Summer in the Southern Hemisphere

[Tim Ingram]

Fermi - I've not tried to grow Urginea, and don't know how many gardeners have in the UK, but its very striking. I did try Pancratium maritimum but I think it missed its native sand! I should try it again now I am experimenting with sand beds. Eremurus have always been favourite plants of mine, and these would like similar conditions.(Suddenly a new garden bed beckons!!).

Lesley - I do like the genista; we also have quite a large plant of this now and it really brings a touch of the Mediterranean to the garden (and there is a wonderful specimen at Beth Chattos, up near to her house). The Chordospartium holds memories because I bought this as a dead looking twig from Graham Hutchins very many years ago. Now it has made a nice weeping shrub. Graham advised me to water it well to get good flowering, which did seem to work, but it must be a lot more striking in the wild. His nursery is a wonderland of weird New Zealand oddities (plants that is!).

[Lesley Cox]

I'm pleased you like the Genista Tim. I think it is a gorgeous thing, especially with the wonderful perfume. I've not seen it in any other NZ garden though I did sell a few plants maybe 10 years ago, from seed. They must be around somewhere.  While my Chordospartium is still a youngster, I had a friend, no longer alive who had a magnificent tree of it, maybe 15 ft high so perhaps at its full limit and she had a couple of adventitious seedlings of large-flowered lavender-coloured clematis growing up it, all in flower at the same time, a real sight for sore - and amazed - eyes. Maybe I'll try that in a few years.

I like the pea family in general in all its manifestations and was thrilled last Thursday when visiting a friend in Canterbury to find a couple of climbers I didn't know. They were in seed rather than flower and she gave me some pods, fully formed but not ripe so I hope the seeds will germinate when released from the pods. Also she had both in flower and in seed the annual called Lathyrus 'Pink Cupid' but also known here as "Bunty's Pea" from Bunty Roy who administered the NZAGS (then Canterbury AGS) seedlist for many years. It is your typical sweet pea, appropriately scented but on very short stems, the whole plant prostrate, maybe only 15cms in full flower and making mats about 50cms wide. As a bonus, Betty had another the same except for colour, a lovely lipstick crimson. I've brought home seed of both those two, as well as pieces from many other things. That part, the visit to Betty Clark was a wonderful oasis in a day which in every other way possible was a day from hell. (Don't ask!)

[Lesley Cox]

Since there was no seed on it, I also brought home a bunch of branchlets of the Pineapple Broom, Cytisus battandieri and have made some cuttings. Maybe they will, maybe not, but we thought it was worth the try. And I was delighted to see Betty still has a number of seedlings in her garden of Lord Anson's Blue Pea, L. nervosus of which I have just one and scruffy at that. I thought I'd lost it for about 3 years then suddenly a seedling appeared in a place where 6 metres of soil from an outside source had been dumped so how that happened I can't imagine but I'm grateful. L nervosus was sent to NZ years ago to another friend who had a correspondence going with Graham Stuart Thomas, so there are nice associations there. Besides it is wonderfully beautiful. Unfortunately I have lost altogether L. splendens and I don't think it can be replaced - anywhere!

[meanie]

Lesley - I grew Lathyrus sativus azureus last year and it was a star for all who saw it. Not very fragrant but very striking.

As it's not in the S/hemisphere here is a link to a few pics I put on Picasa.............

https://picasaweb.google.com/112827306672560538333/LathyrusSativusAzureus

I do have seeds, but not sure that I can send them to NZ......

[maggiepie]

Lesley, the L. nervosus is absolutely beautiful.

Does it flower first year?
I just found a place that has seeds.

[Lesley Cox]

Meanie, that is a lovely species all right. I think it must be in the Southern hemisphere becasue it is listed on our Biosecurity Index. I don't have it myself though. If it's listed, it is presumed to be here as the original Index was made from plants already in the country.

Helen L. nervosus takes two years to flower. It is fully perennial and grows from a central stock, the stems radiating out from the middle to about a metre. Or it can be grown as a climber as well to about 1 to 1.5 metres. When it lies on the ground the flower stems sit upright like candles. The stems die back after flowering and seeding and are replaced by new ones. I don't recall that it ever died down completely, there always seemed to be some stems on the way. As I said, I have just one plant now which I'm trying to nurture but when we lived in our previous garden I had a whole fenceline at the front of our place, right on State Highway 1 and though it climbed on the fence, the seedlings also flowered in the road gravel at the base. We were in a sort of little layby where big trucks pulled in for the drivers to have their lunch or cuppa and I often had brawny men come up to the door to ask what that magnificent plant was. Many took away seed. I've no idea whether they were gardeners or not. L. nervosus is fragrant but not like sweet peas, more what I think of as a cosmetic type of scent, quite pleasant. If you have a chance to set seeds, go for it. It's on our bio Index and I'd welcome a chance for some more seed, so where from please?

Did the Clematis seed arrive?

[maggiepie]

Lesley, do you think it possible that nervosus could be hardy for me?
10 seeds plus postage would be 6pounds  to here, wouldn't want to throw that away on seeds that don't have a hope of surviving.

Here's a link to the seeds.

http://www.sweetpea-seed.com/species/lathyrus%20nervosus.html

Sorry, forgot to answer you, seeds have not arrived yet, maybe tomorrow.

[meanie]

One of the best things about it is that it is not one of the over-vigorous ones! One of the dropped seeds germinated last November and despite being just 80mm high is still looking perky with no winter protection.

[daveyp1970]

Helen do you grow Lathyrus laxiflorus,it is a fantastic small pea and survived -15c here last year.

[maggiepie]

David, no, don't grow it.
Last year I germinated some L. vernus, an alba and albaroseus.
Those are the only ones I have tried.
Am hoping they get through winter and flower this year. Think the seeds were from SRGC or AGS.

[daveyp1970]

David, no, don't grow it.
Last year I germinated some L. vernus, an alba and albaroseus.
Those are the only ones I have tried.
Am hoping they get through winter and flower this year. Think the seeds were from SRGC or AGS.

I still might have some seed, if i can find them, i will send them,thanks for the Bishops Crown it arrived today

[maggiepie]

That would be great!
Thanks, David.
Almost hopeful that the postal service might be improving.

[Lesley Cox]

So many questions. Helen I think L. nervosus may not be fully hardy with you but if you could grow it in a large pot and bring it in, or maybe on a fence and stuff bracken or similar around the crown, it might be OK. I'm surprised that the link says 18 weeks from germination to first flower but of course I've not tried it under glass. The price for 10 seeds seems very expensive especially when I was harvesting half a cupful at a time at one stage. So far my one remaining hasn't set set though it flowers a couple of months ago. I'll talk to Betty and see if she can find some, but she's 90 now and I don't want to add to her work but she loves her plants so much and is among them all the time.

If Davey can't find L. laxiflorus, I can do that one, but again it may not be fully hardy with you. I believe it is a Mediterranean species but a real beauty, two-tone lavender. Mine is very hot at present and I see the foliage has turned red. Again, fully perennial. I sent a lot to the seedlists.

[Lesley Cox]

Should have said, tho' you can see, that laxiflorus is prostrate, a low mound and here has filled a trough and drapes over the edges. I have it on the flat too.

[maggiepie]

Lesley, your laxiflorus is lovely.
I can see I really need to have a go at making some troughs.
Bought a bag of cement 2 years ago and it is still sitting in the garage.