We need more photos

I have nothing in bloom currently that qualifies as a rock garden plant, but we're going to lose this forum if we don't post something. Post some pictures, contribute some information, make some jokes, vent your frustration with ailing plants. Anything at all.

Todd, you must have something to show us. Otherwise, Jamie and I will have to start trading photos of roses, lilies, and even the occasional dreaded and bearded iris.

The closest thing I have to anything appropriate is this. If you look past the Anagallis and Malcolmia, you might see a few succulents. These concrete building blocks are my latest attempt to foil the gophers. I set them down on the driveway and filled them with a little bit of soil and a lot of sand and gravel.

Ok, will see what I can do!

Thanks for the push Zuzu. I was missing the discussion here too!

Tam

OK - here's my self-seeding bed. I think my favorite there - at least right now since
I was in love with the pansies, then the pennstemon hirsutus earlier this year ;-) -
are the nierembergia's. Mont Blanc (white) and the blue ones (? forgot name).
Neither is hardy here but they did self seed! (I did plant the gazanias. I'm a sucker
for their bright colors!)

Tam

And my gentiana (I can't recall species).
Tam

Rocky Mountain Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea) and paintbrushes on mountaintop in Colorado.

This message was edited Jul 24, 2005 8:08 AM

Delphinium (d. Glaucum maybe) growing wild in Colorado mountains

This message was edited Jul 24, 2005 8:09 AM

Columbines and bluebells with a view

columbine with Veratrum viride (False Hellebore). We called the False Hellebore "skunk weed" because of its unpleasant odor. It's beautiful though.



This message was edited Jul 24, 2005 8:15 AM

Polemonium (maybe caerulea) with a sphink moth

This message was edited Jul 24, 2005 8:16 AM

pink paintbrushes

wild bluebells

Phacelia sericea or scorpionweed

This message was edited Jul 24, 2005 8:18 AM

My parents live in western Colorado, not far from Telluride. They go on many scenic drives and hikes in the area. My dad is an amateur photographer and he took these wildflower pictures on their trip to the Mineral Creek area.

If you love wildflowers, I highly recommend visiting Colorado in the summertime. It is incredible to see the millions of different flowers blanketing the mountains that time of year. The range of colors is breathtaking and they grow quite profusely. Most folks think of Colorado as a winter or fall destination, but my favorite time of year there is in the summer. The skies and sunsets are also unbelievably beautiful that time of year.

I wasn't 100% sure on the identification of the liatris and penstemon so if I've mislabeled them, please post a correction to this thread.

I know this is a forum for alpine gardening but I think it's so inspiring to see what the flowers look like growing in the wild. Besides, how many of us have a whole mountain to plan on?

I hope you enjoy these pix.

Amy

Tammy, the Gentian is Gentiana cruciata.

Wow Tiller, those alpines are exquisite! And the scenery to die for. You have a few mis-named so I'll try to straighten them out. The columbine looks like Aquilegia caerulea. Pic two is Delphinium, maybe D. glaucum. Pic 4 is the columbine with Veratrum viride (False Hellebore). Pic 5 is Polemonium (maybe caerulea) with a sphink moth. The last pic is Phacelia sericea or scorpionweed, not liatris. Great pics!

Amy, thanks so much. The pictures are magnificent! I agree that it's inspiring to see flowers in the wild. The Paintbrushes are especially beautiful.

Todd, welcome back. We missed you and didn't know what to call anything while you were gone.

Todd, thank you SO MUCH for identifying the flowers!! That is incredible. I'll edit my messages to correct them.

Thanks again!

amy

I have a surprise last bloom on a Lewisia, this is the amazing 'Sunset Strain' that has literally bloomed for almost 5 months now.....WOW!! I hope to find more of these next year, what a little flower factory these plants have been!

Jamie

And the plant looks absolutely perfect too. No yellowing at the edges of the bottom leaves, which is a chronic problem with mine.

My tiny Cyclamen africanum keeps developing new blooms. Here's how it looked yesterday.

Zuzu - I just can't get over the flower size vs leaf size on that cyclamen!

And Jamie - where did you get this lewisia???? 5 months of bloom + its folliage
is just perfect.

Tam

Jamie, is that Cyclamen a Beaver Creek purchase? I seem to recognize the tag! I got 6 species from him this past spring, but not africanum...now I'm sorry I didn't! My purpurascens and intaminatum I got from him are just starting to bud. I'll post once they open.

Todd, the Cyclamen's mine, not Jamie's. It is from Beaver Creek, and I actually recommended it to you in one of Jamie's other threads back in April and told you to be sure to get one. This has always been my favorite Cyclamen, and I was so delighted to get two of them from Beaver Creek this year.

Zuzu, I must have been having a senior's moment! Obviously I was not following the thread properly. I'll have to add C. africanum to next year's list. I know it is not hardy here but then, several of my Cyclamen are tender so having to overwinter another inside is no big deal.

