2024 odds and sods

[LostInJapan]

I love that orchid "weed"! The weed here is Spiranthes sinensis, which will be flowering soon.

Question: How do you keep pests from overwhelming your conservatory collection? I'm thinking mealybugs and the like.

[charlie]

Pest control is a combination of things, certain plants are evicted each spring and only allowed back in come autumn, doors and windows remain open most of the time allowing the wrens robins and blue tits in to help themselves to aphids and mealy bugs although control of the latter is also helped by a good autumn and spring clean of all the hiding places for the egg masses, I rarely now see them in there. The one pest that remains a big problem on some plants is Red Spider which I target with the predatory mites, I tend to be very generous with the amount put in and it usually clears the problem in a week or two. White fly used to be a problem on the pelargoniums but in recent years we barely notice them - no idea why!

[Chad]

Amblyseius andersoni have transformed pest control under cover in The UK.

As long as I've remembered to put some in once it warms up in the spring I don't see red spider mite, white fly nor Fuchsia gall mites.

Chad

[Peadarjj]

Soehrensia bruchii


Lobivia ferox


Soehrensia formosa

These cacti flowering away

[Chad]

View from my bedroom window.



I'm glad this one changed its name. It is now Paeonia ludlowii.
When I got it is was Paeonia delavayi subsp. lutea 'Ludlowii'.
It aborted its flowers this year, but I grow it for its leaves.



Heptapleurum enneaphyllum [used to be Shefflera]. The bronzed new growth is more visible from upstairs.



This is a sucker from the variegated Aralia just visible above it. It will have to be cut out, but I like it this week.



I like the new growth on Heptapleurum alpinum, surrounded here by Sonchus fruticosus.



Taxus baccata 'Standishii' has, after three years, put on significant new growth this year.







The first two of these pictures are a rather subtle sport from the brighter variegate in the third picture; Castanea sativa 'Variegata'. Sweet Chestnut Blight restrictions mean I don't think I'll find a market for this now!



Hydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate'.


My garden is very green at the moment!

And the best plant is a weed that must come out before it sets seed;


Cirsium vulgare the Spear Thistle.

Chad

[MartinNicklin]

Chad does your Sonchus stay out throughout the year? Mine reached the roof of the greenhouse last year (8ft) but even in there the main trunk died. It has resprouted from below ground but was making a lovely palm-like plant, so I was very disappointed.

[AndyC]

Chad, your Lophosoria is a monster, how many years old is it?. The piece of it I had from you is planted between two D. antarctica which are about 8ft apart and has filled the space already, I'm thinking I might not be able to see the tree ferns for much longer.

I'm pondering the best place to plant my Heptapleurum alpininum, yours looks to be as wide as it is tall?, is it in sun or shade?
Sorry, too many questions :)

The view from your bedroom window is definitely worth getting up in the morning for.

[Chad]

Chad does your Sonchus stay out throughout the year?

Yes, but...

The top growth is hardy to about -5C, and this year even the growth tips survived; I think we had about -3C on one night.

When it is colder than -5C the whole plant disappears, but if it was a young plant it regrows from below ground. Older, woody plants just die if frozen too hard.

The huge one in the tunnel didn't survive this mild winter without the tunnel cover on, and in full exposure to wind and radiation frost. It hasn't shot from the base. It has been replaced with something different, but I must take cuttings so I have one in reserve against a bitter winter.

Your Lophosoria is a monster, how many years old is it?

That bit has only been in for 5 years, and I think of it as 'the small one'. In a more sheltered site it gets much bigger. I didn't post this because it is too far out of focus, but here goes.



A 2.5M Lophosoria behind a Dahlia tamaulipana. Both wonderful foliage plants. I seldom get flowers on the tamaulipana, autumn gales shred it while still in bud most years.

I'm pondering the best place to plant my Heptapleurum alpinum, yours looks to be as wide as it is tall?, is it in sun or shade?

Mine is in dappled shade and is still a young plant. Crug say it can grow to 5M. If it does that I'll need to reorganise that area!

Chad

[AndyC]

Thanks for the info.

A 2.5M Lophosoria behind a Dahlia tamaulipana. Both wonderful foliage plants. I seldom get flowers on the tamaulipana, autumn gales shred it while still in bud most years.

I have been a bit fortunate for the last two years, my D tamaulipana has flowered towards the end of November and I've been able to enjoy thyem for a couple of weeks before the storms and frosts have arrived. Here is mine on 2nd December 2022. If I remember correctly they were all gone two days later.

[AndyC]

First flower on Hemerocallis 'Open Hearth'



Thanks again JohnH, it sure is a zinger.