Puzzles

[Anthony Darby]

Alas, no reoom in my garden for such a plant.

[Eric Locke]

Alas, no reoom in my garden for such a plant.

Or mine.

Eric

[Maggi Young]

Ignoring Anthony's pun ( I know you can't come to the Aberdeen Show on Saturday.... please just post the choc fine to me!!)....... there are some very cute LITTLE Rheums, you know......cannot remember the names of any right now, of course  ..... but they do exist and don't take much space.

[Paddy Tobin]

Lesley,

I wish my wife had a similar appreciation of rheums as you have. While I grow several in the garden, they are confined to the "wild west corner" where they escape notice unless sought out. There is one patch in the garden of what I told my wife were a miniature species - these are now in flower at a height of about 2 metres.

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

I love this little one. It is Rheum delavayi and grows to about 15cms in flower. It makes a tiny, tight mat. You would need a lot of stems to have enough for a rhubarb pie.




I have this as R. tibeticum


and I had R. spiciforme but have lost it now, a lovely inflorecence over flat foliage, the whole thing about 35cms high.

[johnw]

Paddy - re: Saruma henryi

ex Hinckley's The Explorer's Garden

"first described by Daniel Oliver in 1889 from herbarium pressings collected by A. Henry."

"both Henry and later Wilson observed Saruma growing in shady, mesic locations in Hubei, Guizhou, and Yunnan Provinces, China but little lore or scientific inquiry surrounds this plant."....and that Mikinori Ogisu reported the roots good for stomach ailments.

Hinckley first received from Lawrence Lee, Asian Collection at the National Arboretum in DC in 1990.

And how quickly good plants can travel:

From email June 24 1998

Jim  - Patrick Seymour of the Devonian BG was mentioning Saruma henryi on the phone recently & suggested we try it as well as some of the hardier Asarums. Must research.  John

From an email June 26 1998:

Dear John;
   Just packed Saruma seed-it goes out to you today. Some folks have had
problems germinating this, but I suggest planting outdoors in the ground
now. You'll get good germination in the spring. Light shade -
semi-woodland................... James Waddick

.............. when you save all your emails of note! 


johnw

[Lvandelft]

Lesley, I love your small Rheum too. The R. tibeticum is one to go for. (for me at least )

[Ragged Robin]

Rhubarb...rhubarb...rhubarb this has been a really enlightening subject about Rheums......

Giant wild rhubarb used to grow on the railway bank near Auchterarder in Scotland and was a very dramatic site approaching the bridge - we were always warned its leaves were poisonous      Rhubarb was a big part of our diet in puddings in various guises and it is a fascinating plant to watch as it unfurls.  Somewhere in the Midlands, in one of Rick Stein's TV programmes about the best of British produce, I seem to remember they showed that the whole village economy was built on growing rhubarb in cellars by candle light and had been for generations - nowadays being shipped to Europe and all over the place 

[Paddy Tobin]

John,

Your information on Saruma henryi is very interesting. I see you have enjoyed Dan Hinkley's book - he has another one on the way shortly, on trees, shrubs, climbers, along the same lines as the one on perennials.

Companions of Dan Hinkley on many of his plant hunting expeditions, Sue and Bledwynn Jones of Crug Farm, are based in north Wales which is quite accessible from Ireland - high speed ferry from Dun Laoghaoire to Holyhead and about an hour's drive to the nursery. They carry a very interesting range of plants; woodland plants in particular.

And, yes, it is amazing how quickly seed and plants can now get around the globe. Imagine the surprise this would engender in Wilson and Henry when one remembers the difficulties they had in sending collected seed back to botanic gardens in Ireland and England.


Lesley,
The smaller rheums are fantastic. I don't grow any and must look out for them. A parallel example is Gunnera magellanica, a really dwarf species at about 5 cm high even when in flower.

Paddy

[ranunculus]

I seem to remember they showed that the whole village economy was built on growing rhubarb in cellars by candle light and had been for generations -  

Probably replaced by a less efficacious crop now, Robin!      Wow man! 

[Ragged Robin]

I seem to remember they showed that the whole village economy was built on growing rhubarb in cellars by candle light and had been for generations -  

Probably replaced by a less efficacious crop now, Robin!      Wow man! 

Cliff, I'm completely in the dark on the subject but rheumour has it that it has medicinal properties 

[Maggi Young]

I've never smoked rhubarb, myself........ and frankly, I don't see it catching on.... look at the lack of interest when Francis Drake tried to popularise smoking spuds..........

[ranunculus]

look at the lack of interest when Francis Drake tried to popularise smoking spuds..........

I don't know, Maggi ... King Edwards are a top selling cigar!   

(...i do know that the cigars are King Edwards and the spuds are King Edward ... it's called comic license ... perhaps.)

[Anthony Darby]

look at the lack of interest when Francis Drake tried to popularise smoking spuds..........

I don't know, Maggi ... King Edwards are a top selling cigar!  

Invincible Cliff!

Back in the 70s I used to buy my Dad a King Edward's half corona at Glasgow Queen Street railway station on my way back from college. 25p in 1976 - same price as a pint! That year my family took my brother to Gleneagles Hotel when it was still run (properly) by BR, for his 21st. After the meal I asked a waiter for three half coronas from the cigar trolley. "Romeo et Juliette?" said the waiter "Yes" I replied. "That will be £7.50 sir." I nearly fell off my seat! I had to borrow a fiver off my Dad to pay for them!

[Ragged Robin]

Fab story, Anthony!  I had my 21 at Geneagles Hotel too and choked on ginger sprinkled on the melon - much to everyone's amusement