Foliage now- October 2009

[Mick McLoughlin]

A few pictures of Meconopsis paniculata 'Ghunsa group' in the weekend sunshine.

[Maggi Young]

Mick, these photos are a real treat.... how photogenic is this plant, eh? 

[Paddy Tobin]

Mick, it certainly has beautiful foliage. Well captured.  Paddy

[Paul T]

Ah..... fuzzy!!    Is there any hope of ever managing to grow something like that here?  That one wouldn't even matter if it never flowered successfully.... I'd grow it for those leaves alone.  What colour will it's flwoers be?  Will you add a photograph when they're open please?

[Maggi Young]

One of the best things about Mec. paniculata and the other Mecs with these big ( and they can get HUGE!) rosettes of leaves is that once they get to flowering size ( usually takes two or three years to reach that stage) you can practically take a seat and watch the flower spikes grow! Great fun.
Mec. paniculata has pretty yellow flowers, Paul.... have a look at the Meconopsis World site:
http://www.meconopsisworld.co.uk/index.html  ..... a super site, being developed by James Cobb, with great photos from the wild from all sorts of travelling folk.... mostly SRGC members!!

[Paul T]

Wow, Maggi.  That is a good head of flowers isn't it?  I wonder if it would cope with our summer heat though.    Still haven't managed to get a blue poppy to survive, but I will keep trying.  I guess I should be trying other varieties of Mecs to see whether they will survive though.  For those leaves, it would be well worth it even without flowers.

[Ragged Robin]

Just wonderful, never seen such a splendid hairy array of leaves.... and their colour and edging is gorgeous - a most dramatic looking M and is that a bud coming or am I just hopeful to see your treasure in flower soon Mick?

[Mick McLoughlin]

Robin,
      Still just leaves forming in the centre I think. We're guessing it ma y flower next year.

Thanks all for your comments, quite an amazing plant. It was spotted by Mandy on one of the nursery stands, at a show in 2007 I think, as a wee thing. We had no idea about size, colour etc were just told it was monocarpic and to collect the seed.

Cheers
Mick   

[Maggi Young]

In the garden we have had the rosettes of leaves get to 60 to 75 cms across..... really eyecatching and the flower stem, with many floers can get 1.60m or more! It can be a really striking plant, that's for sure.

[Lesley Cox]

I suspect they may like a quite gritty compost as when I've tried them they grow for a coupli or three years then succumb to winter damp. Presumably excellent drainage is essential.

[Ragged Robin]

Presumably excellent drainage is essential

That's me 

[dominique]

An odd looking Corylus : Generally, Corylus are not good colored foliage in autumn. Corylus americana is a gem with its nice rosy-carmine leaves now, at the begining of autum, and so little i is, it gave me more of 25 nuts

[cohan]

An odd looking Corylus : Generally, Corylus are not good colored foliage in autumn. Corylus americana is a gem with its nice rosy-carmine leaves now, at the begining of autum, and so little i is, it gave me more of 25 nuts

nice one corylus is on my list, C cornuta occurs in alberta, though not right around here, that i have seen..

[Ragged Robin]

it gave me more of 25 nuts

Lucky you, Dominique, how did you hide them from squirrels?

Here the first of the true Autumn Colours in the sunlight yesterday - the silver birches are quite outstanding, a golden yellow and the cherry leaves look wonderful with the light shining through.

[cohan]

it gave me more of 25 nuts

Lucky you, Dominique, how did you hide them from squirrels?

Here the first of the true Autumn Colours in the sunlight yesterday - the silver birches are quite outstanding, a golden yellow and the cherry leaves look wonderful with the light shining through.

lovely colours, robin...
we were about halfway into our fall colour (apart from understory species, it doesnt go on as long here as in milder places) when winter descended (temporarily, i hope) and now everything is frozen with half the leaves still green! probably when it warms they'll just fall without changing colour..