November 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Mariette]

Fall-flowering crocus start late this year in my garden. This is an unusual seedling of Crocus speciosus.





More blue from an Iris foetidissima gone wrong.



A seedling of Arum italicum.

[Robert]

Hi Mariette,

It is nice to see some of the “pretties” from your garden.



Temperatures have finally cooled to average levels for this time of year. A few plants did not burn this past summer and we are actually getting some autumn color. Pictured is Acer japonicum ‘Green Cascade’.



Pictured is leaf variation in a set of Cyclamen coum seedlings. This species does well in our Sacramento, California garden.



Crocus speciosus aff. bloomed in our garden during October. I acquired the bulbs from a local garden center about 10-15 years ago. All bulbs in the package grew and appeared to be the same clone. They have never set any seed. Over time the bulbs have multiplied and I have moved some around in our garden. This selection seems to do well in our garden.

[Margaret Thorne]

There are still a few Meconopsis plants in flower here, though these photos were taken at the end of last week, just before the latest bout of cold weather: M. wallichii subsp. wallichii and M. Fertile Blue Group, (probably a M. gakyidiana x M. grandis hybrid)

[Margaret Thorne]

The evergreen moncarpic Meconopsis plants are looking good too: M. regia has been covered for the winter:



This M. x complexa has blue green foliage, rather than the gold of M. regia, so it will be interesting to try to work out its parentage when it flowers



M. robusta has more divided leaves than M. regia, but less so than M. napaulensis and it lacks black spots on its leaves which are usually present in M. dhwojii

[Véronique Macrelle]

oh! these Meconopsis foliage are magnificent and make me envious.

my little Cyclamen coum are also being reseeded, preferably in the lawn, and it's a great pleasure.
it rained so much that my Crocus speciosus were drowned and dead.

i'm surprised that Caiophora is still flowering and bearing fruit despite 2 mornings at -1 °C.
the photo shows a long turbinate fruit.

I put Parochetus communis in the greenhouse, because I don't yet know its resistance to cold and water. It's starting to flower ... a blue that's not quite bright enough because of the lack of light. I like this plant but we'll see if I can keep it.

[Leena]

Beautiful Crocuses and other plants everyone. Those Meconopsis foliage are so impressive.

It snowed yesterday 10cm, so winter has started here. These pictures are from last week, but no flowers, just pretty green evergreen foliage mostly.
Eupatorium  seed heads in backlight.




Epimedium ex 'Amber Queen' from seeds.


Other Epimedium foliage and Helleborus multifidus in the middle.

[Leena]

Polystichum aculeatum


Cyclamen purpurascens does well here and has been always hardy.


More Cyclamen seedlings

[Mariette]

Margaret, Your choice meconopsis may well be a reason to move to Scotland or a region with similar climate - unfortunately, they are impossible to grow in the area where I´m gardening.

Leena, Your garden looks still so atmospheric at this time of the year!

This seedling of Crocus laevigatus looks too fragile to stand our weather in November.



Clematis texensis ´Duchess of Albany´doesn´t mind the -2°C during the last nights.

[Véronique Macrelle]

Ooh, pretty Clematis, Mariette!
 I've always wanted the texensis species... but after a failed sowing and then reading about how difficult it is to grow, I gave up... is this variety doing well in your garden?

I have this problem with crocuses: I love them, but they are often destroyed by the rain or, worse still, never open because they don't get enough sun...

[Mariette]

Crocuses are among my favourites, too, but, unfortunately, the rodents share my interest, if only for crocus as a nutrient.  Also, the weather in our area is often so windy and rainy, that some seasons one hardly may enjoy their flowering. Which is why I bet on snowdrops and cyclamen, mainly, but wouldn´t like to miss out crocuses, nevertheless.

I wonder why Clematis texensis should be difficult to grow? More than 30 years ago I bought this variety in Britain, and it´s the only clematis which lasted with me for so long. I treat it more or less like a perennial and cut it back almost to the ground in late autumn.

[Leena]

Mariette, thank you for your comment.
Also here Crocuses are rodents favourite food (maybe after Corydalis), as I found out last summer when many Crocus corms were dug up and eaten. Somehow the rodents smell where the corms are even when they are dormant!

[ArnoldT]

My favorite line is that rodents feel about Crocus like humans feel about macadamia nuts at a cocktail party.