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A Yellow Giant: Gentiana lutea
Gardens, Medicinal plants, Plant portraitsSome of you may be surprised to find out that the following image belongs to a gentian, but it’s true. This is Gentiana lutea (Yellow gentian, Bitter Root), native to the mountainous regions of central and southern Europe (Carpathians, Alps, Pyrenees…), where usually grows in alpine and sub-alpine meadows on calcareous soils. It is a tall perennial, reaching 1-2 m, with large leaves arranged in a basal rosette until flowering. The yellow flowers are atypical for a gentian, with corolla deeply divided in 5-7 narrow petals, and disposed in terminal and axillary clusters.
Gentiana lutea flowers
Gentiana lutea has been used for centuries as a medicinal plant, and to flavour alcoholic drinks commonly known as bitters, which are very common and widely used in Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. For this purpose, the roots and rhizomes are collected in late fall and dried, practice that has lead to over-collecting and brought the species to endangered lists in many countries. The principal medicinal use of the yellow gentian is for digestive disorders due to its bitter compounds, among which the gentiopicrin, is one of the most bitter natural compounds known.
Apart for its medicinal virtues, it is an impressive perennial, a focal point for a sunny perennial garden. It is a rare find, so hurry up and spread the word! Flowers in June-July or in July-August at high elevations. Needless to say that it is very hardy. Propagation has to be done by seed.
Gentiana lutea in the Display Garden at Lost Horizons
Of botanical interest: Despite its atypical flowers Gentiana lutea it is the type species of the genus Gentiana! [The generic type is a representative species that is selected when a genus is described].
I’ll have more on Gentiana lutea, as the few seeds I collected from the Carpathians Mts. will germinate (fingers crossed) and also I hope I’ll manage to collect more seeds in the future.
Meanwhile, you can see the yellow giant in flower by visiting the Lost Horizons Display Garden in July (and sometimes a few plants are available for sale).
Who’s afraid of the Arisaemas?
Gardens, Plant portraitsIn the garden world the common ‘everyday’ can vanish somewhere between real and surreal; for sure Arisaemas are to blame for this. Mysterious and animistic creatures, they are permanently watching us, even from the underground. At Lost Horizons Nursery there are quite a few Arisaema species (Cobra lilies or Jack-in-the-pulpits) around; sometimes benevolent and sometimes mischievous you’ll find them everywhere: in small seedling trays to pots, stock beds or in the display gardens.
Arisaema ringens
Arisaema ringens from the galeate section of cobra lilies is worth growing only for the huge, trifoliolate, glossy, and leathery leaves. The thick spathe with green and purple stripes resembles a cobra head rising up from the shade, ready to attack garden intruders. The spathe-limb is described botanically as galeate (galea – means helmet), and can be green or purple with white stripes and revolute green or purple margins. The spadix is either male or female. Origin: Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and E China. The only regret that someone can have about A. ringens is that it rarely produces seeds. Maybe the right pollinators are not around, and we also need to have the two partners together in order to have babies, aka. seeds (at least in most cases).
Arisaema ringens flowering last year in June
Another species with galeate spathe-limb (helmet-like) is A. franchetianum. It has 1 or 2 trifoliolate leaves with bluish green, ovate leaflets and the inflorescence appears below the leaf, like in A. ringens. Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ has the spathe-limb deep purple with white stripes and its tip is ending in a 20 cm long tail-like apex. The spadix is either male or female, exceptionally bisexual – but let’s not get started on the Arisaemas gender variability now…
Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ showing up in a pot
Arisaema franchetianum doesn’t require that much shade like other Arisaemas; in its original habitat is actually growing in “ open sunny sites among boulders and scrubs, along roadsides” (SW China, NE India, and N Myanmar). Here you have it, one Arisaema that doesn’t have to be in the woodland garden!
Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ flowering last year
Do not be afraid of the Arisaemas, take my example – Good and not so good things happening around the garden?
