May 2024

[Carlos]

Hi again, it seems that Stenomesson leucanthum is a real Stenomesson. Here the original illustration by Ravenna



The plant DOES NOT SEEM Rimmer's plant.

And a link to Meerow's paper

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266271150_Pucara_Amaryllidaceae_Reduced_to_Synonymy_with_Stenomesson_on_the_Basis_of_Nuclear_and_Plastid_DNA_Spacer_Sequences_and_a_New_Related_Species_of_Stenomesson

I know I guy who lives in the area where it and S. chloranthum occur, he is more interested on Hippeastrum but has seen the plants, I hope he gets some seeds.

[Martin Bohnet]

Lets start off-classic, with Phlomoides tuberosa - glorious detail, far less impressive as whole plant - I may need more of them for an effect, but they are actually quite popular with the slugs...

Third is Luzuriaga radicans from the Altroemeriaceae,as the twisted leaves hint at. Smallish plant, evergreen and so maybe not too tuberous...

On the orchid front it's Dactylorhiza time, with the pale Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. ochroleuca and a purple one I can't really put a label on since most species are hellish difficult to tell apart. On the sphagnum I seem to start to get seedlings of Dactylorhiza, guess there are worse things than a weedy orchid...

On the classical iris front we have Iris sibirica "Butter and Sugar" and Iris fulva

. Staying within Iridoideae, last one is Moraea huttonii

, which flowered 1.5 years after planting - last spring, half-grown stalks were aborted. I hope that's just a temporal effect during establishing, they are too nice to be erratic. Hardy to at least -11°C

[Arnold]

A mysterious appearance.

Ornithogalum magnum

[Too Many Plants!]

This will about wrap it up for May...I have a Gladiolus that may flower in May. We'll see...

1- Watsonia Meriana

2- And, I'll have to find my info on the pink flower...Ok, bought it as Habranthus Robustus.

3- well...not a bulb, or a flower. But, a wonderful Garden encounter today right near that pink flower! Cali Horny Toad!! This is a young little guy, that was SO DARN CUTE! Like a tiny Dinosaur 🦖...

[Carlos]

Hi, as Rimmer recently taught me, the pink flower could be Zephyranthes x floryi 'Green Base'.

The lizard is amazing, is this that one that shoots blood from the eyes?

[Too Many Plants!]

Hi, as Rimmer recently taught me, the pink flower could be Zephyranthes x floryi 'Green Base'.

The lizard is amazing, is this that one that shoots blood from the eyes?

Hi Carlos.

Yes, that's them. The California Horned lizard. There are different locale types (species maybe?). I'm born and lived my whole life here, always been a reptile fan, caught and released so many snakes and lizards I couldn't count. Caught many of these guys over the years too, and never once seen one squirt blood, but they're said to do that.

I bought the pink flowered bulb as Habranthus Robustus. I think the flower is quit nice, and bigger than my other Habranthus for sure.

[Mikent]

The flowers look a bit large for plain Habranthus robustus. Probably Habranthus robustus 'Russell Manning.'

Mike
In Z6 Finger Lakes where it is currently raining torrentially.

[Carlos]

Ok. I think I saw footage of that, but could have been a fake.

This is not fake: i was cleaning some wild corms of Colchicum aff. montanum and I saw a tiny seedling which had germinated in the very neck formed by the tunics. 

Surely the seed fell into the hole formed after the leaves and stalk dry up and germinated just below the ground.

[Carlos]

I had some bulbs of Eucrosia bicolor I managed to import from Thailand (yes, it's easy to find in the US) in a bag with substrate to send to a colleague, and when I went to look for them this is what I found. They must be got wet with the last rain (over a month ago)...



So my colleague will have to wait, or I'll have to bring them to Barcelona (he is on chemo unfortunately, but it seems to be working).

[Too Many Plants!]

Closing out May...it's amazing what a couple days of warm weather can bring out in the garden.

