Hepatica 2009

[Ewelina Wajgert]

This Hepatica is described as Hepatica yamatutai. It has large flower, larger as nobilis var. japonica, larger as my henryi "Double Rosa".
Is the name correct? What dou you think about it?

[Paul T]

Ewelina,

Lovely!!  That last double is beautiful, and the dark leaves on it must set it off well.  I particularly like the insularis rosea leaves though... I don't think I've heard of that species before?

[Gunilla]

I don't know this species so can't help with identification but what a little beauty it is.  The leaf colour is very nice. Does it stay that dark throughout the season or turn more green later on?
I see now that the older leaf on your photo is more green but still quite dark.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

New leaves are darker - brown and older are more green.

I have one yamatutai, but the double is too small in order to compare it. I think, if it is larger, it is easilier to do it.

[Joakim B]

Ashley when visiting Sweden over the Easter I saw sme hepaticas but thought they were lighter this year than usual. It may be that I am in the end so that they have become lighter with the warmth or the tricky weather is behind it.
Regarding ranunculoides or nemorosa I can comment on Gunilla´s comment in that ranunculoides is not so common and are red-listed (fridlyst) in ourpart of Sweden but when it grows it often grows a loooot of them. The nemorosa grows everywhere.
My mother claims she can separate them by the foliage and so do others I think. The intermediate/hybrid of the yellow and white is the sulphor coloured one that for some reason is growing a lot of in the botanical garden in Lund. I have only seen it one as a wild plant presumable because here in the south of Sweden they have separate flowering times.
It was also some discussion about transilvanica having few flowers.
I add a picture of the ones in the botanical garden that flowers well I must say, but all is relative.
There were also some cultivars that I enjoyed as seen by this overview.
In our summer-house we had some flowering and the pink had become almost white.
I do not know if it may be pyreneica "apple blossom" but do not know how to separate it from normal nobilis nobilis.
It was in the end of the flowering and a day later the petals were gone. Looked like it could be seeds coming.
I also saw one blue with red "things" (to use the term). Is that uncommon?
Also added some semi-wild plant from Lund growing with Viola odorata

Kind regards
Joakim

[ashley]

Thanks Joakim.  At least in Åland both anemone species are abundant and flower together in early May.
Seeing them side by side I thought I could differentiate the foliage too but now can't remember

[Joakim B]

Ashley as I said in some places they are both abundant, giving a lovely impression. 
Here in the south they are separarated by weeks and nemorosa was in full bloom while ranunculus was still tight buds. There might be some late nemorosa that flower together with ranunculus.
I think that the distance between the foliage and the bud is shorter for ranunculus compared to nemorosa. Here in the "South" (of Sweden) the foliage is developped differently due to ranuculus being later and that makes some difference in the foliage but when looking at late nemorosa it is nolonger so easy to separate the two.
How are they in Ireland (or the rest of the world?) are they blooming together with hepatica both of them or are all separated?
The order in Southern Sweden is blue, white, (sulphor), and yellow. With some overlap.

Kind regards
Joakim

[ashley]

How are they in Ireland (or the rest of the world?) are they blooming together with hepatica both of them or are all separated?

Here A. nemorosa flowers from mid/late-March to mid/late-April and sometimes well away from trees or even bushes.  Similar behaviour by other 'woodland' species like primrose (Primula vulgaris) and bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), especially in the west, is thought to reflect our mild, less sunny conditions.  However neither A. ranunculoides nor hepaticas are native to Ireland. 

[Joakim B]

Thanks for the information Ashley maybe someone having all three in the garden can relate to this.
Regarding primulas we have veris growing wild and it is having buds but no open flowers and vulgaris coming from gardencenter mixes can flower any time of the winter so we had some in flower now. Only hybrids of vulgaris and veris were flowering now. These were made by bees in our garden.
To continue the reference the pusatillas were flowering in Lund but in the summer house some 100km norteast there were some flowering and some not. The one in bud was "rote klocke" one that I would have liked to see.

Kind regards
Joakim

[Gunilla]

Thanks for the information Ashley maybe someone having all three in the garden can relate to this.

Joakim, Anemone nemorosa and A. ranunculoides are flowering now in my garden under a big magnolia tree (almost flowering). I also have a few varieties of Anemone x lipsiensis but they have not started to flower yet. Sorry this is off topic, I think     Tomorrow I'll try and post some photos of my last hepatica to flower. 

[Gunilla]

The last one of my hepaticas has now started to flower. This is the ugly duckling turning into a swan

Hepatica nobilis alba plena

[Gerry]

Is that the alba plena that Mr Schlyter was selling a few years ago?

Gerry

[Gunilla]

It might be but I'm not sure.  Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet Severin Schlyter and have not seen his plants.

[Gerry]

No, nor did I. I got crenatiloba and alba plena from him about 2000; guess which one 'died on me' as they say in Ireland [and County Durham].

Gerry

[Gunilla]

Oh, I feel sorry for you, Gerry. I divided my plant last year because I wanted a back-up plant. You can imagine my anxiety until I knew for sure that both were doing fine.