Blame them all on the Arisaemas!
The Lord of the Corydalis
Moist packed seeds, Plant portraitsI someone would ask me, I would say that no garden is complete without at least one member of the ephemeral genus of Corydalis. The more common is the delightful Corydalis solida and varieties but wait until you meet the lord of the genus: Corydalis nobilis. If lucky to be able to drive you can see it in flower at Lost Horizons Nursery (not applying anymore, the nursery has closed down). It does not look quite like a Corydalis and it is hard to believe that it will become dormant in early summer.
Corydalis nobilis in early spring
Sometimes called Siberian Corydalis, Corydalis nobilis (Fam. Fumariaceae) was introduced in cultivation in Sweden in 1765 due to a fortunate mistake. The seeds received by Linnaeus were collected from Siberia (Altai mountain range) and believed to be of Lamprocapnos spectabilis. This wonderful Corydalis still grows happily in Carl Linnaeus’ gardens at Upsalla and at Hammarby. Unfortunately, the prediction of “a great horticultural future” for this species has not become true yet. Not being very easy to propagate might have something to do with this. It is available only from a few specialty nurseries in Europe and North America, and of course some years at Lost Horizons.
Corydalis nobilis is very hardy and will start growing quite fast in the spring achieving a 30-50 cm tall clump with juicy stems and green-blue ferny leaves. It produces lots of inflorescences, very dense, with 20-35 flowers, golden yellow with the inner petals dark violet at the top. Flowering lasts for about three weeks in April-May, and it has a spicy fragrance.
Corydalis nobilis inflorescence
Origin: NW. Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, N. Xinjiang (China). Propagated by seed (sown immediately when ripe, otherwise the ants will run away with them to feed on the elaiosomes) or by division in the fall. Corydalis nobilis has an irregularly branched, fragile rootstock, not easy to divide; you can see it here (courtesy of Rare Books – Missouri Botanical Garden Library). It can grow in full sun or shade, but will thrive best in a place reasonable dry during the summer. A focal point in the spring garden, the Lord of the genus Corydalis never fails to attract attention and questions from the visitors.
Corydalis nobilis in the Display Garden at Lost Horizons
Rainbows in the spring: Reticulate Irises
Gardens, Plant portraitsWhile I was away for a couple of weeks, things have gone crazy in the garden. Yesterday I run outside in a hurry to take a few images of the reticulate irises. I really love these dwarf irises and I planted them everywhere: in the sun, in part shade, in containers and every other corner where I can still dig a small hole, including small pots for winter flowering. The name of the genus comes from Iris the ancient Greek Goddess of the Rainbow. Along with the snowdrops and crocuses the reticulate irises announce the beginning of Spring with a splash of colours.
Iris reticulata ‘Purple Gem’
They belong to a group of small bulbous irises from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Georgia and adjacent areas. In the spring, it is easy to recognize their leaves, which are square or almost cylindrical in cross section. The bulbs have netted tunics, hence the common name: Netted Irises. Most of them are very hardy, flowering in early spring as soon as the snow melts, and going dormant in the summer. Very easy to grow, they require only a very well drained soil, in order to survive dormancy.
Iris reticulata ‘ J.S. Dijt’
Iris reticulata is the best known species with colours ranging from sky blue to violet to purple. There are quite a few cultivars in the trade and some that are hybrids with other species. With careful selection you can have a display of dwarf irises from early March till April, depending on the location.
The queen of the dwarf irises in my garden is Iris ‘Katherine Hodgkin’. The result of a cross between Iris winogradowii and Iris histrioides done by British plantsman E.B. Anderson in 1960, it flowers right after the wild I. reticulata and it has big, orchid-like flowers with an intriguing pattern.
Iris ‘Katherine Hodgkin’
Other species not so often cultivated from this group include: I. pamphylica, I. histrio, I. danfordiae, I. kolpakowskiana and I. bakeriana. Check out Alan McMurtrie’s website to see what hybridizing reticulate irises involves and from there you’ll be able to have a look also at Janis Ruksans catalogue.
