August 2022 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

Hi Leena,

Your garden looks great! It appears to be very lush and full of flowering plants.



Yes, it is Rudbeckia laciniata that you see in our Sacramento garden. It is a major focal point in your garden during mid-summer. It blooms for many weeks, and thrives despite 40 C daytime high temperatures.

Currently I grow our California native Helenium bigelovii. In our garden, it and other Heleniums need division and freshly compost-amended soil done frequently otherwise they decline and eventually die out. They bloom for a long period of time and it is worth the effort to cultivate them.

[Jasmin]:  While I enjoy everyone’s pictures and discussion, I particularly thank you, Mr. Mylemans for such lovely pictures.  Your Heleniums are lovely, especially with weather conditions being so strange.  Every picture of your garden you submit is exquisite.  Stephan B., you also submit superb images.  Your L. leichtlinii v. maximowiczii is indeed lovely.  Maggi, sometime ago you posted pictures of I think it was Anton’s garden, and he felt apologetic about the yellow watering hose.  Given the weather, I actually found its inclusion appropriate.  We here are more accustomed to this dry and 40-degree weather, but witnessing California style weather--drought, temperatures, and fires--in Europe is shocking.  The sharing of ideas, of resilience, is the heart of gardening.  Hope nourishes the soul.




This year I did a grow-out of Tithonia rotundifolia next to the Rudbeckia. The flowers are magnets for butterflies. Pictured is a Fiery Skipper atop a flower.



There are orange-red and yellow flowering forms of Tithonia rotundifolia. I am making progress breeding a bi-colored flowering form that I like. Next year I will be able to do 100 plant grow outs. This is very exciting and should look fantastic.



Salvia coccinea ‘Brenthurst’ is coming into bloom. I started them in late this season, however they might be perennial in our climate. There are many interesting possibilities.



I am also making good progress with the Meso-American Salvias. F2 generation plants of Salvia guaranitica and Salvia chiapensis are coming along well, as well as a number of very interesting hybrids. For the most part, the Meso-American Salvias grow extremely well in our climate.

[Robert]

This is one of my best Erythranthe hybrids to date. It has been blooming non-stop all summer, is reasonably compact and has a good flower color. It propagates easily from cuttings.



Strongly perennial and plants that will repeat bloom all summer is a goal with my Erythranthe guttata type hybrids. I have a great deal of diverse genetic material to work with and hopefully some creative ideas.



Nothing prevents me from working with commonly grown plant species. It is 40 C and this is how one of my new Delphinium elatum hybrids is performing in the extreme heat. We have numerous local native Delphinium species. There are so many possibilities with plant breeding.



Ranunculus occidentalis var. occidentalis is completely dormant during the summer. This variety is intolerant of summertime irrigation and needs to be kept completely dry during the summer. Pictured are some of my F2 and F3 generation Ranunculus occidentalis hybrids that remain in growth all summer and are tolerant of summer irrigation. More are on trial in the open garden. I am hoping these new hybrid prove successful. They will add a new dimension to our early spring garden.



Zinnia elegans is another extremely commonly grown plant. There are a number of other commonly, and less commonly grown Zinnia species. For me, plant breeding makes growing such common plants fun and interesting. In addition, the garden looks great when there are large grow outs blooming. There are still many unexplored breeding possibilities with very common plant species. The professionals are frequently limited in what they are allowed to do by their employers, leaving all sorts of possibilities for amateurs.

[Robert]

This is just a portion of our weekly August harvest from the Sacramento vegetable garden/permaculture.



Despite 38 C to 40 C plus temperatures this week, there is a hint of autumn in our garden as the first Cyclamen hederifolium flowers start to emerge.

A lush and prolific garden is possible despite extended weeks of extreme heat (like 38 to 40 C or more), drought and other climatic/weather challenges. Our garden is looking fabulous! Yes, I know I am crowing, but anyone that can garden can do this despite extreme challenges, and have much enjoyment in the process.

[shelagh]

Does anyone in the UK want seed of Iberis Masterpiece? I think every flower on our many plants has set seed. Just PM if you need any. For those who don't know it 12 to 18 inches tall and sometimes 18 inches across.

