Alpine Gardener - September 2013

333  THE ALPINE GARDENER

Alpine Gardener the

JOURNAL OF THE ALPINE GARDEN SOCIETY

VOL. 81 No. 3  SEPTEMBER 2013  pp. 238-355

ISSN 1475-0449

the international society for the cultivation, conservation and exploration of alpine and rock garden plants

Volume 81 No. 3

September 2013

Alpine Gardener THE

CONTENTS 258

239 EDITOR’S LETTER 241 ALPINE DIARY

Developments in the AGS garden; readers’ letters; a new natural saxifrage hybrid; book review.

250 ROBERT ROLFE

Plants have a knack of popping up where they are least expected.

258 A CYPRIPEDIUM REVOLUTION

Christopher-Grey Wilson visits Anthura nursery in the Netherlands, where new techniques enable slipper orchids to be grown in tens of thousands. PLUS – see page 281 opposite.

310 298

298 THE LURE OF PATAGONIA

Martin and Anna-Liisa Sheader on their love of Patagonian plants.

310 BLACKTHORN

In the second part of our series on Robin and Sue White’s enviable garden, Robert Rolfe explores the area behind the house.

330 SHOWS ROUND-UP Magnificent plants from AGS shows in April this year.

September 2013 Volume 81 No 3

PRACTICAL GARDENING

281 CYPRIPEDIUMS IN THE GARDEN

Wim van Kruijsbergen reveals how he achieves success with slipper orchids in his garden.

281 330

292 HOW TO GROW IT Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ by Vic Aspland.

295 HOW TO GROW IT Androsace vandellii by Geoff Rollinson.

342 SPOTTING BIRDS AND PLANTS

Todd Boland in the Aragonese Pyrenees. COVER PHOTOGRAPHS

Front: Cypripedium macranthos at Anthura nursery (Christopher Grey-Wilson). Back: Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides at Blackthorn (Jon Evans)

ON THESE PAGES

Left: Cypripedium Sabine gx; Anemone pavonina; Viola atropurpurea Right: Cypripedium reginae; a packed bench at the AGS Midland Show; Primula integrifolia

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Published by the

Alpine Garden Society

The international society for the cultivation, conservation and exploration of alpine and rock garden plants, small hardy herbaceous plants, hardy and half-hardy bulbs, hardy ferns and small shrubs AGS Centre, Avon Bank, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 3JP, UK Tel: +44(0)1386 554790 Fax: +44(0)1386 554801 Email: ags@alpinegardensociety.net Director of the Alpine Garden Society: Christine McGregor Registered charity No. 207478 Annual subscriptions: Single (UK and Ireland) £31* Family (two people at same address) £35* Junior (under 18/student) £13 Overseas single US$54 £33 Overseas family US$60 £36 * £2 deduction for direct debit subscribers For details of life membership and joint life membership apply to the Alpine Garden Society at the address above. Printed by Butler Tanner & Dennis, Caxton Road, Frome, Somerset BA11 1NE Price to non-members £8.00 Second-class postage paid at Rahway, New Jersey. US Postmaster: send address corrections to AGS Bulletin, c/o Mercury Airfreight International Ltd. Inc., 2323 Randolph Avenue, Avenel, NJ 07001. USPS 450-210.

© The Alpine Garden Society ISSN 1475-0449

Editor: John Fitzpatrick Tel: +44(0)1981 580134 Email: editor@agsgroups.org Associate Editor: Robert Rolfe Tel: +44(0)1159 231928 Email: robert.rolfe@agsgroups.org Practical Gardening Correspondent: Vic Aspland CChem. MRSC Tel: +44(0)1384 396331 Email: vic.aspland@agsgroups.org Custodian AGS Digital Library: Jon Evans Tel: +44(0)1252 724416 Email: jon.evans@agsgroups.org Custodian AGS Slide Library: Peter Sheasby Tel/fax: +44(0)1295 720502 To advertise in The Alpine Gardener please call or email the AGS Centre (details above) The Editor welcomes contributions of articles and photographs. Please call or email the Editor to discuss relevant formats for photographs before sending. The Editor cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, articles, artwork or photographs sent by post. The views expressed in The Alpine Gardener do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or of the Alpine Garden Society. The Alpine Gardener is published four times a year in March, June, September and December.

www.alpinegardensociety.net

STEVE FURNESS

A section of the rock garden at The Alpine Plant Centre in Calver, Derbyshire

I

sn’t it heartening to see rock gardens and alpine plants becoming popular again in the media? For too long, in the UK at least, alpines and rock gardening have been sidelined by television producers who have preferred to devote copious hours of coverage to larger herbaceous perennials, grasses, roses, hanging baskets and, latterly, fruit and vegetables. Now, it seems, alpines are back on the producers’ wish-lists. On the UK’s most popular gardening programme, the BBC’s Gardener’s World, presenter Monty Don has been planting containers with widely available and easy-to-grow alpines. Also, in its coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, the BBC managed to drag itself away from the show gardens to present a feature on Chris Birchall from Tale

