June 2022

[David Pilling]

The Spring bulbs are long past flowering, and the gardeners have stripped the ground bare. Time for the thing photographed below to pop-up, it is a crocus seed head.

[Diane Whitehead]

I've never seen a crocus seedhead.  If the bulbs haven't been dug up and eaten by the Eastern grey squirrels that some idiot introduced, then an introduced rabbit has eaten the flowers.

[Martin Bohnet]

Ah yes, June that depressing month where nothing but crocus seedpods lightens the mood. right.

Of course one could mention forms of Iris spuria

...

Or have a look at the orchids, like Serapias cordigera

Height:	30-45 cm (1-1.5 ft)
Flower Colors:	red
Flower Season:	late spring to early summer
Life form:	tuber

, Calopogon tuberosus

or Dactylorhiza maculata

Height:	45-80 cm (1.5-2.6 ft)
Flower Colors:	pink, purple
Flower Season:	early summer to mid summer

, all of which you have to be careful not to show too many of the aphids plaguing them. Only Diuris brevifolia x venosa is so isolated in a pot on the front stairs to be out of reach of the ants shepherding their living sugar sources...

Also in flower now: Nepeta tuberosa

Height:	30-100 cm (1-3.3 ft)
Flower Colors:	purple
Flower Season:	late spring to early summer

, grown from seed EX01_106 from Uli - these outdoor plants are a lot smaller than the potted siblings.

[Martin Bohnet]

Hard to imagine you don't have anything flowering in June.. but I can help:

I'll start with Cyanella hyacinthoides

, a new one for me, from a greek ebay seller of whom I've bought a lot of nice things over the past few years.

Once again: some orchids: Bletilla 'Arizona Sun'

Height:	20-30 cm (0.7-1 ft)
Flower Colors:	red, pink, yellow
Life form:	corm

, another one needing a lot of fantasy to recognize the peach-colored promotion picture, but the bright red lip is new for my collection, so not a complete loss. Epipactis thunbergii yellow form also is a new addition to the collection - this time with a better (as in more bright yellow) color than the promo pic. Pogonia ophioglossoides is an orchid  forming runners in the bog garden, a temperate representative of the  Subfamily Vanilloideae.

Next one is Gladiolus caucasicus (aff.), one of two European Gladiolus flowering well in the open garden - communis and italicus only flower in pots for me. Also a open garden success (and now the third year since switching from fragile to weedy: Alstroemeria ligtu

hybrids.

Another new addition to the collection - not yet clear if hardy: the "hardy gloxinia", in truth no gesneriad but hailing from family Bignoniaceae: Incarvillea delavayi.

LAst but not least: Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' - bought mostly for the beautiful bright leaves lighting up a shady spot I was quite surprised the flowers are that large, about 3'' in length, and a beautiful red - that photo is with flashlight unfortunately, the color is really deep. They are known to need a year or two to flower after transplanting, though the leaves are spectacular from the very beginning.

[David Pilling]

First lilies

[David Pilling]

I got these from a reputable source as Tulbaghia capensis

but they don't look like the ones on the wiki, more like Tulbaghia acutiloba

. Does anyone know better?

[Martin Bohnet]

@David: yes, looks like acutiloba to me - but that whole complex isn't easy to ID.

It's insanely hot here. 39°C peak a few hours ago, still 27°C at 10:30 PM. Did I mention that ACs are rather uncommon in Germany? Anyway, there are still flowers, though not all of those pics are from today ...

Starting with Arisaema fargesii

- I'm always surprised at how fast it catapults itself out of the ground after taking ages to break dormancy. Also as a surprise came Drimia uniflora

I got from Angelika via EX03 - the pot was actually already packed away for summer dormancy. Reading they'd be tiny was one thing. seeing it another.

It seems to be yellow season: there's Bletilla ochracea

Height:	20-30 cm (0.7-1 ft)
Flower Colors:	yellow, white
Life form:	corm

, Alstroemeria aurea

Height:	20-30 cm (0.7-1 ft)
Flower Colors:	red, orange, yellow
Flower Season:	mid spring to late spring
Special:	good cut flower
Life form:	rhizome
Climate:	winter rain climate

, Iris foetidissima

and Roscoea beesiana

(should be xBeesiana these days...). As that last one already leans towards pink, lets finish with Gladiolus palustris

Height:	30-60 cm (1-2 ft)
Flower Colors:	purple, white
Flower Season:	early summer
Life form:	deciduous corm

in the bog garden.

[David Pilling]

Iris foetidissima are flowering here at the moment too. Yay for Primula Vialii and some jealousy for the pitcher plants.

[Martin Bohnet]

the Sarracenias are actually quite robust - the two hybrids in front lived happily half sunken in my then active "potted pond" for several years before I built the bog. no credits taken for the Primula, that's a replacement planted in March for a Xyris experiment that didn't survive the winter. No Idea how that Primula will fare in the long run.

About the Iris f.: I'm under the impression the wild form has bluish flowers, but I've only ever seen the yellow form in horticulture - am I wrong here?

[David Pilling]

Martin - very interesting comment about blue Iris foetidissima

. For me it self seeds all over, but the flowers are always yellow.

Looking at Google images there are lots of blue examples - product of seed vendors and PhotoShop(?).


Unfortunately I am the sole source of the PBS wiki information for this species. What I don't know I can't write. For me this is the black swan debacle all over again.

Can anyone provide me with some photos of blue examples?

[David Pilling]

Primula Vialii is not long lived. I'd say Primula denticulata is the most robust primula. Some of the primrose (vulgaris), polyanthus ones will go on for decades, but many don't so that's not much help. For the bog, there are things like Primula pulverulenta that last long time.

[Martin Bohnet]

Both Primula veris and Primula denticulata can easily become weedy by self-sowing in my area. I do have a pulverulenta in the bog, but it doesn't get more than 2-3 levels, I guess it needs more nutrients - which are of course a no-go in a true bog garden. I guess they're better around a pond.

[Arnold]

Lebedouria ovalifolia
Lebedouria  DML 6546

[Steve Willson]

Iris ensata are flowering for me now, after the I. setosa have finished.  (I should have seeds from both for a future SX.)  From my records, these ensata seeds came from BX 471 in October 2020.  They were described as "Iris ensata, seeds - blues, pinks, whites", which would explain the color differences of the two plants I currently have in flower.  I have others that won't first flower until 2023. 

[Martin Bohnet]

OK, one last set for June:

Beschoerneria, the plant you always think it could open up more - it doesn't. Same color scheme, better flowers: Bomarea edulis

. Jewel in the wet: Cypella aquatilis

Height:	30-60 cm (1-2 ft)
Flower Colors:	yellow
Flower Season:	early summer
Life form:	bulb

. Jewel, too, but dryish: Disa. Prolific: Oxalis magnifica

, and: shy guy, tends to drop buds at the slightest disturbance: Bletilla striata

Height:	10-30 cm (0.3-1 ft)
Flower Colors:	pink, purple, blue, white
Life form:	deciduous rhizome
Climate:	USDA Zone 7-9

Blue Dragon