Well, Toxi, sometimes it just makes you wanna spit the way the weather has it's own agenda! You at least got to enjoy the flowers you did and maybe it makes them all the more precious as they may be the only ones. Bittersweet.......
We're having 30's all week here and after all my crinums and hippis and so on are all growing, I can't take them out! It's been dark and cloudy all week anyhow....but now they're stretching for light. I'm keeping most of them in the basement where it's cooler. I'm looking at 600 watt sodium lights for next year.......or at least one of those 8 foot fixtures with those new high powered fluourescents......
I hope there's other gardeners at DG that will share pix of their N. pseudonarcissi when they come into bloom!
Robert.
Simple Pleasure: Narcissus pseudonarcissus.
Susan, I hope that you don't get wind to exascerbate it. We've had inversions here recently, and I've been amazed at what has survived them.
Robert, what do you think of trying Hip. outdoors?
Healthy species-Narc leaves promise some more pictures in a few weeks.
K. James
It is 22 degrees this morning...not good. Oh well, spit!!!!
Robert, what kind of crinums do you grow? Can you plant them outside there in your zone? I have (maybe "had") a crinum jagus and left it out this winter under a foot of mulch, close the leeward edge of the greenhouse. Left a banana tree out there, too. It was pitch them in the compost or plant and hope for a mild winter....I guess I will know in a month or so if they made it. I have some agapanthus that has been out in that area for 3 years now and survived.
Kenton, what is an incursion? Is that like a microburst?
27 this morning, and frost sitting on everything. I hope the new Hellebore foliage was hardened.
Inversion: When the daytime temperature is very warm, and the sun heats the ground up. (We have intense sun here.) At night, the cold air above the hot just isn't equitable, so they trade places very quickly. Watch the temperature in thrity minute increments do : 45,44, 42, 39, 34, 28, 27... Ins ome places, where the warm air was going up, plants may be undamaged. Where cold air was coming down, however: It shows badly. The arrangement of drafts are effected by trees and warm things like homes. Intersting but aggravating ot the spring0itchy gardener.
A Musa basjoo, Susan?
K. James
Kenton and Susan~
My heart goes out to ya' both with your current weather woes.
Warning:I always run on, so make a cuppa and read when you have time to kill. :-)
I have had a Crinum xpowelii for many-many years. I don't know how long, but I began with a single small bulb (the kind you get in a plastic bag with a cardstock label, Llangveld or somesuch) and when I dig them recently, I pulled 20 out of the ground. If they had been in good soil with more irrigation, I might have pulled at least twice that! They did well in spite of conditions and made massive amounts of roots, it was a bit scary.... They're all potted up and in the basement at the moment. I'll be running them in and out, this week for sure. Today was about 56F while it is expected to be about 30F tonight and about the same all week.
I posted a little about digging them up and some of what I'm posting here is also there. Sorry if I'm repeating myself.
Anywho, I recently got three very fine C. scabrum ("milk and wine lilies"), potted up upstairs where it is warmer and they can get more light. They should be ok in in our 7b winters here too. Would love to have the white xpowelli and if I had room indoors, several of the tropical "spidery" ones like asiaticum and amabile.
I still have to select a site in the yard and prepare the soil for the Crinums. I don't think I'll be able to supply them with full sun where I'd like them (trees just keep taking it away) but they'll get enough. I may try to start a couple beds just for them in an area that gets more sun, but it'll take some doing......
As far as Hippis outdoor: I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I'll probably be putting most of the H. xjohnsonii (St. Joseph's lily) I have recently acquired in the ground, keeping a couple indoors as insurance. I know they survive our winters with no problem, I'm just worried about what-ifs. I think as long as the drainage is good, all will be well as no one I know who grows them protects them at all. "Elephant Ears" can survive in the ground here too if not too wet. So..........
I hear that "Appleblossom" is also pretty cold hardy, and if I had one (lol) I'd put it in the ground, too. My research indicates that some species withstand climatic extremes in situ, so as time goes by, I may try those as well. Striatum, cybister, evansiae, fosteri, and parodii may all be good candidates for outdoor planting here. Striatum is often found in clayey soil so it hould feel right at home here. The Leopoldii line may have some added hardiness, but don't quote me. Papilio grows in cool surroundings and that may afford some winter tolerance. I may be totally wrong, but in my way of thinking, it would..........One day I'll try that one in the ground too.
