Buddleja asiatica filling the greenhouse with its Freesia perfume
The Promise of Spring
The scented Camellia lutchuensis getting ready to flower
Lonicera x belgica producing new growth buds
Magnolia stellata, flower buds
more buds of Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus' about to open
Wonderful detail pics!
Thanks Moby, I'm glad you like them. They kind of remind me that spring is not too far away here, when things start growing like mad again! Can't wait!!
Matt
AMAZING! Thanks for showing them to we folks still in the cold zones!
Thanks Kay, our weather is a bit fickle here though, it can be mild one minute and cold the next. It's amazing though, how resilient some of the plants are, I think.
Matt
Well Matt, I see you got 4 of your lovely photos into PlantFiles!
Keep them coming. You don't know how handy they all can be to recognize buds and the plants themselves.
Awwwww, it makes me feel so homesick... :o(
Spider ~ where do you call home?
Hi Moby!
England!!!
Welcome to DG, I'm sure you'll find some truly wonderful folks here. Be sure to check the Round Up forum for get-togethers in your area.
(I go all the way to central Iowa to hang out with my gardening buddies, because I like them that much. In fact, I'm going tomorrow!)
Thanks everyone; and violabird, you know, it was you who inspired me to send those pictures in! So thanks to you!!
Matt
By the way, and totally off thread; here's a photo of one of my cats on an all out charm offensive and determined to take no prisoners!! He kind of gets jealous when I pay more attention to my plants than to him!!
GORGEOUS kitty! Please post more pics!
ok berrygirl. Here's another for you.........
I am in LOVE!!
Is it just the pics or is this beautiful kitty just a slight bit full-figured?
This message was edited Jan 14, 2006 8:36 PM
Hi berrygirl, a lot of it is his fur which is very thick in his breed; plus his male ruff which is the cat's equivalent of a lion's mane, but he is more prone to putting on weight than his brother, so i have to watch what he eats.
Matt
This message was edited Jan 15, 2006 6:39 PM
Mattadeus, could you post a photo of Camellia lutchuensis when it blooms?
thanks,
Gwendalou
Hi Gwendalou,
Yes; no problem. I'll keep you posted.
Matt
Hi Mattadeus - I bought a Chimonanthus praecox three years ago and another one last year. They were both pretty small when I bought them and have not grown much yet. I left them in pots but plan to put them in the ground this coming year. How old was your Chimonanthus praecox when it first started blooming? I was wondering how long I will have to wait. I don't see much information on this plant and I was thrilled to see that yours is blooming. Something for me to look forward to.
soilsandup,
I have heard that Chimonanthus take a while to settle in before flowering and certainly that was the case with the var. 'Luteus' pictured above which took 5 years before flowering. I was really interested the other day to find the plain species Chimonanthus praecox for sale in a pot; in bloom and only 2 feet high!! Of course I couldn't resist, especially as the scent of the flowers is at least twice as strong as those of 'Luteus'. 'Luteus' is great though, as the flowers are a really bright yellow and stand out well on the bush, whereas the flowers of the species are less bright. Close up, I think with the red staining in their centres, the species flowers are very interesting though. Hopefully this small plant will continue to flower for me each year. It would be a shame to wait such a long time again for such a glorious scent. I have found on the Luteus that continually pinching back the new shoots to about 2 pairs of leaves as they grow not only helps to keep the plant a manageable size but it also ripens the new wood faster on the bush and that it develops more flower buds as a result.The regular pinching-out also makes the bush denser and this means even more flowers!!
Edited to add:
I think your plant will really benefit from being planted in the ground. The 'Luteus' didn't make much growth in a pot for me either but really took off when planted in the garden.
Here is a photo of the species flowers that are on a bush only 2 feet high
This message was edited Jan 28, 2006 12:16 PM
Here is a close up of the flowers
Mattadeus - thank you so much for the information. I will try pinching the branches back as you suggested and patiently wait. I may put one plant in the ground and leave the other in the pot for a while longer.
I hope the plant blooms for you soon and that you don't have to wait too long.
I meant to say in the previous post, that it's important to pinch the shoots back to just above a pair of buds, as otherwise the piece of stem that's left above the buds can die back and allow disease to set in. This is the same for all shrubs really.
I usually get about 2-3 flushes of growth in a season after each pinching and so starting with one branch, if both buds break every time and grow, you can end up with a maximum of 8 new branches at the end of the season!
Feeding regularly, helps to form the new shoots, but try a bloom booster with low nitrogen from August onwards until the autumn, as this is when the plant is thinking about forming its flowers. The other important thing, especially with containerised Chimonanthus is not to allow the soil to dry out during the late summer onwards, as this can result in the buds being aborted, before you can even see them. That's another reason why they are better in the ground where the soil moisture is more constant.
Matt
Matt,
Thank you for posting all of the pictures (including your kitty). I am happy that I found this forum and I am really learning alot here. It is so nice of you to share with us.
This is also off topic - but I will send along a picture of one of my kitties, GC Countrylove's Lighthouse Lewie. I have been breeding and showing Shaded Silver Persians for over 25 yrs.
Shirley
Shirley she is absolutely stunning! You must be so proud of her with all the championships she has won. I love the 'We are not amused' expression she has. Very regal indeed!! Glad you are enjoying the forum and thank you for the kind words. Take care,
Matt