Photo of the Day 1/15/2016

Wow, great setting, Paul!

Here's one from our mountains, one of those darned confusing but so beautiful alpine cinquefoils, Potentilla uniflora(?):

Having trouble bringing up pics. Lets try again. Sorry Pic on left Potentilla anserina- Silverweed. on right: Potentilla tridentata -Three toothed Cinquefoil -now Sibbaldiopsis. Both shot in Newfoundland on vacation 7/2015 P. tridentata is  growing through the asphalt of one of the runways onthe old US Navy Base, Argentia, Nfld

Great photos!  That reminds me that I haven't seen Potentilla anserina (now Argentina anserina) in a very long time.  

That Sibbaldiopsis tridentata is spectacular!  I planted the selection 'Nuuk' many years ago but it didn't retain a "clumping" form - instead it spread out loosely, very quickly.  Probably not very favourable conditions for it, I suppose.

One of my favourites - though it takes a sharp eye to even pick out these tiny cuties - Silene uralensis ssp. attenuatus:

Lori, I was stationed at the US Navy Base in Argentia, NFld from June '64 through Jan '67. My wife of 49 years is from  Newfoundland. The Sibbaldiopsis tridentata is incredible on the old base. It is literally dissolving the asphalt( Macadam) of all the old base runways.  Talk about a hostile environment.  In July, the runways are great for "birding" with large populations of whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) Skittish buggers that are hard to  photograph.

Photo on the left is looking north in Placentia Bay from the conifer woods above the old US Navy Base Argentia NFLD

Photo on the right is Diapensia lapponica at Cape St. Mary's, Bird Sanctuary, Placentia Bay, NFLD- photo ID thanks to our own Todd Boland

Nice pics!  In the photo on the left, are the trees stunted by harsh conditions (e.g. kruppelholz?)  The Diapensia lapponica is gorgeous.

Re. the Sibbaldiopsis growing up through the old asphalt, I wonder if it favours the extra warmth that the black surface would provide?  Life colonizes wherever it can - it's impressive to see plants reclaiming developed areas.  I'm always amazed to see fungi, which I tend to think of as rather soft and yielding, growing up through asphalt on the edges of roads and elsewhere.

Pulsatilla ambigua: 

Lori, In the photo on the left, I was on a road looking down over the conifers so they were actually quite large. Generally speaking , the coastal conifers in Newfoundland tend to be dwarfed in varying degrees depending on how exposed they are to the elements.

Photos attached show a Larix laricina ( about 24" tall) growing in a wide open  bog. It could easily be many years of age.

                                       Bog where  the Larix was growing.

                                       Rubus chamaemorus- Cloudberry (known as Bakeapples in NFLD & famous as a source for jam) growing in the bog

Great pictures!  I guess the bakeapples must grow a lot more densely in some areas, given that they're picked for cooking?  (Would certainly be arduous picking, if not!  Probably pretty arduous anyway, I'd imagine.)

Lactuca intricata, from seed in 2012 which germinated after 5 days at room temperature.  Seed was from M. Pavelka, wild-collected in 2009 from Boz Dag, Turkey, at 2000m elevation from dry stoney slopes:

Ranunculus parnassifolius, a beautiful yet undemanding plant in this area:

[quote=Lori S.]

Lactuca intricata, from seed in 2012 which germinated after 5 days at room temperature.  Seed was from M. Pavelka, wild-collected in 2009 from Boz Dag, Turkey, at 2000m elevation from dry stoney slopes:

[/quote]

Hi Lori,

what an interesting little lettuce! Is it perennial or do you have to keep it going from seed annually?

And the Ranunculus is a delight!

Here's an Aussie native "Blue Devil" - Eryngium ovinum - which we also grow at home but this specimen is in a newly planted section of a garden at work,

cheers

fermi

Hi, Fermi,

The little lettuce is perennial and dies back to the ground each winter (but then, pretty well everything dies back here!)

I would not have imagined there would be an Erygnium that's native to Australia!  Very interesting.

Androsace albana, from seed in 2011; seed germinated after cold stratification.  Unfortunately, it is monocarpic but it did manage to shed seed and produce a couple of seedlings.  Nice foliage on this one, best seen in the second photo (over-wintered rosettes in spring).

Wow, thanks for all the great pics. I'm attaching 4 from a Newfoundland trip in  mid July 2011.

Spiranthes romanzoffiana- Hooded Lady's Tresses

Platanthera psycodes- Purple Fringed Orchid

A "field" of Platanthera psycodes

 Cornus canadensis in fruit

Great pictures, especially the field of orchids!  Wow!  We have a lot of not-very-showy orchid species out here, not many really colourful ones!

Epilobium latifolium with Arnica spp. and willows; alpine zone, Banff N.P.:

Nice image Lori ! Thanks.. Here's another group from the Newfoundland trip  7/2015.

Hieracium maculatum- Maculated Hawkweed -growing on a rocky roadside bank

It was not in seed but I found a U.S. source for it & Hieracium pilosella- Mouse Ear. Quackin'Grass Nursery In Connecticut has it. It tends to become a bit weedy so I'll have to deadhead the blooms. 

Yes, it does need controlling after a while.  I grew it and eventually got rid of it many years ago but still find seedlings - attractive plant, nonetheless.

Penstemon secundiflorus: 

Lori, 

I love the look of that epilobium!

Here in our garden Cyclamen rohlfsianum is coming into bloom,

cheers

fermi

Lovely, Fermi.  Approaching fall there now, I guess?