A couple people I know grow Hippis in the ground here. Don't know what (if ant) protection they get. Not sure what kind they have, but one guy has a lot of red among his, so it could be "Red Lion". Both of those places are warmish micro-climates; they're in "community developments".
My Hippis are at the point of either potting up or dividing. I really don't have the space to have a bunch of 12" pots indoors. So, at this point, as much as I'd like to pot them on, I'm going to have to divide them. That should give me a few to try next winter. I'm working on getting a striatum start through a friend.
I think the key to pushing zones, is keeping plants dry in winter. I've left things out, by design or by accident, expecting them to die, and have been surprised at what makes it through. I have a nice pot of Stevia that has survived two winters now, completly ignored (It does get rain on it.). It's coming up now. I point this one out as the tag says "tender perennial". Not as tender as coleus anyway!
I've had Aloe chinensis survive in a pot, totally dry and totally ignored on the front porch. Some of it died and a coupla pups survived. I wasn't testing or anything, I just left it there. Helped by lots of easterly sun heating the bricks during the day? Dunno.
And that's a wrap!
Robert.
Well I just typed a long response and lost it, darn.
Kenton, I don't know what kind of banana it was....just a pup someone gave me that got too big for a pot.
Those incursions sound nasty. Better tell my daughter about them.
Robert, I am sure your yard will be lovely when you get all the crinums re-established!
Leaving for Colorado tomorrow! So if you'all don't hear from me you know why.
Safe trip to you, Susan. Hope you enjoy this odd place as much as I do.
Robert. If I had more time, I would suggest Tetley or PG tips for you and ramble a bit myself on zone-crunching. Look up Zantedeschia albomacualta in Plantfiles.
I second the importance of drainage/dry conditions. Air does insulate.
We shall compare notes later,
K. James
Kenton, you're up awfully early or really late....and don't worry...we enjoy Colorado a lot! Been out there many times and still have not seen it all.
We will be leaving shortly, just had to get one last word in:
I have Zantedeschia albomaculata here too, planted in the ground, and it has survived and bloomed for 2 years. It emerges rather late, so be careful digging in the area until it comes up. Not invasive here (yet).
Susan
Report that in Zip code report, would you, Susan? That's wonderful. Ha- it never will be invasive. I can't imagine the seedlings being able to pull themselves down before a hard frost gets them, let alone the seed germinating before the frost. I have also had god luck with Zant. 'Flame.' (And if you are ever out my way, I am guarunteed to have somehting blooming any day of the year. Same goes for the teapot.)
Now get some Darjeeling!
Oh yes, drainage is mentioned in the "critical" capacity for the winter survival of: Musas, Zantedeschia, Canna, Gladiolus, Passiflora, Hippeastrum, Zephryanthes, Frittilaria, and others. I am not sure about palm trees, as they are evergreen and tend to need the water to replace that which is lost in thier leaves, but keeping the growth point dry is a must. I am also not sure about evergreen Clematis for the same reasons.
I brought one back from Oregon to a friend here. (C. armandi 'Cherry Blossom.') It was perfectly green all winter until February, when the leaves abruptly dried to a crisp, as the stems, I beleive, did. The three things I can think of that caused this are #A. The wind in February. This fence may (not for sure) may be in a wind-stream. #B . She simply let it dry out and it dessicated. #C. She has had one or two other Clematis die in this spot, so I dug out the soil and put in new soil/compost. It may be that a toxin in the surrounding soil did not move into the root zone as it was growing last fall and being mist-watered by a sprinkler system. But, with the irrigating system off, she would have winter-watered with a hose-soaking style, which would be more apt to move a chemical around. A long shot, but it isn't trumped by the onther scenarios, as I will give her much credit for being religious about winter-watering in our desert climate.
I have recently purchased a Clem. armandii and hope for better luck. This is where the irrepressable Tony Avent quote comes in: "I consider a plant hardy until I have killed it. -At least three times."
I have also ordered C. cirrhosa, so join the game...
Isn't it odd how Fritillaria are zoned as being quite hardy (which they are not when it is wet) and Cannas or Glads are not? (Again, these are hardy unless wet.)
