August 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Hillview croconut]

Also, while I am on the case.

From memory, in the current issue of their journal, in the article about photographing fritillaria, Fritillaria rhodokanakis is attributed with being present on Spetsai (sic) and the adjacent mainland.
This cannot be the case, if the Group is going to recognize F. spetsiotica as a true species from Spetses. I don't know if F. argolica is universally recognized as a subspecies of F. rhodokanakis? 

Cheers, Marcus

[Lesley Cox]

Lesley did you get any seeds of the other one, Paeonia mascula ssp hellenica? Its my favourite. I am very pleased to have the first flower bud ever on a plant of Paeonia clusii. Very exciting!

Yes I did Marcus. The same time as the other and it was a while ago because it must have been when I visited with Don. There are two up at last, about a month ago.

[rob krejzl]

Paeonia mascula ssp hellenica

Is this the same source as those Sally J was selling?

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Lesley,

Maybe I sold seed of these in the recent past?

Paeonia mascula ssp hellenica originally came from Dr. Pilous. It is a very beautiful thing and tough as old boots. Jim Archibald offered a plant he described as P. flavescens (from Sicily if my memory serves me) to deliberately separate it from the above. I am no expert in these things but it does appear distinctly different, especially at the seedling stage. I will send you some seeds this year if you like?

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Rob,

Yes it is - I gave her seeds some time back.

Cheers, Marcus

[rob krejzl]

A very pretty thing when it flowered last year. Thank you.

[Anthony Darby]

I occasionally venture into a patch of ground that resembles a disused building site with uncompleted walls and dumped building material. Here there are various weeds and some Orobanche sp. pushing through them. Not sure of the host, but that could be easily found.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Folks from wintery Hobart,

Frigid blast from Antarctica over the weekend, snow down to 200m, ferocious wind gusts and, well, generally rubbish weather.

Nevertheless a few more frits showing their heads, missed pics of obliqua and ehrhartii, conica and davisii still standing upright and will try to get photos when things settle.

Did manage the following:

Fritillaria sibthorpiana ssp engenii - a Jim Archibald seed offering and will try to trace the number Maggi!
Fritillaria alfredae ssp glaucoviridis - Ditto probably from Nur Dag, and maybe Norman Stevens and myself actually collected the seed. I'll try and get a better shot later.
Fritillaria mutabilis - an Eric Pasche collection - very early for this species.

Regards, Marcus

[Lesley Cox]

Gosh your frits are early compared with here Marcus although caucasica is out and there were plants in flower of meleagris at the market on Saturday. Your temps, according to our TV weather have been much the same as or a little below ours. We did have 21 in the city yesterday and 24 at home, a glorious day when I should have been out in the garden but we decided to have a look at places for sale on the peninsula. The harbour, sea and the hills were utterly beautiful, reflections quite perfect. Of course I didn't take my camera.

[Anthony Darby]

Next time close the gate Marcus. We felt the blast up here!

[Maggi Young]

Hi Folks from wintery Hobart,

Fritillaria sibthorpiana ssp engenii - a Jim Archibald seed offering and will try to trace the number Maggi

Regards, Marcus

Perhaps this is it, Marcus ?

502.820 : FRITILLARIA SIBTHORPIANA subsp. ENGINII Turkey, Mugla, NE of Marmaris. 50-1450m. (Described in 1995 from the inland ranges on the opposite side of Marmaris from the type-race, which is exclusively a limestone plant, and easily distinguished by its 4 (rather than 2), shiny green leaves and dull-yellow to greenish yellow flowers. Originally thought to be a serpentine race, it has also since been found on shales & occasionally limestone. Both subspecies are extremely local plants confined to a few very small colonies & we hope they can now be maintained by specialists in cultivation.)

[Mini bulb lover]

I've had enough of the wind (artic or otherwise), drying out my pots almost faster than I can water them. 

My first ever tecophilaea cyanocrocus is in flower. I have the leichtlinii and violacea varieties but so far there's only two leaves on each so I don't know if they are going to flower later or not. Narcissus fernandesii is in full swing and I find it always puts on a good show (unlike Narcissus triandrus albus which I purchased at the same time 5 or so years ago and has never flowered for me - only multiplied). Also Narcissus "Ice Wings" is a new one for me, although internet images show reflexed petals which mine doesn't have so I think it's been mis-labelled. The flowers seem to be larger than I was expecting too.

[Maggi Young]

Jon, if the 'Ice Wings' is flowering for the first time and the bloom is new , it may take a day or two to develop the back sweep of the petals.

 We have the very devil of a job keeping the beautiful N. triandrus triandrus alive at all, so for us, vegetative increase, even at the expense of flowers, would be a success! 

[Gerry Webster]

We have the very devil of a job keeping the beautiful N. triandrus triandrus alive at all, so for us, vegetative increase, even at the expense of flowers, would be a success! 

Yes indeed!

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Maggi,

Yes thats it for sure. The subspecies name is really enginiana but hey am I bothered??

I often wondered if it was originally a Wolfgang Kletzing collection from Agla on the foothills of Sandras Dag? I went there with Norman Stevens but the whole area had been turned upside down by a re-forestation project.

While I am at it, F. alfredae ssp glaucoviridis is 490.80.  It was above Hasanbeyli to Fevsipasa on Nur Dag in Adana Province. Under bushes of prickly oak alongside Hellebore vesicarius, Colchicum polyphyllum and Crocus graveolens.

Cheers, Marcus