PUSHING THE BORDERS

It is, but not just an Hedychium wardii.

This is an Edward Needham Hedychium wardii.

But they all look exactly the same to me!

New ID from anyone else?

Chad

I wonder what distinguishes it from other clones. Edward generally had a good eye for something special.

Here's one of mine from April. Genus is easy peasy but which species?

Chad wrote:It is, but not just an Hedychium wardii.

This is an Edward Needham Hedychium wardii.

But they all look exactly the same to me!

New ID from anyone else?

Chad

Thats probably because its only his form in cultivation?!! saying that I did grow a number from seed and could see no difference to the mother plant. sadly for me not good in the ground , needs to be wheeled out in spring to get flowers and even then they are one of the later ones

I think Edward's was the first, and distributed through KobaKoba.

Since then there have been several more introductions, including Dick Fulcher's.

It is in flower for longer than any of the other species here and it is VERY yellow!

Now to get to grips with the Euphorbia...

Euphorbia.

I have avoided their botany for years!

Even the words to describe what I can see are a problem.

OK.

This is a Euphorbia of section Esula. So we can discount all the funny 'succulent' ones.

The leaves are blue/green without a prominent paler central vein. They are not shiny.

The flowers are all at about the same level, not in a column like the characias lot.

The leaves are relatively blunt ended.

The first bract [OK it is a cyathophyll - happy?] is wider than the leaves.

I have now excluded every Euphorbia that I know!

So we move to Google and put in Euphorbia, and then with a - in front every species that I know to take them off the list.

So 'taking out' ten species we get a lot left to look at. Add the word 'hardy'.

That is more manageable.

It isn't margalidiana, which I didn't know.

How about Euphorbia segetalis?

And while we are in this genus has anyone grown cotinifolia? I've just used it to 'pad' an order from Canarius.

Chad

I tried rooting a cutting of E. cotinifolia that I brought back from Madeira once but it didn't take.

I grew E. margalidiana for a while - lovely thing. Lost it when I moved it. Managed to get a scrap back from Mark Fillan, to whom I had sent some cuttings, and my bloody badgers snapped it off near the base in spring. No sign of regrowth yet. Summer dormant and leafless.

As is this.... widen your concept of the word 'hardy' Chad to include my almost Mediterranean conditions (clue).

Does Euphorbia dendroides have any frost hardiness?

Chad

That's the one. OK here so far. 5 or 6 years, I think - it came through TBFTE with no damage at all. I collected some seed when on holiday in Rapallo in Northern Italy and thought I'd give it a go. I didn't actually expect it to survive otherwise I would have planted it somewhere more sensible than immediately at the base of an agave. On the plus side it is in a very sunny, very hot spot stuck in some rocks. I have to cut it back each year now - did it again just a few days ago, in fact, whilst dormant. I raised another from seed - Mallorca this time - and stuck it where it has room to grow but that is still a baby yet.

BTW, a different topic I know, but my Acanthus sennii is trying to open some flowers - kind of stalled once the weather cooled but there is red showing.

Two for your consideration.

A hardy small [four to five foot] shrub.



A climber that is probably 'borderline' outdoors, but reliably hardy in the tunnel.


Chad

Second one Thunbergia gregorii?
Not seen anything quite like the first one before.