Still, through all of this, I have overwintered Canna 'Phaison' and Zephryanthes candida in moist places.
That's enough tripe for now,
Kenton
Bon voyage, Susan. Look forward to hearing some plant tale when you get back!
I've had good luck with the common pink calla, Z. rehmannii, growing very shallowly in decomposed mulch only. They've come back twice. Not much chance of being too wet as the compost drains very well and though our winters are relatively "wet", much of the early to middle is very dry. They get good direct sun-part sun through the day, due to trees blocking from time to time.
It's too early to tell if they're still there. I hope so. I'm going to move them to a better spot. One with some soil!
I put some of their seeds in the "ground" by the rhizomes last year. I think they sprouted but can't be sure. Offsets may have been moved or dislodged by other garden chores taking place over them. But the clump had definitely expanded beyond the bounds of normal multiplication.
Great to hear about the Z. albomaculata hardiness. Don't have any of that one, but will prolly get it to try outdoors since you've both given the thumbs up. One of the things I love in plants is variegation and spotted leaves are in the minority. Spotted leaves are enchanting when they occur. (I have some nice pulmonaria in bloom just now.)
After reading about it here at DG, I bought a Z. "Green Goddess" at the Southern Spring Show. Though I prefer the large pure whites of the species, this one is said to be smaller and will be easier to keep. I'm thinking I'll fall in love with the green flames on the blooms when I finally get to see them "in person" for the first time later this year.
Also from the Spring Show: H. 'Pasadena' 'Rilona' 'Chico' 'Lima' and 'Dancing Queen' (OMG, every time I read the tag on that one, I get that song going ALL DAY LONG in my head. Usually I just give in and sing right along! I've gotten to the point now that I'm make up my own lyrics, just to keep it fresh, lol).
Also got Hymenocallis x festalis, Hymenocallis "Sulphur Queen" and a nice Lilium regale. The Regal lily is already up about 10 inches. I had to pot it as it was already sprouted in the package. Two nice shoots. But...... I left it out in the cold one night and one shoot is pretty wilty-looking but the stem seems fine. The other stem is A-OK.
Cannas and glads are fine over winter here. I just moved my "Tropicana" to a pot while I worked the bed and it's coming up but I'm keeping it cool for as long as possible.
In the place where the Crinums, Canna and part of the variegated Solomon's Seal were, I'm going to plant a mimi-grove of Musella lasiocarpa pups and might return some of the Crinums there, too.
I love Fritillaria imperialis but they don't last long here. :-( Had just one season with F. persica. Chasmanthe doesn't do here as its got that south-of-the-equator timing and it gets cut down by cold. Crocosmia do very well (and they aren't even planted deep) here. They multiiply prolifically, seed and offsets. This year they've been getting hit with frosts, but that just makes them look a bit tatty. They'll be fine.
I have Allium bulgaricum or Nectaroscordium sisulum ssp.bulgaricum, whichever is the latest appellation (?) about a foot tall. They've multiplied well. Haven't ever seen any seed form and I haven't tried to pollinate them. May try it this year. Have either of you grown it? It has a nice casual charm that many Alliums have and the flowers have an unusual form and coloration. Lifting up the nodding bells to look inside is always on the agenda in late spring-early summer!
At the Southern Spring Show, Clematis armandii was used in a lot of the show gardens. Most were in bloom. I didn't check to see what variety or strain they were, but all that I saw were white.
Kenton, could your friend have *overdone* the watering? Total root death would be one explanation for the "sudden death by crinkling" event. They need to be planted warm here too, as it's just north of where they'd prefer. The only Clematis I have is a start from my grandmother, 'Nelly Moser' if I have it right.
Well, that's not really true. The other one I have is one I want to get rid of: "Sweet Autumn Clematis". I had it on a nice copper "pergola" kind of thing my dad made from Fine Gardening magazine. But the thing collapsed due to the HUGE vine making a wind-catching mass and, catching stormwinds one summer, it all went quite horizontal. The pergola-thing was bent beyond repair and I let the vine grow on the ground one season before deciding that that won't happen again. So now there's seedlings springing up in the yard that I have to remove. Maybe I'll try to find a nice spot for one. They *are* a glorious lacy fragrant sight in the late summer. And tough too!
Well, that about it for now.
Later.
Robert.
