Edinburgh and the Lothians show 2010

[Lesley Cox]

So many on that last sempervivum that are going to flower too. I hope we get a chance to see it in bloom. I know they're mainly grown for their rosettes and foliage form and colour but the flowers are very good too, especially in their earlier stages.

You're right Robin, the RBGE backdrop really enhances the display and says where so many fabulous plants have their natural homes. Like milk and cabbages, it must surprise some show visitors that the plants don't come only from the garden centre - or supermarket as the case may be, but have a REAL life far away from our so called civilized world.

[TheOnionMan]

So many on that last sempervivum that are going to flower too. I hope we get a chance to see it in bloom. I know they're mainly grown for their rosettes and foliage form and colour but the flowers are very good too, especially in their earlier stages.

Graham has joined in on the Sempervivum & Jovibarba thread, so I'll ask that he show us a pic when in full flower.  S. ciliosum is one of the better ones so far as flowering goes, not so tall and gawky as some semps, and a bright yellow flowers.  Yes, he's certainly going to have some holes in that clump later this summer   With S. ciliosum var. borisii, it rarely flowers (a good thing), so maybe var. galicicum flowers more freely.

[Lesley Cox]

But does it matter that they flower well? Usually the spaces left by dead, flowered rosettes get filled up again very quickly.

[TheOnionMan]

But does it matter that they flower well? Usually the spaces left by dead, flowered rosettes get filled up again very quickly.

When maintaining a semp collection, particularly when growing in pots with only a few rosettes of each variety, it is possible to have all rosettes of a variety flower and die, thus losing that variety.  Usually flowering is not considered a "benefit" among semp growers, but may be welcome by semp hybridizers. But generally speaking, the dead rosette is typically quickly replaced by fresh offsets.  Then with Jovibarba heuffelii that doesn't make offsets, but increases by a VERY SLOW process of division, having too many flowering rosettes in definitely not wanted.

[Peter Maguire]

I'm glad to see people appreciating that Sempervivum.
Many apologies for keeping folks waiting for the rest of the photos from Edinburgh - busy week at work 
Here's the rest of my pictures over the next few posts - perhaps they will whip up excitement in advance of the Perth show tomorrow.

- Erythronium citrinum x oreganum (Carole and Ian Bainbridge) this is a lovely plant that Carole and Ian have been bulking up for several years. The flower colour is quite delicate, and it's hard to do it justice in a photograph on the show bench.
- Fritillaria tubiformis var moggridgei (Jean Wylie) the yellow form, there is also a picture of:
- Fritlllaria tubiformis (Margaret and Henry Taylor)
- Fritillaria kotschyana Craigton Max (John Lee) regular forumists will recognise from the name that this is an Ian Young selection.
- Fritillaria bucharica (David Millward)

[Peter Maguire]

A final few....
- Fritillaria eduardii (Jean Wyllie) Yes, there were a number of Frits at the show; we had hardly any at Hexham, another sign of the late start to the season.

- Primula 'Lismore Jewel' (Jane and Alan Thompson) a close-up of this fabulously coloured Primula allionii hybrid. This plant is one I find difficult as it gets to about 4-5 inches across and then collapses for no apparent reason, leaving me with 2 or 3 useable bits as cuttings to start again. This plant was over 6 inches across, so I should have found out how they do it!
-Tecophilea cyanocrocus (Peter Semple) Yet another example of what is, for me the Edinburgh show plant, there always several at the show, and it is fitting as one of the final pictures from this year's show.

- 2 views of Fritillaria monarda aff. (Frit. monantha aff) (Cyril Lafong) a plant that was awarded a PC by the Joint Rock meeting. Apparently the flower colour caused great difficulty for Carole who was the secretary for the meeting and had to write up the description. It doesn't correspond to any of the colours on the RHS colour chart - another first for Cyril?

[Lesley Cox]

Has anyone some information about Frit monarda please? I don't know that name at all. I had seed of F. monantha once but it turned out to be something else anyway.

[Peter Maguire]

Ooops, error on my part, my original notes from the show have it as Frit monantha. I'll change the text and hopefully Maggi can change the caption sometime after today's Perth show 

[Lesley Cox]

Ah, thanks Peter. It's easy to do. I once sent out a whole batch of irises as tectorum when I knew they were actually tenax.  And then I complain when I get a wrongly named plant!

Now that I've seen monantha I'm even more disappointed that mine were not. I think they were (are) montana or orientalis. One from that group anyway.

[Maggi Young]

Here are some photos from Edinburgh.... Peter has already given a good view but maybe these are a little different.....

30cm Aeonium
Arcterica nana Redshank
cannot remember name!! Calocephalus brownii : thanks, Robin!!

Cercis Prunus and bench
Eileen Goodall's  Pulsatilla. Budapest
Iris bucharica
Muscari chalusicum
Pleoine pogonoides.
primulas in section 2 .... this Section was well supported at the Edinburgh show.... good news for the future!  

[Maggi Young]

more from the show.....

2 pan tulipa
2 pans seed
3 pans bulbs from 3 different families.
3 Scots natives
3 native to Spain from M&HT
6 pan bench
6 pan bulbs
 spiralling foliage
 bench Cryptomeria japonica spiralis (sic)

[Maggi Young]

there were a lot of primulas at the show.....

6 primulas
6 more primulas
P. marginata var.
primroses
primula allionii Irene ??
Primula denticulata
Primula elatior
Primula 'Margaret Marshall and 'Lismore yellow'
Primula marginata 'Lemon Sorbet'
Primula 'Netta Dennis' ... I think?

[Maggi Young]

those primulas were everywhere....
Primula 'Peter Klein'
Primula warshenewskiana - first version
Primula warshenewskiana - second version
primulas in profusion
primulas in section 2
and still they came
bless me_ more primulas
they went on and on_then turned into Androsaces
yes, a good year indeed
one began to have feelings of having been here before

[Maggi Young]

it was the year of the primula......

it was a good year for primulas
but they were all so sweet I couldn't pass them by.jpg
still primulaceae... but this is Soldanella alpina alba
still primulaceae... but this is a Cyclamen
still primulaceae... but this is an Androsace
still primulaceaea... but this is a Dionysia

this strange bench view  must have been caused by the dizzy sight of so many primulas!

[Maggi Young]

There were other plants....

Watt Russell's  trough
list of plants in Watt's trough
Stan Da Prato's trough
Frit. meleagris
Aciphylla lyalli
Androsace from Cyril's 3 pan
Cyril's 3 pan
Teco. leichtlinii from CL 3 pan
Jeffersonia dubia alba_ Forrest Medal
Androsace and Primula