Saxifrages info

I decided to start a new thread as the old saxifrage one was getting quite long. The Kabschia and Porophyllum Saxifrages I showed in the Saxifrages for Foliage thread are hardy to at least zone 4. My brother in Calgary has several and he is in zone 3b. Some of the silver or encrusted saxifrages are hardy into zone 2! In hotter areas, they all benefit from some shade from hot afternoon sun. Give them an eastern exposure and they would do fine. In cooler summer areas like the Pacific NW and Atlantic Canada they can take full sun no problems. Here's a pic of S. apiculata 'Alba', a Kabschia type. It is still buried under snow but the couple that are now exposed are showing buds.

Hi, Todd, I need some info, please.

I bought a Saxifraga x irvingii "Harry Marshall" in December. In February it bloomed for weeks. Now it looks as if a whole section of it is dying. The top of one half of it is turning brown. It's in a small pot, planted in a mixture of cactus planting mix, aquarium sand, and grit. We have had a lot of rain, interspersed with some really hot days, in the last month. Does that give you a clue? What can I do?

Hey Jamie, if you read this: Where did you go? We miss your input. I still didn't get the Mineo book. I made the mistake of springing for a new one. I should have bought a used copy. They usually arrive faster.

I have the Mineo book...highly recommended. Sax's can sometimes have sections die to the whole plant. It might be just a fungal problem or some sort of soil insect problem. The wet shouldn't bother it if well drained. The heat is also a possibility as the Sax's do not like too much heat. Keep it somewhere where it can get morning sun but afternoon shade. You will have to cut out the dead section I expect. I hate to say it, but your area might be just too hot for Saxifrages. The best plants I've seen were in the UK (especially Scotland), Vancouver, BC and in Atlantic Canada...all which have reasonably coolish summers relative to most of North America.

Thanks, Todd, for the info. I'll get rid of the suspect section. I haven't really had much trouble growing saxifrages, maybe because I have so many trees. They seem to love dappled shade in my gardening zone. This is my first irvingii, however, and they might be more demanding. I really want it to pull through because the blooms were magnificent.

The Mineo book did not arrive in today's mail either. I'm really anxious to see it, although I know I won't get anything else done for a few days after it arrives. Do you have a little book called "Eyewitness Garden Handbooks: Rock Garden Plants"? It doesn't look like much on the surface, but it has more than 500 luscious pictures of rock garden plants.

Never heard of that book. Sounds intriguing. Species saxifrages are generally more demanding than hybrids....I have trouble with S. irvingii myself so don't feel bad.

Hey Zuzu,

I got my Eyewitness book...and you were right. I opened the package and thought "well, not much of a book...", and promptly got engrossed for over 30 minutes before I opened any other mail!! What a neat little book!! And the photography...WOW!! It just goes to show - you can't judge a book by its cover, or its thickness...LOL :)

I can NOT believe you don't have your book yet!! It can be so frustrating, especially when you splurge and buy new, then wait and wait...hope it comes very soon. Get all your chores done now, because after it comes you will be worthless for a while, just sitting there with your nose in your new favorite book...LOL :o)
Happy Gardening!!
Jamie

Jamie, I'm so glad you like that book. It's just a little book, but talk about getting a lot of bang for the buck! I used it as a guide when I bought my saxifrages. Bought almost every one in those pictures so far. I also want every single plant on pages 74 and 75. In fact, I keep the book open to those pages when I'm not looking at it. All that pink automatically cheers me up immensely when I walk past the book, no matter what else is going on in my life. I already have the two Lewisias on those pages, but the rest are proving to be more elusive. The Armeria juniperifolia is coming from Alpines Mont Echo, I think. The Silene acaulis was supposed to have come from Siskiyou, but he ran out of it.

Oh my word...I just ordered Silene auculis, as well as 3 of the other 14 Silenes in one catalog! It is so very pretty, I can not wait to get some of these orders...I also ordered a dionysia knowing full well I will probably kill it AGAIN. What is the saying, don't quit on a plant until you have killed it three times?? This will only be the second...LOL :)If you would like to know of this nursery I will let you know after I see the plants...hate to recommend and find out they are BAD....Should know soon enough...more soon!
Jamie

Which catalog has 14 silenes? Silene and lychnis are special favorites of mine. I have many of the larger varieties. In fact, I probably couldn't get rid of them if I tried. They're among those plants you plant once and then have forever because they are so promiscuous that they reseed all over the place. Years ago, I planted Lychnis atrosanguinea, Nigella, and Godetia. One plant of each. Now they pop up everywhere every year--in the flower beds, in pathways, in containers, even in the driveway. Actually, they are welcome and they're easy to pull out of anyplace I don't want them. The Arum is not welcome. Someone in my neighborhood planted Arum once. By the time I moved here 20 years ago, half of my garden was infested with it. Now it has moved to all of the 40 houses in my neighborhood. It covers our gardens for months, growing so tall that we can't see any small plants until March when the Arum dies down. It's impossible to kill, even with Roundup (Shhh, don't let anyone in Sonoma County know I use Roundup...). The Arum is one of the main reasons I have a lot of containers. That and the gophers. I have millions of them (and they don't want the Arum either).

I just killed a sweet little Silene dinarica in one of my redwood containers. Not sure what happened, but maybe the cats were sleeping on it before I put all of those chopsticks between the plants. Actually, it might have been sick when I got it from Siskiyou. It hadn't broken dormancy yet and it never got more than one little sprig of green before it died.