Flowers and Foliage August 2008

[Kristl Walek]

My favorite viola, the beautiful, large flowered, sun loving, V. pedata is back--blooming for the second time this year, in fact, better now than in the spring.

And thank you to the bees---look what magic they performed on this Gaillardia. I'll collect the seed, but I am sure when it is sown it will turn into something different again.

Adenophora taquetii.

[Heinie]

Here are some of my South African species in flower at the moment

Cyrtanthus mackenii




Cyrtanthus obrienii


Veltheimia bracteata Lemon Glow


Veltheimia bracteata Red


Veltheimia bracteata Pink


Lachenalia

[Gerdk]

My favorite viola, the beautiful, large flowered, sun loving, V. pedata is back--blooming for the second time this year, in fact, better now than in the spring.

Kristl,
Magnificent! Much better than mines - only one flower now, not worth a photo.
What place in the garden did you select for this tricky species? Poor soil?
In a pocket between stones? Some shelter from rain?

Gerd

[Paul T]

Heinie,

Great pics!!  I am currently awaiting the opening of my first yellow Veltheimia, this from seed sown a few years ago.  I also have "bicolor" and "mixed shades" seed coming along, the majority of which are in bud at the moment so I am hoping to see my first ever non-pink Velt!  Great to see yours to remind me of just what I have on the way.

[Heinie]

Tyerman,
I am very interested to see the "bicolor" because I have not seen one yet. Good luck and I am looking forward to your photos.

I hope my photos are sized correctly because I notice that a lot of the posted photos are down sized. I upload with Photobucket.

[Paul T]

Heinie,

If you check at the bottom of each posting there is usually a signature (as you've set up in yours) which often contains people's actual names.  Mine is Paul! My ID is my last name.

Your pics are fine, but you don't need to use Photobucket.  If you check at the bottom of the reply, just below the box you type the message into, you'll see "Additional Options", which allows you to upload the pictures to the SRGC site itself.  That way there is never any problem with anyone having a server down on photobucket or wherever else you store them, and you don't need to have your own storage area for them.

As to the bicolour velt... I have seen pics where the flower is half yellow and half pink (i.e top half of each flower is one colour and the bottom half the other).  I too have never actually seen one of them, so I am awaiting finding out whether any of the seedlings show this or not.  I am just wanting something not the normal musky pink to be honest, i.e something different!!    Yes, I'll post pics in the Southern Hemisphere thread when they open.  It will still be a while yet as only a few of them are even showing any colour in the buds as yet, but I can still tell that it looks like all the yellow seedlings should BE yellow, at least they have none of the darker shading appearing on the stem and buds of the other pots of seedlings.

[Slug Killer]

Thanks for the info about putting pictures on. I've always used photobucket as I did not realise there was a direct method Will make it a lot quicker in future.

[Paul T]

You can also upload more than one pic (up to 10) by clicking on 'More Attachments' to the right of the browse box, so it really does make it so simple and easy.  It's all been mentioned from time to time, but unless you happen to read the right topics and see the comments it isn't something you'd notice on your own... at least I certainly didn't when I started.  Didn't occur to me that the 'Additional Options' thing meant much at all.    Now, it is just so easy to post pics. 

[arillady]

I received seed of Cyrtanthus mackenii years ago from a friend and when they flowered there was a cream, an orange and lovely salmon pink. I gave someone bulbs of the pink and now I don't have it at all - I must have given all the pink away! I have the small clump in the garden and it flowers for ages - has been in flower for a couple of months now.

[Paul T]

Pat,

You need to work out who you gave the bulbs to and see if you can get a bit of the pink back!    I've done the same thing in the past, but invariably when that happens you can't remember who it was who you gave them too. 

[Heinie]

Paul,
Thank you for the info about your name but I noticed it after I posted.

Thanks also for the info on posting photos directly. I made use of the same method from some other Forums.

Pat,
Yes, the C mackenii seems to flower all year round here. I only have the red form of C mackenii but a few more species that may flower soon.

[Maggi Young]

Oh, my, I do like that purple/blue spotted Lachenalia.... I haven't seen that colour before.... how lovely..... Heinie, we are really going to enjoy seeing these plants of yours!

[ArneM]

Maggi, I think you're right. Plants are the future.

Kristl, first thanks for your compliment. I don't have to hide my hobby but there's no one in my region at my age who is really interested in plants. They accept it but not more... Therefore it's quite complicated to find friends who want to go with me in a Botanic Garden if our class is spending a trip to London for example. Fortunately I found some.
I am very interested in plants that's right but I think they will be my hobby only as there are only a few well-paid jobs in that sector. So I prefer to study medicines to get a job in the stem cell or cancer research later. But it is still enough time to change my opinion... 

Luit, I am not sure whether my Dicentra really is D. macrocapnos but both species exist. You're interested in many plants I am also interested in, so it has to be a good taste. 

[Paul T]

Luit and Arne,

They are two distinct species, but I don't know how to tell them apart for sure.  In my garden, Dicentra macrocapnos shoots very early and flowers very late in comparison to Dicentra scandens in a friend's garden, but that could just be differences in our gardens.  Hers is much denser when in flower, but comparatively flowers for a shorter period, again I have no idea whether this is representative or just differences in our gardens?  Whichever name they are, they're lovely.  I grow my D. macrocapnos on an arch with Tropaeolum tricolor, as one grows and flowers in summer and the other in winter.  Works very nicely I think. 

[Kristl Walek]

My favorite viola, the beautiful, large flowered, sun loving, V. pedata is back--blooming for the second time this year, in fact, better now than in the spring.

Kristl,
Magnificent! Much better than mines - only one flower now, not worth a photo.
What place in the garden did you select for this tricky species? Poor soil?
In a pocket between stones? Some shelter from rain?

Yes, Gerd, I have seen it in the wild, so it's in poor soil and full sun...in fact, in very little soil at all...the largest patch is on top of one of the big pieces of limestone in my rock garden, where nothing else will grow (just a few cm of soil on the top of the rock.) The second little drift is wedged in a wide crevice.

The location is about 90cm? high and exposed-- no shelter from rain or anything else---and there is barely a day it has not rained since winter. Some of the foliage is looked very chlorotic right now (yellow), and it does have me worried, especially since they are blooming almost too well.

I only got one single seed pod this spring from many plants (and good bloom). Perhaps I will get more now...?