Miscellaneous Woodlanders

[Hoy]

Some Pyrola species make loose mats of plants by underground runners which can be very long! I know as I once tried to move one clump to my garden. Never more. . . And as Cohan says, it commoner in dark woodland than in open situations.
Othilia makes mats too - I have seen patches about 2 meter across. Moneses also make patches but much smaller.

[RickR]

I wondered if I should have added Saruma henryi to the winners and losers thread.  But I couldn't tell which it would be!  With the unseasonable cold, foliage color was a bit off, with a bit of blackish hue noticeable on the undersides.  Stem and leaf growth is a little stunted now, I think, but flowers are the largest I have seen on this nine year old plant.

        

Pulmonaria 'Apple Frost'

              

[McDonough]

Pulmonaria 'Apple Frost' is stunning!  Where did you obtain this one, I've not heard of it.  I was going to post photos of Saruma henryi taken today, but yours are really good, a really good woodland plant.  I have some seedlings potted for an upcoming NARGS chapter meeting.

[RickR]

Apple Frost didn't do a lot when I had it planted with the hungry roots of the neighbor's sugar maple.  Now, this is only the second season for it in its new home.  It really has taken off, given some more sun and relatively little root competition.  It has doubled in size already!  The original plant came from Heronswood when it was still the real thing (2002).

[Hoy]

I wondered if I should have added Saruma henryi to the winners and losers thread.  But I couldn't tell which it would be!  With the unseasonable cold, foliage color was a bit off, with a bit of blackish hue noticeable on the undersides.  Stem and leaf growth is a little stunted now, I think, but flowers are the largest I have seen on this nine year old plant.
Pulmonaria 'Apple Frost'

I have had Saruma thrice but none lived as long as a whole summer - slugs >
I am a little reluctant planting Pulmonarias as they selfsow around but I would make an exception for 'Apple Frost' 

[WimB]

For the first time, one of my own seedlings of Shortia is flowering! Woooohooow!!!  

Last year they still looked like this:



I planted them out in fall last year!

Two weeks ago Shortia soldanelloides var. soldanelloides (= Shortia soldanelloides or Schizocodon soldanelloides) looked like this:



And today I had my first flower on Shortia soldanelloides var. magna (= Shortia magnus or Schizocodon magnus)



And next week I'll have my first flower on Shortia soldanelloides var. illicifolia (= Shortia illicifolia or Schizocodon illicifolia)

[RickR]

No wonder you're excited, Wim!

Those look to be very special.  Interestingly shaped leaves, shiny foliage, changing color, really cool flowers... what more could one want! 

[WimB]

No wonder you're excited, Wim!

Those look to be very special.  Interestingly shaped leaves, shiny foliage, changing color, really cool flowers... what more could one want! 

Yeah, I'm really excited...not only because it's a wonderful plant, but also because people told me it was an impossible genus to grow in Belgium!
I'm aiming for a full collection of this genus there are only 6 species and 17 subspecies...so it should be possible!!

[Tim Ingram]

Wim - those are absolutely superb plants! Always good to be told something is impossible! David Sampson, a fine nurseryman in the south of Britain where such plants are difficult to grow, used to also grow these well from seed and kept them in raised beds in a shade tunnel. (He also grew really choice primulas). Will be great to see how you get on making the collection.

The pulmonaria is very nice - the best in our garden has been 'Diana Clare' from Bob Brown (Cotswald Garden Flowers).

[cohan]

Congrats on those Shortias, Wim! I don't know too much about them, apart from seeing John W in Nova Scotia post some on SRGC.. why should they be unsuitable for your climate?

All the Pulmonarias seem nice, seem like something I should be watching for

[WimB]

Congrats on those Shortias, Wim! I don't know too much about them, apart from seeing John W in Nova Scotia post some on SRGC.. why should they be unsuitable for your climate?

Thanks Cohan,

I was told my climate was too dry and too hot in summer, even the seedlings would not get past their first year.....but everyone who told me it was impossible had never tried it (because they had been told it was impossible too  )

[deesen]

Well done Wim, have you posted these on the SRGC Forum? I'm sure there would be some envious viewers in Scotland.

[WimB]

Well done Wim, have you posted these on the SRGC Forum? I'm sure there would be some envious viewers in Scotland.

Thanks David, haven't posted them on the SRGC forum yet....I'll post them as soon as the attachments are working again!

[Hoy]

Very nice Wim!
Where did you get seed from? I have looked for seeds of Shortia for a long time! I had some seedlings a few years ago but they died in a dry spell in the summer.

Shortia uniflora from the botanical garden in Oslo in April, one grows in sun (to much maybe) and the other in shade:

[WimB]

Very nice Wim!
Where did you get seed from? I have looked for seeds of Shortia for a long time! I had some seedlings a few years ago but they died in a dry spell in the summer.

Shortia uniflora from the botanical garden in Oslo in April, one grows in sun (to much maybe) and the other in shade:

Thanks Trond,

I got the seeds from the botanical garden of Göteborg. If you become a member of their "Connoisseur's Club' (for free) http://gotbot.se/kulturvast_templates/Kultur_XForm.aspx?id=51524, you get their seed-catalogue each year!