Update – Spring 2013
Just a few more images with dwarf Irises from my small rockery – I particularly liked the combination with Eranthis hyemalis (Winter aconite). What remains to be said is that after flowering the leaves will continue their growth in order to feed the bulbs for the next year flowers. This translates in a period of some sort of ‘weedy-ness’ which can hardly be obscured by other plants in a small area. Therefore, for next year I will move quite a few of them from the rockery in containers.
Voyage from the Land of the Rising Sun – Japanese Epimediums
Gardens, Plant explorers, Plant portraitsEpimedium grandiflorum arrived in Europe, in Antwerp, with Philipp Franz von Siebold’s plant collection from Japan, in 1830 according to some reports. Actually, during his 8 years in Japan, Siebold sent three shipments with an unknown number of herbarium specimens to Leiden, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp. The important thing is that among them there were 2 plants of Epimedium grandiflorum, one with white flowers, and one with pale-violet flowers. They were planted at the Ghent Botanical Garden. Unsurprisingly, the large spurred flowers received a lot of attention because the only species of Epimedium known at that time was E. alpinum, which has small flowers. The Japanese name of E. grandiflorum – ikariso, comes from: ‘ikari’ – anchor and ‘so’- plant, the four long curved spurs of the flowers suggesting the four-claw anchor used by Japanese fishermen.
Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Purple Prince’
Epimedium grandiflorum spread rapidly into cultivation. Currently, there are countless varieties of this species, and it has also contributed as a parent of some important hybrid groups such as E. x rubrum, E. x versicolor and E. x youngianum. It has three recognised forms today: f. grandiflorum, f. flavescens and f. violaceum.
Epimedium sempervirens ‘Variegatum’
Epimedium sempervirens, resembles very much E. grandiflorum with the exception of the evergreen leaves and of a more elongated rhizome. It is endemic to the western side of S. Honshu. E. sempervirens has crossed with E. diphyllum in the wild to produce the white flowered E. setosum. I already featured the sweet E. sempervirens ‘Candy Hearts’ in ‘Plant Valentines’, and now the answer, if someone was asking – yes, there is a variegated Epimedium, see illustrated E. sempervirens ‘Variegatum’.
Epimedium diphyllum is actually the first Epimedium that arrived in Europe from Japan, sent by Franz von Siebold to Leiden. From there it spread to other botanical gardens and nurseries in England. A small and dainty species, today is known more in cultivation through the garden hybrids that belong to E. x youngianum. The name E. x youngianum is used to include all the garden hybrids between E. diphyllum and E. grandiflorum. The numerous varieties that exist in cultivation exhibit usually intermediate characteristics between the parents. In the wild, the same combination of parents lead to a new species: E. trifoliatobinatum.
Epimedium x youngianum ‘Beni-Kujaku’
Besides these, there are many Japanese hybrids of unknown parentage. They can vary greatly in their flower shape, size and colour. Japanese Epimediums have the same requirements for cultivation as the Chinese ones, with the only difference that they prefer a slightly acidic substrate. Using a fertilizer for acid-loving plants would probably give better results, especially if the irrigation water is alkaline.
Epimedium ‘Sakura Maru’
If you didn’t get ‘hooked’ yet on the Chinese Epimediums I’m sure now is the moment.
There are so many varieties on the market today and it is hard to choose only a few images to represent the whole range of Japanese Epimediums. The following gallery presents only a few from the many Epimediums that one can see at Lost Horizons Nursery (near Guelph in Ontario).
Non-plants related: David Mitchell’s book The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, recreates with authenticity the atmosphere of the nineteenth century Japan, and the life on Dejima, an artificial island close to Nagasaki Harbor, where Siebold also lived during his stay in Japan around the same time period.