Six on Saturday 04/09/21

It’s been a dreary week again weather-wise but the sun finally came out yesterday and it looks like there might be a bit more over the weekend. It’s also been quite a while since we had any rain here and a few plants were beginning to look very parched this week so I’ve been watering a few specific things such as the newer Hydrangeas and the Dahlias. Hopefully, some sunshine will help the Michaelmas Daisies come into flower and maybe I’ll finally have some flowers on the Morning Glories. In the meantime, here are six things that are in flower –

• I grew Alstroemeria ‘Dana’ in a border last year where it flowered fairly well but the SnS constantly grazed on it. I decided to try it in a different part of the garden so dug it up in the autumn, potted it up and overwintered it in the glasshouse. I won’t bore you with the reasons but it never got into the ground. Maybe next year…..

• The succulents struggled with all of the earlier rain but these last few dry weeks have given them a boost. Echiveria imbricata is looking particularly good.

• The plants in the glasshouse are very slow to flower, I’m not sure some of them will make it. Last week I removed some of the shading to let more light to them and I’ve given them all a good talking to. I grew Maurandya wislizensis ‘Red Dragon’ from seed in the spring and the first flowers are now appearing. The seed packet says it grows to 45cm but it’s at least twice this already. It apparently produces a tuber which overwinters.

• Also in the glasshouse is Ipomoea repans. I overwintered cuttings of this and now have several plants. This time last year it was a mass of flowers.

• Another Ipomoea that started in the glasshouse but that is now growing outside is I. niamniamensis or the Parrot Plant.

• I really like umbellifer flower heads and in June sowed some Daucus carota (wild carrot) seeds. This is a biennial or short lived perennial plant but most of the resulting plants are flowering already so I’m not sure if they will come back again next year. As the plants haven’t been growing for long they haven’t reached much of a size. Shame as the flowers are pretty but small.

Thanks for reading my Six and have a great weekend. There are a lot more Sixes to read at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/