November 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Some flowers now out:
Ornithogalum arabicum, with sage


A white moraea which is possibly M. cedarnontana,


The dazzling Genista lydia


A Western Australian shrub, Verticordia (not sure of the species, possibly chrysantha)


Triteleia hyacinthina can spread a bit, but looks lovely this time of year,


A new one from seed (thanks to Jane McGary) is T. bridgesii


An old favourite is the yellow T.ixioides, just starting here,


cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

I already posted these on the Calochortus thread, but in case you haven't read that here are Calochortus luteus


and C. superbus


cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Great stuff, Fermi.  I love the Verticordia.  

Bill,

The double Rhodohypoxis is different isn't it.  I must say I rather like it.  I've seen pics before of doubles up in the northern hemisphere, but not anywhere down south.  The single ones are doing brilliantly here at the moment, although not on the display of yours en mass of course.  

[Lvandelft]

I already posted these on the Calochortus thread, but in case you haven't read that here are Calochortus luteus
cheers
fermi

Fermi, another new topic I missed already again.
Love these Calochortus flowers!

[ajbroome]

Ross and Lesley both said something along the lines of...

> I have some young ones from you Andrew...

I have 3 or 4 different clones (of A. dioscoridis).  My Arums have had a bad year though so I suspect 'spectabile' will be the only one to flower.  I plan on doing a major re-pot of my Arum spp/forms once they go dormant.

As far as Iris foetidissima goes, I saw some at work today. People have been planting odd things in to the garden there for years, there's mostly natives but with some nice clumps of Clivia and so on (including some Dracunculus vulgaris) scattered around the place...

PS:  Lesley, I still have at least one pot of Weldenia doing well.

Andrew.

[Tecophilaea King]

Bill - I have tried to grow this one on countless occassions. It grows well but dies in the cool greenhouse during the winter - every time.
Have tried drier and moister - and intermediate -  in the winter but down they go.  Lovely red roots though before they rot.
Any suggestions?  johnw

John, I am not sure what you are doing wrong, I am not doing anything special, We grow our Wachendorfia thyrsiflora, in a sunny, well drained spot in the garden, with plenty of seedlings coming up everywhere, not always were we want them.
Perhaps you should try our fertile, free flowering seeds next time, I will have about a million seed to spare later  

[Lesley Cox]

Is the Wachendorfia hardy Bill, say to -6 or -7C?

[Lesley Cox]

Your white Moraea is a lovely thing Fermi.

[Lesley Cox]

Paul, the double Rhodohypoxis are all, (I believe) bred in New Zealand, or were in the first place. There may be northern forms now. They came from Terry Hatch (now retired) at Pukekohe near Auckland. His 'Kiwi Girl' is a good red and at least a few people in the UK have it but I've never seen it here. 'Bright Eyes' (which I think is Bill's) doesn't always perform well, the buds refusing to open properly. It may be a climate thing, and Bill's warmer climate (than mine) has produced a better result.

Terry had some odd notions about plants, including the plants he bred himself. The double Rhododhypoxis were mostly sent to the NH and not made available here. The fabulous dwarf Nerines which came from my friend June Keeley of Timaru, were sent to Terry on June's death. But he was breeding bigger and bigger forms and, I was told, couldn't be bothered with the smaller forms and dumped the lot. A lot of angry southerners over that, having watched June's work over many years.

[johnw]

But he was breeding bigger and bigger forms and, I was told, couldn't be bothered with the smaller forms and dumped the lot. A lot of angry southerners over that, having watched June's work over many years.

And now more than a few northeners can be added to that list.

Just out the door to hear our guest lecturer from Vancouver, Philip MacDougall on The Fractured Garden - Asian plants and their North American counterparts.  Hope to see shots of the many great plants he collected seed of in Hokkaido and Taiwan this past September, some new to cultivation.

johnw

[Tecophilaea King]

Is the Wachendorfia hardy Bill, say to -6 or -7C?

Lesley, I am afraid you'd be struggling; Wachendorfia thyrsiflora do best if grown frost-free but can withstand light frost of short duration, but not the heavy -6 or -7 C or more frosts you do experience down south.
You'd be more than welcome to some seed later, if you're willing to take the risk.

[Tecophilaea King]

While Fermi has mentioned the Triteleia, we have a Brodiaea elegans and Dichelostemma multiflorum in flower at the moment.
The genus Brodiaea, mainly native to North America, has undergone considerable revision by the botanist over the years, and many species previously placed under Brodiaea are now regarded as belonging to other genera such as Triteleia, Dichelostemma  and Ipheion.
Dichelostemma multiflorum
Brodiaea elegans

[Paul T]

Nice colours, Bill.  Looks like the Dichelostemma multiflora has good sized flowerheads?  I must check up on my ida-maia, which is the only Dichelostemma that I grow.  I haven't noticed it this spring, so that doesn't bode well for it.    I like the Brodieas, Tritelias and Dichelostemmas, but only grow a few (but I grow lots of different Ipheions).  I think more a case of not seeing them available rather than avoiding them or anything.  Thanks for the pics.

[Lesley Cox]

Well sure, I'll take the risk Bill, if you have plenty seed. The whole of life's a risk, it seems to me.

[Tecophilaea King]

Wurmbea recurva is an attrative South African species which flower in spring.
It has recurving leaves about 15 cm tall and flower stems 15-20 cm tall.
These carry up to 40 dark purplish black flowers, which are vanilla scented.
The second picture is a Spiloxene capensis, which makes a stunning show on a bright day when the flowers open in the sun.
The flowers usually have iridescent dark brown/purplish or peacock-blue central eyes.