AlpineML

Dianthus nitidus

2010-01-26T08:17:00.003-05:00

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Dianthus nitidus, Waldst. & Kit.

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(click on the picture to enlarge)

Happy gardening! Zone 3.

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Blogs

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Saxifraga longifolia !!!

2010-01-10T11:07:00.002-05:00

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Saxifraga longifolia

Arisaema - Jack-in-the-pulpit

2009-12-26T13:15:00.002-05:00

Arisaema - Jack-in-the-pulpit

- petit prêcheur

(Also called, depending where you live in North America: Arum, Bog Onion, Cuckoo Flower, Indian Almond, Indian Turnip, Little Pulpit,Lords-and-ladies, Marsh Pepper, Meadow turnip, Pepper Turnip, Priest's Pentle, Starchwort,Three-leaved arum, Wild pepper, Wild turnip, Wood Pulpit)

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All started with seeds!

Seed stems as seen in October.

seed cleanup

Each berry contains usually 2 seeds.

The seeds out of the pulp resemble closely to its corms!

In cleaning the seeds from the spike, you may find dud seeds (empty); keep only the good bigger seeds.

In our nature-imitating environnement, the average number of seeds per stem is over 70.

Outside sowing in a prepared bed.
I keep the pulp because the seeds will be covered by sand.
(For me, the removal of pulp for this species has no effect on germination since I do not see difference in the germination results between the ones sown with the flesh and the ones sown without flesh.

When available, I sow the seeds, as they are (with pulp), in a prepared raised bed. Notice that I use sand or small gravel on top of seeds. This detail is more important with other natives that required seed coat scarifying. This way (sand surronding seed coat), I apply my observations from nature where you can notice that the biggest polulations of Arisaema seedlings are often along a stream from which the sand eroded. The Fall buried seed spend all winter under snow. (overwinter sowing).I often place a door screen over the sowing, mainly to slow the erosion effects of sudden heavy rain; also useful to restrain seed-eating birds and other critters.

Seeds are not ephemereal; you can keep them on the shelves or will stay in the ground until the condition for germination are present; at the plafce where I have sown, I have screen the soil 3 years later and the count of germinated plants and ungerminated seeds total the number of sown seeds, more or less 5%. The missing seeds can be attributed to many reasons, empty seed at sowing, eaten, ...

You can see the sand from which emerge seedlings the next spring.

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Though I place the sown seeds in the cold outside, you can sow inside at room temperature on the windowsill.

This heavy sowing in cells germinated after spending all winter in the snow, (last November 14th sowing).

Notice that the cells of the south side (background) are germinating faster that the ones on the north side (foreground).

When the seedlings are strong enough to be transplanted (July or August, the before the stem disappears), i place them in a flat that I bury the base in a bed:

Seedlings in July, freshly transplanted, sown last Fall. 3/4 of the flat is buried in native soil.

Some seeds germinate by sending a little root underground and a leaf will spring only on the second year.

The second year, still in flats.

Note that some seedlings are smaller and less robust.

When the season has been optimal for the Arisaema, I mean ovule feconcation, growing season, maturation, right collecting, right conservation, good seed management, correct sowing, ... I would say that near 100% of seeds will germinate in a year or two. In the litterature, those who reported less than 70% germination has not followed a 'natural-like' protocol or, their experimention has occured in a greenhouse or similar place that do not fully imitate nature.

Arisaema seeds germinates readily without help: it happened that I forgot outside a seed spike in the Fall and the seeds germinate around the mother plant, at least 60 new plants sometimes.

Dead seedlings: It is false to think that young seedlings will die more than older seedlings; my results indicated that 4 years after sowing the seedling count is the same. This is explained by the fact that the younger seedling will go dormant (leaf disappears but the corm is still undeground) more often under a stress (lack of water, leaf eaten by fauna, ...)

Good circulation of air is necessary to prevent an orange rust on the leaves. Although I have seed rust on some other plant, it is not enough to discard plants since I practice 2 things:

- cut the infected leaves even in growing season, the corm may send healthy foliage. I spray 70% alcohol over the place.