O. M. G.
Look what I discovered:
"Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Green Goddess' pictured above, is even larger than the species, easily reaching 5' and possibly 7' in favorable conditions. It is a very imposing plant, with leaves 16" long and half as wide. The flowers (spathes) have white centers and green edges, and can be 8" across. A lover of moist shade, this plant can also be grown as a marginal aquatic, either on a boggy bank or in pots set into a pond. The same is true of its cousin, the white Calla Lily. Zone 8, with a mulch recommended. "
Oh, my my my, what *will* I do...........
Robert.
It's like asking eyewitnesses what color shirt the guy was wearing...
Allium bulgaricum: had it until it was smasjed by a willow tree. Call it biological control. I didn't fancy it enough to replace it. I did fancy the firewood that the willow offered.
Any problem with Clematis terniflora or maxondrugstupidlatinnamechangeus, whatever it is called now, the plant can be aided with a chemical called glyphosphate.
Robert, I did try to build the soil a bit to make for better drainage, but seeing as ho wit was planted in late summer and the pot-shaped soil interface had not been broken (I assume) it could have drowned. Perfectly possible. Especially in clay soil.
Rhemanni? put i tin Zipcode report, if you will (or have not already).
Turn you Frit. imperialis on their side. (to prevent water settling in the bowl-shaped bulb, like amorphophallus) Place in a very well-drained spot or dig them up in the summer. Otherwise they last exactly two years, right?
Did you have a Musella bloom? (leaving the pups?) Or are you starting with a big investment? If the original Wanna-be culm freezes off, but leaves a disc of living tissue, will it survive to grow pups or anything?
Kenton
Robert:
Spotted foliage: On afluke of coincidence, I have this poem line stuck in my head:
"Glory be to God for dapled things,
for skies couple-coloured as a brinded cow."
and so on...
Hey~
I've been looking thru the B&B catalogue and this one and that one I have at hand, first to check the albo-mac prices and then thrying to find a certain one I wanted. It's from B&B : "Picasso". Nice color arrangement but, and I don't know if this is a characteristic cultivar wide, but I don't really like the form: that wobbly wavely edge. But I love the colors. Also admired "Purple Haze". YUM! And that "Pink Mist" is to die for!
Then I was looking thru Park's and Whoa! "Midnight Eclipse". OMG that is wonderful and mysterious with being over-the-top. But look: $12.95 ea. Whoa! is right for now (I keep telling myself, I am so close to contacting B&B and Park's it's not funny.) And then, I go looking at page 37 of the 2002 catalogue (really must check out the webpage....) and seeing the way the pix are layed out on the page makes me want to have a pot of each one and have them displayed in a group, all in bloom. NICE. A much better choice than having to pick one or two and having to work with color mixing and so on. Just a group of pots at different levels with foliage plants in between. Sweet. The pinks and oranges together is really appealing to me.........
Frits: Yeah, two years and bubbye. I have dug them up but seem to drag my feet on replanting and then the bulbs have wated away or disappeared (mysteriously) and that's that. I know I'll have them again, though and maybe see if i can set a local record for keeping them going. Beat my old record, anywho.
The Musella. Yes, I have pups from one I planted in 2001. I gave it NO special treatment after planting it a little deeper than usual. It lost all the foliage but the central stem wasn't destroyed. It started growing very early (and I wish I could say when that was. I just remeber being surprised that it was going when it wasn't warmed up at all. April maybe. I just don't know, but it could have been as early as mid-March if we had a lot of early warm that season.
Anyway, I got a dozen or so pups from it and potted them up the year it bloomed as I wasn't sure if they were deep or old enough to survive. It didn't occur to me that they prolly would, since the corm was so deep, but you know how I am about losing all to an experiment. So, I potted them up and brought them in and have kept them indoors each winter cause I needed to rework the border and until this year I have neither been interested enough or had the time to do that. (I'm out of work at present and not chronically depressed, so that's why I've gotten so much done in the yard.) It doesn't seem like that long ago, but I just checked my pix and they were made in 2002. Jeez that is so weird. I don't really remember having them inside four winters......whoa!
