PUSHING THE BORDERS

charlie wrote:What name do these rejoice in these days? I have always called them Brodia

Brodia 001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

It has jumped about a bit!

Currently Triteleia laxa.

Is that the variety 'Queen Fabiola'?

I used to have drifts of it, but they have been overgrown by hydrangea now!

Chad

Lathyrus latifolius 004 by charliepridham, on Flickr

canna panache 001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

salvia confertiflora 002 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Lily hybrid 003 by charliepridham, on Flickr

I remember your lily clump from our meet up afternoon, cracking!. No sign of lily beetle, are you not bothered by them?

The other clump of L. pardalinum which is a bit hidden in the back of that bed is a bit of a sacrificial goat, it takes the most damage followed by the L. regale clumps, but I pick off and squash beetles on all the Lilies and some years the Fritillaria meleagris as well. In a bad year I will spray but prefer not to. Life before the Lily beetles arrival was a lot less bothersome!

The clump in my picture you can see has masses of little bulbils, anyone got first hand experience of growing these on? I am assuming these will be clones unlike the seed which is likely to be all sorts given the other lilies about

charlie wrote:The clump in my picture you can see has masses of little bulbils, anyone got first hand experience of growing these on?

Sow as if they were large seeds, likely to germinate "immediately" I think, rather than need a period of Winter cold.

I assume they will be clones of the parent, but now you ask that I have doubt!

I normally chuck a few scales from the bulb into a plastic bag of damp compost, when I buy / plant bulbs, and bulk up that way.

To add to that;

They are 'ripe' when they detach easily from the stem.

Putting up a leaf this year or not depends on when they get separated from the stem and the weather [temperature] then.

There will probably be some larger ones on the stem below the soil surface.

They don't like drying right out once detached from the stem.

Yes they are clonal.

In moist but well drained soil they will come up around the parents without help.

With rich cultivation the more vigorous strains will give a single flower next year [especially from the larger basal ones], most the year after that, but they take a few years to get to multi-flowered magnificence.

Chad

Chad wrote:... but they take a few years to get to multi-flowered magnificence.

I always chuck a few scales into a bag when I buy lilies, but I wonder why given how cheap they often are ...

... but I just had a look on W H Hydes site for Lilium pardalinum and they are £3.50 each (and out of stock ... but that may just be the season)

Their regular stuff, which isn't "introduced this year", is normally around £1 a bulb and "no wait" for results :)

https://www.hwhyde.co.uk/catalog/specie ... pardalinum

All helpful stuff

I like the Lily but as its not what I ordered I suspect I wouldn't be able to get it again hence wanting to bulk mine up :)

I planted the Acidanthera bulbs to be an 'understory' layer under the Trachycarpus leaves. Hmm, don't think it quite worked.
Acidanthera by Andy Cowlishaw, on Flickr
Canna altensteinii. Moved from its very warm sheltered position of last year but still flowering well, albeit not quite as tall.
Canna altensteinii by Andy Cowlishaw, on Flickr
I keep missing the flowers open on Nicandra sp. nova. Here it is at about 1.5M. Very easy from seed saved from last years purchase from Chad.
Nicandra sp. nova by Andy Cowlishaw, on Flickr

I'm glad you have kept the Nicandra going, mine didn't germinate this year.



Bomarea edulis





Bomarea ovata [with a leaf of Monizia edulis behind it]




Monnina xalapensis. Which I bought seed of expecting spikes like a lupin. The whole spike is barley 20mm long! But they do have a faint but pervasive scent of violets. One of those scents that you catch on the air and is barely noticeable if you sniff the flowers.




Alstroemeria isabellana 'Fred Mayer'

Chad