The year of the thistle – update

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At the beginning the year I declared 2016 as The Year of the Thistle, including in this category besides the ‘true thistles’ (Cirsium, Carduus and Onopordum), other genera that don’t have spiny leaves/or are commonly called thistles (Jurinea, Centaurea, Carthamus, Carlina, Rhaponticum, Echinops…).
I wasn’t joking. Some of the new tried out species are doing fine and are already planted out – Berkheya, Jurinea sordida, Carlina acaulis. Probably Centaurea triumfettii would have also flowered if not transplanted too late.

But, another one, a true thistle is flowering! Cirsium canum, in its second year from seeds, proves out to be a most wonderful plant. Everything, from the silvery, bold foliage to the neat, globular flower buds and the soft flower heads continuously foraged by some pollinator – it’s just perfect!

Cirsium canum foliage

Cirsium canum – An architectural thistle with silver-green foliage and purple flowers from late summer to fall; it will remain in a clump and therefore it can be safely grown in the garden for the delight of the pollinators :)

I wish I had more seedlings! A full sun position suits it very well. In the wild habitat it grows in somehow moist meadows and I think it would like a bit more moisture than it has, but it has fared well so far with very little watering.

Cirsium canum flower head

Cirsium canum flower head

There are so many more such species to try…

Centaurea triumfettii ssp. stricta

Carlina acaulis

Jurinea sordida

In charge – Corydalis nobilis

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In preparation of going away for a little while, I looked around today to see who would remain in charge of the garden and the seedlings…The first ones asked found excuses of being busy flowering, setting seeds, or putting up new growth.

So, I had to appoint by force the lord of the garden – Corydalis nobilis. You will hardly find a more reliable, resilient and fair garden fellow. From its corner location it can easily survey the whole garden, including the youngster Cory (from seed) which is flowering for the first time.

Corydalis nobilis

Corydalis nobilis

I read somewhere (most probably in an AGS Journal) about an old, neglected garden where C. nobilis had taken hold of and was growing everywhere like a weed. It can maybe happen in time; say 30 years from now on.
Sounds like a good plan…

And a few May pictures: new and older plants establishing together, Aquilegia canadensis- short form in the sun-rockery (in the making), and… lots of seedlings :) On to the seed adventures at full steam!

Iris ‘Concertina’

Paris quadrifolia

Stylophorum diphyllum

Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’

Aquilegia canadensis – short form

Seedlings

Wildlife Wednesday – Ode to the bumblebee

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Finally some warm weather (then cold again…warm). However, spring is here and in the past couple of weeks Corydalis and Dicentra cucullaria, some of the first here, have not only flowered but started to set seeds! Watching the Corydalis solida and Dicentra cucullaria flowering and the bumblebee hungrily foraging them, I realized that I was awaiting its apparition as much as that of the first spring flowers.

I won’t get into details on the bumblebees since I am sure they are well known; this is for sure the mother queen which is busy building the future colony. Of course, Corydalis grown from seeds will always come in various colours :)

Corydalis solida and bumble bee1

Dicentra cucullaria and bumble bee

Note: The wiki stub on Bumblebees is excellent if someone needs an extra read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee.

And a few more images, since last month I had a very short post on Robbie, which seems to get into a territorial dispute with the cardinals lately.

Cardinal and robin

A lady bug sleeping(?) on Narcissus flower
Narcissus

Few other images taken in the wild recently: a solitary bee on Cardamine, woodland hawks (maybe Cooper’s  Hawks)  and an unknown insect (for now) on the spring beauty flower (Claytonia caroliniana).

Cardamine

Claytonia caroliniana

Woodland hawks

Yes, spring beauties are all around!

I hope everyone enjoys them, their garden and the outdoors, and will join in the wildlife celebrations hosted by Tina at My gardener says.

Green Inspiration – sowing in moss

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‘Tis the season this year meant ‘enjoy the mild weather as long as possible’. A recent escapade into the woods inspired me to do more sowing in moss. Last year I sowed Saxifraga cuneifolia and Gaultheria procumbens, just for play and it worked very well; now I need more Saxifraga seedlings.
I cannot really replicate this boulder, but if this Saxifraga likes to grow and spread on moss, it makes sense to sow it like that, right? Nature is best source of inspiration.

