PBS Forum

Some impressions from my garden. We had a lot of rain so some flowers are spoilt but these withstood.
Today it felt as if winter is over here in southern Portugal.

First picture Romulea clusiana

Iris cretensis

Lachenalia hybrid 

Tropaeolum tricolor 

Yes! A fantastic plant. I also got one and the flowers are spectacular and the whole plant is quite big. Unfortunately it is a sterile hybrid, or does yours set seed, Arnold? Thought I had a picture at hand but didn't seem to have taken any.

Dear Members living in the EU,
The first EU  seed exchange this year is now open for donations. We decided to split the spring exchange into two parts: one for seed only and a second one for bulbs and seed. This way we want to make sure that seed is distributed as early as possible. As the weather is unpredictable and frost damage to bulbs can still occur at this time of the year, we do a second part of the spring exchange with bulbs later. The donation for bulbs will be announced separately and the entire donation period will remain open until further notice. So if your seed will not make it for the first part, it will be included in the second part. No need to rush for seed which is not ripe. we will do an autumn exchange for autumn sowing and planting.
Please send all seed donation to the following address:                        Martin Bohnet
                                                                                                      Ludwigstr. 1
                                                                                                        73035 Göppingen
                                                                                                        Germany
                                                                                                <garak@code-garak.de>

Please make sure that the seed is clean and free of pests and disease, nobody wants to introduce anything like that to fellow gardeners
We have asked you in the past to pre-pack your seed donations on a voluntary basis. This reduces the workload for Martin tremendously. You can ask for an appropriate number of free seed envelopes from Martin. We suggest to pack not more than 5 portions of seed of each species, should there be more seed available a larger number of seeds can be included as a reserve in a separate envelope. Bulbs must not be pre-packed.

As a donor, you will get a bonus for your order equalling the postage you paid for your donation or the minimum of  5 US Dollar.
Please remember that you will have to be a fully paid member of the PBS in order to be entitled to order from our seed and bulb exchanges. But you do not need to be a donor to order.
You will find the entire information on the EU Seed and Bulb Exchange on the website of the PBS:

So.. please think of the many fellow bulb enthusiasts when you dig up bulbs or when you harvest seeds. As the EU covers very different climates and many members will have a greenhouse: all bulb and seed material is welcome. The success or failure of this scheme depends on your participation

Please label each bag with the precise name of the plant (scientific name if possible) and your own name so that all donations are clearly identified and can be referred to the donor.

Please do not hesitate to contact me in case of questions  <johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de>
Uli and Martin

Dear Members living in the EU,
The joint bulb order for EU members  from Antoine Hoog is now closed. We had a good participation, the minimum order of 350€ is largely exceeded, in some cases the minimum order of 12€ per species was not met and in other cases the available number of bulbs was overbooked. Martin will see with Antoine to get the best solutions in all these cases.
Please remember that the bulbs will only be shipped in late summer.
You do not need to pay now, we will handle this joint order like a BX which means that you will receive a payment slip together with your bulbs.
Bye for now
Uli and Martin

Dear Members living in the EU,
The joint bulb order for EU members  from Antoine Hoog is now closed. We had a good participation, the minimum order of 350€ is largely exceeded, in some cases the minimum order of 12€ per species was not met and in other cases the available number of bulbs was overbooked. Martin will see with Antoine to get the best solutions in all these cases.
Please remember that the bulbs will only be shipped in late summer.
You do not need to pay now, we will handle this joint order like a BX which means that you will receive a payment slip together with your bulbs.
Bye for now
Uli and Martin

Quote from: Too Many Plants! on January 05, 2025, 10:09:18 AM

Quote from: Uli on January 04, 2025, 03:22:14 PMHello All,

Greetings and best wishes for the New Year to everybody!
And some impressions from today's walk round the garden, rain announced, black clouds but no rain so far....

The yellow fireworks is Aloe arborescens ssp. mzimnyati.

Nice Garden tour, Uli! Here in California where Aloe Arborescens has long been a landscape plant in many milder USDA 9B and up areas, that is an unusual color. Our common color is Orange, or sometimes a pinkish or reddish orange. The more straight red is rare and sought after, as well as we have yellow forms which are very uncommon. But that looks to be kind of a peachy yellow...

As promised, I had another look at the yellow Aloe and took this picture during a sunny spell. I don't see much red in the flowers.