- I soak or spray alcohol over the seeds at sowing time, over the germinated seedlings when transplanting,

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Other pictures taken in the 22-years research process.

a week later:

Seeds or seedlings carried outside a creek bed by spring flooding.

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SOME SEED SOWING RESULTS

5 sowing were submitted to cold treatments:

respectively 12, 20, 20, 20 and 20 weeks at temperature oscillating between -10C et + 5C

these 5 sowing germinated respectively in 98, 200, 187, 190 and 198

Note that the first sample germinated 14 days after it was brought to warm: 20C

Direct sowing and keeping the sowings at 20C, without a period of cold, gaves these results:

88 and 56 days.

The presence of light in the day has no effect on the results. But the seeds that receive alternating daylight and dark at night germinate better than seeds which were kept constantly in the dark or constantly in the light.

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In addition to Arisaema seed sowing, I practiced 'corm simple scoring'

Quote: The North Dakota State University described scoring as follows:

Scoring: Scoring can be done by making three v-shaped cuts through the basal plate creating six pie-shaped sections. These cuts will destroy the main growing point and should reach just below the widest point of the bulb. The bulbs can be placed in a warm, dark place at high humidity for a few months. Scoring will produce 12-25 bulblets from the mother bulb. The bulblets can be planted in the fall and should sprout in spring. It usually takes scored bulblets 3 years to reach a good size bulb and flower.

Drawing by University of North Dakota

By simple scoring, I mean gentle but definitive scars lengthwise in 1-3mm deep below the surface. I am not practicing, coring, slicing, scooping or sectioning, I do practice the bottom scoring in which I do not take off the growing point, but I scar the bottom of a corm provoking more and bigger shoots

Next Spring, on April 20th (zone 5), previous Fall scored corms are sprouting.

A week later, some 2-stems appeared:

Out of 12 scored corms, 16 are sprouting in Spring, though 4 more will shoots during summer.

Here is an adult 2-stems Arisaema.

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FORCING INDOORS

Just for the pleasure, by August and September, pot some corms together and place them in a cold place (-4C to +5C) - or in the snow if you have it. By December 10th, bring the pot indoors at 20-25C. And enjoyed the bloom by Christmas:

So watch these coming out!
(Another way is to store the corms in a cool place until the first of December.
Then pot the corms and keep at warm temperature.)
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Castilleja - Paintbrush

2009-12-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

CASTILLEJA - Paintbrush

Wikipedia: “Castilleja, commonly known as Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire, is a genus of about 200 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native“

(Krystal Walek of Gardens North wrote:


Paintbrush roots are parasitic, attaching to a nearby host plant by haustoria roots that take nutrients from the host plant. This has led to the suggestion that a host is required for germination, which is not the case. However, it is true that seedlings will lose vigour and die at about the 5-10 leaf seedling stage unless they have a host (normally a small ornamental grass, such as Bouteloua) keeping it company.

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Castilleja haydenii
9x10cm
zone 3
A beautiful alpine dwarf

with finely-shredded flowers in dense spikes of various deep rosy-pink-lavender hues.

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Castilleja scabrida

9x15cm
zone 4
Dwarf tufts with greatly incised foliage and brilliant crimson flowers.

Growing on sandstone ledges.
From Thoreau:

"The Painted Cup is in its prime. It reddens the meadow, - Painted Cup meadow. It is a splendid show of brilliant scarlet, the colour of the Cardinal Flowers, and surpassing it in mass and profusion. I do not like the name. It does not remind me of a cup, rather of a flame when it first appears. It might be called Flame Flower, or Scarlet-tip. Here is a large meadow full of it, and yet very few in the town have ever seen it. It is startling to see a leaf thus brilliantly painted, as if its tip were dipped into some scarlet tincture surpassing most flowers in intensity of colour.“
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Some are natives in Québec and Ontario:

Castilleja septentrionalis, zone 1 , Baie James

photo : Marie-Hélène Fraser

Common in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (see article) published by the Canadian Museum of Nature

Others interestin species:

Maureen and Glen in Regina, Canada show nice pictures of a Saskatchewan natives: Castilleja sessiflora

Blogs

Saxifraga pictures essay

2009-11-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Here is a few pictures of Saxifragas

Please feel free to send comments, name corrections or more pictures.