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A place for alpines among the carrots and petunias Editor ’s letter Valley Nursery in Devon, whose display of alpines in the Great Pavilion earned a Gold Medal. Now one of our own AGS members has given rock gardening a hearty boost in a one-hour prime-time programme on ITV. In his series Love Your Garden, 239

EDITORIAL  Alan Titchmarsh redesigns, reconstructs and replants the gardens of people who have been through traumatic and lifechanging experiences. In one programme, broadcast in August, Alan and his team tackled the garden of Vicky and Simon Pyne in Ulveston, Cumbria, whose daughter Alice died in January at the age of 17 after a five-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alice and her sister Milly founded Alice’s Escapes, a charity that provides holidays for families with seriously ill children, and raised more than £100,000 for this and other good causes in the process. In one large section of the Pynes’ garden, Alan used five tons of local stone to create an extensive rock bank, taking his inspiration from the surrounding crags and fells in the Cumbrian landscape. Alan, who is a long-time AGS member, planted 600 alpines including various Dianthus, Rhodohypoxis, violas and helianthemums. He told viewers: ‘I’m convinced that rock gardens are ripe for a revival. They fell out of fashion when the desire for decking and minimalist planting took hold.’ Admiring the finished bed, he added: ‘Can you think of anything more beautiful? A rock garden planted with hundreds of jewel-like alpines. I’d be really chuffed with this – I wish it was mine!’ This sort of television coverage helps enormously to bring alpines back into the gardening mainstream. Alpine gardening should not be an esoteric branch of horticulture practised by just a few. It should be as much a part of everyday gardening as growing roses, carrots or petunias. It is this message 240

that the AGS must promote if it is to endure and prosper. All AGS members should be really chuffed that Alan has taken up the baton.

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any people play a part in the production of this journal, from those who write the articles and take the photographs, to the printers who operate the presses. It is with great sadness that I must record the death of an invaluable member of our team. Caryl Baron was for many years part of our small band of proof readers. With her husband Michael, one of the AGS’s longest-serving members, she lived and gardened at Brandy Mount House in Alresford, Hampshire, a true plantsman’s and plantswoman’s garden noted in particular for its collections of snowdrops and daphnes. Caryl was a delight to work with and forever charming and entertaining when pointing out my foibles as an editor. For her enormous contribution to this journal I am greatly in her debt. All the team at The Alpine Gardener send our sincere condolences to Michael and his family. We will treasure many fond memories of Caryl. John Fitzpatrick   We’d like to hear your views about articles in The Alpine Gardener, and also about your experiences of growing plants or searching for them in the wild. Please write to the Editor at AGS Centre (address on title page) or email editor@agsgroups.org. THE ALPINE GARDENER

JOHN FITZPATRICK

ALPINE DIARY

Part of the newly renovated European bed in the AGS garden at Pershore

New home for European alpines in the AGS garden

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s every gardener knows only too well, a garden is a work in progress and is constantly evolving. Tired and choked beds require rejuvenation, ideas that once served the garden well become superseded by new requirements, or enthusiasm for a particular group of plants fades and different genera become more desirable. The Alpine Garden Society’s garden at Pershore is no exception to all this, and this summer our head gardener Kana Webster has completed a renovation

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of the Cotswold bed. This part of the garden, adjacent to the AGS offices, had contained a collection of British native plants. The bed, however, had become overgrown and some occupants had effectively become weeds. There were also infiltrators, including alliums that had self-seeded from the European bed nearby. Kana and her husband Jonathan began the renovation by removing all the plants and rock from the bed as well as a considerable amount of soil. One problem that had to be tackled 241

JOHN FITZPATRICK

ALPINE DIARY

The seedheads of Dryas octopetala in the AGS garden. Right, a trough newly planted with sempervivums and topdressed with slivers of slate

was poor drainage along the lower edge of the bed, next to a path. ‘This section was constantly waterlogged,’ says Kana. ‘We dug down about 50cm and found a layer of hardcore that was forming a pan, probably left from a previous construction on the site. We’ve broken this up and mixed plenty of gravel into the soil, so we hope that the drainage will be improved.’ The soil was then replaced and recontoured and the rocks placed in new 242

positions, with a stepping-stone path across the centre of the bed. A topdressing of chunky gravel was chosen to match the European bed, so now the two beds have been integrated. The renovated section has been restocked with some less invasive British plants and a range of European alpines including Gentiana acaulis, Silene acaulis and various saxifrages. ‘Once this backbone planting becomes established we will consider adding THE ALPINE GARDENER

