September 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

Shelagh,

For us, Aspidotis densa has been fairly easy-to-grow in a container. As stated, I am finally having luck with this species in the garden, however there were also many failures.

What a disappointment with the Pellaea rotundifolia and the show bench. Many gardeners could have benefited seeing this species on the bench and perhaps enjoying the species in their garden. At least you get to enjoy it in your garden! I guess as they say, you got “the last laugh”.

Thank you for sharing the story and all the fine plants.

> Andre,

I am very impressed with Coniogramme emeiensis! Great foliage.

I am not likely to find this species at any nursery in our area, however I will keep it in mind. It seems like it would be a fantastic addition to our garden – at least worth a try.

Thank you for sharing.

> Leena,

Thank you for all the climatic and cultural information. Believe it or not, there are a few Primula species that will grow in our garden. Hybrid Polyantha type Primulas are indestructible! They take a degree of drought and large amounts of neglect and still grow and bloom well. Primula veris grows well too. I wish they set seed. I guess I can try harder to get seed set. Anyway, I will try other Primula species in the future. At one time I grew many species when there was an ornamental garden at El Dorado County property. As I can, I hope to try one species at a time and see what happens. (I dislike getting overwhelmed with too much stuff.) I will never know unless I try.

Thank you again for all the information. I will pass along the information about the temperatures in Helsinki with some of my atmosphere science friends. They will be keenly interested.

[Gabriela]

Beautiful ferns shown here!

No show here for fall Crocus or Colchicum Leena, it's been very warm and I'm sure they didn't get the signal that fall arrived.

Robert: I had the chance to admire beautiful clumps of Adiantum aleuticum growing in full sun in BC mountains!
You're are right about the Primula x polyantha being indestructible; to our luck. In our region the very hot summers easily spell an end for few other Primulas without extra watering (some I couldn't keep for more than 2 years even if watering).

[Tristan_He]

Quite a few things in flower considering how late it is.



Eryngium planum.



Viola bubanii



Hieracium intybaceum. I love the luminous pale colour of the flowers, they remind me a little of Crocus scharojanii flavus (or at least photos of it, I've never seen the real thing).



Linaria aeruginosa.



Seseli hippomarathrum.

[Tristan_He]

Potentilla heptaphylla



Pelargonium endlicherianum, a bit out of focus but I'm afraid it's finished now. At least you can see the leaves... 

[Herman Mylemans]

Tristan, indeed still a lot of flowers to see. Thank you for showing.

[Robert]

Gabriela,

My experience with the genus Primula, more or less, mirrors your experiences. Based on my past experience, many Primula species do not grow well in our area – too hot, too dry, however Candelabra types have been a bit easier – more forgiving of the heat, however they are still water hogs. Primula allionii types have done well for me, however I do not like keeping many plants in pots. In general, if a plant does not do well in our open garden, I am not interested in growing them. I have a few exceptions.

It seems like most Primula x polyantha have been bred to be bedding plants or for the show bench. The colors seem unnatural in our garden. Breeding for a more “natural” look might be a good project for me. I am doing this with other common garden annuals. Plants bred for the cut flower trade are awkward in our garden too. Many hybrid Asiatic Lilies fit into this category. I guess I am a picky gardener.     

Tristan,

Can you tell me anything more about Viola bubanii? It looks like it would be well behaved in the garden – not weedy.

I have had good luck with a few Linaria species. Linaria purpurea is weedy but I always let a fair number grow in the garden. I started with ‘Canon Went’ so I have all pinks. Linaria triornithophora did well, however I lost this species. I liked how it moved about from rhizomes. Can you tell me more about Linaria aeruginosa?

[Tristan_He]

Hi Robert,

I'm afraid I can't tell you much about either species, as I have grown each for less than a year. Viola bubanii seems to like a sunny open spot without competition. I don't yet know how perennial it will be as many of the pansies are short-lived. Linaria aeruginea (note spelling - apologies I got it wrong in my original post) I purchased only a couple of months ago. It's growing vigorously in a sunny spot in sandy soil, but whether or not it survives our winter we will see...

Toadflaxes are often a bit short-lived here so we will see how it does long-term. I'm hoping it will behave a bit like L. purpurea and seed around a bit.

