July 2024 in the northern hemisphere

[Véronique Macrelle]

Bomerea edulis has been flowering since April.

 I've sown it 3 times. It germinates, then grows quite quickly. But I had to work out how to get it through the winter and and in the end I think it is important not to separate the seedlings or disturb the roots (I've also tried Lapageria 3 times, but it never germinated).
finally, the 3rd time for Bomarea  it succeeded (for the moment in pots, wintered out-of-freeze in the garage).

This plant is in its 3rd year. It started growing early in the season in February/March, when I installed it in front of a bay window in the living room. It started flowering in April!
 i know it can be hardy, so i'm waiting until i have enough to test it in the ground.
 by fertilising with a brush, i've managed to get 2 cm wide pods: they're already 2 months old and still green.


The flowers first produce anthers (blue-green stamens), then at the end of flowering when the stamens have dried out, finally a pistil. On each inflorescence, 2 or 3 flowers always seem to be delayed, but it's not easy to have the 2 stages synchronised and this almost never happens on the same inflorescence.

[Maggi Young]

I've not seen the fruits of Bomarea edulis - they are a super shape! Good luck with viable seed , Véronique .

[Leena]

June was first hot and dry here, then at the end we got some rains, and weather is pleasant +18 - 20C.
Martagon lilies are flowering now, and some of the seedlings sown in 2017 are flowering for the first time.







L.martagon var album



'Early Bird'

[Leena]

Couple of dark ones.
'Congo Capers'



'Russian Morning'



A view from the garden, and dark lilies in the front are 'Congo Capers'.

[ashley]

Beautiful martagons Leena.
Your L. canadense recently flowered here for the first time.

[Leena]

Your L. canadense recently flowered here for the first time.

Ashley, how can it be yellow? I am sure I took it from the red one.
Let's try again.

[Véronique Macrelle]

your lilies are marvellous!

I bought a few martagons this spring, but they didn't do much, so I'll have to wait for next year.
 how tall are they, martagon and canadense?
 Leena: your garden is very beautiful: very full, just the way I like it...

[ashley]

Well done on managing to set seed on your Bomarea Véronique   What interesting fruits.
This L. canadense is only about 70cm but still immature.  I understand that established plants can reach 2m+, but Leena will know as she grows it beautifully.

Leena, you very kindly sent me scales of both yellow and red forms, as well as a yellow bulbil (the plant above). 
Unfortunately I didn't succeed with the red so would love to try again if possible.  Thank you.

[Gabriela]

The martagons are fantastic in all colors Leena!
I also had a young one flowering this year but don't dare to show it here, only had a few flowers.

Nice first L. canadense flowers Ashley. One that I still have at the foliage stage here; I've only been succesful with L. michiganense for now.

Out hiking recently, I noticed an excellent flowering season for Lilium philadelphicum, probably due to a more rainy spring and early summer. The deers will have a feast with the capsules later in the fall.


Mimulus lewisii, easy, fast flowering from seeds  started very early.


Delphinium fissum, now a regular garden show in July.


And Clematis hexapetala, grown from wild seeds Primorye. I grew it before from seeds exchanges and always a hybrid.

[Leena]

I bought a few martagons this spring, but they didn't do much, so I'll have to wait for next year.
 how tall are they, martagon and canadense

Thank you Veronique.
I think martagon lilies are slow to establish, and are at their best after a few years.
The tallest of mine are about 1,6m, mostly they are 1m-1,5m.
L.canadense is usually as tall, more than 1,5m, but this year they are shorter. I think it is because of the drought and heat wave in May.
Red L.canadense is not flowering well this year, the biggest bulbs have suffered from something, maybe drought (they are alive), but a smaller one in a different bed is ok.

Ashley, I completely forgot about the yellow one I sent you.
One year I got some seeds from both yellow and red ones, but most years the seeds are empty. I don't know why they seem to be difficult to produce seeds. Martagon lilies have a lot of seeds every year.

Gabriela, your L.philadelphicum looks good! My seedlings from it are growing, so I'm very happy about it.
Before we had fence around the garden, deer liked to eat also martagon seed pods.
Delphinium fissum looks so nice.

[Véronique Macrelle]

I also like Mimulus lewisii.

here is Verbascum atroviolaceum its colour is superior. it flowered the year of sowing, but is a little too nourished by too rich a compost. in poorer soil its rosette of leaves is less than 15 cm wide.
at the back Campanula rotundifolia



 and finally Petunia exserta, in a pot as it's my only surviving plant this year.

[Véronique Macrelle]

a nice species of dahlia: Dahlia coccinea.

I wonder if this is really the pure species? if someone reassures me I'll give some seeds for the exchange...

do the flowers always face west (afternoon sun)?
 someone warned me that it can grow up to 2 m tall.


I post regularly to familiarise myself with my new programme and equipment (I can't see very well) but the photos (from my phone now) are going a bit in any direction in the thumbnail version: I don't know if there's a solution...

[arisaema]

a nice species of dahlia: Dahlia coccinea.

That's lovely! I sowed a species of my own from the SRGC seed list, it's become a bit larger than I expected, hope it'll be hardy enough. Dahlia merckii:

[ashley]

a nice species of dahlia: Dahlia coccinea.

Lovely plants Véronique, including your verbascum

D. coccinea seed from a UK nursery some years ago gave me plants usually <1m with flower colour varying from deep red through scarlet to orange-red.  All were/are fully single, with petals regularly arranged.  I can't be certain that they are the pure species but like them very much.

That's lovely! I sowed a species of my own from the SRGC seed list, it's become a bit larger than I expected, hope it'll be hardy enough. Dahlia merckii:

Arisaema, here D. merckii is usually 1.5-2m but sometimes 3m+, and is wonderful where it has space to perform.  Here in SW Ireland it flowers well into autumn.

Both species survive our wet winters without protection, but temperatures very rarely go below -5°C.

[Véronique Macrelle]

I successfully sowed Dahlia merckii 2 years ago, and even in large quantities, but be careful Arisema, because at the end of the summer, the field mice loved it so much that they ate all its tubers in a week! (at least 10 plants) and this spring-sown dahlia hadn't flowered early enough for the seeds to ripen.
 So the coccinea is staying in pots until I get some seeds! but it won't grow as much!