Anywhow, I gave a couple away and I have 8 plants in 1 gallon pots to *finally* get in the ground. I'm planning to pot up a pup of my Musa accuminata "Rojo" and set it out too and I thank B&B for listing it as zone 7 for that, though there is a business up the road that has had them out front for years and I've been suspecting that they leave them in the ground. Each year the little banana grove gets bigger and better. Never saw any disturbance or re-mulching to indicate a landscaperhad removed them for winter. So, I'll keep an eye out this year and maybe stop in and ask if I can't wait that long. I have (what I'm pretty sure is) a Musa basjoo to put in the ground too. Oh, I can't wait!! A "Tropical Paradise in Miniature". Mmmmmmmmmmm!
Back then I had to videotape and do screencaps to have digipix so that's why these look a bit wonky.
Robert.
Robert, I just imagined a disco ball hanging in your garden, lol.
Nice quote Kenton.
Yes, it's short. I din't plant it but about 10-12" at most. I guess it was mature enough and had had it's growth restricted enough that it just bloom short. I'm afraid my little 4-year olds (I still can't believe that: that's depression for ya'!) are gonna bloom short too. The tallest is 12" of stem. They've lost their leaves but have green stems. But, they already have pups, I think for two years now.......
"The Golden Lotus" bloom, as I saw it called on one site. But it's really more like a golden artichoke to me, anywho.
R.
As I've been trying to establish an order to my various plant obsessions, zants are on my list to wait for sales. For now that works because I only have 4 varieties, and no colorful ones, so I'm bound to find some good cheapies. I really want 'Pink Mist' to! That it's an aethiopica draws me to it.
What a suprise you got about 'Green Goddess', but I think ultimately it'll be a pleasant one. What a beautiful, majestic plant that will be. Green flowers have been very attractive to me lately. And I've been really in to pink and orange lately. Just got finished mulching my new blank slate (huge grin!), an island of the cottage garden with shades on the color wheel between orange and pink. All these fruity, tropical colors are looking very happy to me. So everything coral, peach, melon, salmon, and perhaps some juicy berry shades will go there.
Neal
What a beautiful symetry to that bloom.
gemini_sage wrote:
"All these fruity, tropical colors are looking very happy to me. So everything coral, peach, melon, salmon, and perhaps some juicy berry shades will go there."
Mmmmmmpphhphhmhmhmhph !! [Homer Simpson drooling sounds]
Warm and juicy yet cooling and refreshing!
Robert.
Fixed Homer's drool.
This message was edited Mar 24, 2006 9:34 PM
LOL
Indeed what we want to experience outside on a summer day!
I wish I had a side view to illustrate the "artichokiness" of it . It had a very pentagonal thing going with the foliage.
Whatever happens with these this year, next year I sould be ablt to get some blooms higher up. But being so short, you can just plop down and enjoy it up close, so it's all good!
Robert.
Jolly Green Giant Goddess is more like it!
I see it usually listed as 2-3 feet, the same as Z.aethiopica proper and that's prolly right for just a year's growth. I think the optimum conditions scenario won't happen here (ha-ha-ha) and unless you live in the D-E-E-P south or have a tropical greenhouse, chances are they won't get 7 feet tall.
I guess I'll just have to get the "childsiana" strain if I want a small plant.
gemini_sage wrote:
"Robert, I just imagined a disco ball hanging in your garden, lol."
Sorry, I don't even have a gazing globe. But, I do have two pink plastic flamingos in my new "secret garden" and in one flower bed, there's a brass "Flamingo Crossing" yard sign.
Robert.
I only recently was bitten by the Musoid (hardy) bug, and it bit pretty hard. Next year will be great, except for the daily waterings in summer.
The B&B picture of 'Picasso' is not great; it shows a flower distorted by hormone treatment. That wears off after the first season. I just plante Picasso out, now where did it go...?
I think 'Purple Haze' is the best Zantedeschia hybrid there ever was. I was silly enough to get mine mixed into the other bulbs, so there you have it: why I haven't given away my mixed Callas!
Parks has some nice varieties. "Sensation" and "Elegance" are both wonderful intersepcifics.
Oh, yeah, and "Midnight Eclipse" is waiting for the jury. I'll get a picture. It was a weak grower...
I saw that Z. aethiopicas out behind houses in the Pacific NW grow 5-6.'
I think the Deep south can be too hot for them in the summer, but in freeze-free places, I'll bet that someone has them blooming spring and fall. The like to be cool; that's the key.
