Malvern show 9th May 2009

[Eric Locke]

Mick - thanks for sharing all these super photos.

I will make it to this show one day.

Eric

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for all the photographs Mick you posted from the Malvern show - even thought the location may not be attractive the exhibits are terrific and I am particularly fascinated by the Notothlaspi rosulatum and 49 in the c section which won first prize too 

[Maggi Young]

Some excellent entries in Section C, Mick..... I hope that you will have emboldened a few folks to take the first step to showing.
I know you and Mandy are enjoying yourselves.... 4 am starts notwithstanding  It is fun to exhibit and I do comment it to any of you who are tempted; go on, have a go 
I'm hoping that someone in reach of Aberdeen show next weekend is reading this and thinking, 'yes, why not'?     
A very warm welcome and as much help as you need is available to get you started....... new exhibitors (and, in Scotland, that's Section II folks as opposed to Section C for the AGS )  are as welcome as a winning lottery ticket.... you're worth your weight in gold to the show circuit..... come and be made a fuss of!

[Lvandelft]

Mick, thanks for showing pictures of this Show.
I know your feeling when starting to make photographs in a hall where is such bad light.
There were some very interesting plants obviously.

One question: Did botanists rename Corokia cotoneaster into Cotoneaster corokia? Cannot imagine 

[Diane Clement]

One question: Did botanists rename Corokia cotoneaster into Cotoneaster corokia? Cannot imagine   

No, the exhibitor made a mistake, but the judges left a note to put it the right way round!

[Lvandelft]

Thanks Diane! Things happen..

[Mick McLoughlin]

thanks for that Luit and Dianne, I've edited the text to suit.
Thanks for all the nice comments folks.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thank you Mick !
That makes it another show you allowed us to visit ! 
Great pix - wonderful plants !

[Lesley Cox]

The Ransoms are skilled indeed to bring Notothlaspi rosulatum into flower in captivity but...I have to say it hurts a little to see it away from its wild and harsh habitat. And tho' it WILL die as the flower head dies, at least in nature it does set seed. Oh well.......it's probably envy on my part.

[Brian Ellis]

Just back from a long weekend which included a visit to the Malvern Show on Saturday, of course we had to go the sheds and see the British Streptocarpus Society, now in their 10th year they got their first gold at Malvern
Also had a good look round the show, well done Mick, I kept an eye out once I'd seen your name on the entries but didn't see you although we did bump into Cecilia Coller.  Heavily laden with plants from the floral marquee I didn't take any photos so it was good to see yours, thanks.

[Martinr]

Back to the Corokia. What did the judges make of it? It's one of these plants that sometimes gets frowned upon because of its potential ultimate size.

This question has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I have the cultivar Little Prince flowering in a pot!

[Lesley Cox]

I don't know Corokia 'Little Prince.' Is it a UK selection? I grow the "ordinary" one and it is currently about 1.5 metres high.

[Martinr]

Lesley, not sure where the selection originated. It was awarded a Preliminary Commendation by the 'joint rock committee' in April 2002 when a plant grown by our very own John Dower was exhibited at Harrogate (thanks John the cutting is still alive and flowering as I write..and it survived our last fairly hard winter outdoors as well). It's writen up in volume 70, page 470 of 'The Alpine Gardener' and is said not to achieve the large size sometimes seen in garden specimens of the plant. Perhaps John can give us a bit more background

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Martin. It will certainly need a bigger pot if it grows to match mine.

Does anyone have information about the green primula shown in the pic on page 1, as Primula frasica? It seems to me to have Vernales type foliage so I wonder if it's a form of polyanthus or similar? I like the colour and even the rather frilly flowers - not usually my thing in primulas but.......if it's a seed selection from somewhere like Barnhaven, I would be able to try it.

[Diane Clement]

Does anyone have information about the green primula shown in the pic on page 1, as Primula frasica? It seems to me to have Vernales type foliage so I wonder if it's a form of polyanthus or similar? I like the colour and even the rather frilly flowers - not usually my thing in primulas but.......if it's a seed selection from somewhere like Barnhaven, I would be able to try it. 

Lesley, this primula is spelt 'Francisca' and has also been known as 'Green Lace'.  It is a polyanthus type, not sure if it comes true from seed, it has now been micro-propped and therefore now commonly available in the UK.  The original plant was found by Francisca Darts on a traffic island in British Columbia. 
Personally I don't like it at all, green and frilly!