What's Looking Good in August 2014

Datura wrightii....................


The good thing about the cooler weather that we're having is that the blooms last longer than a few hours of daylight.................


More Tricyrtis. This time it's "Taiwan Adbane".................

 

Another new one this year - Salvia cacaliifolia....................

 

The one bottom left has huge flowers, about 10cm across.

 

Wow, I love them! Like many people this year, I seem to have started off disliking Dahlias but am now obsessed with them! I wish I'd joined the bandwagon earlier, instead I'm planning for next year. What are the names of the top left and bottom left ones? I really want some red or dark purple ones that really glow

 

If you see some you like in your neighbourhood just ask if you can take a cutting. They root easily in water in autumn, can be kept going like that over the winter and then potted up in the spring when the vegetation starts growing again.

 

Would you use compost/medium from preference? I have some I want to multiply-up, and the plants are not very big yet, so Spring cuttings will be limited I think ... so looking for Best Way

How best to keep them going? Just a reasonable frost free temperature, or would you recommend supplemental light too?

 

@JackJJW I have just checked, the red one is Garden Wonder and the dark purple/burgundy one is Arabian night. Think both were bought as tubers from Taylor's. I took an early cutting of Garden Wonder so I have 2! Arabian night is huge, double the size of my other dahlias.

 

I'm going to wait for spring, they catch up really well. I have plants from cuttings now the same size as a normal plant. I did my cuttings by starting the tuber in a heated propagator on a layer of compost, worked very well. I then grew them on in mpc before planting out. Arabian night was reduced to a stump by slugs in April but recovered to be the biggest of them all. They grow quick in my experience. (Good soil and east facing)

 

Basically it was done on a whim when Sue snapped a branch in hers. I just trimmed it, stuck it in a jam jar and waited. Not a lot happened for a few weeks and then it started to form a "club foot". When that was well and truly calloused the roots started to come. I changed the water a few times but the vegetation only started growing again in March time (I think) which is when I put the root ball in water.
Out of choice I would use this method simply because it worked.

It was kept in the spare room over the winter.

I'll try to take a photo of it tomorrow - it grew like boogery this year!

 

My sedum spectabile flowers are starting to open and im getting very very excited lol

 

A selection of Tricyrtis (T.formosana at the back, Taipei Silk to the left at the front, and if you look closely there are a couple of Taiwan Adbane to the right)..................


Tricyrtis "Harlequin" is just starting to open too..................