August 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Some more daffs,
A GBF "Breeder", 'Staten Island x Swagger'


Narcissus 'Cindy-Lau'




'Timothy David'


And back to Iris, here's an old MBI which graces many a garden around the State:



cheers
fermi

[arillady]

Fermi you certainly have some lovely plants.
This morning I went to the landscaping supplies with my chook food bag and a couple of buckets to get some 7ml gravel so that I could plant out the EC arils and other irises etc that have germinated lately. I had a medium pot of Iris aucheri Leylek Station seedlings which had been sitting in a foam box up the paddock acclimatising for a while. I lifted the pot and one seedling was left behind standing up in the box by its one tap root firmly entering the foam base. 

[arillady]

Very nice I. pumila Pat, I love this colour 
The clump is certainly a standout in the garden.

[arillady]

I wonder if the Iris pumila Austrian x Caucasian form shown here is in the background of Elm's seedling?
Trying to stop the parrots from chomping on the arils - but now one of the stems has flowered so the birdnetting will have to remain
Home in the middle of the day today so was finally able to catch the tulips fully opened - thanks Marcus.
I think this juno is Iris vicaria - plus guests.

[Tecophilaea King]

09MB448 Iris pumila ex Jensen seedling #2 flowering for the first time.

Pat, that's a lovely clump of Iris pumila, I hope they'll produce plenty of seed 
While we're on the subject of Irises, found a couple of the juno's flowering in the nursery.
The first one is Iris vicaria I think, the second is a Iris magnifica, always magnificent.

[Tecophilaea King]

Yes, after all that nasty weather and the polar blast from the South Pole, the spring like weather and temperatures we enjoying at the moment  have certainly pushed the miniature narcissi into action, with many species, hybrid seedlings and cultivars bursting out all over the place.
I always get a kick out of seeing the mini's in flower, especially the new cyclamineus seedling flowering for the first time.
They're easy to grow in pots or containers, and provide flowering and enjoyment over a long period, from May until Oct. (Southern Hemisphere) with their own charm, appeal and popularity, one of my favourite genera.
Enjoy

[Tecophilaea King]

A container of Narcissi cyclamineus species, and as can be clearly seen, many nicely shaped, specially selected flowers have been ripped open (butchered) and pollen removed for hybridizing without the anthers and stigma actually being damaged, so that the flowers can still produce plenty of seed.

[annew]

Very nice, Bill. We could do with a link from the Narcissus thread.

[Maggi Young]

Very nice, Bill. We could do with a link from the Narcissus thread.

Good idea Anne.... I have done just that.

[fermi de Sousa]

Bill,
you'll be giving Graham a run for his money with those seedlings! Have you got the breeding of these seedlings or was it bought seed? The bi-colours are particularly interesting, not to mention that 6W-W!
This may not elicit much excitement anywhere else, but corydalis aren't the easiest things in our garden and here's the first flowers on Corydalis ruksansii imported from the man himself! (legally!! via Marcus Harvey's quarantine house!)

I'm hoping it proves amenable to our climate.

Narcissus bulbocodium obesus seems to be true to name and I have some about to flower grown from Seedex seed too.

This Iris attica was given to me recently and I'm pleased to see it flowering even though it's still in its pot!


From the same donor I also received this Fritillaria persica which did get planted out!


cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

I'm still very fond of this little 'Gambas' x cyclamineus seedling which is so vigorous it trebles in number every year. It needs a name.




I assume this is N. bulbocodium nivalis. It came from Tasmania with a totally different (white) name.


And I'm delighted with this which I guess is a white form of Corydalis solida or ice-green actually. It too had a quite different label on the pot.

[Tecophilaea King]

Bill,
you'll be giving Graham a run for his money with those seedlings! Have you got the breeding of these seedlings or was it bought seed? The bi-colours are particularly interesting, not to mention that 6W-W!

Fermi, most of the initial yellow cyclamineus seedlings were crossed with fertile trumpet varieties like Little Gem, Atom, Weebee, Kibitser etc. and other suitable cultivars all used in the breeding and later generations seedlings back crossed again for better form, vigour, colour, and suitability for the (rock)garden.
With the current crop of our bi-colours seedlings I used mainly fertile white and  bi-coloured varieties for breeding, like Snipe and  Mitzy and again used the resulting hybrid seedling to further improve the shape, colour vigour and hopefully remain fertile.
There are few plants more fascinating than breeding miniature daffies, it makes a delightful and most interesting hobby.  

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks, Bill,
It's good to hear about "serious" breeding of mini-daffs
cheers
fermi

[WimB]

Does anyone know the name of this crocus please? It has opened in the last few days in a patch of C. cancellatus ssp mazziaricus which has been in flower since early autumn. The colour of this one is a little deeper than shown.

Lesley,

why do you think it couldn't be C. cancellatus subsp. mazziaricus? It looks like it is....but I'm just a beginning croconut, so I'm far from sure.

Maybe it's better to post your question here too: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4369.0

09MB448 Iris pumila ex Jensen seedling #2 flowering for the first time.

WOW 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Pat, Lesley, Fermi, Bill,  our weather is getting more "autumnlike" by the day...  so good to see your Spring goodies on these pages !
Thanks all !