..... it must of course say " up to date with your membership for 2025"

Sorry about the typo 

Dear members living in the EU,


We are organizing a joint bulb order with Antoine Hoog who runs a small specialist bulb nursery in France. Dispatch of the bulbs would be in late summer.
Unfortunately only members with a mailing address in an EU country can participate and also, everyone must be up to date with their membership status for 2025.
We have set a deadline for orders which is Sunday, January 12th at 24:00h Central European Time. Some items will be in short supply.
If you are interested, please email me privately, not through this forum and I will send you the price list and ordering details. My email: johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de
Martin has again agreed to handle the order which is a non profit service to the membership.

Bye for now

Dear members living in the EU,


We are organizing a joint bulb order with Antoine Hoog who runs a small specialist bulb nursery in France. Dispatch of the bulbs would be in late summer.
Unfortunately only members with a mailing address in an EU country can participate and also, everyone must be up to date with their membership status for 2015.
We have set a deadline for orders which is Sunday, January 12th at 24:00h Central European Time. Some items will be in short supply.
If you are interested, please email me privately, not through this forum and I will send you the price list and ordering details. My email: johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de
Martin has again agreed to handle the order which is a non profit service to the membership.

Bye for now 

Uli 

Quote from: Too Many Plants! on January 05, 2025, 10:09:18 AM

Quote from: Uli on January 04, 2025, 03:22:14 PMHello All,

Greetings and best wishes for the New Year to everybody!
And some impressions from today's walk round the garden, rain announced, black clouds but no rain so far....

The yellow fireworks is Aloe arborescens ssp. mzimnyati.

Nice Garden tour, Uli! Here in California where Aloe Arborescens has long been a landscape plant in many milder USDA 9B and up areas, that is an unusual color. Our common color is Orange, or sometimes a pinkish or reddish orange. The more straight red is rare and sought after, as well as we have yellow forms which are very uncommon. But that looks to be kind of a peachy yellow...

The yellow Aloe arborescens ssp mzimnyati was given to me by the late John Lavranos under this name. It is indeed a rare subspecies only found in the type habitat which is in Kwa Zulu Natal on the cliffs of the river Mzimnyati, hence the name.(Wikipedia) John Lavranos was an internationally renowned expert in Aloe and had visited and collected in many places so I am pretty sure that it is correctly named. It is smaller in all parts than regular arborescens which I also grow.
The color depends on the light, the picture was taken on a dull day with black clouds without sunshine. It is dark outside now but I will have a closer look tomorrow, so far I do not remember any redness in the flowers.

Dear All,

For those who love cold weather I would like to share these pictures. I was in Alsace during the festive season and we had a walk in the forest nearby on a cold and frosty day without snow.

On dead wood we found this most beautiful ephemeral structure and on googling it back home we identified this as a rare natural phenomenon caused by the fungus Exidiopsis effusa. The fungus lives on decaying wood and exudes water, CO2 and some proteins. Only if the weather conditions are perfect it will form these frozen hair like structures. Air temperature has to be just below freezing but the decaying wood must not be frozen through. No snow must be present. Air humidity must be right but it is not frozen air humidity. 
On touching the hair like ice it melts immediately.
I had never seen this before.

Quote from: Carlos on January 05, 2025, 02:07:04 AMHappy new year, Uli, lovely stuff

Is that the unidentified Aloe that we discussed about last year?

Hello @Carlos,

No this one I have the name of. The non identified is a single crown on a tall stem.

And hello @Martin Bohnet ...... I meant to cheer you up!
For lovers of cold weather I have another picture to share......

Hello All,

Greetings and best wishes for the New Year to everybody!
And some impressions from today's walk round the garden, rain announced, black clouds but no rain so far....

The yellow fireworks is Aloe arborescens ssp. mzimnyati. The tits have learned to drink the nectar from the flowers and behave like sunbirds.

Iris unguicularis, unfortunately the flowers are almost hidden in the foliage 

Dainty dwarf Narcissus romieuxii 

The native white Narcissus papyraceus, flowering is almost over 

Chasmanthe, no longer sure which one this is.

Acis tingitana, potted 

Cymbidium orchids are surprisingly easy here, outdoors all year 

Zantedeschia aethiopica White Giant 

Hello Mark,

It is a very long time ago that I have ordered from him when I still lived in Germany. The service was correct, the bulbs expensive but good. 
For Portugal it makes no sense to order from him because most of his bulbs need a much colder winter than I can provide. But for a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers he is the right address.

Hello @Martin Bohnet,
Nice pictures, the glithering in the Nerine flowers shows nicely. And I like the Strumaria as well.
Do you or does anybody else know of a Bomarea with a mediterranean growth cycle, which is: dormant in summer and winter growing? That would be a candidate for my garden.....