June 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

We're had three mornings in a row of hard frosts and the nerines which just started last week are taking it pretty hard; this is what they looked like on Wednesday


And this is them again this morning.

They manage to straighten themselves out during the day but look a bit tired in the mornings! I think they're the pink version of N. flexuosa "Alba" which is now called N. humilis, though I don't see it myself.

Next is that nerine which I posted earlier which Paul suggsted might be N. undulata; it looks similar to the pic on the PBS wiki site by Cameron McMaster of that species.

A couple of sites mention that N. crispa is a synonym for N. undulata, so that seems to sort that out!
cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Fermi,

Sorry I haven't yet posted any pics to the June topic.  Just haven't got the chance to do the photo preparation. 

Yes, Canberra's -6'C (or whetever we actually got here in my own garden) did a whole bunch of things in on Wednesday night as well.  The poor tree dahlias are toast.  I'll post a pic when I eventually get things sorted out, to show what they looked like when in full beautiful bloom.  The double white tree dahlia "nearly" made it into flower this year, but missed by a few days.  Not sure when I'll get the pics prepared as has been a chaotic week waiting for my father to finally pass away.  Happened this morning thankfully (this is a very good thing, so no condolences needed or anything like.  Just a relief) so hopefully I can get my mind back on the job again and get things done. 

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

OK, I've finally done some preparation work.  I have a bunch of pics from my garden, a friend's garden a couple of hours north of here, plus a few IDs that will go down into the ID section.

Here's the tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) and the Dahlia excelsa (a slightly smaller species, that starts flowering much earlier if it gets more water than it has this year  ).  These were taken last week..... and they're all black and sad now. 

The imperialis were about 6.5m tall, whilst the excelsa would have been about 4.5 if they hadn't been leaning over and trying to interfere with our washing line. 

[Paul T]

And a poppy that is currently in flower (just got the first couple of the atlantic poppies out so far), and the Canarina canariensis which was flowering for me for the first time from seed sown a few years ago.  The flower got toasted by the -6'C, but the plant itself is still struggling along.  Once it gets frosted it will go into dormancy until next autumn, if last year is anything to go by.  At least I got an open flower on it this year, although much larger than I had thought it would be.  

Also attached is a pic of what I bought as Colchicum cretense but which I think we worked out last year was perhaps cupanii or something like that (search function brings up nothing about it, but I seem to recall us discussing it last year).  Is flowering much later than my C. cupanii I have under that name though.  

[Paul T]

Hmmmm.... not sure exactly where to post some pics from my friend's garden.  Just a few shots of things from in his garden, but he isn't a named or open garden so it doesn't fit into the "places to visit" section.  Any ideas where I should post these pics?

[arisaema]

Wonderful pics, Paul, both the Canarina and those amazing Dahlia in particular.

[Gerdk]

Paul,
Growing a tree dahlia outside must be great - what a fascinating sight!

Gerd

[Paul T]

Thank you both.  Glad you enjoyed the pics.  I love the tree dahlias for their architectural value as well.  I have a double white that never flowers, but it is chunkier than the imperialis, and all green.  It is such a solid upright chunky grower that I love it even without the flowers.

[Maggi Young]

Hmmmm.... not sure exactly where to post some pics from my friend's garden.  Just a few shots of things from in his garden, but he isn't a named or open garden so it doesn't fit into the "places to visit" section.  Any ideas where I should post these pics?

Why not post 'em here, Paul?

[ruweiss]

Paul, thank you for your contributions.I am sorry that the winter started in your region.
The tree dahlias are so impressive to, didn't know about their existence before being a
forumist.( Another good reason to express my sincerest thanks to Maggi, Fred and all the
unnamed helpers who keep this unique thing running).

[Ragged Robin]

Paul your tree Dahlias look amazing. such a shame they were cut short but your Canarina canariensis is thriving and very interesting outside and in 

[Paul T]

Rudi,

I'm not sorry winter has started in a lot of ways....... namely Galanthus and Hellebores etc.    I don't particularly like the cold, but the interesting little treasures do start up now.  

Glad you're both enjoying the tree dahlias.  They get hit by frost every year, so it isn't like it is unexpected.  They got a lot more flowers open this year than they do some years.

Maggi,

OK, I'll do so.  Just wasn't sure as it wasn't "my" garden I was showing.

[Paul T]

From my friend's garden a few hours north of here, in a somewhat wetter area near Sydney....

Lapageria rosea - lovely mid pink form.
Massonia pustulata - the only one left of 9 different Massonias after someone came into his yard a few days before my visit and stole the rest of them.  He knows who, but can't prove it. 
A very cool little mushroom.
A massive rock retaining wall he constructed when they built the house.  Has lots of little pockets for growing plants in it.
And Hakea bakeriana, a shot of the whole plant and a shot of how the flowers come directly from the trunk.  Very cool. 

[Paul T]

I have to laugh as my friend's main weed are Staghorn (Platycerium superbum) and Elkhorn (Platycerium bifurcatum) ferns.  The spores drift up from the ravine beside his property.  So many pots in his shadehouse have little ones growing out of the drainage holes etc.  Here is a shot of a mature staghorn fern that he has growing on a tree (this fern is huge!) and a few shots of a staghorn that has taken over the pot of a small orchid, just to show you how it has completely covered more than a half of the pot after germinating in the top of the potting mix.  The other shot shows the drainage holes of one of his other pots, with an elkhorn growing in each hole. 

It's dreadful some of the pests that some people have to deal with, isn't it? 

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Paul,
has your friend tried "Fongarid"?
I love that Hakea bakeriana - I must look out for it down here.
Here's a pic of the Nerine (?flexuosa syn humilis?)this morning to show that it does recover after frost, though not all the stems have "re-set"!


And starting to flower in the Rock garden - Narcissus "Camoro" which Ian often shows us in the Bulblog as it is a Scottish hybrid. Does this look true to type?




cheers
fermi