PBS Forum

Gazania linearis Colorado Gold. While not a bulb it is a great flower. Happily overwinter and in flower.

I know some will find Clematis alpina boring compared to the huge Clematis Hybrids out there, but I love their natural charm. Next is Cydonia, the Quince tree, which imho already could be grown for the flowers alone - doesn't mean I would want to miss the fruit.

Last two pictures are my Shima Dajin tree peony  - yes, I know they're on the wiki, but those at least don't belong there in my opinion - they are so much a shrub, more shrubby isnt't possible. Yes, that is one plant, grown from a little 20 cm stalk planted in fall 2013.

Martin

Here's the Korean Quince Cydonia sinensis.

Phacelia viscera spotting the hillsides in a burned area.  Aphyllon fasciculatum growing in the middle of the newly exposed trail...presumably there is an Eriodiction root under there too. 

Very interesting Aphyllon - that Genus has been cut out of Orobanche recently iirc? I whish I could grow one of the fully parasitic Orobanchaceae, I've tried with all the stuff I could get seed from and, of course, i can grow the hosts - until now no luck with Orobanche hedereae, arenaria or kochii - So I'm limited to enjoy the wild ones here: O. lutea and carophyllacea, both grow not far from here on the swabian jura.

In the own garden I'm very happy right now with my pink elderberry (I really should try to make syrup, I wonder if the color transfers). I'm less happy with the Kiwiberries (Actinidia arguta) - mostly because it's still only him that flowers, she might need at least another year. I guess that's why the small kiwis ar so rare in fruit trade, the plants need several years in place to start flowering.

Ken - nice to see someone else enjoys the Gazanias - I tried it 3 years in a row, but they did not survive the MN winters.
Gazania was my sister's favorite flower and I get a few seeds going each spring. Unfortunately annuals take too much time, and the Colorado gold did not pass the test either. I may try again, thanks for the pictures. 
I have a theory that Co perennials do ok in MN, since they are used in xeriscaping I'm speculating they are hardier to harsher conditions, so I bought a few penstemons ( the blue virens), and aquilegias, as well as clematis species. They indeed do ok here, blue being a harder to find color. 
Luminita

Quote from: Martin Bohnet on May 27, 2022, 12:07:54 AMVery interesting Aphyllon - that Genus has been cut out of Orobanche recently iirc? I whish I could grow one of the fully parasitic Orobanchaceae, I've tried with all the stuff I could get seed from and, of course, i can grow the hosts - until now no luck with Orobanche hedereae, arenaria or kochii - So I'm limited to enjoy the wild ones here: O. lutea and carophyllacea, both grow not far from here on the swabian jura.

In the own garden I'm very happy right now with my pink elderberry (I really should try to make syrup, I wonder if the color transfers). I'm less happy with the Kiwiberries (Actinidia arguta) - mostly because it's still only him that flowers, she might need at least another year. I guess that's why the small kiwis ar so rare in fruit trade, the plants need several years in place to start flowering.

Apparently yes, Orobanche has been cut up. I found A. fascisculatum growing on both perennials (Eriodictyon) and fire follower annuals (Emmenanthe penduliflora-Whispering Bells).

Someone planted hedereae in the drifts of English ivy at UC-Berkeley where it seems to be happily established now.

Actinidia...I remember poor fruiting until they got up in the trees and got the light...of course, we couldn't pick the fruit at that point, either. Presumably, you're growing them less wild, but they do want some size.

My first lily flowered here in the PNW yesterday - L. dauricum.  It is usually the first to flower with me.  More will open soon, and elsewhere in the garden L. mackliniae and L. apertum are not too far behind.  In a more shaded part of the bed with the L. dauricum, blue Himalayan poppies are just starting to bloom too (seed-grown Lingholm hybrids), with Primula japonica and rhododendrons flowering in profusion. 

Each year I persevere with Meconopsis, as they tend to be short-lived in the garden, typically flowering for two years before dying.  I find them relatively straightforward to germinate, but fickle to get through the seedling stage.  They are sensitive to root disturbance when transplanting, as well as under- and over-watering.  But the blue-color when in flower is so marvelous that it keeps me committed to keep on trying to grow these lovely plants!

The blue meconopsis seed grown strain "lingholm" is easier than most. Survived maybe six or seven years for me. A dry summer when I was not there to water it, did for it. IMHO they need humid conditions and not too hot.

We're in the middle of the first heatwave (37 °C is really rare around here in June) yet some stubborn plants insist on flowering anyway...

I have a soft spot for Digitalis, my collection includes amongst others D. lanata, D. parviflora and D. thapsi, which most will mistake for a purpurea.

Utricularia cornuta proves immune against the heat - having constantly wet feet helps here. This branch of my Crown Princess Margaretha rose tries another concept: head in the shadow. The flowers in full sun literally bleach to near white-rimmed petals.

I have a few more digitalis to show - first is Digitalis lutea x grandiflora. With Digitalis hybrids, the seed parent dominates the flower shape, so in this case lutea is dominant, with slightly bigger and open flower tubes, and a hint of the brown net pattern of grandiflora. It is sterile, so no backcrossing experiments. Next is Digitalis ferruginea. Last digitalis is canariensis, the former Isoplexis c. . I grow D. isabelliana, too, with marginal differences in leaves and flower shape, both with a cold but frost free hibernation. I once tried Digitalis sceptrum, which vegetated for a few years but never flowered - all Madeira-originated plants seem to be nearly impossible for me.

Not a digitalis, but a plant virtually unknown in Germany, is Ipomopsis rubra - i have no idea why, because its a very reliable biennial, flowers for a long time and the red is spectacular. Seems simply like something noone cared to promote. I'm very happy that I bought the seeds from an American ebay seller shortly before the bordesr closed for seeds.

Last but not least is my first flowering of Berkheya ciirsifolia - lets see if it will cross with my resident sole surviving (yes, that's a pattern for me) Berkheya purpurea.