late season interest?

Phemeranthus is quite easy from seed

Yes, the genus does seem to be easy germinators, but Somehow, I lost the tag on that seeded pot.  I get volunteers in my potted materials very often.  Usually they need a cold moist period before they sprout at warm temps. 

Thanks. Something to try, then!

RickR wrote:

Anandria, yes, a slip on my part.  I never have gotten a good close up of the real flower, but here is a blown up one:

Well, it seems to be named L. anandra in the Russian pages anyway ;)
An interesting plant anyway.

Tim wrote:

The last picture is taken in the (extra) exotic section of the garden which is more like a jungle; it is a buddleja whose name I forget but I think with vivid orange flowers over that marvellous crimped foliage.

Seems to be a form of the North American  Buddleja marrubiifolia.... with VERY good foliage 8)

IMYoung wrote:

Tim wrote:

The last picture is taken in the (extra) exotic section of the garden which is more like a jungle; it is a buddleja whose name I forget but I think with vivid orange flowers over that marvellous crimped foliage.

Seems to be a form of the North American  Buddleja marrubiifolia.... with VERY good foliage 8)

That's one I never heard of, so had to look it up.  Here's a page to this Arizona native, a rather handsome thing:
http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Buddleia_marrubifolia.html

I was at a used bookstore this weekend, and they had a book on the genus Buddleia... wish I had bought it, but with 3 books already selected for purchase I had to limit myself  :(

I had never recognized that as a Buddleja but I believe you when you say so (and Mark's link shows the flowers too!). Seems to be hardy down to -10C, something for me to try - if I ever get hold of it!

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.

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!

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. 
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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.

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.

McDonough wrote:

...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?

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  :D.

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...

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.

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.

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.

Tim wrote:

. . . 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.

Tim wrote:

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... ;)

AmyO wrote:

What an interesting and fun-looking cake!

And tasty, no doubt. 

A very enjoyable evening, I'm sure.

RickR wrote:

How very timely, Stephen: just yesterday I was going through the "P" section of leftover seeds from the 2010-2011 Nargs seed ex that our Chapter received.  There is a packet of Patrinia scabiosifolia.  Would you like it?

Many thanks for the Patrinia seed which arrived today!! Let me know if there's anything I can send in return!

Nice to see that you are still "lurking" around, Caroline. 

Stop in anytime... ;D

Michael wrote:

Not sure where to post this.

Loasa coccinea ( Caiophora andina)?

This flower might look innocent but each of those hairs can deliver a sting equal to a wasp sting but fortunately the pain does not last quite as long.

An AWESOME plant Michael!  I too wonder where the species fall, whether it be Loasa of Caiophora, the taxonomy seems to be in flux.  It sounds like you know the stinging effect of touching the plant's bristles first hand.

The structure of the flower itself is certainly unusual, too, and in several ways. 

Even the leaves look interesting!

A very special one, Michael! From Chileflora?

Goodness, I thought it was already open...

Now it's even cooler!  8) 8)

Chileflora lists several species, none as showy as yours though Michael but some seem to be quite hardy.
http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/ESeeds.htm?G_CAT=CT3...

Tim wrote:

Tricyrtis is a genus I don't know much about, but they can be really valuable late flowers in the garden - I have seen them late into October at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. This is one I couldn't resist from a local Garden Centre - extraordinary flowers, rivalling those of Michael's Loasa. I wonder about the name because the picture tag along with the plant showed something completely different! There are species and hybrids with purple spotted and blueish flowers, but I've never come across one like this. We will collect seed and take plenty of stem cuttings next year.

The colour seems extraordinary! Never seen anything like it before :o

I have tried several species and I can tell you one thing: They are among the slugs' favorite food! They never last more than one season  :-\ However, I hope to grow some one day when I have solved the slug poblem!

I've seen only a hint of blue in the white form flowers here.  And now that I think about it, I'm not sure if it is just bluish in the spots or a tint to the background white.  Now that I have gone back to see an old photo, I see it is the former.  This, at a friend's garden:

Ticyrtus formosana 'Miyazaki'
           

A lot of people try tricyrtis here, but I think many just give up because it seems to take so darn long to establish and flower well in our short season.  But old clumps can be quite amazing.

Tim wrote:

Tricyrtis is a genus I don't know much about, but they can be really valuable late flowers in the garden - I have seen them late into October at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. This is one I couldn't resist from a local Garden Centre - extraordinary flowers, rivalling those of Michael's Loasa. I wonder about the name because the picture tag along with the plant showed something completely different! There are species and hybrids with purple spotted and blueish flowers, but I've never come across one like this. We will collect seed and take plenty of stem cuttings next year.

Another mystery!  First of all, that Tricyrtis is a beauty.  I have a dismal track record with the genus, they seem to always die out after a few years, although it is worth every effort to grow such magnificent species like the golden flowered T. macranthopsis.

So what is it really?  The name Tricyrtis "abdana" is not a published name, definitely not a valid name, I realize you thought so by adding a question mark at the end ;).  So then I look for name corruption and possible identities.  There is indeed a plant known as both Tricyrtis 'Adbane' and more commonly T. 'Taiwan Adbane'.  So what species is it really; well based on most google hits, it seems to be a cultivar of T. hirta, although some sites list it as a cultivar of T. formosana.

I'm one of those frustrated souls who has terrible trouble trying to establish Tricyrtis here. They never seem to last and I really love them. :'(
I've never seen a blue one like Tim's and I think it is FAB! There was a bluey-purple one shown on the SRGC - http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9268.msg252434#msg252434  - but Tim's blue is something else!

Tim wrote:

At least in relatively mild gardens this shrub must be one of the top ten for the autumn - Ceratostigma willmottianum. Keeping on with the blue theme, I know of no other woody plant of such a true gentian-blue.

Agreed! But I grow it in a pot ;) Due to the very wet and cool weather the last weeks it has just started flowering.

I had one flower of a yellow Tricyrtis but now it is gone too :(

However these are still going strong: a Phygelius hybrid, an Anemone and Fuchsia magellanica. They all flower for months and the Fuchsia is 6ft now.