2024 odds and sods

[Chad]

OK question. Freesia - thought the scent would be lovely in the spring in the Conservatory so bought some Corms last year and potted them, first flowers are scented but not as strong as I expected so do the different varieties vary? second one to flower looks to be white so I guess I will soon find out!

Second question, I was going to bung this lot out and buy new ones for next year, is there any point? works well with potted Hyacinthus but I have never tried Freesia before

Well, you have asked!

Modern florist's Freesia are a tetraploid swarm from a variety of diploid founder species.

Based on Freesia refracta and Freesia leichtlinii [including F.alba] which are cream coloured and strongly scented.

Yellows were developed with Freesia corymbosa, usually pale yellow but pink is know and has been bred for as the source of the red hybrid Freesia. This species is less, and variably scented; and so are its progeny in the hybrid swarm. I have found red forms in particular to be poorly scented.

They sow themselves around in other plants' pots in the tunnel. They are winter green, just coming into bud now, and are unreliably hardy outside. The original pot can be kept for next year, drying them off once they die down, and starting to water again in the late autumn. Seed sown now will flower this coming autumn if kept growing through the summer, and next year if dried off this summer.

Chad

[charlie]

Thanks Chad.

Are you planning any meet ups in March?

[Paul S]

Pandorea 'Golden Showers'? Really?! :shock: :lol:

[charlie]

Fraid so!! :)

[John P]

Your garden is off to a good start this year Charlie.

John

[charlie]

Not so much garden as hiding in the Conservatory! massive hail storms and cold wind today

[charlie]

Never ceases to amaze me the difference just a few miles can make, I live midway between the two coastlines of Cornwall with sea about 4 miles to the south and north of me yet regularly get hard frost most winters in the -5 to -8 range yet yesterday took the dog for a walk to St Ives via the coast path and beach and noticed the little garden at the back of the Carbis bay hotel (Where they held the G7) had barely seen winter.

20240302_131536 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Looks lovely but you still need warm gear on as the wind was biting

20240302_132429 by charliepridham, on Flickr

[AndyC]

Tell me about it Charlie, I live a liitle under half a mile from Swanpool beach. I can hear the waves hitting the beach on a windy day when I'm in the garden. Yet we got -3C one night in January.
Half a mile in the other direction e.g. Fox Rosehill Gardens, no frost at all. Harrumph!

[charlie]

Still raining!!
Thank god for the conservatory and greenhouse.

One of my favourite plants inside is this tree which stays as a manageable shrub in a pot, lovely scent and nothing eats it

Acokanthera by charliepridham, on Flickr

You were quite right Chad, much better scent from the white Freesia

Freesia (2) by charliepridham, on Flickr

Seem to have lost this Pandorea outside now, not sure I will try again as the flowering period doesn't lend itself really, the type species is much tougher and I have to hack it back every year.

Pandorea Golden Showers by charliepridham, on Flickr

While P. jasminoides has yet to start flowering but have made large quantities of seed pods, which have to be removed shortly or once they start shedding its gets into everything

Pandorea seed pods by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Chad]

I'm feeling a bit smug.



Lathraea clandestina; a holoparasite on willow. John gave me what looked like a very wilted, brown small cabbage four years ago. I followed the Avon Bulbs instructions and uncovered a bit of willow root near to the trunk and peeled back the root bark, wedged the apparently dead cabbage into the cleft and covered it up with soil. There was nothing to see in the intervening years until this year. John has yet to see anything above ground on the ones he planted. Smug.





The first flowering of this Rhododendron that I grew from seed. The others from this batch have been small flowered and off white. This is an advance. The seed was taken from a plant in seed with leaves with attractive indumentum, so I have no idea what the parent flowers were like. Smug.







Magnolia maudiae which I started from seed when it was still usually known as Michelia maudiae and I was still in London. The scent is sweet, opulently complex and tracks down wind beyond the garden boundaries. Smug.





Narcissus 'Canaliculatus' . No reason to be smug about this one, but it does make me smile.

Chad