We're certainly talking about species Narc. Well, I figure we are killing time until the darn things bloom, eh?
The demure 'Midnight Eclipse.' on the right. It did have clear white edge, I'll give it that.
Left? 'Mango,' I think.
Kenton~
I potted up four of the pink cannas that I could find. They were already sending out roots!
I put it in the plants files, but I'll repeat it here: They were under less than an inch of broken-down mulch on black pastic. I thought there was some soil underneath them, but no. What little troopers!
Robert.
Narc. canaliculatus. Like me in the first week of summer break: late to rise and late to look like anything.
Kenon
Looking at your pic, it's like going back in time........
I've been checking the pseudos and it looks like maybe 50% will set seed. Some clumps didn't show any or had only one or two, while others had 75%+ with swelling pods.
I wonder if the weather patterns discourage pollinators or had something to do with it.
Maybe that one housefly got distracted.......
Robert.
I liked this thread, so to bring it back to attention, I say "bink."
My N. canaliculatus are blooming now, I will photograph them when they are a bit more full.
Here is Narc. bulbocodium conspicuus. I have planted a dozen (or two.) One plant is blooming. I planted only one Narc. bulbocodium 'Golden Bells' and it is blooming. I suppose the reason I went with the species was the hope that they would naturalize better. We shall see next year.
k. James
Hi Kenton,
That is a pretty narcissus, and a nice red pansy behind it! Glad to see this thread bumped back up.
I survived the trip to Colorado....my daughter nearly worked us to death...we are not used to that high elevation. We got a lot of things done on her house. One day we drove up to Breckenridge and some old ghost towns.
She has a lot of spruce, fir, aspen, and pine. Kinnick-kinnick (spelling?), Rocky Mtn. juniper, artemisia, and grasses serve as ground covers. I am sure that many plants were dormant since the ground was still frozen solid. She has 7 deer that come through about twice a day, foraging on the junipers and any kitchen vegetable scraps she has tossed. I planted some lilacs, rose campion, daylilies, oriental poppies, jacob's ladder, phlox divaricata, hellebores, miscanthus, and a hosta. The deer have left them alone so far.
My Mom has taken a turn for the worse, so I will be spending a lot of time taking care of her....so if you don't hear from me much, that is why.
She was a chain smoker for years, and now she is paying the price with emphasema and congestive heart failure. Last night, we had to get oxygen installed by her bed. I hope you don't smoke. I never did, but my DH smoked for 20 years before he quit in 1987. It killed my Dad and father-in-law, now Mom, and next I guess it will be my 2 sisters that still (incredibly!) smoke. If our government had any ethics, they would have made tobacco illegal back in the 60's.
Well, enough of my woes. Hope your springtime is wonderful. It is very beautiful here now, with the redbuds blooming, the dogwood flowers swelling, the tulips showing dramatic colors, and the maples and elms starting to green up.
I spent a good while deadheading the daffodils. Only the poeticus and Thalia and Salome are still blooming. And a couple of Yellow Cheerfulness.
Let me know if you want some daff bulbs...I am getting better at marking them these days. I have started diagramming them on graph paper instead of putting in a plant label that gets raked out and lost.
Happy gardening,
Susan
Susan; You've got someone praying for her. I hope she is comfortable and that it does not put too heavy a strain on you. Smoking is such a terrible thing for the smoker and those that surround.
From the sound of those plants (and the biome it suggests) then some of the plants you left will survive, others may not. They're all worth a try up there. Narcissus are a good bet with deer around.
K. James
Thanks, Kenton.
I might send her a box of narcissus bulbs in late summer. Or better yet, maybe I will go plant them for her!
My circle drive this week:
Kenton, what is the red pansy thst keeps showing up in all of your beautiful photos?
Viola x wittrockiana 'Delta Pure Red.' It is the first true red that is anything near vigourous. Not rose-red, not pale red, but red-red. Other Delta series Violas are decent color, but lack vigour. (ie Orange)
Susan, all I can think of is "perfect." You've done a supreme job. Is that a Cercis in bloom? I like the form.
K
Susan, your circle drive area is beautiful!
Boink.
Narc. canaliculatus.
I may as well put 'Martinette' here.
