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I can recall importing seed from, I think, New Zealand, sometime last century, and grew them for some years. Too long ago to remember if I ever flowered them. All legal in those days.
Brian, UK

Quote from: MLoos on June 02, 2024, 05:56:06 AMLast of the Tulipa,
Tulipa sprengeri from scattered seed about 6 years ago, seed from Alan Street, makes it even more special.  He liked to scatter it along the roadsides. 

My T. sprengeri (almost certainly from Alan / Avon Bulbs seem to have managed to self seed, and flower this year, ~40 feet from my original planting. I collect and send off seed to AGS most years, if I don't sew myself. They could not have been in this garden more than ~8 years. Something ate the seed head off though; but still have original patch to ripen.
Brian SE UK

Don't think I have ever grown them and observed. I bought originally flowering in a pot I think and they have increased from there. I have passed on seed to gardening groups many times, but not grown them that way myself; from memory.

I have a patch ~ 1/2 metre square, and growing. The first flowers opened a few weeks ago and it will flower for a month or more. Highly desirable as a perennial. Produces lots of seed.
Brian, SE UK

Quote from: David Pilling on May 18, 2024, 05:41:56 PMRHS warning after hungry caterpillars 'taking over South East' and decimating Guildford hedges


The Royal Horticultural Society has issued a warning after invasive, hungry caterpillars are reportedly taking over parts of Surrey and the South East. South Bucks.


https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/rhs-warning-after-hungry-caterpillars-29182894

I have noticed bald patches (a few square feet) and cobwebs on a couple of field hedges locally. Not box I would have thought.?

It grows and spreads in my open garden here in the SE UK, with no special treatment. Flowers in (early?) summer. Lots of seed. Probably best amongst/high lighting other plants; a bit "thin" as a feature plant.

Brian

50 + years ago excavating beneath a greenhouse, loosely filling it with stacked bricks, and circulating air down through them, during the day to store heat and at night to recover was suggested. Electric house storage heaters, using a steel box full of high density bricks, and cheaper night time electricity was common. My bricks were used as paving later when we went over to gas. Heat stores/recovery systems, in boxes, or snaking through the garden, are still being promoted of course. We adapt, slowly, to whatever we feel is the most economic at any one time.
Many years ago I visited a contact to see his Nerine collection. One greenhouse had a rain-water tank/pond the full length of the house under the bench(s). It was populated with very many noisy frogs. Don't know if they were a good heat store ;-)

Many of the artificial lighting videos I have seen on tv show very limited wavelength lighting, often apparently just 1 or 2 narrow wavelength ranges. Is this just for edible/experimental products or does it apply to other commercial plant propagation? That's before considering light meter ranges.
Brian, SE UK

Apologies. I saw it correctly when I was sending it, so thought it would be the same for all. It was a copy and paste from Google photo storage. I sent it to myself first to check. Needs more thought I see., Brian

So this is what it looks like ;-)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHdnGkb7lRzLXsiU6FK9vT_jv1ksnqwmYVvI_yq-p4wEjphISMf3KRmyq4_3icCyW6T5l14XynOgqpzxNHj-YGmbh6BQmtGgO5CA1M52YYQN1ZvFAwvBj3HCrDte08icwdL3drtCegeuiBmNPJ3obunCuXTnsez_MEgCjrRUsh49uisG06S4AZbzLTnXAxlGKhNpK2tnA9Y4wdji80j3S__15d9SkZSCsVYFtrXs8OJs6jYU_HxFB8QLzl9zF0t8ySi1F31lTrOMUl8xmSI9vOxck2eRFm0dSqJFhMrmut56op7q9x2TsLwsHzPxH_aCGW7rOGvF2iXDEO6jgvIkX-pxKg2EajwQ3rfPY6uy1pibPXfM-aVbgGxPhCm1ohUnI64QGuPVPXOx2JeOIccAR3LblFYod7WB0qnBmT1FHazjRC3QAHtent2KQjGbTCV2ezDKPe_ncGOb4vAG9AIFRltSfwRUsWfj5dRIAaTNzfVI7gxxqT6JNO8030io3657CtAc9oE0oO02p0ac1W4crILuzfzJMVN05ufCMWGQDIfmVt1EzGn2BTGv-FzsikuOFqPSC0U5AE4iqopjGO2JSYKic55pPasNTI-olybHBvdPi6DZ1wwkPPoHT491FWv1V5n8QqY-pl_lSnzSegLdHCBCTmE7fqED-PMZR3mwUuSZSkTR36QvkUtMKZIFgJazZ8LdYABVVZieM6Tkc6nY4nTnEojlZ72GbHHGQZjK1fWNLT_nQZlgoru5brd1PgJXBO5EKOk0ZXCd1V8lzbCeqbmzBEI8hVue2sla1qh8t9nqkZ5foqR5sG_0XwpHVQKS9X2UojTpq9Kjdev90rrOlYKM5Z9rMgHoTeIfM6Q8ykOg0Hhfu37x9X5XlEgXn7xKs2YMVV31nQuLDCmod4_6_g=w675-h900-s-no?authuser=0)
I have cleared an area  by removing Iris 'Jane Philips' which had stopped flowering. With a bit of soil amending it will now have a number of colchicums. The pot is 5" diameter.

Brian. Autumn started with sudden drop of 10  C in temperature.

I will try and find a suitable place for some in the garden. Colchicums don't get grazed by visiting wildlife. I have several of the larger specie/forms where the later leaves don't become a problem. Even some autumn crocus have survived this year although I have seen a squirrel investigating them. No deer for some months; maybe it is them normally who do the damage.

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I now grow these, what a few years ago I thought of as a tender special plant, (before climate change) in my vegetable garden as a cut flower. These were recovered from my previous family home and go back 50/60+ years, so no longer named. I will cut the first this week; some leaves showing now ~15cms growth. Must weed out all the wild strawberries growing over them. They last some weeks indoors and usually produce seed too if kept after the flowers die off.

Brian, SE UK   sticky chalky stony soil. Maybe all this sulphur fallout from the volcanoes further south will change that.

Do you find C. baytopiorum increases very readily for you? In large pots I have maybe a 100 or more, but only get a few flowers every 4-5 years or so. Mainly I suspect because they get starved because of their rate of increase. Maybe I should insert into my rough lawn grass and see what happens. I currently have some buds showing in one pot, which I suspect were the larger bulbs I selected last season. At present I only have a few C. autumnale speciosum album, Waterlily, and C autumnale left in flower. The larger hybrids are all finished flowering.
It is fungus in the lawn/rough grass time here. All brown types with a hollow top; edible ??
Brian SE UK 17C today; again

I have built plunge beds in the past with angle iron legs and frame (fence posts) and 1" thick timber (ply or planks) bottom and sides. Then lined with heavy polythene or pond liner. Length needs to be limited to prevent "bowing" or use cross struts.

If you did Latin at school you would learn all syllables are the same length; so no long i's, o's, or anything else. Difficult at times when having a conversation about plants.