Re: Kew-eries
Many thanks to Moira and Dave for solutions to some of my mysteries -
some of them self-induced, some Kew-induced.
That is, I swear, your honours, that the Kew label had the Doryanthes
as 'Tasmania.' That was the reason for my surprise: if from Tas., then
why not UK hardy? Perhaps their seed came from one of the Tas-grown
specimens (I'm trying to find a way to let them off the hook!).
Dave: I'm sure you're right about not enough overall daytime heat,
either in winter OR in summer, being the crucial factor (rather than
excessive night-time cold) with many of these marginal southern
hemisphere plants. I know it's what Tony Entwistle found with Xeronema
when he grew it in Cheshire - he could keep it alive outside ok but
there was never enough heat to make it flower - so eventually it went
under glass at Tatton and - bingo! (That's where my own division came
from. Not tried in the ground here - if Tony couldn't manage to flower
it in Cheshire there didn't seem much point trying 150 miles further
north - but doing well in a pot in a sunny window.)
Re the Dietes. The Kew clump was huge and had clearly flowered. You
could always TRY asking for a pinch of seed, at least. Faint heart
never won fair whatnot...
Moira: Yes, P. crassifolium IS available in the UK. I have it here.
Though it's never flowered (lack of suitable heat, again, perhaps?
even P. tenuifolium is a reluctant flowerer here) so an
insurance-policy pinch of seed would indeed be welcome! The nursery at
Greenway Gardens in Devon (Agatha Christie's old garden, just taken
over by the National Trust, whose first 'civilised' step is apparently
going to be to close down the nursery...) used to offer the variegated
form. I don't know anyone else who does. There are also available over
here (a) a tough and attractive cross between crassifolium and
tenuifolium (which I have), (b) a cultivar called 'Napier', (c) a
cultivar called 'Havering Dwarf.' Both of those from Graham Hutchings
at County Park who specialises in importing stuff from NZ so I imagine
that's where these came from. Does the name 'Havering' ring any bells?
Back to Dave's message for a couple of concluding frivolities:
>
>Glad you got back safely Tim. My drive back here was uneventful apart
>from discovering that the clutch on my was giving up the ghost!
And so was my train journey apart from missing a connection in
Carlisle and having to spend several hours in a Carlisle pub waiting
for the next. Really painful...
>
>Having just discovered that sitting outside my local pub drinking in
>the fragrance of the huge Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) nearby, is
>every bit as refreshing as drinking the 'old amber nectar' (thats beer
>to everyone else). I got more than enough of both yesterday afternoon
>so I was double refreshed!
Reminds me to add (1) that Acacia boormanii in the Australasian rock
beds at Kew was a picture - only 5ft high but 12ft broad and covered
in a thin mist of thousands of tiny yellow flower-clusters (I had it
here once but lost it to damp rather than cold, I think; the sight of
the Kew creature made me determined to try it again), (2) that the
Flower & Firkin pub by Kew Gardens station is a nice mix of a home
from home for exhausted horticultural and botanical enthusiasts and a
cheerful gang of locals all (over-)acting like escaped extras from the
TV soap, Eastenders. A pleasaant place to finish a pleasant morning...
Cheers
Tim
>
Tim Longville
