2023

[AndyC]

Hi Callum,

You did well to nurse your Agave attenuata back to health and flowering size.
My plant is more than 10 years old and no bigger than yours when you inherited it. I don't think it likes my treatment when I dig it up everu autumn and pot it up for a winter in the greenhouse and then plant it back out after the frosts have past. That probably hasn't helped it grow very fast. Even in balmy Falmouth I'd be afraid to try it ouside permanently, I had a minus 3c here a couple of nights in December which would probably result in it looking like what you inherited if not killing it.
Fingers crossed mine will flower within the next ten years :)

[charlie]

Charlie so far I have managed to keep my greenhouse frost free and the bougainvillea I had from you is still in leaf, so its in with a good chance to flourish in Summer 2023 .

John

Desperately hoping we are past the worst this winter I seem to remember my coldest night last year was in March so no chicken counting yet! But the Bougainvillea is fine. I think once it gets a bit of wood on it it will tolerate some light frosts

[charlie]

Well, it may be cold still at night but the days are at least bright and sunny which means that the Crocus bother to open!

20230227_140640 by charliepridham, on Flickr

20230227_140710 by charliepridham, on Flickr

[charlie]

I dont know about those of you gardening in the tropics but its still pretty cold here especially at night - Ice on pond again this morning

So not much to point the camera at outside

calceolaria pavoni by charliepridham, on Flickr

Did any of the Pittos survive that people were trying out doors?

Pittosporom undulatum by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Chad]

Your Calceolaria pavonii is looking good.

In the tunnel all the visible growth was browned in December, and the basal re-shoots were lost this week.

That makes four species of scandent Calceolaria I've lost!

Time to start collecting something else I think.

Chad

[charlie]

Well they last remaining stem of Calceolaria from the about 20 we started with is looking fine! but only I suspect because it was not only in the conservatory but growing up next to the house wall, all the stems nearer the glass had gone brown and been removed so I didn't have to look at them during our visits for coffee or lunch!! However growing in the same bed the Reinwardtia was fine, its finished flowering now and been cut back but was unaffected by the before Christmas frosts.

I hadn't really realised how mild the previous couple of winters had been

[charlie]

Spring is slowly starting here, we dont have anything rare or tender to shout about but a few shrubs are doing their best!

This Chaenomelese is going to have to be removed this year to fix the wall, no idea what it is it was here when we arrived, I am fond enough of it I may save a bit to go back after the work. Its less fussy than most of the cultivars

DSC_0003 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Chaenomeles sp. by charliepridham, on Flickr

Chaenomeles Nivalis by charliepridham, on Flickr

Chaenomeles Scarlet and Gold by charliepridham, on Flickr

Coronilla valentina by charliepridham, on Flickr

[charlie]

Not sur which of the planets this is named for (we stupidly bought Mars and Jupiter on the same day!)

20230326_170620 by charliepridham, on Flickr

camelia captain rawes by charliepridham, on Flickr

Apricot by charliepridham, on Flickr

One of our two peaches has these odd distorted looking flowers, fortunately the peaches are lovely!

Peach by charliepridham, on Flickr

Necterine by charliepridham, on Flickr

Fritterlaria meleagris by charliepridham, on Flickr

More Chaenomeles

chaenomeles nicoline by charliepridham, on Flickr

chaenomeles moeloosei by charliepridham, on Flickr

On a slightly more exotic note I have noticed a lot of stuff has made runners this year - due to last years drought? what ever the reason we have Tetrapanax coming up just about everywherealso Eleagnus 'Quick Silver' (which I didnt even know ran at all!)

[Paul S]

I actually managed to kill my Tetrapanax. It had got too tall and the leaves were getting smaller so I cut it back, expecting it to sprout from the stem and/or sucker. Nada. :lol:

[charlie]

Well the terrible weather at least means I get to see the flowers of this Bergenia (so often they get frosted off here)

bergenia pacumbis by charliepridham, on Flickr

At last a show of flowers and scent from my Ercilla volubilis it has taken much longer to recover from the chainsaw pruning it got so I could renew its posts!

ercilla volubilis by charliepridham, on Flickr

Sorry about the rubish pictures but the wind was making taking pictures very tricky :(