Pulsatilla 2013

[Susann]

I have gone from never attending to the forum to not being able to resist it..."Might there be some new information added?"..."just a quick glimpse, alright?"

And what about Pulsatilla montana?

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Yes, Lesley. There is an European specie,s or would we rather say a group or complex, with much confusions that is named P montana.  I sowed it for first time last year, some of seedlings flowered in late summer but showed nodding violet flowers. It was wildcollected seeds. They look a lot like on this link: http://www.floralpin.de/engl/alpine-plants-p/pulsatilla-ranunculaceae/pulsatilla-montana.php
I was quite disappointed as I was hoping for a more reddish violet color. But they do seem to vary a lot in color. I can bring you some seedlings if you wish, in case your more beautiful one decides it does not appreciate being moved at itīs old age. And, you mentioned another species before that you were allowed to bring back? What was it?

Susann, sorry I don't grow P. occidentalis.

Thank you for your answer Susan, and let me say I am sorry too you do not grow it. I would really like to understand how to succeed. They germinate so good every year, get its first charactaristic leaves -coming under the cotyledon leaves- and then dies or at most dies after getting the second leave. Perhaps I should not prick them out but do like with the apiifolias and keep them undisturbed? (But the apiis dies for me when planted out in garden, so the result is actually the same, just with one or two years of delay)

I hope for someone else giving us some succeesful advises on P occidentalis. And P ajanensis and...

Today I add some pictures of how it looks when the plants themselves has not succeeded . In this case with producing viable seeds. Perhaps there is someone of you that have not put attention to the difference to normal seeds before?

This is P dahurica,. Olga has showed a picture of feeded seed head before. If you do not remember it, here is a picture of it:

Happy P dahurica

I think this was from a P pratensis, I am not sure

And this last one is a sad European P patens

[Lesley Cox]

The above two pictures (the last two) look like a bad hair day, or otherwise, a no seed day!

Susann, thank you for your offer of seedlings, but no, we may not bring home any live plants at all, but there are many seeds we can bring and have sent. Some of these are Pulsatillas and I'll be in touch privately about them. Natalia has also very kindly offered me seed, including of the lovely P. flavescens.

It is the big sadness of my Czech trip that I won't be able to bring home any plants at all but because of that, money will be spent on shoes probably.

My P. montana looks very like Oleg's rubra, the one Maggi posted, perhaps a little deeper coloured, but a pure red, not violet. The shape is right too though the leaves, I can't tell. Mine doesn't have many at present. I must try and resurrect it and take better care and get some seeds hopefully. Seeds in the past have proven true to colour.

[Rick R.]

Pulsatilla patens in the wild, southern Minnesota, USA.







Habitat: Stabilized sand dunes in the Mississippi River bottoms.  Mere bluffs in the background.  Minnesota has no mountains!


More photos here:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=67.msg1223#msg1223

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The SRGC photo resizer is so easy to use!

[Olga Bondareva]

 Rick, thank you very much for the images! USA P. patens looks like our siberian white P. patens or P. multifida.

I grow some plants under the name of P. montana. But I am not sure they are tru.

[Susan Owl]

Lovely plants anyway, Olga.

[Susann]

Pulsatilla patens in the wild

thank you for beautiful pictures and interesting information, Rick! It is so good to be able to see the plants in their natural habitat.

I grow some plants under the name of P. montana

Olga! This was what I expected to get, but as I wrote, mine seem to be violet. But it is only a few of them that has flowered yet. And yes, you are right, as I am sure you already know. The Northamerican P patens ( also know as P nutteliana or P ludoviciana) is sometimes refereed to as P multifida as the Russian species P patens ssp multifida. I donīt know if to call this genus an interesting one or just a messy one?
 You asked us some days ago to show pictures of P vulgaris, you did not like that we were neglecting it. Here is a cultivar.


itīs P vulgaris `Heilerīthat comes in  many colors. As usual it is very likely it also has an English cultivar name. I am sorry the picture is a little blurry.


I use to start my Pulsatillas in the basement under nursery lamps as soon as I get the seeds, in November- January. They all germinate well without previous stratification. With this I gain one year. Occacional plants flower in the end of first summer and the rest ( or most of the rest) flower the spring after that. The plants are compact and look healthy. I use two lamps of 400 W, the light is more yellow than daylight as you can see. I do not remember where it is in the lumen scale, but not too far from 8000 I think? Added to that I have a 125 W lamp. Under that I only put the plants I do not care that much about.


You often hear that P vernalis does not do in pots.  I think I do not agree to that statement as you can see. My experience is that they seem to have no problem during several winters in pots in the coldframes without any upper protection. I have also moved P vernalis plants, fullgrown ones, from one place to another, from border to rockery, from one rockery to another with differnt soil mix and position towards the sun, and still, no problem. I do  not know about other countries, but at least here in Sweden you always hear it is impossible to move a P vernalis plant. I do not think that is correct.

[Maggi Young]

Susann, you are growing those vernalis as easily as little weeds! 

In the basement-  so many pots !  Is that the basement that recently became a  swimming pool?

[Susann]

Is that the basement that recently became a  swimming pool?

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Yes Maggi, you are correct. This is the room that was transformed into a swimmingpool last summer. This winter there is no "nursery" as I have still not cleaned the room after the disaster. ( Thinking about it, I really have had some bad luck lately, I had forgotten about the flood)

[Hoy]

Susann, you certainly have quite a collection! Do you grow other genera than backsippor?

Here are some P vernalis from my mountain cabin:

[Hoy]

Two more

No, just one. I get the message that my file is too large although the pictures are smaller than those attached already?

[Hoy]

And one P flavescens from the Botanical garden in Oslo:

[Lori S.]

More Pulsatilla patens, this time from relatively-undisturbed grasslands in Calgary and in the eastern foothills:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=67.0

[Lesley Cox]

[quote
I grow some plants under the name of P. montana. But I am not sure they are tru.

Well I'm not sure about my montana either. I don't remember now but I expect it was from AGS or SRGC seed, but could have been 30 years ago! Or more!

[Tim Ingram]

Trond - that picture of P. flavescens must be the one I remember before. That softest-blue cast on the reverse of the tepals takes the breath away. No wonder alpine gardeners love pulsatillas so much.

[Susann]

Trond, how nice to find you here!

Do you grow other genera than backsippor?

Yes, I promise I do grow a lot of different plants. I just happen to get interested in the Pulsatillas as the genus is so complex and confusing. And, of course, they are very beautiful.
I collect and cross european Hepaticas for example and I like small Penstemons a lot and...well, almost everything. Unfortunally, bulbs and I do not get along very well. I do not think I can blame the bulbs for that.
Thank you Trond and Lori for all interesting pictures of natural habitats, it is very interesting.