Nine months and then: babies!

Sunday 24 October 2010

Nine months and then: babies!

I have a habit of placing plant orders online either very late at night or very early in the morning and while I'm completely sober when I do it, I often forget having done it. This, then, requires a trawl through my email to see find the receipts and see what I'm actually waiting for.

I know I'm waiting for quite a few Asiatic Lily hybrids from deJager and Van Meuwen and the following from my chums at Kevock Gardens:

Iris Collettii

Iris Napaulensis, with its stunning rossettes, up to 3ft across. The botanists are currently having a fight about just where this fits in to the genis as there are several very similar. Some think only the yellow ones are true napaulensis but previously they could just as easily be res or white.

Meconopsis superba

Just as well I'm growing it in a pot becasue Lilium Nepalense has a habit of popping up several feet way from where you planted it, wandering around all over the place underground!

While I tend to stick to species of genera, perhaps because that makes building a collection potentially finite but I'm a reall sucker for an asiatic lily and am awaiting this collection of giant fragrant hybrids from Van Meuwen:

"Tiger Woods" (presumably named before his recent "issues"

"Red Dutch"

"Tom Pouce"

"Muscadet"

I went out awandering yesterday to find some containers to plant them in (there will be five of each) and ended up at the World's Most Expesive Garden Centre where I spent £83. Although to be fair that did include a small bag of grit.

Some of the Fritillarias and Irised, now neatly topped off with a layer of grit to protect the stem, avoid splashboack and just generally set them off nicely

Silly lily money:The basket thing will need to be lined with polythene (with holes in the bottom) and the two metal ones will have to have a few holes punched in them (I use a screwdriver and hammer)

Well, it's Sunday and that means Columbia Road flower market outside the front door so I''ll probably nip out in a bit to but something I don't have room for. Actually I bought a new vase the other day so might get some nice Lilies or Gladioli to give it a test run.

If your out in the garden or greenhouse this afternooon have a lovely time and may your efforts be fruitful!

Have fun, the plantboy x

2 comments:

Michelle Wheeler24 October 2010 at 03:22
Interesting comment on the botanists' having a argument.There seems to be quite a movement at the moment regarding where certain plants fit in the families.It's a discussion that comes up every week at Sparsholt.
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chrissyboi24 October 2010 at 06:12
Having grown and seen them all in the wild I find it very difficult to tell my regia from my napaulensis. I'm growing seed labelled as regia from Chilterns who will only be using the name their supplier used so it will be interesting to see what I get. Probably a hybrid!
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My recommended suppliers for plants and seed

(And our only business connection is that I give them lots of money in exchange for high quality plants.) Rare Plants (http://rareplants.co.uk/). Paul Christian concentrates on the very choice and rare (and consequently expensive but not unfairly so. Mainly but not exclusively bulbs and a great stop for the hardcore Iris and Lily collector. Mail order. Growild A small operation on the West coast of Scotland dealing largely on eBay and not a garden centre or public nursery so it's a case of when they have it, they'll list it. So keep an eye out for the odd gem (I recently spent £80 on rare Lily species on eBay so it's the market that sets the prices. An esoteric range, best found on eBay Kevock Garden Nursery in Scotland (www.kevockgarden.co.uk/) specializing in unusual alpine, woodland, and bog plants, many of Asian origin. Think along the lines of Meconopsis and candelabra primulas. Online catalogue and mail order. Cayeux Irises Based in France, near Orléans, this lot deal almost exclusively in bearded Irises (550 varieties, many their own) with a few beardless and Day Lilies. Superb quality plants, sent out bare-root from Late June to mid-October (www.cayeux-irises.com).

SEEDS

Chiltern Seeds I have to start with the suppliers who first showed a spotty teenager that there's more to seed catalogues than Petunias and Sweet Peas (although they are in there too). They offer a huge range of genera and the species within. The catalogue (too comprehensive to illustrate, it would be the size of the Birmingham phone book) is witty and informative (or not, which is refreshingly honest on rare occasions when they doubt the provenance of an item, something usually reflected in the price). I've raised many an Iris, Meconopsis and Primula from them and portion sizes are generous. Germination instructions for the needy (seeds, not necessarily gardeners) care often stuck to the packet, otherwise just stick a pin in and have a go! (www.chilternseeds.co.uk/)

Chileflora.com Suppliers of an astonishing range of South American (mostly Chilean and Argentinian) seeds, especially the likes of Alstroemerias, Tropaeolums (the rare ones), Bomareas and a seemingly endless range of Rhodophialas and other bulb seeds. And remember, a lot of Chile is far colder than you think it is! Hundreds of seeds per packet so experimentation with sowing techniques is possible, if at first you don't succeed (you usually will). Many species yet to be named, eg Calandrinia sp. 1212 (mine have yet to germinate). An amazing website with thousands of stunning images taken by the proprietor, Mikhail Belov, and each entry comes with a wealth of habitat, hardiness and other info. He even rates them for ornamental value! (The aforementioned gets an A+).

Rareplants.de Offering many of the above (don't know if they have a reciprocal deal or something) but many, many more genera from all around the planet, seeds are broken down in to sections such as geophytes (bulbs, basically), climbers, hardiness and geographically. And you ALWAYS get a free packet of some Aeonium (Houseleek) species that I never sow. I must have a dozen. Also well illustrated and a HUGE range. Prices are in Euros (the .de domain name should have given that away so be aware of that minute's exchange rate when you order!

Secret Seeds A UK firm specialising in rare perennials (that's where I got my Impatiens namchabarwensis seeds, although at the time of writing they have a picture but no stock), they also deal in grasses, veg and herbs, should any of that float your dinghy. All seeds come in little packets, sometimes a bit on the stingy side but they do tell you how many are coming so fair's fair, with detailed cultivation instructions. Top stuff. (www.secretseeds.com)

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