late season interest?

[McDonough]

Tim, Leptodermis oblonga has become increasingly available over here in the US, showing up in some nursery lists.  I've had a nice little bush of this that I planted about 5-6 years ago, still only about 2' x 2' in size (60 cm x 60 cm), and just this past spring a couple of volunteer seedlings.  It flowers for a long time, and reflowers sporadically all season.  Cute, very hardy small shrub. I believe I got mine from Collector's Nursery, but will have to check my label to be sure.

[Hoy]

Does it need warm temperatures or can I hope growing it here? Seems to be a very nice plant - now on my ever increasing wishlist!

[RickR]

Trond, I wish I knew that answer to your question.  I do grow Leptodermis oblonga, but it often experiences a little die back from winter cold and never begins to leaf out until the end of May.  I don't know if it is the winter cold that delays flowering for me (late August) or if it is our shorter growing season. 
------------------------------
I am heavily into transplanting lily bulbs now, and transferring many pot grown seedlings into a seedling beds.  I was pretty surprised when I came across this.  The size and shape of the bulbs are not what I expected.  The diversity of species lilies can be so interesting!

These Lilium oxypetalum var. insigne bulbs are two inches long, and the scales are wedge shaped.  One did bloom for me this season.

        

A bit of color in the garden caught my eye, and I was surprised again by Aconitum incisifidum.  Only a week ago I was looking at it, and the flower buds were so small that I felt sure that they would never have enough time to open this fall.

        

[McDonough]

Rick, congratulations on getting Lilium oxypetalum var. insigne to bloom, what a choice rock-garden-sized Lilium!

Your photos of Aconitum incisifidum stikes a nerve, because a couple years ago I was given a very tall autumn blooming Aconitum from a local garden club lady, but I don't have a name on it.  Here, I have seen it planted as a backdrop to postal mailboxes along our rural streets, where it grows 5' tall or taller, with big bold heads of royal purple-blue flowers, the individual florets relatively huge.  The closeup photo you show, looks similar to my plant, although lighter in color.  How tall does your A. incisifidum grow?

I show 3 photos my my Aconitum sp., the first two are more accurate in color, the third close-up view looks bluer than it actually is.




After days of rain and downpours, it is a magnificent sunny breezy day in New England, and Leucoseptrum stellipilum caught my attention with its fuzzy floral candles sparkling near the top of each spike.

[RickR]

...Leucoseptrum stellipilum caught my attention with its fuzzy floral candles sparkling near the top of each spike.

They look like the old fashion sparklers we had as kids on the 4th of July!

My aconitum is almost 4 ft. high.  Last season flowers were darker, but not as dark as you pics, Mark.  My individual flowers seem to be about 3/4 the size of those in your photos.  This plant has very strong stems, and substantial (thick) leaves that are still in perfect condition.  It seems to arise from corms, or tubers, or some kind of structure (see pic).  Do all aconitums do this?

          

[RickR]

Those L. oxypetalum bulbs are four years old from seed germination, I think.  And if I remember right, the seed waited until the second season to germinate.  I'd like to say it just takes patience, but really, for me it's just ignorance.  I can't be coddling everything in anticipation of some event. Rather, plants just do their thing, and I notice them along the way  .

In my early years when I knew very little about any pure species in the garden, I had ordered Lilium oxypetalum var. insigne from Arrowhead Alpines.  It was drop dead gorgeous!  Better than any photo I have ever seen since.  Unfortunately, I didn't research its growing preferences, and I sited it incorrectly.  I had one glorious season, but never more.  These are terribly scanned photos, but you get the idea.  Actually, I was lucky I had a cheesy scanner at all back then.  But I really should dig those originals up and rescan them...

              

[Hoy]

Nice lily Rick! Does it flower as late as October?

Here are some of the plants still flowering at this time of the year - not rare but welcome late in the year.

Some have started anew like Primula auricula and a Geranium sp

   


Others like Fuchsia molinae, Salvia glutinosa and Senecio polyodon start in summer and continue till freezing temps occur.

         


Saxifraga fortuneii is a late starter but do well in the mild weather now.

   

[Lori S.]

Wow, your garden just won't quit, Trond! 
We had a couple of centimeters of snow on Friday and down to -12 deg C at night since then, so other than some autumn crocus that look like they might be able to open if the sun shines on them, the flowers are pretty well done.

[McDonough]

I agree, good stuff Trond.  I must try Salvia glutinosa sometime, would like to try hybridizing it with S. koyumae, a low-ish growing late summer or fall bloomer with sticky gutinous foliage and light yellow flowers. Really nice spread of Saxifraga fortunei.

At my office, growing in a narrow dirst planting strip between parking lots, lots of weedy things blooming, including this Silene sp.  It grows near my yard too, but I've never bothered to key it out or find out whether its native or not.




Still have some crocus in bloom, a couple late blooms on Crocus speciosus.  Many of the earlier flowers were nibbled or snipped off by squirrels.

[RickR]

Lilium oxypetalum blooms in June for me, Trond.  And those beauties were from back in 2005.  I surely miss them.  Your flowers still look very fresh, Trond!

Last week we had our first hard frost, almost a month later than normal.  The tender Delosperma bosserianum hasn't been touched yet.

[deesen]

I posted a pic, in Reply 13 on September 3rd, of a Helleborus hybrid double pink when it had been in full bloom for about a month. I've posted it again below and as a comparison with the same plant pictured today. It bloomed throughout last spring too, wonder if it will in spring 2012?

[Tim Ingram]

We have a few things flowering this late, including Saxifraga fortunei, really a great plant but not too good in our relatively dry garden. The shoots of snowdrops are just appearing through the ground and there is a large collection of these which adds great anticipation to the early weeks of 2012. We are lucky to have such (relatively) mild winters! However, the greatest fun this November has been my daughter's 18th birthday, for which we lit the garden with night lights and consumed quantities of cake and alcohol - a good change from the ongoing 'garden renovations'.

[Hoy]

. . . and consumed quantities of cake and alcohol - a good change from the ongoing 'garden renovations'.

I prefere cake and coffee, or alcohol (that is red wine) and peanuts, or beer and a pub

However, seems you had a nice evening anyway! Congratulation with your daughter.

[AmyO]

However, the greatest fun this November has been my daughter's 18th birthday, for which we lit the garden with night lights and consumed quantities of cake and alcohol - a good change from the ongoing 'garden renovations'.

What an interesting and fun-looking cake! Baked with a surprise in it...kind of like the cakes prisoners would get with a hacksaw baked in...

[RickR]

What an interesting and fun-looking cake!

And tasty, no doubt. 

A very enjoyable evening, I'm sure.