JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
31st May 2009
Tulbaghia acutiloba .
It has been a week for first flowerings. Warmth all week and a little bit of rain have meant that things are growing at a phenomenal rate.
I was away in Hereford on saturday, and when I got back so much had opened it was like being away for a week (but without the relaxation
of a holiday).
This Tulbaghia came from Silverhill Seeds in South Africa. There are a lot of Tulbaghia species in cultivation and the
names and identities are a little confused, so I was trying to get hold of material that was unlikely to be of hybrid origin,
and I think I have succeeded!
Growing in the Eastern Cape, the small flowers with reflexed tepals are distinctive. All of the Tulbaghia are in flower together
at the moment in the greenhouse, so there will be a lot of illegitimate babies next year!
31st May 2009
Pogonia japonica .
This is the Japanese equivalent of Pogonia ophioglossoides from the USA. I grow them side by side, and to be honest I can't see the difference
so it is possible that this is wrongly named (or alternatively there is little significant difference) although it came from a reliable source.
Both species have thin hair like rhizomes - this one came wrapped in a few strands of sphagnum moss and I wasn't entirely sure
there was anything in the packet!
It grows in wet bogs, and has done well here in a carpet of growing Sphagnum on top of an open peat compost, kept standing in water.
31st May 2009
Roscoea humeana lutea .
I grow a number of plants from seed every year, and I seem to spend too much time grumbling in the background when they don't turn out to be the
promised species, so this is a double pleasure. Not only is it amazingly beautiful, even as a young plant stuck in a pot, but it is also true to name!
The Roscoea have started to flower, and already there have been a few surprises caused when seeds have germinated in the pots unexpectedly.
With Roscoea unexpected surprises are usually enexpected delights!
31st May 2009
Dactylorhiza purpurella .
This is my second attempt with the Northern Marsh Orchid. Perhaps it doesn't like being grown this far south. I had assumed that a marsh orchid
would prefer marshy conditions, but when I provided them, my earlier plant died back with a finality that makes the "back" part of that
phrase entirely redundant.
These plants are now becoming quite easily available, thanks to the wonders of in-vitro culture and the growers blueprints that have been developed,
so when I saw another one for sale at Cornwall Garden Society Show in the spring I was determined to give it another try, and it has grown well
in a dryish compost. I may eventually get to the point where I have to divide it!
To find particular groups of plants I grow, click on the genus name in the table above. Click on the "Index" box at the top of the page for the full list.
I have a lot of good intentions when it comes to updating this site, and I try to keep a note
about what is going on, if you are interested.
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