Kenton
I had to laugh about my driveway looking good....the picture I took is 4 MB and the one here is sized down to less than 100kb, so it looked really bad to me. But thanks for your compliments, anyway. Yes, it is a Cercis canadensis...native here. They are a true blaze of color each April, particularly if located in front of our eastern redcedars. Soon the firepinks and cypress spurge will make a big show and then the whole thing will go dormant over the summer...I refuse to water there because the trees suck it up like my DH does cold beer. The spurge and some dreaded goutweed will cover the fading narcissus and tulip foliage and survive without watering. The soil surrounding the beds is rock hard so that contains the groundcovers perfectly.
Kenton, is the N. canaliculatus considered a cyclamen-type? It sure is pretty. So is the 'Martinette'. And thanks for sharing the pansy name. It is fantastic looking.
Do any of you know this one? It is the largest flowering one I have, about 31/2 to 4 inches across, on tall stems. It is bright yellow-gold, with rather flat orange cups. I'm pretty sure it is something I got on clearance within the last 2 decades...not an heirloom. It persists much better than 'Mt Hood' but does not multiply crazily like Ice Follies and Thalia.
I do not have one like that, Susan. It is quite nice. Persistence is good! I don't think that describes any of my orange-cups. Be sure to send us some pictures of these color changes if you can.
N. canaliculatus is what it is- a miniature species. The reflection of the perianth is nice, but I don't think it is related to N. cyclemineus. Note how tiny the thing is next to Puschkinia. It is also fragrant.
Kenton
Kenton and Susan~
Thanks for the pix.
Nice drive Susan. Remember the beauty of scenes like this when you're dealing with the stuff with your mother. My thoughts will see you both in light.
Thanks for 'hoop-skirters', K, they're charming. .
The Deltas have some great colors. Love the reds.
I thought the pushkinia was Ornithogallum. I pass by a yard just overrun with them (now in bloom --O. umbellatum, I think) and they've just cut the lawn! BOO!There's lots left in the borders and I guess the ones in the ground will put out again.There was a little clump right at the base of the stop sign on the street and they didn't get cut. Nice thick little clump.
I'm continuing to work like mad on the yard, planning what I'm going to do later etc. Trying to figure out especially about replanting the pseudos: small groups in a natural swath or a large area of "plant 'em where they land" and some done as groups in other parts of the yard. Decisions, decisions.
I went plant-shopping where I used to work and now have some new callas:
White (don't know if it's albo-mac, elliotiana or ethiopica, but I'm thinking ethiop. as the tag didn't mention spots on the leaves.
Yellow: Solar Flare.
Purple (?); Gem Lavender.
Mixed (red edged w/cream-yellowish center): Sangria
Got an oriental lily: Dizzy. Red striped white. Love the scent.
Some herbs to feed the swallowtail larvae and some for me (tee-hee): flat Italian parsley and some bronze fennel. ( I let the wild milkweeds grow for the Monarchs). Got a nice variegated cat mint (great scent to the foliage) and some penstemons, a variegated "Jewels of Opar" (don't know if it comes true from seed, but I'll find out--Talinum seeds like crazy!) A variegated oregano (large leaves with white edge--smell a bit like marjoram), rue and a Dianthus called something else, but looks like spotii, and a 'Salem' rosemary (great natural form).
The seed forecast for the N. pseudos is looking like 10-15% at best now. Not a good year, I guess, but I haven't really kept up with that aspect of it. I'm planning to collect the seed but I haven't staked the stems and they fall over with their weight, so it's not easy keeping up with them.
There's an annoying bunny in the yard and it keeps eating the flowers of my woodland phlox! I guess they show up in the dark and cannot be ignored! Wish it would go elsewhere as I have some that are near-white with a violet eye that I want to get seed from. Have either of you seen one like it? I know there's one out there that is said to "read as white" though it is really the palest of blues, but this one isn't blue-lavender it's really quite white and the eye is the red-violet color, so I don't know if it's unusual or not....... our indoor de-clawed cat caught and killed two little bunnies and I (dare I be so mean....)wouldn't be terribly upset if she got the other one at this point, what with voles, moles, squirrels, chipmunks and such.........
There's a few hawks around the house......I saw one swoop down and carry off a vole the other day. Keep it up, Hawk-friend.
Robert.