[ruweiss]

This is the first flower of my Convolvulus cataonicus from wild seed
collected in 1600m in the Sofia region of Bulgaria. Wonder how these
plants behave in the future.
These Saxifragas and Acantholimon hedinii survived the hot conditions
until now. A. hedinii is one of the smallest in the genus, grows very slowly
and this plant did not flower until now.

[ruweiss]

We never had such a dryness in the meadow garden and we fear for some
total losses in the future. Many plants which grew good in former years look
rather bad and probably need replacement with more dryness resistant plants.
Cyclamen hederifolium appears rather late and we hope for more.

[Rick R.]

You are wrong, I got the seeds from a botanical garden in Japan when they were visiting there...

Oh, sorry!  I didn't see that you had identified them at the bottom of your post.  I thought you were asking for an ID.  At any rate, I'm glad now that I misidentified it.  Otherwise we would not know where the seed came from!  Bravo!

[Robert]

Hi Rudi

Just a quick note:

I saw the photographs of your woodland garden. It will be interesting to see what comes back. You might be surprised! The keeper plants will have a greater degree of resilience and will be well worth saving.

I think I saw a wilted Phlomis fruticosa in one photograph. I have this species up at our Placerville property. It looks wilted and near death each summer with no irrigation. It was 105 F (40.6 C) at the Placerville property today. So far this summer there have been 21 days with daytime high temperatures 100 F (37.8 C) or above, and 51 days with daytime high temperatures of 90 F (32.2 C) or above. There has been only 1.7mm of precipitation this summer. This is very typical here in our part of California. Our Phlomis fruticosa has survived 10 summers with conditions like this, or even more extreme, with little or no supplemental irrigation. It looks terrible each summer until the rains return or I have pity and give it some water. Some summers it received zero irrigation. With water it perks up immediately.

Good luck with everything. There is likely a silver lining to the situation.

P.S. Do not give up on the ferns. They might come back too!

[Mariette]

Rudi, I sympathize with You, in our region it´s probably even worse. It´s puzzling to see all plants in Robert´s garden looking so fresh, and a delight to see plants I grew here still flourishing in Leena´s garden. Deinanthe, for instance, grew here like mad for at least 10 years, and I was able to give away many clumps. Since about 10 years they are declining if not disappearing at all. One may compensate the drought by watering, but it´s the hot winds we face since about that time their leaves cannot cope with.

One of the few annuals surviving this year: Trachymene caerulea, together with a few flowers of phlox.



Asteromoea mongolica, a plant of doubtful naming, but nice flowers.



Eupatorium ´Bartered Bride´ required no watering, to my surprise.



Two years ago, a friend sent me seed of Habranthus robustus var. biflorus. Perhaps I´ll have to wait for the second year of flowering to see a second flower on the stalk?



Hedychium ´Assam Orange´has nice flowers, but regularly produces seed that looks attractive, too.

[ian mcdonald]

We have had little rain in the past few weeks. That changed on Sunday and Monday when we had 24 hours of steady rain which soaked into the ground. We have had more rain overnight. There should be signs of the rain doing good over the next few days. It may be too late to help plants which flower earlier. The small streams which had almost dried up are now running at near average levels. The temperature is also much lower than it has been lately. 22oC with a fresh breeze.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

It all sounds like good news. In our part of California recovery from drought would take decades, perhaps longer. Occasional seasonal flooding and a few extreme precipitation events will not change our overall long-term hydrologic trend.

Your photographs in your regular thread are captivating. Both Jasmin and I follow your thread on a regular basis just to see the fascinating insect and wildlife photographs.

[Gabriela]

It is very sad to see dried out plants in the gardens with many regions suffering of extreme drought this summer.
Like Robert mentioned, some may just be dormant and will resume growth in the fall or next year.

In parts of Ontario it is very dry as well. I say 'parts' because it is such a large province and it's not been dry everywhere. During a short trip 4 hours towards north, everything was looking lush and green as usual. So, we cannot generalize.
Having a small garden I can afford to water once in a while and in any case it is interesting to observe and learn how various species behave. To my surprise Lobelia siphilitica, L. cardinalis and few other species that usually like to have their feet wet are OK, not at their best but even producing few flowers.

