Re: Astelias
Was that kind and friendly, Margaret, to quote that mouth-watering
description of Astelia alpina? - with nary a plant or even a seed
within x thousand miles of W. Cumbria...
>Oz also has 5 species of Dracophyllum [no Ming].......we have D.minimum, D. milliganii, D. sayeri, D.secundum and D.fitzgeraldii. W &F say seed germinates readily but the seedlings are slow and difficult. They all seem to like cool and moist situations. Sounds like a job for Supertim!
Well, I'd happily nip into the potting shed and change into my
SuperTim the SuperPropagator's uniform (suggestions for what it should
look like?!) if only I'd got any seed to rapidly germinate. A case of,
To rapidly germinate where no seed has gone before...? (If only...)
If the seedlings really *are* difficult, that makes me even more
impressed than I already was by my octogenarian and his hefty and
clearly extremely healthy specimens.
I'll have a look in my old copies of Nindethana's list, just in case -
but I don't *think* they offer any Dracophyllum. Though it's amazing
what you don't find interesting when all you have to go on is a line
or two of catalogue description. Then you see an actual plant and
it's...Wow! *That* I must have...
Gales and floods again forecast for the UK west coast this weekend.
My, but this gets boring...
Tim
Tim Longville
