Re: Got the Blues

A much better blue than the Meconopsis delavayi is this gorgeous little Aquilegia from the Dolomites.

AQUILEGIA EINSEINIANA

Booker wrote:

A much better blue than the Meconopsis delavayi is this gorgeous little Aquilegia from the Dolomites.

AQUILEGIA EINSEINIANA

I grew this many many years ago, when I was in college... the seed from a wild source so I believe it was correct.  It was a very cute little plant.  I suspect that most seed in the various seedexes will not come true, as they all freely hybridize in the garden, so would look to find a wild collected seed offering again.  Cliff, if I may offer a name correction, I believe the species name is Aquilegia einseleana Fr.Schultz.  How tall is your plant, did you get seed from a wild source?

David wrote:

Todd:

We have seen Campanula scheuchzeri in the Alps and Pyrenees.  It is like C. rotundifolia except it is smaller and the leaves are narrow.  Here is one growing on a limestone boulder in the Pyrenees

Beautiful plant in an austere setting! Just checked IPNI.ORG, and see that there are many subspecies as well.
http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do;jsessionid=08E89598A751E5...

McDonough wrote:

Booker wrote:

A much better blue than the Meconopsis delavayi is this gorgeous little Aquilegia from the Dolomites.

AQUILEGIA EINSELEANA

How tall is your plant, did you get seed from a wild source?

Sorry Mark, I must have given you the wrong impression.  The image was captured at Pragser Wildersee in the Dolomites (in July) and I don't actually grow this one ... but would like to!  There were quite a number of plants ranging from three inches high in cliff crevices to nine inches high in the open woods around the lake.  Your name correction is appreciated and has been amended above.
Another image ...

Pretty blue, this one. Is it as blue as the bluest gentians?

It is a very good blue Trond, but certainly can't compare to say Gentiana verna.

No,I thought so, Cliff. But Aquilegia einseleana is a good one.

Not many blue flowers here, the best at this time is Hydrangea serrulata which flowers from July and onwards.

The prettiest wildflower in these parts
Gentianopsis crinita

Oh my, Harold ... that is a gem!

Peachey wrote:

The prettiest wildflower in these parts
Gentianopsis crinita

Harold, superb photo!  Is this growing nearby someplace in upper state New York, or in your garden?  There is a small nature preserve nearby in town, right on the New Hampshire border, where this beautiful biennial can be viewed in moist meadows.  I wonder if it is flowering this year given our localized drought in this area.  Some sites still list it as Gentiana crinita, so look for it under that name too.  In New Hampshire, as in several other states, the Fringed Gentian on State Threatened plant lists.

Some links:

USDA Plant Profile page for Gentianopsis crinita
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GECR2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentiana_crinita

Good photos here at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GECR2

These plants are in my garden, grown from seed saved each year originally from Nasami Farm where I talked Bill Cullina into sharing some seedlings with a propagation workshop.  I have seen them in Western Massachusetts at the Williamstown preserve growing in a calcareous seep

Aconitum uncinatum

The A. uncinatum, native to southeast US grows about six feet and requires other plants for support-as shown it is growing under a large Walnut tree and is leaning on some native hydrangea.  G. crinita seems to do well in average garden soil, in my case neutral to mildly alkaline, with good water holding capacity, no extra watering required, it is, of course, biennial.