May 2011 in the Northern Hemisphere

[arisaema]

Lesley;

Guess I shouldn't complain about waiting 9 years then... The weird thing is that all 4 of my plants decided to flower this spring, all sown at the same time, but varying in size as I've treated some worse than others. Maybe the cold winter did the trick, if that's the reason I sort of hope I never see them in flower again! Speaking of slow plants, do you still grow Ranunculus semiverticillatus?

Wim;

I think Aaron is calling your orange Polygonatum P. huanense. It's (annoyingly) too tender here, or at least it died this last winter. Lovely plant!

John;

Is the Epimedium hardy for you, or do you move it into the greenhouse over winter?

[WimB]

Wim;

I think Aaron is calling your orange Polygonatum P. huanense. It's (annoyingly) too tender here, or at least it died this last winter. Lovely plant!

Thanks Bjørnar,

it's been growing here for three years outdoors now, so it's hardy in Belgium. It's a shame you lost it cause it's really nice...if you want a new one, let me know.

[arisaema]

You've been waiting 9 years for your Clematis hirsutissima, Arisaema? I've been waiting more than 20 and STILL no flower!

Well worth waiting for, Lesley, I hope it will bloom for you. Ours is clearly a different variety than Ariseama's, we got the seed as Clematis hirsutissima var. hirsutissima. It first bloomed after 6-8 years, and since then offers its single flower each year, early June, normally. A highlight of my gardening year. It is in bud now, but I have included a picture from last year.

I'm up to two flowers on each plant, I guess that's something My seeds came from From The Forest in Idaho, so were presumably collected there or in Washington? Did just read of someone flowering a pink one ex Finn Røsholm in just three years from seed, that has to be a new European record!

Thanks, Wim! I'll ask you as soon as the normal winters return, I'm eagerly awaiting the much promised "global warming"...

[johnw]

Bjørnar - Yes it appears to be very hardy, the Epimedium wintered outdoors in a pot sunk in wood chips.  And Wim it is indeed wushanense, I am getting my rhododendrons and epimediums mixed up!

johnw

[WimB]

Thanks, Wim! I'll ask you as soon as the normal winters return, I'm eagerly awaiting the much promised "global warming"...

 

[cohan]

Thanks, Wim! I'll ask you as soon as the normal winters return, I'm eagerly awaiting the much promised "global warming"...

So are we in central Alberta... no sign of it thus far--cold winters and cold summers....lol

[cohan]

My seeds came from From The Forest in Idaho, so were presumably collected there or in Washington?

Interesting seed source, hadn't run across this before!

[Lesley Cox]

That is certainly a lovely Clematis Knud. I wonder what I can do to encourage it. Mine was from seed from Sally Walker ex the SW USA, many years ago. It makes a nice plant each year and the stems appear plump at the tips but always they open out to more leaves.

Thanks Luit, about the Hieracium. Perhaps I should have known what it was because Hieracium (H. pilosella) is a major weed in many parts of our high country and is frequently seen growing through Raoulia mats. Neither sheep nor rabbits will graze it so it becomes more and more widespread every year with its billions of seedlings. Other species such as H. aurantiacum are also on the verge of being major pests.

[Lesley Cox]

Lesley;

 Speaking of slow plants, do you still grow Ranunculus semiverticillatus?

Is the Epimedium hardy for you, or do you move it into the greenhouse over winter?

I still HAVE it, whether I still GROW it is another matter. It exists. It is just about died off now and (I expect) will come up again late winter, grow, not flower then die down again. I should send it to you or someone who has a really COLD winter as I think that may be the problem. We are just not cold enough to induce flowering. Maybe like the clematis? And a time frame? I received the seed from John Watson in 1989, it germinated (1) in 1992, so a mere 19 years so far. (Yet I get impatient at the traffic lights!)

[cohan]

We've talked about this plant before, but now I have something to show--Planted in a gallon pot from a piece of root-thanks Stephenb!- late last fall.. so it has survived one winter, and looking great!
Taraxacum 'faroense' which is presumably T rubifolium..



Its only maybe 3 inches across, most of these leaves are new this spring, and it seems to have a bud coming, we'll see..I'd rather it didn't have regular dandelion colour flowers--it does--but the foliage makes it worthwhile... I wonder if it will stay this dark all year? Hope so....
Anyone know what sort of moisture this sp likes? Faroes look pretty wet to me....

[arisaema]

Lesley;

19 years... Probably a good thing I never got around to ordering seeds from Holubec, that's an insane amount of time (and patience) to wait for a plant to flower - to think I was slightly annoyed at my Hegemone the other day, and that one's a mere 5 years old, still just a toddler!

Cohan;

Very healthy looking plant! It does stay like that all thru summer, or at least it does here in Norway. No idea about other requirements, but it seems happy here in my wet garden, so maybe avoid keeping it too dry?

Both of you: Did the Corydalis seed germinate? If not there's plenty more, and judging by the amount of seedlings popping up I'll have to collect them or the entire border will turn blue!

[Peter Maguire]

One result of the UK having many smallish urban gardens is the rise of the boundary fence. Hence there is a need to hide these features and consequently we grow many clematis here (I say 'we' because although my wife would not call herself a gardener, she never complains about me buying new clematis plants).
Here's some in flower at present:
Lasurstern
Fair Rosamond
Diamantina

[Stephenb]

We've talked about this plant before, but now I have something to show--Planted in a gallon pot from a piece of root-thanks Stephenb!- late last fall.. so it has survived one winter, and looking great!
Taraxacum 'faroense' which is presumably T rubifolium..

Its only maybe 3 inches across, most of these leaves are new this spring, and it seems to have a bud coming, we'll see..I'd rather it didn't have regular dandelion colour flowers--it does--but the foliage makes it worthwhile... I wonder if it will stay this dark all year? Hope so....
Anyone know what sort of moisture this sp likes? Faroes look pretty wet to me....

Good to see that it has made it! Even though it has standard coloured flowers, the contrast against the dark leaves is very nice!

Although the Plant List doesn't note a Taraxacum faroense or faeroense, the Botanical Society of the British Isles  does note a species with the latter name and it is fairly widespread in the UK: http://www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/map_page.php?spid=3847.0&sppname=Taraxacum faeroense&commname=A dandelion

I've not been successful in finding a picture of faeroense in the wild, but one reference refers to it "as distinctive in its blanket bog habitat, leaf form and colour" (so if this is the what we have, it certainly doesn't mind damp conditions!). On the other hand rubifolium isn't noted from the UK, but I've seen pictures of a plant with this name taken in the wild in the Faroe Islands (it looks the same), but no other reference to where it is found in the wild. I would conclude that it is a synonym and that faeroense is accepted as correct in the UK.... Neither are mentioned in the Flora of North America. 
 
 
 

[ChrisB]

A few plants I just love, doing well in the garden right now:

Dodecatheon ?clevelandii
Centaurea hypoleuca John Coutts
Sempervivum Cmrls Yellow
Cornus controversa variegata
Clematis 'Broughton Star'

[arisaema]

Love the wedding cake tree! Wish it was a little bit hardier, had to settle for C. alternifolia here.