Also Sanguisorba caandensis which otherwise prefers moist locations in the wild has adapted well.

Sanguisorba tenuifolia 'Alba' just starting now but seems to do well.


As a note, various species in the shade performed worst despite the occasional watering: Roscoea auriculata is in flower but struggling, few Trilliums have gone dormant very fast and Trautvetteria almost didn't grow at all.
Deinanthe caerulea, like Mariette mentions is indeed very sensitive to drought.

[Akke]

Despite the dry conditions in most places, there’re a lot of lovely pictures. Leena and Gabriela, I really enjoyed to see your gardens looking good. Mariëtte, the plants you show look fine even suffering from lack of rain, both you and Rudi seem to need some.
Hopefully many plants will recover, nice to have someone around with experience, Robert. Thanks for showing your harvest, I like your combination of ornamental and vegetable garden. At the same time, I wouldn’t  like to experience your temperatures.

As this normally is rain season, July has been pretty dry here, just 31 mm of precipitation at the official weather station nearby. Until yesterday weather in August didn’t improve the situation., then drops of rain came steady and gently down. Not enough to restore ground water level, but more is expected.
The southern and eastern part of the Netherlands surely need more water, probably more like Belgium, Herman?
Concerning agriculture there’re more regional and local differences, northern part is better of again, the ‘IJsselmeer’ has 50 milllion m3 of fresh water stored for watering crops this time, after previous drought. Raising the water level there is probably a bit more complicated than it sounds though. Even here, a hundred kilometres away, the current in the canal is very noticable. Most farmers will be allright, nature, public green (brownish) and private gardners could use more rain.

In my neighbours container, there was a pleasant surprise.

Colchicum bivonae ‘Glory of Heemstede” showed up. Planted and flowering late last year, it looks odd now as I associate it with autumn.

Leaves of my Eschscholzia are very different from E. californica you showed before and growing around here, Robert.
A picture of how thin and wiry. my leaves are.

Beginners description; the leaves are not on the flowering stem like E. californica , they begin at ground level more like a basal rosette.
The seeds are from a commercial biological seed company, with a mostly standard collection.

[Robert]

Akke,

Sometimes I see unfamiliar characteristics in a few of the California native species photographs that you post. Eschscholzia caespitosa is an example. A mislabeled seed package is a possibility, thus my questions. However, gene expression can be altered by environmental variables, think transcription factors or the modification of histones. Pink Cornus kousa varieties are white, or nearly white, in our part of California due the activity of transcription factors modifying gene expression. I am continually amazed with plants, learning about them is unending.

I also want to thank you for the information concerning the current developments in your local agriculture. I know that you are extremely busy and I did not want to engage you unnecessarily. I was hoping for current information from others. Anyway, the information was very informative. It appears that some of the agricultural systems have made contingencies for drought and excessively dry conditions. In the U.S.A. there is a great deal of dryland farming with no backup irrigation for dry periods or drought. Half of the continental U.S.A. is currently experiencing drought.

Gabriela,

The plants and the information you share always impress me. Thank you.

[Mariette]

@ Gabriela: Thank You for Your information about Trautvetteria! I´ve lost this species twice, and now I think I know why!
                   On the other hand, Sanguisorba canadensis has never been watered here, but thrives undiminished since more
                   than 10 years, self-seeding around.

@Akke: We´re living close to the Dutch border, about 20 min to drive to Venlo or Roermond - so rainfall is similar to that in the
             south-eastern Netherlands - about 20 mm in July and 16 mm in August, till now.  Plants in pots are regularly watered
             and do look alright, of course. In this case Salvia confertiflora,  Bouvardia ternifolia and Hedychium ´Tara´.



Francoa ramosa, still in a pot, looks fine, too.



For contrast, I´ve never yet seen colchicums with tips brown and shrunken by drought.



´Autumn Queen´looks better, though a bit pale just after emerging. The colour became deeper after a few days.



A colchicum received as C. bivonae ´Vesta´remains looking pale - I´m not sure whether this one is correctly named.