Easy to grow and a long-lived perennial even in zone 3, Incarvillea zhongdianensis:

Incarvilleas are one of my favorites, and I. zhongianensis was the first one I ever grew.  Stunning plants!

Aren't they!  What a great genus.

Some photos of an extraordinary population of pink-flowered Castilleja (C. rhexifolia?) along a roadside at Kananaskis Country, AB, at about 2200m elevation:

And who's growing Castilleja?  Here's an old thread on the subject:

https://www.nargs.org/forum/remembrance-paintbrush-lost

There are many other threads about Castilleja at the NARGS site that can be accessed by searching.

Just some scenery:

Oops, no, wait, here's a plant - Saxifraga aizoides:

Antennaria alpina(?) in Kananaskis Country, AB:

Edraianthus serbicus in the tufa garden:

Lori, Oh my!! I have a thing for Antennarias! Have had mixed results with germination . This mountain beauty is the best I have seen to date. If you ever have a chance to get some seed, please let me know...Great photo BTW as always... 

Ha!  I seem to have problems germination antennaria seed, too, even though they germinate in my troughs just fine!

They are lovely!

Rick, nice pics, tks for posting. funny how you can get hooked on a particular genus that isn't in the spotlight

Antennaria can be very useful as carefree groundcovers here, and are probably greatly underutilized!  Yes, the little Antennaria I showed is a gem!  I think it's A. alpina but I need to pay attention to the some of the finer details (e.g. whether the uppermost stem leaves are "flagged" with tiny, flat, papery appendages at the leaf tips) next time I run across it.  

Beauties, Rick.  Are the silver-foliaged and the green-foliaged ones the same plant in different light?

Sub-alpine larch, Larix lyallii, through the seasons:  

Lori, Never met a Larix that I didn't like. Sadly it's a bit too hot for them here in Tennessee. Gotta go to Newfoundland to get a "Larch Fix"!

One from the garden, Primula elatior ssp. meyeri:

And kind of a nice coincidence with the fallen petals of a rosy-bloom crabapple:

Astragalus loanus:

>>>Beauties, Rick.  Are the silver-foliaged and the green-foliaged ones the same plant in different light?

All four pics are of the same species, Antennaria rosea sbsp. confinis, green leaves summer (pic 5 Sept 13), silver leaves winter (pic 14 April 14).

Minuartia (Arenaria) obtusiloba, Kananaskis Country, AB:

Hypericum aviculariifolium ssp. uniflorum; seeds wild-collected by M. Pavelka, Dedegol Dag, Turkey, 2500m elevation; easy, warm germinator:

Rhododendron mucronulatum 'Crater's Edge'  - my last surviving Rhodo (of only very few, and long ago) though some of the more skilled alpine gardeners here have surprising success with them!

Crater's Edge is a favorite with a Rhododendron breeder here.  It seems to be more tolerant of our Minnesota climate, with superb bloom and compactness.

An excellent plant, to be sure.

Here's a delightful, hardy Turkish Salvia for the rock garden, Salvia blepharochlaena: 

With spring around the corner... well, we can hope... here are Anticlea (Zigadenus) elegans, Muscari armeniacum, Hieracium villosum and others.

Lori, Wow, that is a gorgeous combo. Interesting foliage adds soooo much to a garden!!

Hieracium lanatum and H. villosum

Rick, very nice. I assume yellow flowers? Did you grow them from Seedex seed?? Didn't realize the genus had several species. Hortus Third lists 21 species. I have an order in to  Quackin' Grass Nursery in CT for H. maculatum 'Leopard' & H. pilosella (aka Mouse Ear). 

Here are some reasonably "typical" flowers (at least superficially) of Hieracium spp.,  this being Hieracium villosum:

Aubrieta tend to be easy plants for the rock garden and earn their keep with vivid colour, and long bloom (here, at least).  Aubrieta caucasica: 

Thanks Lori, I'll have to look for both of them.

Correct on both counts, Paul.   Yellow flowers, and they are seedlings from the NARGS seed ex.  H. maculatum would be very weedy here if I didn't make a habit of removing flowers before they go to seed.  I see that H. pilosella is a noxious weed in Washington state, so take care with that one, too.

Here are the states and provinces in which Hieracium pilosella has naturalized as an introduced weed:

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HIPI

Salix barratiana on an alpine ridge in the front ranges, AB, blooming as the last of the snow melts in the meagre shelter behind the patchy line of kruppelholz alpine firs.

Salix babylonica has given willows a bad name to many folks. They don't realize that Salix is  complex & diverse genus. I wish I could grow the wonderful dwarf willows here but they don't appreciate our thuggy summers.

Stellaria longipes, from various places in the Rockies generally west of Calgary:

Crepis nana:

Lori, love that little Crepis.

Rollercoaster weather here, but relatively little snow, so on the warm south side of the house, the first flowers in bloom are a small patch of snowdrops, and Colchicum kesselringii.  This photo was taken Feb 21, 2016, it was followed by about 3" of icy snow, hail, freezing rain, then followed the next day with 60 degrees F (broke a 130 year record), followed by more deep freezing, now moderating and feeling decidedly spring-like. 

I have two forms of Colchicum kesselringii, one is about triple the size of the other, and earlier blooming too, still waiting for the small one to open first blooms.

ps:  embed images still not working for me, this time tried it with Chrome browser, maybe related to Windows 8.1.

Not an alpine species but an extremely broad-ranging grasslands plant that extends up to some of the exposed ridges in the lower front ranges, Pulsatilla patens is putting up its golden buds even earlier than last year: 

Douglasia montana in bloom 2.5 weeks earlier than in our last year's early spring, and 6 weeks earlier than in 2012: