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Ferraria crispa
Gladiolus tristis w/o dark in throat
Gladiolus hybrid

Dear All,

Here are some impressions from my garden in March 

Iris cretica. This magnificent plant was given to me in October last year as a small division. I hope it will make it through the summer....

Oxalis obtusa, large Namaqualand form. One of the very best Oxalis. From the collection of the late John Lavranos. The flowers remain open even on dull days.

..... not a geophyte..... but Salvia libanensis is so beautiful. A difficult plant to maintain here, though 

Hermodactylus tuberosa, difficult to catch the complex colour in a picture 

Oxalis, unknown species, I love the foliage. New to my collection. Can anybody identify it?

Gladiolus aureus, grown from Silverhill seed. I do hand pollination to get seed of this endangered species 

Hello Arnold,

We started this new topic within minutes at the same time.....

No problem, things can be merged easily

Martin


Thanks,

I've been having fun with cyclamen. First image--first bloom/bud from C. drydeniae from seeds from BX 476--thanks whomever donated that! Second are 'Tilebarn Nicholas' from seed shared with me from a Cyclamen Society distribution, some showing hints of that famous pink blush. Third image is the cyclamen district of my plant shelf including a bunch of Bowles Apollo also from CS. 

@Uli how strange to find Iris tuberosa / Hermodactylus tuberosus

in flower at the same time growing half a continent apart. Considering the color: could it be you also have the "smokey" clone from Liberto Dario? All the other images I've seen of this are far more greenish...
           
Staying with strange colors, I've pulled a flowering pot of Gethyum atropurpureum

from the cold house today, as it wasn't sunny, but at least it was warm.

Colchicum luteum

and Colchicum szovitsii

'tivi' (The plant I showed in December actually is Colchicum serpentinum

, I seem to have swapped labels) are that kind of plants most common people would pass by as "just another crocus" - but we know better. I actually tried cross-pollination, one can always hope...

Obviously, it's also time for the very first Tulip - "Early Harvest" earns its name, thanks at Sabine Kämpfe for donating it!

To end on something tropical from inside, I have this Neomarica caerulea

- even though authorities have sunken the whole tribe into Trimezia...

Hello @Martin, 
I will check the label of my Hermodactylus tomorrow. Off hand I can say that it is definitely not from Oron Peri. I got it from a friend. It flowers for the very first time with me and I quite like it. Today I noticed green dangling round/oval seed pods.
VERY rainy here right now most flowers smashed.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Uli 

Moraea serpentina flowering on March 6, 2023. The container is a foam drinking cup 3" / 7.5cm in diameter and twice as deep. It sprouted many years ago from Silverhill seed, and has flowered every year for some years. Because the single plant produces one flower per year that only opens for a few hours, I haven't seen it often. This year I brought it with me while visiting family so I wouldn't miss it. The flower is sweetly fragrant at close range. Unfortunately I only have one, and it hasn't offset. I tried selfing it.

The background flowers are a purple line-bred Laelia anceps and an orange Kalanchoe hybrid from a Huntington plant sale.

The companion plant is Linaria maroccana. Winter annuals reseed in most of my containers, serving as watering indicators. Gene Joseph and Jane Evans of Plants for the Southwest/Living Stones Nursery in Tucson taught me that trick.

Should I put these on the Wiki? It was a cloudy and windy day so they're not great photos, but a view from the top isn't on the Wiki.

Hi Leo. About the wiki, let me consult... photo #2 is best, but the accompanying cultivation information is interesting and the sort of thing we often put on the wiki. There is nothing about plants in cultivation on the wiki. OTOH Google will find the info here just as well as on the wiki.

I always thought companion plants were an idea, from my point of view to cope with overwatering. Good to know someone has got it worked out.

 

In spite of bad weather, wind, rain and more wind, spring is trying to happen in the Azores. The hedychium are sprouting and I have this Moraea elegans:

Quote from: Leo on March 09, 2023, 12:27:29 AMShould I put these on the Wiki? It was a cloudy and windy day so they're not great photos, but a view from the top isn't on the Wiki.

I think the top view is good (is there water on the camera lense of the first one?). Do you have editing access to the wiki?

@Leo, we've had a wiki editors conference and think the photo and information would be a good addition to the wiki. Please add them.

I checked the label of the Hermodactylus tuberosus

today, it is a collection from Crete.

Here is a picture of the seed pod.

Tropaeolum brachyceras

is starting to flower......

Bye for now

Today in the garden and greenhouse... Daffodils are Rijnvelds Early Sensation. primroses, camelia, muscari and last photo is pleione