Flowering now- July 2009

[Paul T]

Lori,

Unusual leaves for a Verbascum.  Nice flowers too, by the pic on the site you posted.  Very different to any others I have seen (not that I have seen many in real life at all, premoninantly here on the forums).  Thank.

[Ragged Robin]

Lori, I was about to say that the wild Anthyllis vulneraria grows here close to the chalet and then saw you has posted a photo of it - it is a strangely intriguing plant and very soft looking.  Also Phyteuma scheuchzeri and Campanula barbata (which I absolutely love) are around    Great photos of your plants Lori and the sidewalk is a wonderful sample 

robin--is it a meadow plant? how tall does it get in the wild? it's a pea, right? or am i imagining that?
i should just google it, but since you have them wild, interesting to hear about it

Cohan, I have only seen it growing on sunny banks from June until Septemberish - actually I think they are a Mediterranean native flower and have silver pinnate leaves with a lovely bright yellow flower with a woolly looking calyx.  I hugs the bank so not tall, a few inches, and is very attractive to bees.  I am trying to encourage it into our garden so we will see what happens when I scatter the seed   

Doesn't suggest a pea family but not sure how one would describe it 

[pehe]

Poul,
Announcing Autumn is nothing to be proud of you know 

Luc,
I am a little split up in this matter. I love summer and really enjoy all the nice summerflowers you and others post, but my main interest is in Autumn flowering bulbs and when they start flowering I get excited. I will try not to show my excitement the next two month.

Poul

[Paul T]

Poul,

I must admit, my favourite times are lat autumn through to spring, because that is when the really interesting and unusual plants I collect tend to flower.  The first autumn crocus are always a joy, and the first autumn species of Galanthus to open each year is eagerly watched for.  Just ignore these other imbeciles who want to live in an eternal summer..... they obviously don't live here in MY summer, that is for sure.... I think they'd look forward to autumn much more if that were the case. 

[Sinchets]

Re: Verbascums- there is a very nice albino of V.rorippifolium, with pink centred white flowers. The name means it has leaves like a Rorippa which is a genus of yellowcress. The leaves look similar, but I think it is one of those botanists running out of ideas things.
V.eriophorum is sadly biennial here- it either flowers itself to death in the second year or gets a build up of 'fluff' which rots the crowns. Mine flowered last year and hopefully its self sown seedlings will flower next year.
I agree with Paul- shade temps of 36C by the end of the week- I am looking forward to autumn and the first Crocus 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Poul,
Announcing Autumn is nothing to be proud of you know 

Luc,
I am a little split up in this matter. I love summer and really enjoy all the nice summerflowers you and others post, but my main interest is in Autumn flowering bulbs and when they start flowering I get excited. I will try not to show my excitement the next two month.

Poul

Ok Poul, I understand, now you have my blessing to get excited  

I'm just not a great Autumn lover because it announces the short days and poor floriforous months of Winter....
(sorry... I'm not a galantophile...   )

And Paul, I must admit, we're rarely being haunted by your "oven" temperatures out here in Spring and Summer ...

[Maggi Young]

Re: Verbascums- there is a very nice albino of V.rorippifolium, with pink centred white flowers. The name means it has leaves like a Rorippa which is a genus of yellowcress. The leaves look similar, but I think it is one of those botanists running out of ideas things.

Yes, I think it is named for the similarity of the leaves to Rorippa.... cress like brassica plants.... but I think that Lori had the correct spelling as Verbascum roripifolium     

[Sinchets]

Mmm 221 hits for V.roripifolium and 114 for V.rorippifolium- I wonder which name makes more sense in the linguistics of botany. 

[Maggi Young]

Well, IPNI ( International Plant Names Index) ......
only recognises this: Verbascum roripifolium (Halácsy) I.K.Ferguson 

[Rodger Whitlock]

6) Linum flavum compactum

A friend once tried to grow this from seed, but invariably the seedlings damped off after emerging, even when sown in carefully sterilized soil. He finally tried sanitizing the seeds with hydrogen peroxide (at my suggestion) and had success. Evidently there was some kind of fungus borne on the actual seeds.

I had one of his seedlings for years, but it finally succumbed to summer drought (or perhaps winter wet!). Its color is very strong and if you are sensitive to color harmonies the plant needs to be sited carefully.

[ArneM]

As promised, here is the picture of Deinanthe bifida 'Pink Shi' where you hopefully can see the difference between both cultivars. Ok, the buds are not really bluish but they are definitely a bit more violet toned than 'Pink Ki'.

[Sinchets]

Well, IPNI ( International Plant Names Index) ......
only recognises this: Verbascum roripifolium (Halácsy) I.K.Ferguson 

Oh no. So what will happen to the 114 hits with spelling mistakes? Will it still be wrongly listed in 100years. Will it be a another Nasturtium/ Tropaeolum, Pelargonium/ Geranium saga onward into infinity? Flora Bulgarica lists it as V.rorripifolium. I bought my seeds as V.rorippifolium album btw but I no longer have it so no label to correct 

[Brian Ellis]

Well Arne, they are both pretty and I would happily give either a home.

[cohan]

Cohan, I have only seen it growing on sunny banks from June until Septemberish - actually I think they are a Mediterranean native flower and have silver pinnate leaves with a lovely bright yellow flower with a woolly looking calyx.  I hugs the bank so not tall, a few inches, and is very attractive to bees.  I am trying to encourage it into our garden so we will see what happens when I scatter the seed   
Doesn't suggest a pea family but not sure how one would describe it 

thanks for info on the Anthyllis, robin..the size surprises--it seemed  bigger in lori's photo, but that could be as she said because of different conditons..

[cohan]

Poul,

I must admit, my favourite times are lat autumn through to spring, because that is when the really interesting and unusual plants I collect tend to flower.  The first autumn crocus are always a joy, and the first autumn species of Galanthus to open each year is eagerly watched for.  Just ignore these other imbeciles who want to live in an eternal summer..... they obviously don't live here in MY summer, that is for sure.... I think they'd look forward to autumn much more if that were the case. 

my summer is probably not too far off your winter, paul
summer here is so short, that i spend more of the year occupied with completely tender plants that i grow indoors, and i am especially becoming interested in winter growing plants from south africa etc that are most active when there is nothing going on outdoors! mostly into tiny and weird things