August 2012 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Paul T]

Howdy Folks,

Unless the north and the south really have separated, it should be August now.  I figured that at this point in the conversation on the July topic would be a good point to start a new topic for the month?  I hope no-one minds a southerner starting it?  As a southerner I am not including any pics though. 

[Hoy]

Paul you could at least include a map to prove your statement!

Just to open the game:

Alstroemeria aurea grows like a weed.

[Paul T]

Trond,

As requested...... 

If you observe on the eastern side of the biggest island thingy, at the lower right is a city called Canberra..... which is where I live.    So as that island thingy is in the southern hemisphere I must therefore be southern in reference to those of you in the northern hemisphere.

So is that enough proof? 

 

[Hoy]

Oh I see

I have always assumed that Earth was flat and ended abrupt somewhere behind the horizon of Equator???

But you are barely south of the line, anyway

[Gerdk]

Alstroemeria aurea grows like a weed.

Unbelievelable - all my Alstroemerias - collected at a high-lying site in southern Chile years ago died
last winter when we experienced about - 15 ° C without snowcover.
Why are your plants going weedy? In cold Norway?

Gerd

[johnw]

Visited a friend's garden yesterday and spied an Alstroemeria aurea I had given him a couple of years ago.  I am surprised that it is so far ahead of the ones in Norway.

There is a garden here in Halifax that is over-run with Alstromemeria aurea. The gardener brought a few roots back from her native Sweden, it surely over the years has seen many a cold snowless winter so hard to explain your losses Gerd unless they were exotic species or they advanced too much in that warm January weather you had.

I take no absolutely no credit ( ) for that nearby pink Impatiens.

johnw 

[pehe]

Unbelievelable - all my Alstroemerias - collected at a high-lying site in southern Chile years ago died
last winter when we experienced about - 15 ° C without snowcover.
Why are your plants going weedy? In cold Norway?

Gerd

I have grown Alstroemeria aurea in my garden for many years without any special care. They have survived snowless winters to -22⁰C. I can only say as Hoy, they grow as weed and from time to time I have to limit their growth.

Poul

[Hoy]

Visited a friend's garden yesterday and spied an Alstroemeria aurea I had given him a couple of years ago.  I am surprised that it is so far ahead of the ones in Norway.

johnw

Although we usually have an early spring things have an tendency to slow up during summer as the temperature never gets high. However the fall is long and frostfree till November so plants like Alstroemeria set plenty of ripe seed.

Roses are late too, this picture was taken the last day of July and it is the first flowers of 'Blaze'.

[Hoy]

Unbelievelable - all my Alstroemerias - collected at a high-lying site in southern Chile years ago died
last winter when we experienced about - 15 ° C without snowcover.
Why are your plants going weedy? In cold Norway?

Gerd

Gerd, my planst are growing where they have a very deep root run. I have also mixed the soil with pebbles and chunks of rock (some quite large actually) that increase the soil temperature.

[Gerdk]

Gerd, my planst are growing where they have a very deep root run. I have also mixed the soil with pebbles and chunks of rock (some quite large actually) that increase the soil temperature.

That's it! My plants where growing in a heavy soil (Although a little bit organic matter added when preparing the bed) - so it seems it wasn't the cold which killed them.

Thanks for all replies!

Gerd

[ronm]

Hedychium gardnerianum

Not in the garden, but still bringing colour and beauty into our life 

[Maggi Young]

That is a cracker, Ron.  Has it taken long to get that big and flower?

[ronm]

Five years from seed here Maggi ( when we grew them in natural heat in Taiwan they would flower easily in three years from seed ). Unfortunately, its two other seedling grown cousins were tried in the Polytunnel in the ground but succumbed to the winter cold. For us its a plant of a large pot, in the conservatory ( no heat ) but frost free. It is often reported as poor of scent, but we find it very pleasant.

[daveyp1970]

Five years from seed here Maggi ( when we grew them in natural heat in Taiwan they would flower easily in three years from seed ). Unfortunately, its two other seedling grown cousins were tried in the Polytunnel in the ground but succumbed to the winter cold. For us its a plant of a large pot, in the conservatory ( no heat ) but frost free. It is often reported as poor of scent, but we find it very pleasant.

Ron i have tried a couple of the so called hardy gingers and lost them,that is a stunner matey.

[Maggi Young]

Five years from seed here Maggi ( when we grew them in natural heat in Taiwan they would flower easily in three years from seed ). Unfortunately, its two other seedling grown cousins were tried in the Polytunnel in the ground but succumbed to the winter cold. For us its a plant of a large pot, in the conservatory ( no heat ) but frost free. It is often reported as poor of scent, but we find it very pleasant.

Five years in the UK for a plant like that seems more than resaonable to me. Three years, even in Taiwan, seems great!