Hi Thomas,
I hope that this past growing season went well for you. As I remember some sort of Derecho or intense storm system moved northward from southern Europe through Eastern Europe. From my understanding there was widespread flooding in some areas. Hopefully your home and garden were out of this zone.
Pictured below are two Eriogonum species that I am likely to encounter during my survey of the Tells Peak region. You likely already have these species in your collection, however there are some details concerning these species that I thought you might find interesting.
Pictured above is a superlative specimen of Eriogonum incanum growing along the route to Tells Peak. Eriogonum incanum is a very common, yet highly variable species. Most specimens of this species that I observe in the wild do not flower as profusely as this specimen. In addition, the plant habit of the pictured specimen is superb. Many plants in the wild can be scraggly; likely not very attractive in a garden setting. There is also considerable variation in the coloration of the foliage. I personally enjoy the intensely silver leaf forms of this species. In some locations, the range of Eriogonum incanum and Eriogonum marifolium var. marifolium overlap. At these sites hybrids occur. Creating hybrids in a garden setting is easy as both species are dioecious; obligate cross-pollination will occur if a male plant of one species is isolated with a female plant of the other species. I have tested this breeding technique with these two species and it works. Unfortunately, I did not find the native hybrids very interesting or with characteristics of horticultural significance. In addition to date, I have not found any natural hybrids of this cross with horticultural significance. This, of course, is high subjective, someone else might see things differently. In the future I hope recreate this cross in our garden and take the best plant to the F2 generation. Maybe they just need to be worked with in a more sustained manner.
Eriogonum lobbii is another common species in our region. This species, too, can exhibit a good degree of genetic variability. I enjoy the intensely silver leaf forms of this species as pictured above. In our region, this species is found primarily at the highest elevations of the Crystal Range. I have found populations at lower elevations. The low elevation populations of this species may possess horticultural significant characteristics. It will be worth my effort to investigate these low elevation populations in greater detail.
Off the topic of Eriogonum…..
Penstemon heterodoxus var. cephalophorus is a species I am likely to encounter in the Tells Peak region. This high elevation species performs surprisingly well in our low elevation Sacramento garden. Past accessions of this species have bloomed reliably each season and the intensity of the flower pigmentation is maintained reasonably well in our hot, low elevation garden. I believe there is considerable room for improvement with this species. It is an attractive species worthy of use in a garden setting.
