2023

[Chad]

Thanks Andy,

Tithonia rotundifolia makes much more sense, but I had only grown diversifolia to recognise it from the leaf alone.

Chad

[Paul S]

Bloody taxonomists, are any schefflera left in schefflera now?

Edit - I struggle to keep schefflera alive here for any length of time. They get to a certain size beyond which I find it impossible to keep them hydrated. I have one final attempt still alive, rescued as a tiny seedling from the late Tim Pyner's garden with no label but looks like taiwanianum (but don't they all?) that is in a bed that has an old pond liner underneath.

For that leaf shape I have to content myself with Pseudopanax arborus/laetus and Metapanax delavayi, which handle drought much better. Also trying one of Mark Fillan's Oreopanax xalapensis which, encouragingly, came through last winter without hesitation. Early days, I'm still watering it.

Speaking of Pseudopanax, does anyone know a source of P. colensoi? Treseder list it, but their plants are arboreus - at least the one I saw was.

[Chad]

Bloody taxonomists, are any schefflera left in schefflera now?

There are now 13 accepted species, all from the Pacific Islands of Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Samoa, Vanuatu.

Most are too tropical for us to worry about, but the New Zealand Schefflera digitata crops up for discussion occasionally.

Full details, as usual, on The KewPlants of the world on line.

Chad

[Paul S]

Thanks Chad.

[Paul S]

of course that should be Neopanax :lol:

[AndyC]

The Hemerocalis is 'Open Hearth' if I remember correctly. I swapped some around the garden late last year as it clashed badly with the very similar but crazily named 'Zip Boom Bah'.
I will double check the labels, if I find them.
If either of you would like some, I am pretty sure it has bulked up enough to divide later in the year.

Thanks John, I would very much appreciate a piece of that one.

[Chad]

of course that should be Neopanax :lol:

Neopanax is still a thing, although there is a suggestion to merge it back into Pseudopanax from whence it came.

It currently has 5 species;

Neopanax arboreus
Neopanax colensoi
Neopanax kermadecensis
Neopanax laetus
Neopanax macintyrei

I don't think Schefflera digitata J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. ever went anywhere else, genus wise.

BUT...

Schefflera digitata (Blanco) Merr. was another use of the same name for a different plant from the Philippines which is now Heptapleurum insularum.

Stay awake at the back, there may be a test later...

Chad

[Paul S]

Lord, I hope not. :D

[Chad]

Speaking of Pseudopanax, does anyone know a source of P. colensoi?

Seed seems to be available.

As I understand it, enforcement of the post Brexit import restrictions have no date for coming into force.

Chad

ps. That turns out to be a shop front for Rare Palm Seed, so I don't know how fresh the seed would be.

[Paul S]

I got a few packets from RPS earlier this year - they said at the time no phyto needed until the end of July this year but in all likelihood it is still going to be pushed back further. But, yes, will it be fresh or even what it is supposed to be? You can never tell from there, sadly. There are a couple of other options I am exploring, none of which include goinhg to NZ to collect it :D