Tag Archive for: Roscoea tibetica

Latest seeds; recap on Trillium germination

First, in the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words: Trillium grandiflorum leftover seeds from 2021, germinating after following a warm (summer-fall 2021)- cold (winter 2021-2022) – warm (spring-summer 2022) cycles regime. 
They took me by surprise, usually the rootlets start to grow somewhere in September.

Trillium grandiflorum germinated seeds from 2021 harvest; they need one more cold cycle (winter 2022) for the leaves to appear

As I mentioned before, from any batch of Trillium grandiflorum seeds, part of them always germinate (root) in the first fall and the remaining seeds will germinate in the second fall. So, those who purchased T. grandiflorum  seeds last year may have in their pots a combination of seedlings with the first leaves plus only germinated seeds (root only, like in the picture). It is also possible to have only germinated seeds (like seen in the picture).

Other Trillium species follow the same pattern (complete germination in 2 years), others germinate entirely in the first season, and others only germinate in the second year (e.g., Trillium erectum usually only germinates in the second year after sowing).


Latest seeds collected:
Caulophyllum thalictroides and Actaea pachypoda fo. rubrocarpa (wild)

Edraianthus graminifolius, Roscoea schneideriana and Roscoea tibetica  (garden)
Clematis occidentalis and Clematis alpina (on-going) – these are early spring flowering species.

Edraianthus graminifolius, Aurinia

Clematis occidentalis

Clematis alpina

Roscoea tibetica

The Seeds Shop will be open for orders starting August 29th. There will be another announcement with few a important details on Sunday (Aug. 28th) before the re-opening.

The Seeds List has been updated as much as possible. Plus, there is a tab with various announcements at the top. It is always a work in progress: some species get sold out fast and for others the seeds are ready only later in the fall.

The first species that require attention/sowing right away are the following:
ALL Moist Packed seeds, Paeonia, Helleborus, Lilium species, Actaea, Aralia, Hydrophyllum.

Besides using the Seed List, on the main page click on the SEEDS SHOP tab on top-right for a direct access to various categories.

There is hope for more seeds collecting to be done this week. Until next…

C-section – Roscoea tibetica

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Update: I have serious doubts now that this is R. tibetica (or bhutanica) and although I had intentions I won’t add to the general confusion by offering seeds. I am waiting for other opinions regarding its identity (maybe R. australis?)…..probably it will be a looong wait.

Yesterday morning I had the wonderful surprise to find Roscoea (tibetica) in ‘labour’. The capsule was just starting to split open showing the seeds. The smallest of the genus, R. tibetica has a particular way of developing the capsule at soil level (easy to miss it), inside the stem actually, and I thought it would be interesting to show it, especially because this is also the final confirmation of its identity.

Roscoea tibetica capsule

Roscoea (tibetica) showing split capsule

Roscoea species have arilate seeds, so if ants are around (or earwigs) it’s wise not to miss the ‘delivery’. A bit of help is needed to extract the seeds without the stem being destroyed – a clean, small cut, followed by a bandage application (cheesecloth works perfectly) to secure the leftover seeds (the flowers open in succession so not all the seeds mature at the same time).

Size, shape and arils are good characters for Roscoea ID, especially considering that there is quite a bit of confusion going around – R. tibetica has seeds with deeply lacerate arils.

Roscoea tibetica split capsule with exposed seeds
Roscoea tibetica - more seeds remain inside

I presented Roscoea tibetica in the Little plants series; this year grew better in part-shade, sharing a container with A. fargesii seedlings. This is a great little Roscoea for the rock garden. Easy to grow from seeds, it can be quite variable; the form shown in the featured image has small purple flowers barely showing from among the stems, so one cannot really call it a showy plant. More than this, it starts growing sometimes in June, it flowers in late June, and by mid-August the seeds are ripen – ‘living in the fast lane’!

Roscoea tibetica foliage
Roscoea tibetica seeds with lacerate arils
Roscoea tibetica seedlings

One for collectors and people in love with ‘little plants’ :)

Good read on Roscoea: The Genus Roscoea – Jill Cowley, RBG Kew, 2007. Speaking of which, reading again about R. tibetica and R. bhutanica, it seems that my plant fits more likely with the later: “Leaf blades usually 2-6 at flowering time, slightly auriculate… Inflorescence enclosed in leaf sheats. Flowers opening just above leaves, one open at a time…..Seed aril shallowly lacerate.”

Happy to hear other opinion…

Earth octopus

Yesterday I spent quite some time into the darkness of the garage, doing archaeological plant-digging in containers. I was looking after various creatures that like to spend the winter dry and need to be unearthed by late April and be brought back to life (if possible).
A large earth octopus almost jumped out of a pot! Luckily it proved out to be a gentle one. I checked its legs one by one, all seemed to be fine; eyes wide open and smiling. It was carefully placed in fresh, rich potting mix as it likes it, free to swim and have fun.

Roscoea auriculata 2

The earth octopus (Roscoea auriculata)

I’ll wait with the water until it starts growing a bit (it’s an earth octopus with rhizomatous fleshy tentacles after all). Somewhere in mid-summer a strange phenomenon will happen: the earth octopus will bloom!

Roscoea auriculata flower
There were also a few baby octopuses (not completely developed, some have only 2-3 tentacles), all fine looking and ready to start earth swimming. Roscoeas are very pleasant plants to grow from seeds; it will take 3+ years for the first flowers to appear.

Roscoea auriculata it is a hardy ginger from Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, where it grows in grasslands at 2400-2700 m altitude. As the name suggests, it has consistently auriculate (eared) leaves on the pseudostem. The height can be variable 20-40 cm and the flowers are large, in various shades of purple to deep violet or even white. It can be mistaken with R. purpurea but it flowers a bit earlier and the flowers have usually white upper staminodes and a strongly down-facing labellum.

In praise of little plants I

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Plants that did make sense to have in my small garden

A dwarf, big flowered blue columbine: Aquilegia discolor, most probably a cross (from Seedex as A. saximontana)

Aquilegia discolor (cross)

 Aquilegia discolor cross

True that if we would grow only ‘reasonable’ plants, our gardens would lack all spontaneity and wonder. But because I can now easily enjoy them in containers, and not worry about their relocation, I think a bit of praise is warranted.

On the other side of the container, a tiny hardy ginger: Roscoea tibetica (from Lost Horizons) – very precious, after the bad winter we had, who knows if I will get to see the other Roscoeas from the garden.

Roscoea tibetica

Roscoea tibetica

From another container, the most fragrant, fringed Dianthus I know: Dianthus petraeus (from wild collected seeds in the Carpathian Mts.) Too bad I cannot insert a ‘scratch patch’ with its perfume.

Dianthus petraeus

Dianthus petraeus

A rock jasmine: Androsace sarmentosa – a small piece I saved from an old plant, I hope it will thrive again (or set seeds, or better both).

Androsace sarmentosa

Androsace sarmentosa

and more are on their way to flower…