Whats Looking Good in August....

Superb Dat Rich

Agreed about US Zones, We often have periods like this year's Spring 'Beast From The East' when we had snow, frost, and wet and windy weather with some warm days in between. Frost/thaw cycles do far more damage than a hard dry winter. We have also had a sustained drought here where I don't think we've had real rain for about 8 weeks. It's not always been as baking hot as down south but everything is getting tinder dry. We are forecast torrential rain for SE Scotland but so far apart from one rumble of thunder in the night and a damp and misty morning there's nothing to make the gound wet.

 

Rich, that's a great flower, think I prefer the darker edge.

 

Frogesque, love that Lavateria, very delicate. The Dat does seem to be changing colour, Rich! Neither of my Brugs have so much as a bud on them ... the pink one had about a dozen blooms earlier and the white one still nothing!

My hardiness zone is pretty correct (highs 30-40c, lows -1-4C) but I must admit I do find the UK one very odd. My book says the ratings are of expected minimum temperatures. It says my zone 10 is "mostly frost-free", that is Algarve only, the rest of Portugal is 9. We do get a little frost every year ... from Alentejo (province above us) up they all get frosts and heavy snow.

 

I've just contacted the person who sent me the seeds. They were white when she grew them last year, but had some purple dats nearby.

I don't know if the seeds from this batch will produce white or ones coloured like this next year.

It's all rather exciting.

 

Despite it being relatively 'ordinary', I always get a bit of kick when this flowers in one of the shadiest spots in the border. It is a form of Hedychium densiflorum - one of the hardiest of all of the gingers and glows like a neon torch in the gloom of a wet morning. In full sun, this one starts in late June/early July, but in shade it takes its time. Individually the flowers are small, less than 1cm. long, but collectively on a densely packed spike that can grow to 25cms. they make quite a statement.



[ 19. August 2006, 02:40 AM: Message edited by: DaveP ]

 

This Justicia is starting to look quite nice as well. It is the glossy leaved form of J. carnea and has wonderfully lush leaves that are purplish black on their undersides. The bracts are a similar colour, contrasting well with the pink flower buds as they open. I have this in warm dappled shade where it grows to around 1.2m. Being decidedly sub-tropical in requirements it cannot tolerate frosts for any great duration and must be heavily mulched in autumn. Not a plant for most UK gardens I'm afraid, but rather special nevertheless and it makes a good pot specimen for the conservatory or frost free greenhouse.

 

love dahlia 'edinburgh' f
is there one called 'glesga'?

 

Dave P- congratulations on getting a result with Hedychiums - have tried for two years now with no success in the flowering department - foliage looks great but...............

 

Thanks, but they really are very easy to grow and flower. Lots of sun for almost all of them, an enriched, well-drained soil plus masses of water in summer. Admittedly the last is somewhat difficult in years like this when there's a hose-pipe ban in some regions. It is also important to select the right hybrids and species if temperatures in your area dip sharply in autumn.

Anything with much Hedychium coronarium in its background is best avoided since that species is decidedly tricky to get into flower before late autumn out of doors. Although it grows well and appears to be quite hardy, it needs very hot weather for a long period to perform reliably well. In a greenhouse it is fine, but outside it is reluctant to say the least. I could never get it to flower before November here so out it went.

Hybrids with H. coccineum in their background usually do exceptionally well, but fragrance can be lacking. 'Tara' is brilliant in many regions and can really pack a punch with its foot long spikes of vivid orange on top of tall canes of blue green foliage. 'Pink Hybrid' is also good, but beware of 'Pink V', which is very shy by comparison. Conversely, there's a couple of creamy yellow gardnerianum x coronarium crosses which contradict the norm. One that grows well at Great Dixter - 'Devon Cream' should be fine with most living in southern counties. It's a great hybrid with lots of fragrance.

Many of the species are also good - obviously H. gardnerianum, but it wants a warm spot and loads of water. H. spicatum, yunannense and forrestii are very reliable, but maybe the flowers are a bit too spidery for some. Any of the H. densiflorum forms are dead certs. 'Assam Orange' is supposedly the best, but a lot of plants offered under that name are seedlings or worse still, seedlings of seedlings with thin poor spikes, so you need to select the plants in flower or at least be certain of your source. 'Stephen ' - a primrose yellow form is very good, provided you get the true variety and not a seed raised variant.

 

I've got a bit keen on gingers lately, and had a fine H.coronarium 'Lunar Moth' flowering last year, now making up vegetative stock I presume since theres plenty of leaf but no inflorescence visible, but not a lot of luck with my Cautlea gracilis (OK tell the truth; it's now dead). I think it may become an obsession...What info would you suggest I consult to get the best out of these magnificent beings.

 

Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) Apparently it rarely produces viable seed so propagation is by division of the tuberous root. It's a bit tender so is best grown either in a container and lifted in for winter or treated like a Dahlia and the tubers stored in a cool dark frost free place.

Looking good and will bloom 'till the first frost and it really does smell of chocolate!

 

Let's also hear it for the Glads!

 

That cosmos looks almost jewel like frogesque, it's gorgeous. I could wear it as a brooch :D

 

:eek: :eek:

Soooooo many flowers, thats is a mass with flowers. Whats your secret