Saxifraga cuneifolia ssp. robusta in wild habitat

Saxifraga cuneifolia ssp. robusta in wild habitat (Carpathian Mts.)

Of course I don’t have a big, mossy boulder, but I am creative – an old decorative clay pot looks good ornate in moss.

For sowing on moss:
Prepare a pot, mossy stone…, your moss pieces and potting mix (best to add some sand to it);
Place the moss pieces you gathered, press well, water;
Spread the seeds on top, water again;
Enclose the pot/stone in a Ziploc bag, or cover just the top;
Overwinter outside; in the spring start opening the Ziploc or remove the plastic cover.

Saxifraga sowing in moss-1

The seedlings will be tiny (see in the images below taken last summer) and remain like that for some time, so keep it in a shaded spot and mist once in a while. A smaller pot can be kept in the Ziploc but watch it closely as the moss can overgrow the tiny seedlings (this can be rectified by trimming it). It depends on what type of moss is used.

Gaultheria procumbens seedlings in moss
Saxifraga cuneifolia ssp. robusta - seedlings in moss

Another Saxifraga that would enjoy this sowing/growing would be the North American Saxifraga virginica (correctly said Micranthes virginiensis).

Saxifraga virginica (Micranthes virginiensis)

Micranthes virginiensis (syn. Saxifraga virginica) in habitat

It is a fun sowing method and in the worst case scenario you will end up with a nice, green, mossy pot! It can be used for other shade loving species, particularly those that like a bit of acidic substrate like Vaccinium, Pieris, Rhododendron…Also it is a great way to germinate and grow any species which like a permanently moist substrate like Viola macloskeyi, Cornus canadensis and probably quite a few others.

Viola macloskeyi

Viola macloskeyi on a mossy hump in wild habitat – Why try to grow it in a different way?!

May the Green Inspiration follow you all throughout the New Year!

Update: Saxifraga cuneifolia spp. robusta (seedlings grown in moss) 5 years later :-)

Unforgettable 2015 – Trillium grandiflorum

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Part 2
For May and June I had to do a shortlist to keep it short. Most notable was the finding of unusual forms of green Trilliums, as well as many pink forms. The reddish flower in the pictures is a fading pink form (T. grandiflorum fo. roseum Farwell).

Trillium grandiflorum green variant#3
T. grandiflorum fo. roseum

And not just the colour variation was remarkable but also the variation in petals shape and size! A form with particularly narrow, long pointed petals attracted my attention, as did a truly gigantesque white specimen.

T. grandiflorum fo. roseum - narrow petals
T. grandiflorum - gigantic form

A most beautiful form of Hepatica americana with extra petals also made the shortlist:

Hepatica americana -2015

From the cultivated plants: the first flower of Gentiana clusii var. rochelii, seen above in the featured image, and the flowering of the neglected Dactylorhiza alpestris, from my Little plants series.

Dactylorhiza alpestris close up

Spring beauty awakening

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One more garage check-up before sinking into another round of low night-time temperatures. The spring beauty seeds are sprouting! – maybe they know something that we don’t? ;)

Claytonia virginica is a true ephemeral beauty, a cheer for the soul in springtime!

Claytonia virginica

Claytonia virginica

Virginia spring beauty is common in southern and south-central Ontario and it flowers before the trees are leafing out. The pink (rarely white) flowers that are glistening in the spring sun are a treat after the long winter months! After setting seeds, it retreats in the soil for the rest of the season.

As a trial out, I sown a few seeds immediately after collecting, and I kept the rest in moist vermiculite (warm then cold). The seeds in moist storage have germinated in late December; the ones sown in the spring are germinating now. Note taken: the seeds can be safely offered for sale until beginning of December.

Claytonia virginica

On a top list of ‘hardest seeds to collect’, Claytonia comes first. I have expected Corydalis to win the prize but it didn’t. Like everything beautiful, Claytonia has proven very difficult to handle because it flowers in succession and the fruit maturation follows the same pattern, plus the fruits are dehiscent; a nightmare! And, do I need to mention the small seeds? No wonder is not on many seeds shops lists! But, a few people were happy to find these seeds available, so my effort did pay off. Plus, now I have a few seedlings for myself. Double hit!

