum. Earlier I posted photographs of Colchicum autumnale/pannonicum. They too are still blooming but are a bit further along in their blooming cycle.



I grew out one of my old-fashioned pansies lines this spring. This was out of synchronization with our climatic rhythms, but they still grew and bloomed well. Autumn planting season is arriving. I will be sowing seeds of autumn/winter vegetables, pansies, and other annuals, including many of my favorite California native annual species.



Late summer/autumn is also the time for processing seeds of summer vegetables and flowers. I have a good crop of Cucurbita pepo (pictured) and maxima coming on. Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) and Watermelon Mosaic Virus (WMV) reduce yields on both Cucurbita pepo and C. maxima in our Sacramento garden. Cultural practices can ameliorate some of the effects of these and other viruses; however breeding for resistance is a primary goal.

[shelagh]

A couple of ferns looking just about at their best.
Gymnocarpium robertianum, you don't see this one on the show bench often probably because it comes through late in Spring.

Polystichum setiferum plumosum densum, quite a mouthful but looking wonderful just now.

[Leena]

Autumn has started here with Colchicums flowering. Last week end the lowest night was +0,5C so almost freezing, but now it is a bit warmer.
'William Dykes' and C.bivonae are the first ones to come up and flower.
Heleniums are still flowering and asters are starting to flower.
Nameless Geraniums x oxonianum is one of my favourites because it flowers until the frosts.

[Leena]

Cyclamen purpurascens started to flower in late July and is still flowering, these pictures were taken yesterday.
Silver leaf ones were grown from seed ex seeds and the ones in the second picture were a gift from a kind forumist. C.purpurascens seems to like it here:).
Also Lathyrus minus was grown from seeds from a forumist. It started to flower in July and is still flowering, climbing higher than 3 meters. It survived winter in very well.

[Herman Mylemans]

Leena, it seems that you still have a lot of flowers in the garden. It is beautiful!
At the moment it is here also warm: 28°C. Yesterday the same. This is better weather than previous month.

[Leena]

Thank you Herman:).
I read in the news that in Middle Europe it is now really warm. Here it is around +10- 15C days and +5C nights, but tomorrow it can be even close to +20, for one day.

[Gabriela]

Beautiful signs for autumn beginning Leena.

Aster dumosus 'Heinz Richard', and other wild Asters also flowering.


Aconitum kusnezoffii, tall and I didn't give it enough space.


Heptacodium miconioides, always an attraction in September for all sorts of pollinators and the hummingbirds as well, but no luck with trying to capture one on a picture.

[Leena]

Aconitum kusnezoffii, tall and I didn't give it enough space.

Gabriela, it is also flowering here in temporary spare bed with too little space, but it is good to see how it looks so that I can think where to plant it permanently.
It seems to have like almost climbing stem, and doesn't stay upright by itself, so maybe some support is needed. Or maybe it is only because the plants are young..
Very nice blue to flower at this time when my other Aconitums are already over:).

Your Aster dumosus is looking good, too!. And that butterfly!!

[Gabriela]

Gabriela, it is also flowering here in temporary spare bed with too little space, but it is good to see how it looks so that I can think where to plant it permanently.
It seems to have like almost climbing stem, and doesn't stay upright by itself, so maybe some support is needed. Or maybe it is only because the plants are young..
Very nice blue to flower at this time when my other Aconitums are already over:).

Your Aster dumosus is looking good, too!. And that butterfly!!

The monarchs are starting to move towards the South, so they sit still longer when they feed; in the summer it is very hard to take a good picture.

A. kusnezoffii should stand up by itself Leena, just that it grew elongated since this spring because too much shade, covered by the Heptacodium. I also have a young A. kirinense close by making a few flowers. In the spring it always seems that we have more space than it is in reality.
I will move them in a position with part sun. They may flower a bit later than usual being their first year in the ground.

[Robert]

Shelagh,

Your ferns are well grown and look great. This urged me to post an assortment of ferns from our garden.



Dryopteris arguta is a common dryland fern frequently seen in the foothills (Upper Sonoran Life Zone) and lower mountain regions (Transition Life Zone) of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We have found this fern very easy to grow in our garden. It is evergreen and always seems to look good. The species is very tolerant of drought, however in our garden an occasional watering does not seem to do it any harm, likely due to the good drainage. My wife tends to be more water restrictive than I am. I am not sure which of us is the better in that regard!



Aspidotis densa is another dryland California native fern. This species can be found growing from the Upper Sonoran Life Zone to near tree line in the Hudsonian Life Zone. I have had difficulty growing this species in the past. This specimen has persisted and still looks nice. I am not sure if this plant thrives due to proper placement or it is a representative of a genetically distinct population. My label is long gone. Anyway, it looks great in the garden.



Adiantum aleuticum is found in the Transition Life Zone of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in our part of California. This species thrives in our garden as long as it receives ample water at all times. I have always found this species growing near springs and in well-shaded locations. I grow ours in a container where it has been growing happily for many years. In our garden, it is deciduous for a very short period of time in the late winter just as the new growth begins.



Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum is another moisture loving fern that is also found growing in the Transition Life Zone of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This species prefers to grow near creeks and streams. Under the right conditions this species can be almost weedy in cultivation. This species is deciduous. Under the right conditions the fronds can turn bright yellow in the autumn. Here it can be seen growing with Pulmonaria, Polygonatum commutatum, Pacific West Coast Lilies, and some weedy viola species.



Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata is a California native dryland fern. In our area it is generally found growing in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone (borderline in the Lower Sonoran Life Zone). This tough fern can frequently be seen growing out of dry rock crevices exposed to intense summertime solar radiation. I thought that it would be a folly to attempt this species in our garden, however it has proved to be easy and tolerant of some summer irrigation. I find the blue-green fronds to be especially attractive.

I am impressed with the recent postings of autumn flowers! The plants look so lush and nice.

UGH! Our weather has been fluctuating wildly since mid-August. There have been periods of near record setting cool weather followed by extreme record-breaking heat, but mostly there has been extreme heat. A few days ago it was 105 F (40.556 C) at the El Dorado County property. This tied the monthly high temperature record for September. In addition, there have now been 32 days this summer with high temperatures 100 F (37.778 C) or above. The old record was 29 days set in 1989. I will have to do the math, but this is likely a once in 1,000-year event, maybe longer. Currently, we have had 85 day 90 F (32.222 C) or more this summer. The record is 103 days, set in 2008. We could still break this record this season. If the forecast holds for the next 7 days we will be at 90 days, 90 F or more. 90 F weather is possible well into October, so this record could be easily broken.

This is the news on the heat. Moving on to the drought… The drought is severe this season. Last night and this morning we received our first rainfall in months. There was 0.06 inches (1.524 mm) of precipitation in our rain gauge. The ground is so dry it is hard to tell if it even rained at all! There was no shortage of dry lightning. The last thing we need is more wildfire. The Caldor and Dixie Fires have been major ecological disasters in our area. The Dixie Fire is 4 times the size of the Caldor Fire. Both fires still burn, however the Caldor Fire is no longer expanding in size.

Needless to say, this has been a challenging gardening year. Most of the C3 plant species in our garden are stressed and in some cases extremely stressed. Amaranth, a C4 species, is thriving. The above average temperatures even impact our winter/spring garden. Many plant species need adequate vernalization for their seeds to germinate. Other plant species need adequate vernalization to bloom and grow correctly. I rely on many plant species to reseed in our garden, especially annual species. I need to consciously breed perennial plants species to thrive with little winter chill if I expect to keep them in our garden. All of these changes and other changes are impacting both managed (gardens, agriculture) and unmanaged (wild places) ecosystems in our region. I can manage and ameliorate some of the impacts in our garden (both food and ornamental species), however this is often very challenging.

Leena mentioned earlier that temperatures were forecasted to be well above average in her portion of Finland this past August. I wonder how this turned out. As I remember there were also challenges with certain Primula species. Did they recover or did they die-out? Was it heat or drought (or both) that impacted the Primula species the most? I am very curious about the outcomes.

[shelagh]

Lovely ferns Robert, I especially like the Aspidotis densa. We grow Ad. aleuticum and it's one of my favourites. I also like your Pellaea we grow P. rotundifolia. We tried it on the show bench but the Judges said it wasn't hardy! So we popped in the garden where it has been flourishing for years.

[Andre Schuiteman]

Mount Emei (also spelled Omei) is a famous and easily accessible mountain in Sichuan. Numerous plant species were first discovered there and were named after it, among them the two ferns shown below. Both are evergreen and have survived the last winter outdoors, with temperatures going down to about -5 degrees Celsius. They do well in a shady spot that never dries out.

Coniogramme emeiensis. The leaves had frost damage and I cut them off as soon as new ones started to grown in the spring. They are naturally variegated. Slugs seem to like it, unfortunately.


Polystichum omeiense (P. caruifolium is the older name but a proposal to conserve the name P. omeiense is being considered). I keep this in a pot so that I can move it indoors in case heavy frost is forecast, as I don't know how hardy it is. This is one I don't want to lose! The fronds can be up to 60 cm long, but mine are only about 10 cm at the moment.

[Leena]

Really nice ferns everyone:).

Leena mentioned earlier that temperatures were forecasted to be well above average in her portion of Finland this past August. I wonder how this turned out. As I remember there were also challenges with certain Primula species. Did they recover or did they die-out? Was it heat or drought (or both) that impacted the Primula species the most? I am very curious about the outcomes.

The average temperature during summer months in Helsinki was the the highest recorded since 1844 when they started recording temperatures.
June and especially July were very hot, but of course not as hot as in California and very dry. In July it only rained properly here in the end of the month. August turned out to be about average in temperature, so forecast was wrong, but it rained more than usually. In August this year in our garden it rained 150mm, which is more than twice normal. In 2020 it rained 49mm in August.
The rains saved many plants which had suffered from drought, and also apple crop is very good now.

I think it was Primula florindae which suffered from heat and drought both, because my hose isn't long enough and anyway we have water from our own well and I try to save water only to the edible plants and pots. In the end they flowered very well in August, and there is still one tall flower in it now when usually they are well over in September. I think it was the rains which encouraged it to make more flowers even now.

In the beginning of September there hasn't been rain, and temperatures have been about average (first colder than usual, then last week warmer than usual) and forecast is predicting September to being about average. Also long term forecast says it will be about average, and winter may come early. I hope no, I don't want snow in November.

Here is a picture of Primula florindae flower I wrote about, it was taken last week.
Second picture is one of my favourite fern, Dryopteris crassirhizoma and last picture there is one of the earliest Colchicums in my garden. I bought it ten years ago and have been able to divide it already in many beds.