Re: Image of the day - 2013

[Gene Mirro]

I was able to grow Mentzelia decapetala in western Oregon in a bed of sandy loam 10" deep, on the south side of the house.  It's a big straggly thing, but it's one of my favorite plants.  They are biennial here.  But they set tons of seed.  However, the seed is very tricky to germinate, at least in this climate.  It will not self-sow in the sand bed.  I haven't figured out yet what it wants.  It likes to germinate in cool weather, but it's not reliable.  It is extremely difficult to transplant out of a pot, because the big taproot doesn't hold the soil together.

Is it a coincidence that nearly all of my favorite plants are nearly impossible to grow?

[Brian_W]

John,

Kelseya is a very unique and spectacular plant.  In the Big Belt mountains outside of Helena, it is very common.  I've been collecting seed from it for 7 years now.  It's difficult to get a good quantity not only because of the cliff-side habitat, but also because the tiny seed pods are embedded in the cushion.  I  basically have to wedge myself up against the cliff with one hand holding a coin envelop and the other massaging the cushion in order to free the seed pods.  The seed germinates quite readily once frozen, but the seedlings grow very slow.  I mean VERY slow.  They are a good plant for tufa.

Here in the Big Belt mountains:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/001-1_zps4d4119ba.jpg

A 4 year old plant in cultivation.  A mere 3 inches in diameter, it bloomed last spring:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/Kelseya4yrs_zpse1e9e722-1_zps158696b1.jpg

Most people in Montana are totally unfamiliar with Kelseya, although there is a local photographer who takes outstanding photos of them.  Please visit his gallery, his photos do them justice: http://eyeinthewild.smugmug.com/Art/Earthscapes/Kelseya-uniflora/11666002_h3tMqk#!i=1273436543&k=qR6nm3X

Todd,

Stanleya tomentosa is mostly a plant of the Pryor mountains, but it can be found in Northern Wyoming.  You have to look for it in the BigHorn Basin.  It is a desert species.

Brian

  

[cohan]

Gene- surely no coincidence- we've discussed before this inverse relationship between a plant's desirability and it's ease of cultivation!

John- interesting colour range you mention for Castilleja angustifolia- Alplains lists it this way: Castilleja angustifolia (Scrophulariaceae) (16x12,Z4,P,RL3:6w) ......................................... 100 seeds / $3.50
 07832.18  (W) Butte Co., ID, 6800ft, 2073m.  A spring-blooming sp. with gorgeous flower spikes in various purple, plum or pink shades.  On alluvial plains of gravelly, loamy soils.

Must be a regional difference..

Brian- 3 inches in 4 years is not as bad as I thought when I heard very slow- though of course it is slow when one is wanting one of those great cushions  is it amenable to transplanting of seedlings or plants several years old? (just thinking once a person had one growing, they'd want to take it along if they moved!)

[Spiegel]

Thanks for the site, Brian.  What fabulous pictures of Kelseya.  I rmember seeing a cliffside with huge cushions of Kelseya in the Big Horns - unfortunately not totally in bloom.

[Weiser]

Cohan
 Mark Egger is one of the leading authorities on many of the genera included in Orobanchaceae. He maintains an extensive collection of photos on his Flickr sight. You can find it at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34090482@N03

The sets concerning Castilleja angustifolia  and Castilleja chromosa  are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157618126246340/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622958231623/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157623099443080/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157623092414012/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622936648115/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622992818505/

I hope this clears up some of the confusion. The reason I stated that Castilleja angustifolia  and Castilleja chromosa were synonymous was from my experiences with the Jepson Manual used in California. I guess I was assuming that the same held true across the west. I was wrong.  

 It's always nice to know were to find an expert.  I hope you enjoy his Flickr sight It's a great resource.

[Brian_W]

Cohan,

Kelseya grows very well in pots, as long as the roots stay cool.  This would be the best way for a person who anticipates a move.  Once the plants are established in the rock garden, I don't think they can be transplanted.

Kelseya is always a plant worth seeking out.  A photo of me in the cliffs:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/kelseyaandi_zps607a1a70-1_zps0d9f2a79.jpg

I find myself anticipating spring more and more...

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/cottonballinbud_zpsec352bb6-1_zps85671591.jpg

[cohan]

Cohan
 Mark Egger is one of the leading authorities on many of the genera included in Orobanchaceae. He maintains an extensive collection of photos on his Flickr sight. You can find it at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34090482@N03

The sets concerning Castilleja angustifolia  and Castilleja chromosa  are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157618126246340/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622958231623/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157623099443080/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157623092414012/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622936648115/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_egger_castilleja/sets/72157622992818505/

I hope this clears up some of the confusion. The reason I stated that Castilleja angustifolia  and Castilleja chromosa were synonymous was from my experiences with the Jepson Manual used in California. I guess I was assuming that the same held true across the west. I was wrong.  
 It's always nice to know were to find an expert.  I hope you enjoy his Flickr sight It's a great resource.

