October 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Rogan]

Wow, a treasure indeed! I missed your Weldenia candida Bill, it is so beautiful and perfect.   

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, I think all the current weldenias came from me tho' there was a different clone in NZ many years ago, the one with little tufts of white on the leaves and I think from Guatemala whereas what we have now is from Mexico. I always hoped to locate a plant of the other for cross pollination purposes. Yours is very early Bill, mine aren't through the surface yet.

Sorry for the mistakes David. Thanks for putting me right. I thought all tree ferns were cycads. Obviously not. The kowhais here are very big in the foliage compared with what I have as S. microphylla, but I'm quite happy to be wrong about that too. What's new?

[Lesley Cox]

A few things out here now. Actually there's heaps in flower but all struggling through weed mats so not worth photos.

Erthronium 'Ruapuna Dawn,' Joan Whillans' superb hybrid, so easy, vigorous and with super foliage too.  

Then two for ID please. They are virtually in rough grass.

Narcissus cuatrecasassii, or so I have it as. A good 3 weeks earlier than rupicola, freer flowering and the pod is a different shape.

[Lesley Cox]

Scoliopus bigelovii is out at last. Doug Logan's was a good month ago.

Corydalis ambigua. I admit to a little colour enhancement here in order to get the flower colour right. It IS right but the foliage is slightly too bright. It should be a little more glaucous.

Primula x Juliana 'Jill,' a close relative of 'Wanda' and the two, alonh with P. vulgaris 'Sibthorpii' will make a beautiful tapestry in a year or two when they've grown together. The true colour is that of the newly opened flowers at the bottom of the picture. All my flowers have speckling at present. It is pollen from the pine trees. There's a layer of it over everything every morning.

[David Lyttle]

Lesley,

Sophora microphylla can be quite variable in terms of leaf shape but can be distinguished from Sophora tetraptera by the posession of a persistent juvenile form which Sophora teraptera lacks. The latter is favoured for planting in gardens for this reason as it matures and flowers earlier. There are presently eight species of Sophora recognised in New Zealand.  The cultivar ' Dragons Gold ' is a selection of Sophora molloyi from the Cook Strait region and Sophora longicarinata which has the smallest leaflets of any kowhai is also commonly sold. A lot of plants in cultivation are hybrids as they all get mixed up in gardens and people grow random seedlings and pass them on.

[Maggi Young]

Doing us good to see the Erythroniums and my favourite Scoliopus, Lesley..... Ian is working on his laptop on the BulbLog  in the same room and can see the pictures over my shoulder!
 I expect we have all been given a boost by the startling white perfection of Bill's Weldenia... what fabulous  flowers those are!

Some words about the yellow erys in the appropriate thread, where Lesley has also posted the pix...... http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5082.new#new

[angie]

Lesley your Scoliopus is wonderful. I managed to pick up a Weldenia candida in one of our local shows, it's so wonderful. I kept looking at the perfect white flowers and has flowered for so long. I am glad that it flowered for me, I have put it in the greenhouse for the winter as I wouldn't like to lose it.
Now I will have to source out the Scoliopus, stop showing all these wonderful plants

Angie

[Lesley Cox]

Angie is yours still in flower? A weldenia in flower in both hemispheres at the same time must be something of a record. Mine usually start late Oct and finish early February but sometimes there are some new flowers on the new shoots late March or April. I'm grateful for them all.

Thanks David for remarks concerning the Sophoras. But the hills at present are alive with the sound of - sorry sight  - of gorse at present. Fantastic perfume as I drive down the road with the car windows open.

And thanks Maggi for the ery thoughs. I'll go there now.

[Brian Ellis]

Lesley, I am pleased to report that my Weldenia from you stopped flowering about a fortnight ago having performed beautifully throughout the year. It has given me an enormous amount of pleasure this year.  Many thanks

[angie]

Lesley my last flower on my Weldenia only finished a few days ago.The plant I bought was a good size so I broke into two, thought I would stand a better chance with two plants.  It must be one of my favorite plants now.
By the way Lesley the seeds I got from you are coming along fine. I think I am getting the hang of it finally. Thanks.

Angie

[Tecophilaea King]

Today I found another little treasure, this time the elusive, charming Iris lacustris alba flowering for us for the first time.
I had given up hope of ever flowering this exquisite species, no need to say that I am pleased and proud to show off this picture.
Equally difficult, but delightful just the same is this Iris minutoaurea, I only managed the odd flower every season, this time a tiny little flower, barely one inch (25 mm) across, ahead of the still semi dormant roots.
Any reason why this species is so problematic, what am I doing wrong?

[Maggi Young]

A fine pair, Bill.

[Paul T]

Bill,

Crackers, both of them.  That minutoaurea is a stunner..... such delightful markings by the look of it.  Thanks for showing us both of them, neither of which I've seen other than here on the forums.  So many new things to see. 

[TheOnionMan]

Today I found another little treasure, this time the elusive, charming Iris lacustris alba flowering for us for the first time.
I had given up hope of ever flowering this exquisite species, no need to say that I am pleased and proud to show off this picture.
Equally difficult, but delightful just the same is this Iris minutoaurea, I only managed the odd flower every season, this time a tiny little flower, barely one inch (25 mm) across, ahead of the still semi dormant roots.
Any reason why this species is so problematic, what am I doing wrong?

Bill, congratulations on both little Iris, they're such cute little plants.  I used to grow I. lacustris alba but eventually lost it due to persistent mole tunneling in a particular plant bed.  What sort of conditions are you giving Iris minutoaurea?  Mine is growing at the top of a raised mound, in part shade but getting approximately 1/2 day of sun, planted in native acidic clay soil amended with decomposed pine bark mulch.  The spot tends to be rather dry.  My clump has grown large and needs dividing, but I held off from doing it this year due to our extended drought.  I just love the little paddle-shaped petals.

[Roma]

We had the Weldenia with the little white tufts on the leaves when I worked at the Cruickshank Garden but I don't know if there are any plants still alive.  It's a lovely plant and those I have seen in this thread are absolutely beautiful.  Much better than I used to grow it.