March 2007

[Maggi Young]

I have to say that I get very confused between Scilla, Chionodoxa, Puschkinia, and their various forms. The fact that one has to deal with Scilla puschkiniodes, Scilla scilloides,Puschkinia scilloides and the x Chionoscilla is enough to make me give up! I like them well enough, I just get stuck trying to recognise them! Scilla rosenii is easy because its ambition is to be an Erythronium, and that always goes down well chez the BD!

Mick, yourRomulea linaresiiis a sweet thing... when I see a pale, delicate colour like this I think it is my preference, then someone shows one of the bigger, brighter ones and I am swayed! That's why I say when s asked what is my favourite flower I have to answer: "the one that opened today" !

[mark smyth]

One more ID. I ask every year and there is no answer  . What is this ?Scilla. Photographed last April 14th and this year it is amost over. Sanguinarias are also 3 weeks early

[Diane Clement]

One more ID. I ask every year and there is no answer  . What is this ?Scilla. Photographed last April 14th and this year it is amost over. Sanguinarias are also 3 weeks early

I'd hedge a bet at Scilla bithynica

[Mick McLoughlin]

Yes David, I purchased it from Paul Christian last year. I suppose the secret now is to get it back again next year.

Maggi, only just spotted it open. Wasn't open when I started work in greenhouse, and was closed a couple of hours later. Looked again tonight after work and it was closed again. 

[Lesley Cox]

You're right Diane, that's horrible, as if soot from a chimney had been spilt.

[Maggi Young]

Diane's black anthered scilla may be messy, but it is not short of pollen, is it?

[Martin Baxendale]

Some more tuberous Corydalis solida forms flowering today:

'Red Riding Hood' from Paul Christian.

'George Baker'

C. solida transylvanica

[Martin Baxendale]

Also, a late flower of Crocus kosaniniii.

And the rhododendron buds are starting to move.

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

Today has startet in my garden the flowering season of species peonies , first like every year a P.russoi from the inonic islands .

Greetings
Hans

[razvan chisu]

Hello Hans
Could you tell me which is the minimum temperature you have in winter? I am curios about he hardiness of this peony. Thanks.
Razvan

[Hans J]

Hello Razvan ,

I live here in zone 7a ,last winter the minimum temperature was  -13,8° C ( 25. Jan.) .
P. russoi is really hard -no problem .
I grow it from different locations without any problems - on Sardinia , Sicily and Corsica this plants grows until 1500 m altitude .

Greetings
Hans

[razvan chisu]

Thanks Hans for the info
This year it has been really mild for us too, lowest I think was -10. But normal winter weather (has anyone seen such, lately?  ) means we have lows of -20/-25 coupled with high winds.
I'll try it anyway.
Razvan

[Hans J]

Hi Razvan ,

The cold is not the problem for peonies - the problem is the wet .
You must make excellent drainage for all and maybe a protection for rain -thats all .
I confess I live here in a very mild area -it is the warmest part of Germany -but the problem are always late frosts . I grow a lot of peonies from the mediterranean area and I think it is only possibly here with this mild climate . A other help for this plant is to protect they from strong sun in winter - maybe with some branches of Abies . This plants starts really early with emerge -in this year p.e. my P. clusii in January and if than comes frost I have really a bad feeling and fear that I will lost -but nothing is happens .
P. russoi start with emerging much later .

Greetings
Hans

[Maggi Young]

Hans, even with the milder winter, and as you say, the Paeonia russoi emerges a little later than some, I cannot believe how beautiful the foliage is! So perfect, no frost or wind damage, no holes from eating insects... a picture of health!
Even with leaves that come later than this I seldom have such good leaves on any paeony!

[Hans J]

Hi Maggi ,

Thank you for you compliments !
The seeds for you from this plant are underway -try it .
I will later show more of my pictures from species peonies -and believe all looks similar well .
With peonies will not have any troubles with insects or slugs and snails - they like it not .
Paeonia is such a very old genus and they have survived millions of year - the only problem are fungus
( botrytis and other ) but if you have a well ventilatet place so it is not a problem .

Many greetings
Hans