I've spoken to Mark Egger just a little re: my local Castillejas- some of which he felt seem to be some sort of hybrid swarm, though he hadn't had time/ close enough look to make any solid guesses as to what is involved besides C miniata. It is good to hear from someone knowledgeable- since only miniata is clearly in my area on the maps, but the plants seemed extremely varied for that ...
I hope to try some other species in my garden, in particular outside the range of colours of the local plants, which is what drew me to the pink/plum shades mentioned re:angustifolia- the plants here go from cream through scarlet, but none of the bluer pinks/reds etc..


Brian- good tips on the Kelseya, thanks..

[Brian_W]

Regarding the cultivation of Mentzelia:  Perhaps a person could build their house along the railroad tracks.  We have some monsters that grow along the tracks around here.

Gene's description of them as being  "a big straggly thing" is accurate:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/013_zps2f448cc2-1_zpsa3a064d1.jpg
But the flowers are

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/021_zpsfd0f0d06-1_zpsfa80cfeb.jpg

[Hoy]

Regarding the cultivation of Mentzelia:  Perhaps a person could build their house along the railroad tracks.  We have some monsters that grow along the tracks around here.

Gene's description of them as being  "a big straggly thing" is accurate:
But the flowers are

"big straggly thing" is quite something for me!

[RickR]

Brian, the photos you are showing are really out of this world in quality and subject matter.  We can't thank you enough!

Is it a coincidence that nearly all of my favorite plants are nearly impossible to grow?

Gene, you sure don't seem to have any problem growing those wonderful Lilium spp.  And great articles in the International Rock Gardener, too!

[Brian_W]

Sedum lanceolatum:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/Stonecrop_zps1c9e318f-1_zpsc2e7eb40.jpg

Penstemon eriantherus:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/290_zpsa5ce190d-1_zpsb6823068.jpg

Pulsatilla patens:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/pasque4-1-1_zps2c82b0b5.jpg

Castilleja angustifolia, this pink form is common throughout the Pryors:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/087_zps3c572954-1_zps270acae4.jpg

Lupinus sericeus, alpine form from the Beartooth platuea in southern Montana:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/062_62_zps889a321c-1_zps4fdef9c9.jpg

Oenothera caespitosa in the morning:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/townsendia/random%20stuff/041_zps5b73ca74-1_zps5eaf27d0.jpg

[McDonough]

Brian, your photos are simply outstanding!

The portrait of Sedum lanceolatum, with red-lined edges to the buds, shows what a remarkable beauty it is, too bad we often give short shrift to sedums.

The natural rock garden with Lupinus sericeus is wonderful; is that Trifolium parryi in the background?  This is the sort of rock garden scenario I'd like to emulate, where comfortable rounded mixed size boulders, rocks, and pebbles provide the backdrop for choice plants.

[Brian_W]

Greetings,

The Sedum is drought stressed and growing in full sun, and that really brings out the reddish color.  When I first became interested in rock gardening, I would often over look the more common plants in search of something more "choice".  But now I take a closer look at everything.  There are a lot of plants out there that can contribute to the overall scheme.

Yes, that is Trifolium parryi.  Trifolium nanum grows in the same site along with an excellent form of Eriogonum flavum that forms large dense cushions with the flowers nestled in the foliage. http://eriogonum.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=628

[Tim Ingram]

Very interesting to see Pulsatilla patens as I planted this out on a sand bed last autumn. Hope it will look as good as this when it flowers! There has been a very stimulating and fascinating debate on the SRGC Forum on Pulsatilla, showing the exquisite yellow form of patens, flavescens. Quite a lot of debate about names. I noticed in the Alplains seedlist that P. occidentalis is listed under Anemone. Is that generally accepted? It seems much more like a Pulsatilla to me.(There are some beautiful photos on the SRGC Forum as well).

[cohan]

Brian- Sedum lanceolatum is a long time favourite of mine- being into succulents from my earliest indoor/outdoor gardening days, and this is one of few succulents actually native to Alberta! Besides that, it has wonderful foliage form, quite distinct among Sedums. I saw it a few times in my teen years, but haven't seen it since I've been back home, and have yet to get it for my garden, but it is a top wish.. I didn't realise the buds were so showy..

Tim, I think someone in North America has decided the native Pulsatillas should be back in Anemone- I think I've seen patens stuck back there as well. I think Alplains had occidentalis listed as a Pulsatilla previously...