Flowering Now Mid November 2006

[admin]

Glad to see it's working now Paddy. Nice photos too! Cracking Iris

[Paddy Tobin]

Indeed, a cracking Iris.

Apparently it occured somewhere in the vacinity of the Slieve Donary Nursery, Newcastle, Co. Down in Northern Ireland and they propagated and distributed it. It has been recorded prior to 1969,so is on the rounds for quite a while. Very very easy to grow and great to have something which flowers at this time of year, though we usually take the flowers indoors just before they open so as to enjoy them all the more and so that the rough weather do not destroy them.

Another cracking Northern Ireland cutivar of Iris unguicularis, which unfortunately I do not have, is I.u. 'Mount Stewart Black' - very dark, obviously.

[Martin Baxendale]

Paddy, looks to me (as with a similar I. unguicularis shown by Mark last year) like that I. unguic. with the marbled flowers might have that colour-breaking in the flowers as a result of virus (which I. uncuicularis is highly prone to). If it was in my garden, I'd take care (just to be safe) not to spread any possible virus to other varieties (e.g. from sap from picking/pulling flowers, clump division, foliage trimming etc.) Always better safe than sorry.

Nice pics.

[Paddy Tobin]

Martin,
Yes, indeed, it has the look of something which might have been caused by a virus - as with the tulips of time past. However, it remains in robust good health; the clump increasing steadily and flowering unfailingly each year in winter. I have taken a few clumps off it for gardening friends to no  ill effects and it is also growing well with them. It is within striking distance of several other clumps of Iris unguicularis and to date I have seen no ill effects on these. Should something show up I can always keep the possibility of a virus passing along in mind.

The species Iris unguicularis and I.u. 'Walter Butt' are also in the same bed and doing well.
Paddy

[John Forrest]

Lovely Iris Paddy.

My Nerine flexuosa pink is flowering (came out of a pot of 4 bulbs labelled N.flexuosa alba marked colour may not be as illustrated???) but the white one is only just breaking bud. Both grown side by side and given the same conditions.
Sorry about the heading, just trying buttons

What's the insert image button do?

[Ian Y]

Hi All
I am back from my travels and now I have sorted out the ****** Computer I can make my very first post to the wonderful new forum.
Thank you all for being so enthusiastic about the new forum. It was a bit of a nightmare for the web team but I am pleased we are now up and running with new software to take us through the next ...... years.
Thanks to Fred Carrie and Maggi for the work they both did while I have been away.

[Anthony Darby]

Here is my first pic of the new Forum. Narcissus viridflorus bought from Pottertons a couple of years ago. I have two flowers on separate bulbs.

[Ian Y]

Anthony, what are the white spots on stems ? It looks like mealy bugs or scale insect. I know that N. viridiflora has little white patches, just at the tips of the flower segments, I just went and had a close look at ours, to check that, but I'm spooked by your spotty stems!

[Paddy Tobin]

A beautiful clear dry day here in Waterford in the 'sunny  south-east' of Ireland. Here are two plants in flower at the moment.
Nerine and Rhodophiala advena

[Anthony Darby]

Ian, it's a fungicide. I grow a fair number of Ophrys spp. in the greenhouse and to prevent them from rotting off I regularly dowse the pots with systemic fungicide and it leaves a white residue behind.

[Ian Y]

Anthony, thank goodness for that, you had me worried.

Paddy, it's a lovely morning here in Aberdeen, too. These nerines are photogenic, aren't they? I should grow more !

[Paddy Tobin]

Ian,
As you can see I am practicing with that new camera. Very happy with it and certainly getting good use from it.

The nerines are growning outside, by mistake in fact. We had planted them and Mary, my wife, heard that these lighter coloured cultivars are somewhat tender. She lifted the bulbs, potted them on, and put them into the glasshouse. Obviously, she missed one bulb and it has outperformed those in the glasshouse significantly, increasing more strongly and flowering more regularly and prolifically.

The ordinary Nerine flexuosa grows very well outdoors here and increases very strongly. I must post a photograph.

[Paddy Tobin]

I should have said Nerine bowdenii rather than N. flexuosa.

Below are two clumps of Nerine bowdenii in the garden. The frosts, winds and heavy rains have not damaged them too  much yet.

Paddy

[Paddy Tobin]

Anthony,

I must say I truly admire your Narcissus viridflorus. It's an absolute gem of a plant, simply beautiful - despite the white spots, which don't detract from it one bit.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Hi. Paddy, glad to see your nerines are surviving... everthing was well blown about here last night, biggish pines in fancy pots blown over, for instance.  Half the Nerines  still standing... they look a lot better than I feel! I've got a head cold that means I cannot smell the  little bulbs in the glasshouse. I find nerines a bit pongy, especially if you have them as cut flowers for the house, so that's not a loss. And I feel like I have a big piece of broken glass wedged in my throat...........do you get the feeling I'm feeling sorry for myself? 'cos you'd be right! Knowing that chums like you and John F. are about is very cheering, I must say. Hope you are feeling much better than I !!

I am fond of Narcissus viridiflora, too.. it is so elegant... at least with this cold I cannot smell that either... it's a bit wet doggy !