September 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

My goodness, what a show! I cannot believe those huge camellia blossoms... real giants.
fermi, you are so good to me.... some great Rhodos and the Vireyas are something I can only dream about... thanks for my "treats" 

Well, I can't grow'em either so I can at least show you ones I see, Maggi
The huge red camellia I believe are C. reticulata "Dr Clifford Parks" but I stand to be corrected as again they are another thing we can't grow.
cheers
fermi

[Rogan]

Breathtaking Leucocoryne purpurea! I find them not so easy to grow, but they are certainly worth the effort.

[arillady]

Lovely simple but stunning flower Rogan

[Tecophilaea King]

The first of the beautiful, fascinating Irises to flower for us this week.
The first picture is a very nice juno hybrid Iris bucharica Duschanbe X Iris vicaria, grown from Jan Jilek imported seed.
Then we have a very early Pacific Coast seedling flourishing and the last picture is one of my favourite miniature species Iris lagustris.

PS: sorry after posting I realised that should correctly be spelled Iris lacustris.

[Tecophilaea King]

A nice collection of different forms of the very pleasantly scented Leucocoryne vittata species, and as a cutflower last a long time in the vase, ideal for picking, floral art and indoor decoration.

[Tecophilaea King]

Scoliopus bigelovii: a neat woodland lily with two, broad, purple-mottled basal leaves and one to four leafless flowering stems.
A peculiar little plant with 3-12 leafless, 3-sided stalks, each topped by 1 dull reddish-brown and green flower, growing between 2 basal leaves mottled with maroon patches.
Not bad flowering for the first time, wouldn't you agree Lesley?

[Surreylad]

That Scoliopus bigelovii looks a lovely little gem,

[Maggi Young]

Hello Surreylad, nice to have you join us.
Scoliopus bigelovii  is a nice thing.... and I just love the name, kind of rolls around tongue somehow!

[Surreylad]

Thanks Maggie.   

[Lesley Cox]

I'm pleased it's done all right Bill. Mine is in flower too and I took it (potted) to an OAGG meeting on Thursday night. I noticed that many people knew it ok but called it Scoliopsis!

[Otto Fauser]

Bill , the variety in your bunch of Leucocoryne vittata is stunning . Do you grow this species and others under cover ? I can only keep all species and hybrids for one year in the open garden and then they dwindle away .

  I was interested to see the J.J. Juno hybrid , as I had the two parents in flower yesterday , but I did not repeat the cross .

[arillady]

Thanks for posting the photos of Iris vicaria Otto as I photographed a juno the other day and wondered if it was correct.

[Tecophilaea King]

Found this little alpine beauty Silene hookeri var.Ingramii in the nursery today.
A hairy gray plant with many short spreading stems in a cluster. The flowers have deeply divided petals and can be white, pink or purple.

Still flowering is the charming Lachenalia aloides var.vanZyliae the last of the of the Lachenalia species to flower.
Most of the foliage got cut back by the frost before the flowers appeared, as can be seen, but fortunately did not effect the flowering.

[Tecophilaea King]

Bill , the variety in your bunch of Leucocoryne vittata is stunning . Do you grow this species and others under cover ? I can only keep all species and hybrids for one year in the open garden and then they dwindle away .

I was interested to see the J.J. Juno hybrid , as I had the two parents in flower yesterday , but I did not repeat the cross .

Otto, most of our special bulbs, including all the Leucocoryne species, are grown in pots or polystyrene boxes outside in the nursery, covered with frost-cloth when frost is forecasted, most bulbs are grown for one season in these boxes, tipped, cleaned, sorted for orders and replanted in fresh, free draining potting mix with slow release fertiliser.
Good increase and flowering prolific every season.

[kiwi]

One for Cliff, the stunning Ranunculus insignis.
Cheers.
Doug.