Claytonia virginica

Claytonia virginica seedlings

Syneilesis punishment

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After wasting time with the ceremony, I was punished to do my homework on the weekend – there are still seeds to be added in the catalogue…

I didn’t think at Syneilesis until someone who participated in the Helleborus seeds trade, asked if by any chance I have a few Syneilesis aconitifolia good seeds…There it was the warning! Indeed, if you read on various gardening forums, it will be confirmed; ‘seeds’ are set copiously but only a small amount are viable. Such a pity, considering it is a warm, easy germinator. Luckily, I was gifted, again :), a whole bunch of dry inflorescences and after sorting through all of them with patience, I was left with a few good ‘seeds’ (and a REALLY big pile of ‘fluff’).

Syneilesis aconitifolia, the shredded umbrella plant, is a great foliage plant usually grown in part-shade, but who also tolerates full sun. When grown in a rich, moist substrate it will spread to form a healthy clump, but don’t worry, there will always be someone wanting a small division of your plant. Personally, I like it most in the spring when new shoots are emerging from the ground, with the leaves covered in silky hairs – the equivalent of a fuzzy mayapple!

Syneilesis aconitifolia

Syneilesis aconitifolia emergng in early spring

They maintain the fuzziness for a little while; then after expanding, the large, ‘shredded’ leaves will make you believe they belong to another plant! The name aconitifolia, actually suggests the resemblance with an Aconitum leaf (the deeply lobed kind). Tall flowering stems erupt in the summer bearing rather insignificant flowers.
There are also mentions of Syneilesis aconitifolia being used as a medicinal plant.

Syneilesis aconitifolia foliage in May

 

The sleeping beauties

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After an early winter arrival I am in the rush now to tuck in safely my sleeping beauties. The garage serves as a ‘winter storage/garden’. In what I call sleeping beauties I include various species done from seeds that have one thing in common: that they are ‘sleeping’ in their first season, totally or partially. Sleeping is not quite a proper term because they are actually growing but mostly underground. However, for a long period of time you are staring and caring for what, some may call, empty pots.

They are mainly hypogeal germinators that in their first season will only emerge the radicle and grow a young tuber/rhizome: Paeonia species, Trilliums, some Lilium species… Paeonia mlokosewitschii seedlings resemble little creatures hungrily sucking water and nutrients from the soil mix ;)

Paeonia mlokosevitschii seedlings
Paeonia and other sleeping beauties
Paeonia rockii - white

Others like Glaucidium palmatum, will germinate totally underground or above, but remain arrested at the cotyledons stage and spend the season fattening up a growing point underground. The whole process can be sped up a bit if you can sow right away in late summer and/or treat with GA3.

 I can already envision their awakening next year, after the Spring’s big kiss!

I know that many don’t care to start from seeds species Paeonies because it will take at least 3-4 years until they start flowering but their spring foliage is equally mesmerizing. For the same reason it is not very easy to find to buy them and when available are quite expensive. Better start them from seed – in a blink of an eye they will grow, prosper and flower! I do not have such seeds to offer yet, but most often you will be able to get hold of a few Paeonia species through Seed Exchanges.

PS. NOT recommended to scratch the pots, or remove the seedlings, like I did; be patient until spring. In my excuse, I needed pictures so I can share the experience.

The Beauty and the Parthenocarpy – Acer triflorum

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Beauty is found in almost any maple tree, even if we are to consider only their colourful fall display. The Beast shows its ugly head especially in the case of trifoliate maples and is called parthenocarpy. As a remainder, this means production of seedless fruits (without the fertilization of ovules).

A really undesirable trait, especially for species with indehiscent fruits (samaras, nuts, achene), either if we want their seeds for consumption or to use them for propagation! This is also the explanation for the rarity of some magnificent tree species in our landscapes. Acer griseum, the best known of the trifoliate maples presents parthenocarpy to some extent but not as much as the beauty called Acer triflorum.

