PUSHING THE BORDERS

Andy - I got my D. imperialis from Hill House. So its the same one as Ray has that reaches 18 feet in his glass house and flowers in November. At the same time I got a D. excelsa. Although excelsa flowered more easily it was a much more brittle plant than imperialis and not nearly so tidy a plant - so when it failed to grow from the tuber this year I didn't worry too much.

You are right, the flower does look a bit different from the images on the internet - but I suspect there may be a certain amount of variation in the species. After all, excelsa is often said to be just a variation of imperialis. I showed a picture of Ipomea quamoclit above, but that too seems to be a bit different from some of the internet pictures - I am not aware that quamoclit has named cultivars. As you say .... confusing.

I suspect part of the reason for the early flowering of imperialis is that although it regrew from a tuber this year, I have been keeping it inside my sun room, where it has been experiencing temperatures of 25 - 30C. My Canna altensteinii had also been inside, until a couple of days ago when it got too big.

Alstromeria psittacina seems unhappy with the warmer season that we've had this year...................


Mind you, the largest clump has been mugged by my huge Lobelia tupa..................

Apricots nearly ripe, a month earlier than last year (and a better crop!)
Apricot026 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Down by the pond yesterday evening and the Lilies were still open
colonel a j welch 029 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Builders and gardens don't mix very well, they have been using a disc cutter to cut concrete blocks and covering the garden in dust. Now they've gone home for the evening I've been out spraying water to try and clean them off. Perhaps I should have checked the ph of the soil before and after.
IMG_2084 by atropica2012, on Flickr

I know exactly what builders do to gardens :twisted:

You garden looks stunning though

Salvia confertiflora.................


Salvia Black and Blue...............


Salvia buchananii................


Salvia patens "Oxford Blue"................


And finally, Salvia hians (maybe).................

Loving those Salvias :) Used to have dozens but have slowly reduced the number once I realized so many of them were unreliable at winter here, wet as much as cold I think. But when I see them I want them again! your confertiflora is early?

And Andy builders - what can I say, not a lot as some members may practice the noble art :lol: I am presently bracing myself for an invasion of scaffolders, I have a leaning chimney needs sorting and its one of those "While you are up there" situations, last lot trampled my Philesia :(

charlie wrote:Loving those Salvias :) Used to have dozens but have slowly reduced the number once I realized so many of them were unreliable at winter here, wet as much as cold I think. But when I see them I want them again! your confertiflora is early?

:(

I must admit that my Salvia are a bit of an indulgence. The wet does for many if left out, but several appear to be fully hardy, including Black and Blue. S.glutinosa is indestructible!
The greenhouse is too small for tender climbers (I used to grow a lot in the conservatory at my old house), so as many Salvia can be treated like Dahlia (lift them, chuck them in a pot in the garage then give them a nudge in mid to late March on a shelf in the greenhouse) they are a substitute that I'm happy with.
The confertiflora does seem early, but it stayed in leaf in a sheltered spot all winter, dropping the old leaves only when it decided it was time to grow again. So basically, it suffered no die back last winter. Indeed, it was flowering up until Christmas.

Here's my wonderfully fragrant Datura wrightii back in bloom from last years tuber.................

Is it a similar scent to that from Brugmansia?