Jan. 2025

Started by Arnold, January 04, 2025, 01:32:25 PM

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Arnold

Ferraria ferrariola
Arnold T.
North East USA

Uli

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 











Uli
Algarve, Portugal
350m elevation, frost free
Mediterranean Climate

CG100

Am interesting observation about the aloe nectar, Uli.

I was surprised when the very large and old clump of, probably an ancient cultivar of Kniphofia was killed completely by a couple of extra degrees of frost beyond normal, but prior to it's demise, it too provided nectar to, of all birds, house sparrows.

I have Z. odorata just about to open a flower (indoors, but very cool temperature).

Carlos

Happy new year, Uli, lovely stuff

Is that the unidentified Aloe that we discussed about last year? 
Carlos Jiménez
Valencia, Spain, zone 10
Dry Thermomediterranean, 450 mm

Martin Bohnet

Happy new year, everyone. @Uli  how  do I say "I hate you" with flowers? ;) Well, after the coldest December in my 7 years of monitoring, I only can do it with Heleborus niger, it's the only thing in flower. What a fitting name: Heleborus - the boring hell of middle European winter. Yes, I know, they get better once the H. orientalis-heavy hybrids and selections come in flower, but for now...

for now, not even the warm intermezzo forecast for here today is in effect, as we're once again drowned in a lake of cold air here in the valley. Frost has still not reached 5 cm into ground, but we're still 4 weeks away from the inertia-based coldest time of the year air-wise, with the ground being likely delayed by even longer times....
Martin (pronouns: he/his/him)

Uli

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......
Uli
Algarve, Portugal
350m elevation, frost free
Mediterranean Climate

Uli

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.
Uli
Algarve, Portugal
350m elevation, frost free
Mediterranean Climate

Too Many Plants!

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...

Too Many Plants!

Happy New Year! Most of our SA bulbs have woken up and are pushing leaves, and many exciting first leaves from recent BX's. Flowers are still a ways off I believe. Here's one of those recent BX treasures...

Moraea Pritzeliana - planted Nov 2023, first leaves in the ground in mostly full sun.

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.
Uli
Algarve, Portugal
350m elevation, frost free
Mediterranean Climate

Too Many Plants!

#10
Quote from: Uli on January 05, 2025, 10:58:31 AM
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.
That's SUPER COOL that Lavranos personally gave you an Aloe! I know a couple people who knew him, and I have one of his Aloe books.

A LOT of my Aloes are in bud now, and some are just about to flower. For me so far, my Aloes predominantly put on their shows before most of my SA bulbs.

Arnold

Massonia depressa 'Kamiesberg'.
Lachenalia quadricolor
Arnold T.
North East USA

Carlos

Hi

I finally got one clone/ accession of this Moroccan plant, which is very distinct, byt whose correct name is rather obscure. 

I wasn't thinking of starting a discussion on names so ewarly in the year... but it's me and there's a whole year ahead!


WhatsApp Image 2025-01-07 at 21.16.26.jpg

I got this as Narcissus albidus occidentalis from Imouzzer des Ida Outanane NE of Agadir, in the Antiatlas muntains (Salmon & Fillan 270)  BUT

Narcissus albidus is an illegitimate synonym of N. moschatus; illegitimate because there was an earlier name, N. x albidus, which is in turn a later synonym of N. x incomparabilis (poeticus x pseudonarcissus).

OK, then Kew (POWO) gives  Narcissus albicans (Haw.) Spreng  as the correct name [Corbularia albicans Haworth] BUT

Haworth said that he got this plant from a Dutch seller as "Trompet Marin" or "sea trumpet", and that it was what John Parkinson called in 1625 Pseudonarcissus juncifolius albus. Parkinson said that it grew "in the Pyrenees", and the only similar plant that grows there (in the NW end and adjacent Spanish and French Basque Country) is what is now known as Narcissus bulbocodium subsp citrinus.

So how to call this plant? The Spanish botanist Fernández Casas either knew about the previous names or he just wanted to keep on naming species, and he published Narcissus peroccidentalis in 1996 (tyoe from Col du Kerdous or Kerdous pass, also near Agadir).

So yes, at last, I got real Narcissus peroccidentalis. I will now proceed to compare it with its evident (for me and some more) relative Narcissus grandae from central-SW Spain. 


Carlos Jiménez
Valencia, Spain, zone 10
Dry Thermomediterranean, 450 mm

Ron

Hi Uli - really interesting ice formation pictures, and the natural history behind them.

Carlos

#14
I am definitely in love with Narcissus peroccidentalis:

WhatsApp Image 2025-01-10 at 10.05.13 (1).jpg
WhatsApp Image 2025-01-10 at 10.05.13.jpg

And I was surprised to find Hyacinthoides aristidis (not aristidEs) in bloom, as I though that I had swapped them:

WhatsApp Image 2025-01-10 at 10.05.13 (2).jpg
WhatsApp Image 2025-01-10 at 10.11.18 (1).jpg
WhatsApp Image 2025-01-10 at 10.11.18.jpg
Carlos Jiménez
Valencia, Spain, zone 10
Dry Thermomediterranean, 450 mm