Wet, wet, wet

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Wet, wet, wet

Someone forgot to cover the arilbred, oncocylus and juno irises last night and it poured with rain! Fortunately the sun is shining now and the growing medium is incredibly free-draining so hopefully this won't start them into a premature burst of growth. I have four arilbreds, three named and one seedling they chucked in as a free gift (that's the big fella at the front who I suspect has already come out of dormancy cos there's roots sticking out the bottom of the pot!

Iris "Heimdall"

Iris aucheri

Iris magnifica

Whether I ever get to see any of the above in Spring is uncertain now but at least the mixed candelabra Primula species I pricked out yesterday were at home in the monsoon and seem to have suffered no setback. I'm glad I went for it, there are still plenty of smaller seedlings left in the tray but these look quite happy.

Click to enlarge, or just look below!

A happy looking Primula helodoxa, chungensis, beesiana, bulleyana or any other candelabra species. It''ll probably be orange

The rain also flattened the Crocus speciosus just as they were opening up and looking fantastic, going from this:

To this overnight:

But there is some great news: the Iris douglasiana hybrid seeds, which have sat quietly for the last few months doing nothing, all suddenly decided to make a bolt for the sun on the same day! The 2litre pot went from brown to pincushioned with green in 24 hours. It's like they'd all suddenly said "This is boring, let's grow". Many of the seeds had been washed to the surface and were sitting with roots going one way (the right way, fortunately) and shoots upwards. So I decided to cover it with a 1cm layer of vermiculite to help them along, hence no photo, so here are some mixed lilies instead!

I've counted 21 now. Brilliant. God knows where I'm going to grow them to flowering size but I'm just so chuffed with the whole project I'm putting that to one side for the moment.

Coming back to Irises (I always do), the Sibirica hybrids may only number six but they look chunky enough to make it through the coming months.

Iris Douglasiana: the hybrids will all be variants on this theme, some darker blue, some veined, possibly more yellow, taller, shorter. A veritable smorgasbord of Pacific Coast radiance!

The wet weather has allowed me to take a rather nice picture of the Canna in the morning sunshine:

So, the Digitalis ferruginer var. gingantea seedlings I pricked out a few weeks back are thriving, the Digitalis oscura are kind of in stasis at the seed leaf stage, the un-named South African Pelargoniums are coming along nicely and the meconopsis regia and betonicifolia seedlings are just going to have to take their chance in the cold frame, when it arrives. I ordered a M. napaulensis plant which is in the same rossette group as regia but likely to have red flowers (or yelow, or blue) so I'll have something.

And if they let me down I've got some secret Meconopsis integrifolia seedlings up my sleeve! And that's Digitalis ferruginea below looking perky.

An unidentified South African pelargonium seedling. It's unlikely to be a thing of great beauty (having looked at pictured of the species list provided by Chiltern Seeds of which this is one, just not sure which, I have a huge respect for the hybridisers of our modern-day window box staples!

Short one today as i have a meeting shortly (on my day off!) and now that I'm back at work updates may be more sporadic but remember, it's quality, not quantity that counts!

Happy growing, the plantboy x

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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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