October 2007 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Michael]

Nice Campanula Fermi! Is it an annual?

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Mike
the campanula isn't an annual but it may be short lived or monocarpic. I'm hoping it's true to name and it looks to be to me.

Here are a few pics I took yesterday, two of which are new acquisitions so I can take no credit for them getting to the flowering stage!
Firstly, an Australian native irid, Patersonia fragilis. The flower looks huge but it's only 1inch (2.5cm) across.


And a flamboyant clematis "Westerplatte"


Finally, Oenothera acaulis, which I've posted before but this clump had a few open at once!


cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

My only attempt at a Patersonia was short-lived i.e. the Patersonia was short-lived i.e. it quickly died on me. I remember they were lovely in the bush around the home of a Blue Mountains friend, back in 2003.

Fermi I wonder if your Campanula alpestris was from the same batch of seed as my present one? It too was from one of the seedlists in summer of 2005/6. It hasn't flowered yet. From previous experience, it is quite perennial IF HAPPY! by which I mean that it HATES to be in a pot and didn't even like a large trough much. It loves to wander and where it was last year may be quite empty this, but it will show up almost a metre away. If you let it go where it wants, it will be OK. It's never aproblem, doesn't run like that, just likes to do its own thing.

[Paul T]

Fermi,

Is that Clematis one of the Alamedah plants?  I bought one last year under 'Westerplatte' and I have strong suspicions that it is actually ruutel (I'll check the spelling of that.  There are accents above both the u's) as Westerplatte in every description I can find is red, whereas my plant (like yours looks) is red with a strong irridescent pink overlay to it.  I was at a friend's today as it happens (she's now set up to come and visit us here at the SRGC site, registered and everything!!  Hi Darien!!!!!  ) and she has 'Ruutel' in flower and it looks the same as my 'Westerplatte'.  If they ARE different then there isn't much of a difference.  I wonder if anyone reading con confirm the difference between these two if they know it?

I notice in the local nurseries at the moment they have 8 inch pots of Pattersonia occidentalis in flower.  Very tempting, as I grew up with it out on our farm an hour East of here.  Those and the fringe flowers (Thysanotis) grew in various places on our property, along with so many native terrestrial orchids.  If ONLY I knew now what I did then and could lift and grow some of them.  So hard to get hold of them without selling your grandmother for the privilege!!    That being said, I have bought a number of them from South Australia and am more than happy with the quality and success I have with growing them.... just much nicer if I could have collected them from my own property!! 

[Otto Fauser]

Paul, good to hear that the Weldenia I sent you last year has reapeared-as you read from all the comments it is rather an easy plant to please .I grow mine at the front of some shrubs in leafy soil ,our vulcanic soil is naturally well drained.It is shaded from the hot afternoon sun.
 More on Oncocyclus Irises :Marcus Harvey in Hobart rang me to boast about a pot  of Iris afghanica ,[actually a Regelia Iris] with 8 flowers ! What a sight! Wish Marcus would post it on the Forum.
I grew that gorgeus Iris some 40 years ago, received it from Admiral Paul Furse, who collected it in Afghanistan in the sixties.
    Ciao Otto.

[Paul T]

Otto,

Others might find it easy, but I'm still a tad nervous about it!!    Can't help it.  Anything on your "holy grail" list is always something you're nervous to grow until you've had a chance to get comfortable with it.  I think by the sound of it my Iris/Crocus bed in the full sun should be ideal, and I'll place the Weldenia up against a rock to give it a little more temperature insulation.  I mentally have just the spot, where I'll see it come into flower after the last of the Crocus have finished and are heading for dormancy.  It'll really light up the garden at that point, even if it is fairly diminutive. 

Iris afghanica is one I recall from books or pics I have seen before.  Another very nice one.  One I got from Marcus a couple of years ago was Iris ibirica ssp elegantissima (my iris "holy grail") and I lost it!!!!!!!  It was a sad, sad day when I discovered it rotting and it was already too far gone to save.  The Arils types aren't something that does very well for me unfortunately as i have difficulties not watering them in summer but still keeping them from dessicating.  I seem to get it wrong in one way or the other.  Still learning, and will be until I'm kicking up daisies I hope. 

[Lesley Cox]

So your Weldenia came from Otto Paul? That's great. From me to Don, Don to Otto and Essie, Otto to Paul and... where next? That's what gardening is all about surely. Sharing what we have and love. I'm pleased to know this lovely thing travels so well.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

Yep, it came from Otto.  The next step from me when I have enough to spare some is to my Lyn here in Canberra.  She first saw it in the UK and fell in love with it there.  Hopefully mine will grow and multiply enough to be able to take a piece off for her or take cuttings etc.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I've checked and I have buds in the crown of mine.... so I get to see it flowering.  Yeah!!!!!

[Rogan]

That Tinnia looks great.  How big is the actual plant, and how big are the inflated seedpods?  Might be something worth looking out for with those flowers.... love that colour!! 

The bush gets to about 1 - 1.5 meters tall and the inflated pods are approx. 1 - 2 cm in dia. they dry to a papery shell before splitting. I collected seed last season and could send you some it you'd like to try it - what should I label it as?

[fermi de Sousa]

Just a few more pics before the onslaught of summer - the surrounding paddocks are already drying off!
Here'sthe Banksia cone that I showed a few weeks ago now opening:


And a favourite Genista (then again, they all are to me!) G. sagittalis:


And a double pink helianthemum


And the Dichelostemma congestum is elongating a bit more so I'll give you another view of it.




cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

I've another campanula grown from seed (NARGS'04;sown 29-02-04;1st sdg:07-08-04) and flowering for the first time: Campanula aucheri.




Astoundingly we can actually grow an Himalayan Androsace in the open in our rock garden, albeit one of the easiest ones: Androsace lanuginosa.




cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

A jolly good plant though Fermi and I like the white form even better. This pinkish form seeded for me last year and there are a dozen or so young ones in one of my raised beds. First seedlings in 30 something years!

[Andrew]

The 'later' Trilliums are out.

The third pic is of a very large flower --possibly T .sulcatum ? or a hybrid between T erectum and T flexipes.?.

I'm by no means an expert on Trilliums. This from a rare plants supplier,

'The purple-grey pollen of sulcatum will confirm the identity (yellow pollen in erectum).'

Any help ?

[fermi de Sousa]

A jolly good plant though Fermi and I like the white form even better. This pinkish form seeded for me last year and there are a dozen or so young ones in one of my raised beds. First seedlings in 30 something years!

Lesley,
I presume you mean the Androsace, or do you have a source of white Campanula aucheri???
The androsace grows ina couple of places in our Rock gardens and survives with a minimum of water despite our hot, dry summers - this amazes me since it comes from the Himalaya! Although I believe that there are parts of the Mountains that are dry during the summer, so maybe that's where it comes from?
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, the Androsace, A. lanuginosa v. leichtlinii.