1- Gladiolus 'Atom' or 'Atomic' (considered a 1940's hybrid of Dalenii). A nice reliable garden Glad, great color and presence in the garden. One of the earliest Glads when I was just getting into SA bulbs to add in my garden.

2- more common Amaryllis that I'm trying to get looking good in my sunny SoCal garden. Another couple's first season looking pretty good for a few days in the sun.

3- Progress shots of my Watsonia Meriana.

Farewell May. Here comes the heat!

[Rdevries]

Sprecklia howardii a few days ago 

[Martin Bohnet]

Seems my very wet May wil end in a very wet finale - until Sunday there are about 150l/m² predicted - let's hope the rivers can deal with this... anyway, yesterday there was a sunny break in between showers, allowing for some wet flower beauty shots:

Lets start with the Alliums: Allium cristophii

already sparkles when dry, but the water adds another layer. For such a big plant it's astonishingly weedy seeding around. Allium obliquum

Height:	60-100 cm (2-3.3 ft)
Flower Colors:	yellow
Flower Season:	late spring to early summer

is more well behaved but multiplies enough to be slowly moved to more places in the garden - too bad the timing is a little bit off this year as they are brilliant in combination with European gladiolus.

Speaking about combinations: the next one is Iris filifolia

with Beschorneria septentrionalis - the latter one being a classic example what should not be on the wiki (together with Hesperaloe) but also a favorite in seed exchange. Staying on the Iris topic, the Iris spuria

s really put up a show. If anyone has an idea as to why the upper leaves turn yellow? couldn't bee too dry as we're drowning, so it may be too wet?

Also going for mass effect is one of the summer Oxalis, I think it's Oxalis stipularis, we may have to add that to the Wiki in time. Less weedy and more of a pain to bulk up some stock is of course Weldenia candida

- give me another 5 years and I can contribute some to the EX 

Last but not least is my first flower of Tigridia chiapiensis - it seems to be easy for some but I always failed to grow them from seed so I had to resort to buying a bulb. Sidenote on Tigridia: This year, several pavonias have survived the winter planted out in the garden. climate change, hooray!

[Rdevries]

Hippeastrum solandriflorum
Been waiting 8 years for a bloom. Long flowers 

[Too Many Plants!]

Seems my very wet May wil end in a very wet finale - until Sunday there are about 150l/m² predicted - let's hope the rivers can deal with this... anyway, yesterday there was a sunny break in between showers, allowing for some wet flower beauty shots:

Lets start with the Alliums: Allium cristophii

already sparkles when dry, but the water adds another layer. For such a big plant it's astonishingly weedy seeding around. Allium obliquum

Height:	60-100 cm (2-3.3 ft)
Flower Colors:	yellow
Flower Season:	late spring to early summer

is more well behaved but multiplies enough to be slowly moved to more places in the garden - too bad the timing is a little bit off this year as they are brilliant in combination with European gladiolus.

Speaking about combinations: the next one is Iris filifolia

with Beschorneria septentrionalis - the latter one being a classic example what should not be on the wiki (together with Hesperaloe) but also a favorite in seed exchange. Staying on the Iris topic, the Iris spuria

s really put up a show. If anyone has an idea as to why the upper leaves turn yellow? couldn't bee too dry as we're drowning, so it may be too wet?

Also going for mass effect is one of the summer Oxalis, I think it's Oxalis stipularis, we may have to add that to the Wiki in time. Less weedy and more of a pain to bulk up some stock is of course Weldenia candida

- give me another 5 years and I can contribute some to the EX 

Last but not least is my first flower of Tigridia chiapiensis - it seems to be easy for some but I always failed to grow them from seed so I had to resort to buying a bulb. Sidenote on Tigridia: This year, several pavonias have survived the winter planted out in the garden. climate change, hooray!

Hi Martin, is that Beschorneria in pic #809?

[Carlos]

Hi, Rimmer, that plant is amazing!! Press dry a piece of a green leaf for me, please...

Yes it is a Beschorneria!! I hadn't paid attention.

I hope the level of the river is lower now...