May 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere.

[kiwi]

Arum pictum still flowering strong.
Same with Haemanthus albiflos.
Unknown Crocus species.
First Galanthus coryrensis for May! Sorry about the focus!

[t00lie]

Love the Arum Doug --the ones you gave me a while back are just in leaf so a year or two until they reach flowering size i guess.

Back in 'October in the Southern hemisphere' thread Lesley mentioned her success in taking Weldenia cuttings in the autumn --As an experiment  i showed a pic of a cutting i had taken then during that month and although it had formed a small root by xmas i neglected to take a pic before i passed it on to Doug.

So while dividing one of my clumps 6 weeks ago back in March ,(13th),i took a number of new cuttings --these were the side stems growing at varying distances along the main stem/s and placed them in riversand.
 
Interestingly although my numerous plants in the garden proper have died back the cuttings have stayed green and are just now showing signs of decay.

This is what i found today....

Cheers dave

[Lesley Cox]

Good on you Dave. In my experience the cuttings taken in autumn form calluses, rather crusty bits on the ends and don't really make new ROOTS until the spring when they are starting into growth again. I expect yours will too.

Doug, I think your crocus could be Cr. longiflorus. Mine is out at present but I'm not going out to compare as it's raining and bl..... cold. Maybe tomorrow when the blooms may be open.

The Arum pictum is a real beauty.

[t00lie]

Good on you Dave. In my experience the cuttings taken in autumn form calluses, rather crusty buits on the ends and don't really make new ROOTS until the spring when they are starting into growth again. I expect yours will too.

Ofcourse we garden in quite differing climates Lesley.....

To my eye these 'crusty bits' are clearly the roots forming --what else could they be ?. .

Cheers dave

[fermi de Sousa]

Dave,
you look set to corner the Weldenia market!
We had a few more crocus come into bloom on the weekend,
Crocus oreocreticus, bought this year from Marcus Harvey,


Crocus biflorus ssp melantherus, also from Marcus but a few years ago,


The tiny Crocus cambessedesii (I think - I remember planting it here but I didn't find the label) It's Crocus laevigatus as identified by Thomas H!


And this Crocus niveus had a visit from one of the myriad of little butterflies which I think are known as Azure Blues, but I could be mistaken,


Last year I posted a pic of this salvia under the name S. cryptantha, which Luit pointed out is actually NOT a purple colour! I've since learned that it's Salvia pachyphylla from the USA,


cheers
fermi

[t00lie]

Dave,
you look set to corner the Weldenia world market!


cheers
fermi

Nope too late for that Fermi.
I think Lesley has achieved that already   

Cheers dave

[Lesley Cox]

Yep, I already did that Fermi. I've sent them now to 7 different countries, and so far as I know, quite successfully.

Dave, to me those knobby bits on the sides look more like new side growths which will develop as rosettes of foliage, rather than roots. Might be wrong though.

[Thomas Huber]

Fermi, I'm sure this is not Crocus cambessedesii - looks like laevigatus..

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi, I'm sure this is not Crocus cambessedesii - looks like laevigatus..

Thanks, Thomas!
cheers
fermi

[cohan]

Dave,
you look set to corner the Weldenia market!
We had a few more crocus come into bloom on the weekend,

Last year I posted a pic of this salvia under the name S. cryptantha, which Luit pointed out is actually NOT a purple colour! I've since learned that it's Salvia pachyphylla from the USA,
cheers
fermi

just took a closer look at this--really great foliage..

[Lesley Cox]

First frost this morning! All the (weedy) vegetable garden and the top of my car are white. Brrrrr.

[Otto Fauser]

The autumn Crocus flowering season is coming to the end in my garden : here are a few of the last ones .
 Cr. caspius has white to all different shades of pale lilac flowers - this one is my darkest seedling . I wish Cr . robertianus would increase a little faster , maybe there is a clone that does so ?

 Marcus Harvey and his friend Susan left for Greece and Turkey yesterday on a botanising trip . but all the latest news does not bode well , Athens Airport closed and no public transport - almost anarchy .

     Otto.
 .

[ashley]

I wish Cr . robertianus would increase a little faster , maybe there is a clone that does so ?

Otto.

Yes it's a lovely clone Otto.  I have a similar one from Marcus that is at last starting to increase after 3-4 years but also gave some seed this season.   

[Lesley Cox]

I hope Susan and Marcus don't find themselves stranded, or worse, caught up in the violence in Athens. I wonder do they have the option to go to Turkey first?

Your C. caspius clone is really exceptional Otto, Mine are much paler, and just about white. I love its big flowers though. My C. robertianus from Marcus (1) last year, has 3 flowers this years, flowering at exactly the same time as yours. C. longiflorus is increasing quickly and seeding as well.

[fermi de Sousa]

Just a few dianthus flowers to show today.
The first is "Mars"


The rest are a mix of seedlings in the bulb beds and will need to be removed for them to survive the summer without watering!










cheers
fermi