The leaves of my C. hederifolium just disappeared and already I see the next crop of flowers starting. Great plants!

Todd - is there a secret to getting cyclamens going outside?
I've planted a number of them in a few different spots and they
just are not thriving. (Hederifolium & coum). Under my dogwood
trees, in a "shade garden" that gets pretty good filtered sun.

Sigh.

I guess I'll just keep trying til I find the right spot! (A few are coming
back but they are by no means thriving! Can't imagine they'll ever
bloom since they seem to be up for such a short time).

Tam

Tammy, Todd may very well have a secret, but until he chimes in, I'll add my 2 cents worth. The only time I have trouble with Cyclamen is when they're planted too deep and when they get too much sun and not enough water. They tend to sink into the ground after a while, so I have to lift mine periodically.

Interesting! Its probably the water! I thought they liked dry shade.
(But I water mine like crazy in the greenhouse to keep them happy
so I guess I've been a bit braindead on that). Thanks for the tip! I'll
try an area near my spring (where the primulas are so happy).
Tam

Try that, Tam. Mine are very happy in the same bed with primulas. They must want the same growing conditions.

I have some in with my primulas as well....very happily :-) I also agree about the too deep...some plants seem to 'sink" in and have to be reset every year or two.... I will try to find pics....

Tammy, I got the amazing Lewisia from a nursery here in town....and have never seen any like them!! Bloom, bloom, and more bloom! From March thru the present. And the leaves stay nice and green...I want a couple more so am hoping they have them this spring....

Jamie

Jamie, that's beyond amazing. That's the most fabulous Lewisia I've ever seen.

Unbelievable! Jamie - I truly have lewisia-envy! And in late July - amazing!
Thanks for sharing.
Tam

Wow Jamie, my Lewisia never flower for more than a couple of weeks. That's incredible.

In regards to Cyclamen I keep some of my Cyclamen under moist soil conditions all summer and others I have in pots, are kept bone dry for about 2 months. With our cool summers, our C. hederifolium outside stay green until mid-July. They disappear for a few weeks then start to bloom in September. Mine are actually at soil level with just a thin covering of compost. They want to be at the soil surface. In some parts of the wild (they hail from the Mediterranean area), they are so shallow that after the dry season in summer, the fall rains actually wash them out of the soil, rolling them downhill. If they land upright, they go ahead and root and bloom. The most amazing thing.

They don't want too much root competition. While growing, they do need constant moisture but once they go dormant, they can be kept very dry. The main key is plant them shallow.

I keep wanting to plant a drift of cyclamen!- but have worried about hardiness. Todd- I read somewhere that those of us in zone 5 are better off planting cyclamen quite deep- like 6-8 inches!!- for two reasons- to discourage squirrels from eating them, and to get them through the winter..and surprisingly they do well.....well i ain't never tried it- but knowing that you grow C.hederifolium reliably, and recommend planting them near the soil surface, will certainly influence me!

I looked back at some of the very first threads we had when this forum got up and running again....I was posting this darn Lewisia, and the other one of the same, way back in April!! It has taken some breaks, but then when I look, it is putting out more flowers. Over, and over....this pic shows it blooming in the middle-end of April.....it is at the top center.....I am going to keep track next year....frequency and length of bloom, I just want to keep track so I can assure myself I am not seeing things...LOL :)

Jamie & the Super-Lewisia :)

I've got a Gentiana Scabra starting to bloom in this heat!
But some of my saxifrages are just melting.
Tam

Here's another shot. And this guy is awfully yellow - do I need to add some epsom
salts? I read that somewhere recently.
Tam

Nice Gentiana, Tammy. Lovely color.

My Saxifragas are safe in the shade, but everything else is melting here (including me).

Zuzu - I've got three sax's sprinkled in my rock garden. One gets more sun than
the other two and its looking like its truly fried. I guess it means more room for
something new ;-)
Tam

That's the spirit, Tam.

Few alpines can tolerate heat..afterall it rarely stays hot in the mountains. That's the beauty in Newfoundland...it rarely gets above 85 F and then it still drops to around 60 F at night.

The gentian may be suffering from a lack of iron or the soil is too alkaline.

That's interesting about the temps in Newfoundland, Todd. I guess that's why my plants are still alive in spite of the daytime highs in the 90s and even the 100s. The temperature here always dips below 60 at night. Today it was about 90 degrees, but right now (it's 3:00 in the morning) the temperature is 51. In summer, most of my alpine containers are in the shade, or at least dappled shade. Almost all of my trees are deciduous, however, so the sun-loving alpines will get full sun in spring.

Tammy, is it possible that your Gentian is getting too much sun? Only my G. verna and G. acaulis are in the sun. All the rest are in the shade, in moist acid soil with the azaleas, camellias, and rhodies.