Crevice Gardening ......in defence of rock.....

[John85]

How hardy is Zauschneria californica "Etteri"?
Is it available in Europe?
Found only one nursery on the net.
@ Astagalus
Do you leave your plant outside during the winter?

[astragalus]

Yes, the plant is outside during the winter.  It is planted in a deep crevice in the crevice garden in a very lean mix which drains very quickly.  It is a young plant which has only come through one winter so far.  I can't vouch for the hardiness because last winter was a non-event here.  I think we were only briefly below 0F, which is extremely mild.  I have found that crevice planting seems to extend the hardiness of plants at least one zone.  The roots seem to be protected by the stone.  The zauschnerias are wonderful in the garden (dry, full sun) because they bloom when not much else is happening in the rock garden (August, September, and October and November during a mild fall).

[Lesley Cox]

Isn't 'Persebee' a little gem? It hasn't done it previously for me but this year it flowered really well in the autumn and I thought that was that, nothing for the spring but it's now COVERED in buds so like yours Kris, mine is a twice-a-year flowerer. Excellent value.

I hope you won't mind this little boast, last year's bloom in the spring. I had a second plant the same size but it was in the one trough I had to empty to move and it died except that later, I found a small layered piece which had and still has greenery so I'll try it again in a trough, the other still in a pot but needing a bigger pot now.

[krisderaeymaeker]

Wow  fantastic plant Lesley ! It seems that they have more flowers when they are potgrowing.
Like many other plants .But I also like the natural settings in a crevice or trough .....We can have it all.
Maybe you can succeed with the little green shoot .
But I am agree , this is great value for money .....2 times flowering ......

[krisderaeymaeker]

Some Androsace's in the crevice with "Ardenner -rocks ". No flowers , but for the people who love cushions and Andro's ........

Picture 1 - 3 : A. selago in a vertical position .

4 = A. mariae
5= A. muscoidea

[krisderaeymaeker]

Also this very smal  A.tangulashanensis survived the heatwave and the extreme dry period ... 

In the tufacrevice  : A x marpensis 

[astragalus]

Wandering around the crevice gardens out of season always brings a few surprises and today was no exception.  The nicest surprise was finding that Physoplexis comosa, which I thought I had lost, was making a comeback.  The zauschnerias are really a lifesaver at this time of year, usually blooming until hard frost.  The arctotis has not bloomed but the foliage is gorgeous.  The Penstemon debilis bloomed in season so it was quite a surprise to see new buds.

1.  Physoplexis comosa
2.  Penstemon debilis
3.  Zauschneria latifolia prostrata ( not sure, label almost illegible)
4.  Arctotis adpressa

[astragalus]

And a couple of more.  This zauschneria has the best color I've seen.

1.   Zauschneria californica v etteri
2.  Daphne x hendersonii 'Ernst Hauser'

[astragalus]

Oops, forgot the Zauschneria. 

1.  Zauschneria californica v etteri
2.  Zauschneria sp
3.  Gentian asclepidea

[Maggi Young]

It's a warm Sunday afternoon, I feel lazy and so I've been catching up on my web reading ......

Kenton Seth who  is always worth reading, (even tho' he says he hates alliteration, which as you know I adore!)  has a super blog on crevice gardens here : http://kentonjseth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/crevice-garden-crazy.html


Kenton is getting enthusiastically into building such gardens himself and he also shows some of the great work Mike Kintgen is doing at Denver Botanic Garden.

( and look out for the pic of a Maggie, a "garden supervisor) - a rather smart Shar Pei!

[Tim Ingram]

Wonky and wonderful! Alpine crevice gardening looks hale and hearty across the pond - or even the rivulet to mainland Europe! What an enjoyable blog - thank you Maggi.

[astragalus]

Reached my 2013 goal and a bit more.  Right after I finished setting the last stone yesterday, we had a heavy rain which cleaned off the stone and helped settle the mix.  Will be planting like crazy in the spring and spending the winter poring over seed lists and catalogs.
1.  Crevices back of cliff as of June 15th, 2013
2.  Crevices back of cliff as of today, September 22, 2013

[ranunculus]

Just superb, Anne.

[astragalus]

Also, when planting, all the crevices get tightened up with thin pieces of stone.  It's makes planting much easier to do it then.

[astragalus]

Thanks so much, Cliff.  Hard work, but worth it.  When are you and Sue coming back to our neck of the woods?