Primula - I struggle a bit with many of these as I don't have many places where they can be consistently damp at the root, and our soil dries out rapidly making them prone to root aphid and vine weevil. I find wilder forms of Primula auricula (not the heavily bred show varieties) to be long-lived garden plants. Primula forrestii is also good, but not always easy to get hold of. Of the candelabra types, Primula alpicola is tolerant of somewhat drier conditions than many, and P. chionantha is also tough and long-lived. Robert, agree that the hybrid polyanthus (and lilies) are ugly. Polyanthus also often self-seed, reverting to a muddy pinkish colour of little value. These days I weed these out to leave only wild type primroses.

Hope this helps!
Tristan

[Carolyn]

Linaria aeruginea seeds around. I got it by mistake from the seedex many years ago - I thought I was getting L alpina. Aeruginea seeds around tremendously, but is very easy to weed out so is not a problem at all. The flower colour varies from purple, brown through to yellow. All are beautiful. I like the glaucous leaves too. I never worry about whether it will overwinter - there’s always plenty reappears each spring.

[Mariette]

Linaria aeruginosa looks really special, I think I wouldn´t be disappointed to receive it erroneously!

Just some colchicums in my garden

I bought this one as C. bornmülleri, but I think it´s´Autumn Queen´



Colchicum autumnale



Colchicum  x byzantinum ´Innocence´



Colchicum autumnale with some late flowers of Campanula poscharskyana



I like the buds of this one, probably ´Giant´

[cohan]

Always fun to see what everyone has happening--- some familiar things and always some cool strangers!  Here, some of the same things that have been flowering for months, others having a second flush after cooler damper weather returned some weeks ago. We've had some nights near/below freezing- -hard to tell exactly when the frost hits on the acreage here, since I have have very little that is tender! Colour has been creeping in more and more, in wild plants it begins in the understory with some herbaceous plants, into shrubs, gradually moving into trees -- still more green than not, but it will start to change quickly...

Last colour for a patch of native Actaea rubra- started with a wild self sown plant in an old bed, when I reworked the area I kept it, and it has been expanding..



tiny Allium cyanem- still languishing in its seed pot, as most planting has been on hold like my life in general...lol I pulled it  out for the photos





Not quite locally native Diervilla lonicera- late flush of flowers coinciding with the beginning of foliage colour



Local native Symphoricarpos albus, finds its way into various garden spots, some need to be moved, some stay in or beside beds; always a nice plant, but showiest in seed. esp while they are fresh and white

[Gabriela]

It seems fall advances quickly everywhere! The first Colchicum 'The Giant' also appeared here, but I still have to take pictures.

Robert, I agree about the Asiatic lilies, they do seem out of place in any wild garden. But in regards with P. x polyantha - I managed to revive an almost dying specimen that I found when we moved in the present place, and it was such a great idea. It is the only one I have and wouldn't be without it now: it is super drought resistant, fragrant and it flowers for months on end (yellow and orange/reddish flowers).

Linaria aeruginea - Carolyn described it very well. Cute but I had to remove it completely from my small rockery, where it was trying to take over, but let it grow in various other corners of the garden.
Those interested: by asking for Linaria alpina from seedex you will most probably receive this one, so don't hesitate

[Mariette]

Thanks for the hint, Gabriela! 

The white form of Anemonopsis macrophylla better sets off the lovely buds and flowers, I think.



Soft tints of Anemone tomentosa ´Föräldrarhemmet´



Clematis ´Cote d´Azur´with Geranium ´Rozanne´



Eupatorium rugosum



Digitalis grandiflora reblooming.

[Herman Mylemans]

Echinacea 'Butterfly Kisses'

Verbena bonariensis 'Lollipop'

[Carolyn]

Linaria aeruginea - Carolyn described it very well. Cute but I had to remove it completely from my small rockery, where it was trying to take over, but let it grow in various other corners of the garden.
Those interested: by asking for Linaria alpina from seedex you will most probably receive this one, so don't hesitate

I’ll be sending some in to the seed exchange correctly named! 

[Gabriela]

The white Anemonopsis macrophylla is particulalry delightful Mariette.

The first Giant appeared, probably still too warm for Crocus speciosus, some new Aster dumosus to enrich the fall decor and Allium pseudojaponicum looking very nice in buds - thanks to Kris. I like it that it starts flowering before A. thunbergii.