Once again my Rhodohypoxis and Rhodoxis are out doing them selves.
I did not have room in the tunnel house, to dry store them this year, so just left them to their own way. Rain, hail, frosts, and even a bit of snow this winter. Rhodohypoxis, are a native to Southern Africa. Mainly in the Drakensberg Mountains. This area is mainly Summer rainfall and dryish Winters. They grow from smallish tubers, flower in spring and summer and die down in winter. They have small flowers no more than 15 cm tall. in colours of Red, Pink and White, and with mixtures in-between. I use a mix of, 1 bag Daltons potting mix and half a bag of their large pumice, I add a bit more fertiliser, I use “Novatec Premium” not to much or you will only have lots of leaves. Very easy to divide, as when you de-pot they fall to pieces, or just pull the tubers apart. Easy to grow from seed, a bit harder to find seed tho. I sow mine on the same mix that I repot in, Put through a wide sieve, to take out the larger mix. Tamp down, water, sow seed and cover with grit. I just leave in the prop house on bench. keep moist and wait. They will usually flower in their second or third year. I repotted a few of the scarcer ones, and potted on my seedlings, and divided up some of my newer ones. I'm always finding new ones, but some are just the old forms renamed. I'm always interested in swapping plants. So if you think that you might have one I don’t have, we could do a swap. Happy growing.
4 Comments
Oxalis versicolor and its forms. That dreaded word in gardening circles, “OXALIS”, If you are going to fall in love with a weed, take care they become a disease like Orchiditis. I got the disease years ago when i was about 12. Fell in love with one of the worst ones, Oxalis pes-caprae, the dreaded yellow one. It grew from there, and now i have about 50-60 species and forms, all grown in pots and trays. If you put them in the ground leave them there. This blog is about one species. If you are going to fall in love with Oxalis . This is the species to do it. Oxalis versicolor, Candycane sorrel, Peppermint Stick, Barbers Pole, its common names. we have 3 forms here in NZ, and a 4th pretending to be. The last one is rather rare, I only know of one lot. No1. The first form, not quite common is Oxalis versicolor, typical. This has a white flower with a narrow red edge to it. Quite fast to bulk up and makes a good clump in 4-5 years. No2. this form is rare in NZ, Oxalis versicolor “BC” (Brian Casey). Found in this Guys garden, His mother had been growing for years. A white flower with a wide red edge , almost covering the white. A plant that really stands out. makes a nice clump in 4-5 years. No3. this form is so rare, but slowly being bulked up. Oxalis versicolor “Multi-petaled”. Hard to describe. A plant to drool over, a flower to make even the confirmed Oxalis haters, go into orgasmic throws :) The buds are quite plump with a widest red band, opening up slowly, a ring of white petals then smaller petals and a bunch up in the middle, all showing the red stripe. the photos do not do it justice. And the pretender is Oxalis tenuifolia, very rare in NZ. White with a reddish/purple edge. Photos below. Its that time of the year in NZ, its Galanthus time. I have had a love for these plants since i was a teenager. I brought a few at great cost from a small Nursery in the South Island. Living in Napier at that time, I had a great flowering the first year, and from then on they slowly withered away to nothing. To high temps and not cold enough in the winters for them.
Three years ago we moved down to the lower North Island. A little township, called Norsewood. We are about 1 kilometre from the Ruahine Range’s . Snow and frosts in the winter. So i tried again. 3 years later and im having good luck with my bulbs. I grow them in contaners, until we get the areas to plant them in the ground. The following Photos are of my plants this year. Well its a new year, and a happy one to all. Early summer has seen us with total water restrictions and the plants are all suffering. But we have a 1000 Lt tank just for the plants. So we have manage to get them through. At the moment we are cleaning all the Oxalis bulbs getting ready for sale. I have quite a few on Trade Me, at the moment. will be listing some on here shortly. New Geranium seed arrived from overseas and sown. Lots of new forms of Plants we can get. I have been Playing around with Geranium nodosum and have a few seedlings . Just waiting for them to flower. Hopefully we will get a White form. Salvia all doing well. and getting on with cuttings and have a few new plants just about ready for sale. I have started a new group on Face book "NZ Gardens and Gardeners." a group so you can skite of your gardens and plants, and find where to get plants. Not a buy and sell group. Geraniums are in flower now and a few new releases on the shop. Well enjoy your summer holidays and Gardens. Remember to protect your self from NZ's Sun. Cheers Kiyel. Its that time of the year again, the Hellebore are out in flower. Just a couple of photos of some plants in the Nursery in flower. You can give a feed now if you like, I feed with sheep pellets, and later some lime. Also time to take all the old leaves off, and you will get a better view of their flowers.
you will find some links to a couple of nurseries that have Hellebores for sale, on my links page. There are quite a few doubles around now. One of the ones I've seen in the Garden Centres are the "Spectrum Doubles". you take you luck with these as a few are singles. But the doubles are worth waiting for. Some Centres let them flower and then sell, which is good. You may find some places with Clifton Nurserys plants, but if not go to their web page, I think you will be happy with what they have there. This month, so far has had its all sorts of weather, Some hard frosts lots of rain, And last week about 5 inches of snow, and to top it all off Our main town supply, water line sprung a leak. Water every where.
Plants slowly moving towards spring. Our first Reticulata Iris burst open in the snow, And a few seed from England have burst through the soil, Geraniums and Campanula. Lots more seed has arrived, Geranium phaeum, also the seed from NZAPS. sorted out and started sowing. Also lots of new Clivia seed from South Africa have arrived. Just about finished the Geranium divisions, lots of oxonianum's, and phaeum's, in the trays. All Symphytum's are done, and some even potted up. Did the Takapau community market, this month, always great to see our friends there. They have a great Face Book Page. Danneverke Country Market , not on this month, Winter rest. Will give me more time to sort out plants. Check out their Face book page. Chris and i are looking forwards to our South Island trip. Off to the Spring Show for the New Zealand Alpine Plant Society", in Christchurch. We will also be visiting Nelson, To catch up with some friends there. A new plant for our woodland gardens, Beesia calthifolia
Quote from an article in the British “The Guardian It is the heart-shaped, serrated leaves: these are puckered and deeply veined, flushed with purple, acid green and all the shades of green in between. Discovering 1915 and then lost to cultivation , when in 1996 was found in a market in Japan and brought back to cultivation. The leaves are its main asset, but topped with, small star shaped, greenish white, whorls of flowers, which sway in gentle breezes. likes moist well drained contitions, and lots of leaf mould. Dappled sunlight. and is not a rampant grower. Beesia deltophylla. Very similar to B. calthifolia, this plant only has about 15 teeth on each side of its leaf as opposed to B. calthifolia's 50. 2/6/17
As from today, every thing has been set up for the web site. The Paypal, now is set up and you can buy from my web site. New Oxalis have been added. and more perennials will be added as they become available in the nursery. Enjoy your visit. Kiyel. |
AuthorHi i'm Kiyel, I live in Norsewood. A small town in the middle of the lower North Island. We have a 5 Acre block on which we run Dwf Goats, Gotland Sheep and Araucana chooks. I also Grow plants :) Archives
November 2019
Categories |