Acer triflorum fruit

Acer triflorum

A trifoliate, very hardy maple from Manchuria and Korea “simply an outstanding small specimen maple, lovely foliage, exquisite bark and small habit contribute to the overall landscape effectiveness…; uses for good trees are endless” (Michael Dirr)

I did a little experiment with about the 60 seeds I had and a pruning shear. By nicking the end of the extremely hard samara and then cracking it longitudinally you can extract the seeds, if any. I found 3 viable seeds and 3 aborted (stenospermocarpy) – about 5% viable seeds!

PS. One easy method to separate seedless fruits is to check if they float; the ones with seeds will go to the bottom. This is recommended for many species but actually not necessary; it is useful though for fruits (like samaras and nuts) when it is hard to say if there are any seeds inside.
The fruit wall is so hard in Acer triflorum that it needs lots of stratification just to wear it down, so I preferred to extract the seeds (I didn’t expect to find any, but perseverance paid off :)

The resurrected – Salvia daghestanica

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Salvia daghestanica

Little plants series III

A few years ago I bought a silver leaf Salvia daghestanica for my dry and sunny mini- rockery. It did quite well, but this spring was obviously in distress. Decided to nurture it until its final breath, I planted it by itself in a small pot.

But it has resurrected and flowered profusely (it may really be its last breath) but anyway, the hummingbird has visited it, and now at least we can hope for seeds! Maybe THE BEST silvery leaf sage (sometimes called Salvia  canescens var. daghestanica). An amazing plant – you can read a longer story about silver leaf Salvias on the Prairie Break Blog (of the equally amazing Panayotis Kelaidis, who actually is responsable for introducing this Salvia in cultivation in North America).

 

 

Rapunzel’s flower – Phyteuma

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People in Europe call this member of the bellflower family (Campanulaceae) after many names: devil’s claws (Germany), Oxford Rampion (England), Raponzolo (Italy), and so on. We could definitely give it many other common names; I like to think of it as Rapunzel’s flower.

Phyteuma is strictly a European genus with quite a few species, not very often seen in the gardens. Phyteuma scheuchzeri, flowering now in one of my rock-containers is the most common in cultivation (I was aiming for P. sieberi, maybe next time…).

Phyteuma scheuchzeri

Phyteuma scheuchzeri

It doesn’t look like a bellflower, that’s for sure – it looks much cooler! In Phyteuma species the flowers are grouped in spiked, ball-like inflorescences (aka. floral sea creatures :-) which at full bloom ‘explode’ becoming fluffy. They can be found growing in a variety of habitats, with P. sieberi being the most alpine.

Phyteuma scheuchzeri

Phyteuma scheuchzeri

Another mountain growing Rapunzel’s flower is Phyteuma orbiculare, photographed here in a rich sub-alpine meadow in the Carpathian Mountains:

Phyteuma orbiculare

Phyteuma orbiculare

 Propagation: easy enough from seed (very small, fine seeds just like Campanula, sow superficial); most are warm germinators.

And just because I like word rhymes: Did you know that Phyteuma has a sister named Asyneuma? Another great but very little cultivated member of the bellflower family.

 

La primevère du Mistassini

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My apologies to anyone who tried to post a comment in the past couple of weeks – my new anti-spam ‘ware’ needed readjustments.

In the same idea of great little plants, this dwarf canadian primrose would have looked very well in my shade container with the Soldanellas and Haberlea rhodopensis.

Primula mistassinica

Primula mistassinica

Primula mistassinica, the Mistassini Primrose, or even better after its French name – Primevère du lac Mistassini, it’s a small size, more or less farinose primrose that was first discovered growing around the lake Mistassini in Quebec, and so it took its name. Anyone who sees it understands that it is best called by its French name: la primevère du Mistassini – it will answer looking at you with charming yellow eyes from big, pink flowers!

Primula mistassinica

Primula mistassinica flowering in Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

Best grown in part-shade or in full sun locations, if enough moisture is available. Although it looks fantastic in mass plantings it is also suitable for a trough.

Would you care for some seeds? - click