October 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Paul T]

Bill,

The Xeronema is spectacular.  It looks wonderful!

The Cyrtanthus is another matter..... if yours is flowering then I guess mine is yet again not going to flower this year.    Sigh!  Your pic is beautiful, but disappointing as it means mine should be flowering now and isn't.

All excellent pics.  Thanks so much for posting them.

[Lesley Cox]

A fabulous Xeronema plant Bill, as you say, a real show stopper!. It turns up in the garden centres down here from time to time but the couple of times I've tried it, the first frost has killed it outright.

[angie]

Bill amazing Xeronema callistemon, for sure a show-stopper 

Angie

[Lesley Cox]

I've had an incredibly frustrating hour or so being unable to upload to hard drive, some pictures on my camera. It wouldn't accept them at all, wouldn't recognize files, told me to do this and that which I did, only to be blocked time and time again. Then I realized that the card reader and my external hard drive were sitting on one side of the monitor, and their cords and plug in bits were round the back of the monitor, and I'd plugged in the wrong one!!!. How stupid can one be?

Anyway, here are a very few. I've no time at present for pictures, trying to spend as much time weeding as possible.

This first I took in Australia. I know it's here but thank heaven I've never seen it. I believe it has been named but to my mind is ugly and dangerous, the ultimate in virused plants. Iris unguicularis.


Gentiana acaulis is doing its reliable thing inspite of having been dried out almost to extinction last summer and already in need of a good water. The little yellow in the middlw is Frit. carica. I have half a dozen flowers this year, none taller than 5cms.


Anemone nemorosa 'Winterwood Pink' is an Australian selecton and honestly, this picture says nothing about it. It is much deeper pink, a real deep raspberries and cream colour but my camera won't show it accurately. Seems to be growing well too.


Rhododendron hanceanum nanum has never flowered so well as this year, again, following a real drying out last year.


And finally, yesterday I found this tiny Narcissus growing at the side of a plastic bag of lilies (auratum x speciosum). It is just about 5cms high, the flower 2 cms across. One parent must be N. triandrus albus but what's the other? If it continues the same next year I feel it will need a name, something like 'Sweet Star' or similar, though do say if that would be too sickening. It is very cute and will be rescued as soon as it starts to yellow off.

[Tecophilaea King]

Gentiana acaulis is doing its reliable thing inspite of having been dried out almost to extinction last summer and already in need of a good water.

And finally, yesterday I found this tiny Narcissus growing at the side of a plastic bag of lilies (auratum x speciosum). It is just about 5cms high, the flower 2 cms across. One parent must be N. triandrus albus but what's the other? If it continues the same next year I feel it will need a name, something like 'Sweet Star' or similar, though do say if that would be too sickening. It is very cute and will be rescued as soon as it starts to yellow off.

Lesley, I do love your Gentian acaulis, If only I could grow it here up north (sigh).

The other parent could have been another white? N.bulbicodium ? Whatever, its a very nice flower.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

To my eyes, nothing beats a good clump of Gentiana acaulis Lesley !  And soooo floriferous ! 

Love the tiny Narcissus as well !

[Rogan]

Re. Iris unguicularis: Ugh! keep it away Lesley - I hope plant virus can't spread through the internet! 

I love your Cyrtanthus falcatus Bill - does your's ever set seed on its own? After having my plant for nearly 20 years, this year, for the first time ever it has decided to set seed! No other Cyrtanthus were flowering at the time, so what gives? I'm expecting the pods to turn yellow and drop off at any moment, but so far so good...   

This is a little Dendrobium fimbriatum orchid adding some bright yellow to the verdant landscape of spring:

[Paddy Tobin]

Lesley,

I grow an Iris unguicularis here which is indistinguishable from the one you have shown above. Here it is named, I. u. 'Kilbroney Marble'. Despite the virus it remains a very healthy plant and has been in the garden ten or more years.

We accept, with delight, the many fabulously coloured tulips where virus has provided the colour breaks and it seems churlish if, at the same time, we thumb our noses at virused iris.

Paddy

[Ezeiza]

Paddy, what if from the start it was named 'Kilbroney Virus'?

[Paul T]

Here it is called "Blue Stripe', as far as I know.  Never passed any signs of striping to any of my other irises, so whether it is a virus or a chimera I don't know?

[Tecophilaea King]

Does anyone know the botanical name of this plant? Some sort of fringe flower perhaps? Flowers are only 20-25 mm. across.

[Tecophilaea King]

Two containers of Rhodohypoxis flowering, the double pink is rather nice and always reliable to put up a fine display.

[daveyp1970]

Does anyone know the botanical name of this plant? Some sort of fringe flower perhaps? Flowers are only 20-25 mm. across.

your plant is called Trichopetalum plumosum Bill

[annew]

Bill, you do have some most extraordinary plants!

[Lesley Cox]

Paddy, I'm well known for being churlish, so I'll stick with my opinion of this iris. Having said that, yes, I like the bizzarely striped tulips but I think that's because I've become accustomed to them in old Dutch flower paintings, before I had to face the live material.

I have no problem with someone else enjoying the striped flower of the iris, but there's nothing so lovely as a few pure coloured I. unguicularis, in winter, in my little French glass vase which is basically amber but so iridescent that it seems to be the same colour as the iris.