December flora fest

Hi I havent posted in here for a while, but the photos below were taken recently. Nice to see flowers still blooming despite the fact it's one third the way through Meterological winter! (The photos below are from Ness Botanic Gardens)

for what it's worth there are many flowers still out on my garden, and the mild weather really is helping with some new growth.. anyway enjoy.



An improbably survivor, I struggle to have Fuchsia triphylla make it past November usually, as the lightest frost mushes it completely!

 

Welcome back Stephen,

And happy Christmas to you.

Sorry, your post got automatically moderated by the spam filter, sorted now.

Thanks for the pics of colour in the depths of winter

 

No worries Ziggy, in all fairness it was suggested it could happen, no damage done! Merry Christmas!

The colour is surprising, not just some colour but lots of it, much like mid summer!

 

Lots of things flowering down in Dorset too, don't know what they are though, i'm veg and wild flower department. Will take a few pics tommorow.

 

Plenty happening there Stephen!

Is that Salvia elegans - mine is still flowering too.

Which Cupphea is that? It's a gem!

 

Cuphea cyanea I believe. I'd love to get a cutting from Ness if it is possible but I'm not sure they can strike from cuttings - I doubt they can

 

Nice pics Stephen, I have been there many times and it has benefited from the recent improvements.:thumb:

 

Nice photos Stephen. Not far from you, but I also have some flowers, mainly geranums flowering. Fuschias have just stopped and will need some drastic pruning as usual.

I have a hardy bamboo in a pot, also some acers. Can they be pruned too?

 

Hardy Bamboo will just need a really good soaking Mike, I remember last year when the hard freeze hit in December, the Bamboo got really hard hit, not because of the cold, but because of the lack of water as everything was locked up in ice. So the Bamboo's will benefit from a really good soaking, even in a pot, and it doesn't matter if there is a frost due, it'll take it in stride fairly well, and hopefully reward you with a lush appearance in Spring. Like you, I have a small bamboo in a pot, lined with blue flowered lobelias.

Acers should be fine to prune, preferably in winter, but not new growth - I noticed last year on our Acer we got flowers for the first time ever, but I realise now why this was, the plant is actually dying - the type of Acer I have tends not to flower unless it is coming to the end of it's life - unfortunately it had been moved and they hate being moved - so the trunk has started to rot - sad, but it will have to be replaced. A good prune shouldn't hurt too much though, about now - unless it's showing new shoots of growth for Springtime.

 

Stephen. Nice pictures,promted me to look at one of my fuchsias still in flower,the day after boxing day.most years its still in flower in december,probably as its near my south facing south wall,its a lovely small flowered hardy called "Lottie Hobby"a worty addition to any collection.

 

Yes Howard I believe it is one of the only all year round flowering Fuchsias available, and one that is evergreen, it's a pretty special plant. Most tend to mark it at zone 9B - I'm not sure about that as it seems much hardier.. do you know the exact ID? I seem to be seeing it as Fuchsia microphylla - however I've seen it incorrectly labelled as Fuchsia procumbens, which it clearly isn't.

edit: I think it's actually Fuchsia thymifolia! Hardy to -12C which seems to make more sense. Always been evergreen though as far as Ive seen it.

 

Stephen,Ive grown it for years,and its definatly Lottie Hobby.

A very bushy and floriferous cultivar bred by a Mr Edwards in Great Britian, 1839.

It has tiny crimson pink flowers on a smallish bush with equally tiny leaves (under 1/4 inch). The stems are quite thin, reddish and easy to train to a shape or bonsai. The flowers are followed by tiny black berries.

This Fuchsia is an Encliandra type cultivar from Central America. The Encliandras (a group of about 5 or 6 species) live at a high altitude, which means they are hardier than many Fuchsias and tolerate drier conditions.

Regards Howard

 

I found flower buds on my Fuchsia perscandens this morning.............

 

Is this much earlier than usually LK? I'm not familiar at all with F. perscandens, and there appears to be little info on the net.

 

Thanks Howard, it does seem this Encliandra fuchsias can indeed, if lucky, flower all year around in a normal winter.


ps LongK I didnt realise you posted on HTUK!