February 2010 Northern Hemisphere

[angie]

Daphnes are so lovely, I can imagine the scent in the greenhouse, Hope you don't mind if I come down with my chair and sit in your greenhouse for a couple of days or so
Angie

[Gail]

Daphnes are so lovely, I can imagine the scent in the greenhouse, Hope you don't mind if I come down with my chair and sit in your greenhouse for a couple of days or so
Angie

That's a good idea Angie - I'll bring a flask of tea!

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

Here in Belgium very bad weather! Strong wind and a lot of rain.

For the lovers of the unusual beauties, herewith some 'galactic' plants. Flowering today.

Hendrik

[WimB]

 

Very beautiful plants Hendrik

[cohan]

holy cow! i had no idea!
at first i thought you were showing us asclepiads...
some of these have leaves and some don't right now?

[TheOnionMan]

holy cow! i had no idea!
at first i thought you were showing us asclepiads...
some of these have leaves and some don't right now?

In some of the photos you can clearly see the stubs of leaf petioles that have been cut off, probably to show off the wonderfully bizarre flowers in unfettered manner.  Since Asarum are mostly evergreen plants, the older foliage might be a bit tatty by flowering time.  All however show fantastic flower forms!

[cohan]

looking at those asarums a little, first site i came on was this:
http://www.asiaticanursery.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.viewCategory/catID/3/index.htm

thanks, hendrik--i could see the leaf stubs, but thought the leaves were still there..
i did also see a couple of deciduous forms on the site above, which also have nice colour on the new leaves..
these are your plants, or not?

[David Sellars]

It's still February here not far from Vancouver BC and and it has been warm for two months resulting in very early flowering.  Below is a tiny Primula allionii in tufa, some self seeded Androsace carnea subsp brigantiaca and Saxifraga oppositifolia 'Michaud'.  We also have lots of species rhododendrons in flower.  Rhododendron fulvum is one of my favourites.

[Lori S.]

Very nice, David.  Once the Olympic furor is safely over, we will likely make a spring trip out that way. 
So that's Androsace carnea ssp. brigantiaca - beautiful.  (I was given a seedling, grown from seedex seed, that turned out to be a rather weedy white brassicaceae.  I must get the real thing, one day.)

[cohan]

It's still February here not far from Vancouver BC and and it has been warm for two months resulting in very early flowering.  Below is a tiny Primula allionii in tufa, some self seeded Androsace carnea subsp brigantiaca and Saxifraga oppositifolia 'Michaud'.  We also have lots of species rhododendrons in flower.  Rhododendron fulvum is one of my favourites.

hard to believe we live in the same country...lol..nice beginning to the year

[David Sellars]

Lori:

The flowers currently on our Androsace carnea subsp brigantiaca are much tighter to the leaves than normal.  It usually flowers in mid-April with the flowers on stems a couple of cm long. I grew several plants from the AGCBC seed exchange and they lasted a couple of years but all died last summer.  The plants in the photo came up from naturally dispersed seed and are only about a year old. So the flowers tight to the foliage may be a combination of the early Spring here and the fact that the plants are immature.

[Ragged Robin]

It's still February here not far from Vancouver BC and and it has been warm for two months resulting in very early flowering.  Below is a tiny Primula allionii in tufa, some self seeded Androsace carnea subsp brigantiaca and Saxifraga oppositifolia 'Michaud'.  We also have lots of species rhododendrons in flower.  Rhododendron fulvum is one of my favourites.

First flowers are always special and these look lovely and very happy on your Alpine Rock Garden David - the Rhododendron fulvum is fantastic - how big will the plant grow?

[Giles]

 

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

holy cow! i had no idea!
at first i thought you were showing us asclepiads...
some of these have leaves and some don't right now?

In some of the photos you can clearly see the stubs of leaf petioles that have been cut off, probably to show off the wonderfully bizarre flowers in unfettered manner.  Since Asarum are mostly evergreen plants, the older foliage might be a bit tatty by flowering time.  All however show fantastic flower forms!

Yes, indeed, I have cut off the older leaves to show you better the bizarre flowers.
The older foliage is now a bit tatty; new leaves will come very soon.
Hendrik

[fleurbleue]

 Hi Hendrik,
Somebody told me that Asarum were pollinated by slugs entering in flowers  Do you know if it's true ?