Saxifraga aizoides - in nature, photo by Marie Hélène Fraser

Saxifraga aizoides - photo _BOTANIK-IM-BILD

Saxifraga Allen Betty - by Cliff Booker

Saxifraga apiculata

Saxifraga apiculata 'Pseudo-Pungens'

Saxifraga arendsii (hyb.)

Saxifraga Bohemia

Saxifraga brachycarpa

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Saxifraga bronchialis

Saxifraga bronchialis Vespertina

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Saxifraga camposii

Saxifraga carniolaca

Saxifraga cernua - Photo Marie Hélène Fraser

Saxifraga cespitosa - variable

................................................ by Marie Hélène Fraser

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Saxifraga callosa

Saxifraga callosa Albertii

Saxifraga callosa X S. cochlearis

Saxifraga cochlearis

Saxifraga cochlearis Minor

Saxifraga Coolock Gem - By Cliff Booker

Saxifraga correvonsis Alba

Saxifraga corymbosa

Saxifraga cotyledon

Saxifraga cuneifolia

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Saxifraga (X) engleri

Saxifraga engleri Carniolaca

Saxifraga exarata

Saxifraga X gaudinii

Saxifraga georgei - Cliff Booker

Saxifraga (x) geum

Saxifraga (x) haagii - by Clovis

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Saxifraga hirculus

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Saxifraga hostii

Saxifraga hyperborea - Marie Hélène Fraser

Saxifraga hypnoides

Saxifraga Lismore Carmine - Photo Cliff Booker

Saxifraga Lismore Gem - Photo Cliff Booker

Saxifraga London Pride (ShutterStock)

Saxifraga longifolia

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Saxifraga macnabiana

Saxifraga marginata

Saxifraga moschata Variegata

Saxifraga mutata ssp. demissa

Saxifraga nivalis

Saxifraga oppositifolia - Photo Cliff Booker

Saxifraga oppositifolia Theoden - Photo Cliff Booker

Saxifraga paniculata

Saxifraga paniculata Minor - Clovis

Saxifraga paniculata - nature - Marie Hélène Fraser

Saxifraga paniculata Dr Clay

Saxifraga (x) poluanglica - Photo Cliff Booker

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Saxifraga punctata

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Saxifraga Purple Robe

Saxifraga rosacea

Saxifraga rotundifolia

Saxifraga sachilinensis

Saxifraga sempervivum - Photo Cliff Booker

Saxifraga Southside seedling

Saxifraga (X polita) seedling

Saxifraga stellaris

Saxifraga Tove Usmlu - - Photo Cliff Booker
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Saxifraga tricuspidata - Marie Hélène Fraser
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Saxifraga urbium Aureo-punctata

Saxifraga urbium Variegata

Saxifraga vandelii

Saxifraga (Micranthes) virginiensis

Saxifraga Weisser Zwerg

Saxifraga Whitehills

Saxifraga Winifred Bevington

2009 Alpines remembered - 1

2009-11-24T19:32:00.006-05:00

(This blog is for all the alpine plant lovers and everyone in the Ottawa Valley area, both sides of the river, is welcome to post pictures and stories; this issue is sent to many, but apply as a reader in order to receive it in the future)

The end of November, by Majella Larochelle

Gentiana acaulis, she was the first one to bloom!

And the Willow Gentian, Gentiana asclepiadea, the last

Alpine Aster

I like to plant a Phuopsis stylosa in a soil in which nothing else will grow!

Pulsatilla lutea - the final Touch to get a true yellow Pasqueflower

Rhodiola rosea or Sedum roseum is dressed with so many colors!

but I love its foliage:

Saxifraga 'London's Pride'has no competitors!

Sedum telephium is the ancestor of so many S. spectabile cultivars

In Spring, so many color blooms gave me the chance to make a collage.

Sometimes, I freeze them in ice cubes for a drink... making conversation easier!

the drink, not the ice cubes