2024 odds and sods

[Paul S]

Justifiably smug, imo. Not the least of which being beating John to flowering the parasite. :lol:

[LostInJapan]

It is really satisfying to see mature plants growing and flowering like that, and know that you planted the seed. Love the magnolia.

[Tony King]

Well done Charlie and rightly smug (I would say self satisfied) with the flowerings.

The Magnolia sounds a great plant, anything with really good scent is so welcome and I suspect a few years from seed to get to seeing the blooms.

I am more pleased to see/hear your success with the Lathraea. I have really admired this intriguing plant since first seeing it at Kew where there is a large clump around what I think is a big old black poplar tree just to the South of the rock garden on the edge of the woodland garden. If I ever make an early year trip there I always try to remember to look to see if the flowers are out. I also usually look for flowers on the Symplocarpus that grows not too far away near the alpine house, another early flowerer.

I tried growing Lathraea after seeing Avon bulbs sell 'bits' of it some years ago and followed the instructions you described. I only had a large old Hazel to try though which was one of the potential hosts they mentioned which is why I had to give it a try. I don't think though it was the host the source material was used to growing on and I think in summer the Hazel was in ground that likely got too dry for the liking of the Lathraea. Needless to say, after some years of optimistic (naïve) annual investigation for a possible flower I have never seen a thing. But at least I gave it a try.

Hopefully now your plant has shown it has successfully taken it will go from strength to strength like the old clump growing at Kew that has spread quite widely in the roots of the tree.

[Peadarjj]

The lathraea has migrated quite a bit this year I got it from Avon bulbs a few years ago and planted it with a poplar

[Chad]

Welcome to the board Peadarjj.

I took the last chance of buying some more from Avon who are closing this year.

I've planted it round an Alder.

I gave some to John who has planted his around a willow.

I'll be watching for seed which will get pushed into the soil around anything I think might work.

As I understand it, both seed and divisions need to be kept moist until they have established a connections with a host root.

Chad

[charlie]

Despite the rubbish weather things are starting to happen in the garden.

Holboellia corriacea Trehane form by charliepridham, on Flickr

The scent from the all Holboellia is wonderful whenever the wind leaves around enough to catch a whiff!

Holboellia corriacea Dark form by charliepridham, on Flickr

Holboellia latifolia 2 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Even a few Bumble bees around today, you wouldnt think they could operate in such stormy weather

Holboellia latifolia by charliepridham, on Flickr

Stauntonia hexaphylla by charliepridham, on Flickr

[MartinNicklin]

Yes Charlie I think March was a disappointing month weather wise: cool to the point of being unpleasant but not cold enough for frosts which has at least meant the magnolias and camellias in my garden have come out unscathed. Things are looking brighter and warmer today.































The Magnolia Genie is a lovely thing and the flowers last for ages. It cost £100 when I bought it (didn’t tell my wife!) and it came with me from my old place 7 years ago but has settled in really well. The Sophora has been covered with bees though is looking very sickly. Half of it died when snow brought it down. The remaining half lost its leaves but has at least flowered. It was a very lush thing and very exotic looking last year. Time will tell whether or not it has enough strength to recover. I’m excited that the Akebia longeracemosa I got from you Charlie has flower buds. The one I had at my old place climbed right to the top of a huge damson tree but never flowered so in effect I’ve waited about 15 years to see a flower in the flesh and this will be the year!

[charlie]

I’m excited that the Akebia longeracemosa I got from you Charlie has flower buds. The one I had at my old place climbed right to the top of a huge damson tree but never flowered so in effect I’ve waited about 15 years to see a flower in the flesh and this will be the year!

I bought my plant from Nick Macer when they first became available, it flowered straight away and it grow very quickly so it wasnt long before I was able to start taking it to plant sales, thats when I found several folk who had also bought one from that original batch of seedlings and like you martin not a flower between them! - I just got lucky. :)

[MartinNicklin]

Yes Charlie, mine was also from Nick!

[Callum]

The gardens certainly loved the mild winter, I’ve had very few losses. An aloe polyphylla rotted out due to the winter wet and the Clivia miniata that I trialled looks pretty bad having lost most of its leaves but it is still technically alive but doubt it’ll do much

Gladiolus priorii (which technically flowered in December but did last until just after new years) is a beautiful winter flowering bulb, it produces incredibly graceful flower spikes and beautiful orangey salmon flowers. Doubt it’d do well planted outside with the winter weather probably trashing the blooms but it seems happy in the unheated glasshouse



Begonia scharfii



While I’m not a fan of the overused aucuba japonica having had to work with them for years in wholesale nurseries I love the understated beauty of Aucuba himalaica subspecies dolichophylla a far nicer plant and the flowers are charming in an unusual way



Correa Marian’s marvel has bloomed non stop since October and it’s still going! I love this shrub for winter colour nothing comes close




Bartlettina sordida blooms for me in march/ April while it’s still away in the greenhouse I wish it would flower in the summer when it’s outside but it’s a nice bit of spring colour.
The foliage is nice but it is a bit of a whitefly magnet.



Brahea edulis is a lovely super fast growing palm that’s survived the last 2 winter’s unprotected, it has spear pulled in the past but it quickly recovered.




Justicia rizinii is just beginning to flower, in past winters late frosts damage the newly forming buds causing a poor display but this year I’m in luck and the plant is covered in buds and blooms :D




The blooms of Clianthus puniceus doesn’t share that same problem as the buds can take frost without dying making it a much more reliable spring display



A weird pittosporum this is P. anomala its flowers are tiny but the shrub is covered in them! It has tiny little serrated leafs and is a bizarre twiggy thing, I assume this is a defence mechanism against the extinct Moa bird similar to psudopanax crassfolius or ferox



Finally the lovely pleone formosana, I’ve heard they are quite hardy but suffer from winter rotting, it’s pretty easy in a shallow dish planted in a mix of orchid bark and sphagnum and kept in the unheated greenhouse bought outside when it starts to wake up