JOHN FITZPATRICK

ALPINE DIARY

more unusual specimens,’ says Kana. She has also been busy planting, in various parts of the garden, specimens that came back to Pershore from the AGS’s Gold Medal-winning garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Her next projects include developing the planting on the traditional rock garden (which sits alongside the car park at Pershore), where again some occupants have become over enthusiastic while others have been lost due to the excessive rain experienced during 2012. An upside of this plentiful supply of moisture was that the woodland garden, which is planted under birches at the rear of the Pershore plot, flowered exceptionally well this year, with trilliums, erythroniums and hellebores in abundance. SEPTEMBER 2013

Other tasks that Kana intends to address over the next 12 months are improving the labelling throughout the garden (many labels have become damaged or are lost) and setting up a system to record properly the names of all the plants in the garden. Kana adds: ‘I would greatly appreciate some help in the garden, especially with general maintenance. ‘If any members feel they could spare even a couple of hours every few weeks I’d be delighted to hear from them. Like every garden of this size, there is always plenty to do!’ If you would like to volunteer to help in the garden then please call the AGS Centre on 01386 554790 and your contact details with be passed on to Kana. 243

ALPINE DIARY

From Cameron McMaster, Napier, Western Cape, South Africa

I

noticed a lot of coverage of various Crocus species in the most recent edition of The Alpine Gardener (June 2013). Your readers may be interested to learn about the only close relation to the genus Crocus in South Africa. I came across this beautiful white flower in May 2012 at the summit of the Rooihoogte Pass on the road from Montagu to Touws River in the inland area of the Western Cape. There were many in full flower, a few with the leaf just starting to emerge, growing in gravelly sand. The leaf usually only develops after flowering. This is a very bare, fairly arid and exposed habitat at an altitude of 1,300m. It falls within the winter rainfall region with fairly severe extremes of climate, from very hot and dry summers to freezing conditions in winter, with occasional snowfalls. I identified the plant as Syringodea unifolia, but after posting pictures on iSPOT (www.ispot.org.za/ node/196986?nav=latest_obs_ thumbnail_grid), an excellent website managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and The Open University, I was advised by SANBI botanist Clare Archer that a monotypic genus had been established for this plant. It was described in 2008 in The Iris Family: Natural History and Classification by Peter Goldblatt and John Manning (Timber Press). The species was previously in a subgenus of Syringodea but these authors decided,

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Only one plant comes close to a Crocus in South Africa Letters due to its unique characters, that it should be a full genus – Afrocrocus. This is contrary to the modern taxonomic trend of avoiding monotypic genera. The genus name alludes to the African distribution and its resemblance to the genus Crocus. Clare lists a number of differences when compared with the genus Syringodea. Whereas Afrocrocus unifolius has a single channelled leaf, Syringodea species always have more than one leaf. Other differences are as follows, with Syringodea comparisons in brackets: the corm shape is globose (subglobose); the corm tunic cells are unique (heavily lignified); the style branches are fringed (simple); the capsules are large at 2cm and ellipsoid (5-10mm, top-shaped); the capsule splits when dry into three segments (splits when wet into six – unique to Syringodea); the seeds are THE ALPINE GARDENER

ALPINE DIARY

Afrocrocus unifolius pictured by Cameron McMaster in the Western Cape

large at 2mm across with a sticky surface (1mm with a dry surface). Afrocrocus unifolius occurs at other sites with similar altitudes in the Northern Cape, where the flowers are pale blue. It is listed as LC (least concern) in the South African Red List. From Alice Robertson, Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France

I

am a new member of the AGS, joining after a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in 2012, and I must say how impressed I am with all the benefits you offer: a fantastic journal, a great

SEPTEMBER 2013

seed exchange and tours to fascinating places. While I am keen to learn more about growing alpines, I have been surprised by the wide range of plants in which members of the Society take an interest and which are written about in the journal. I suspect that gardeners who are not members of the AGS are unaware that it is so enthusiastic about woodland plants, hardy orchids, bulbs, ferns and dwarf shrubs and conifers. I hesitate to suggest this, but should consideration not be given to changing the name of the Society to reflect these wider interests? 245

ALPINE DIARY

Saxifraga x cottianensis (Young 2013) – a natural hybrid from the French Alps.

T

he identification of this hybrid is made easier because, in the location where it has been found several times, only two species of Ligulatae (silver) Saxifraga co-exist – S. valdensis and S. paniculata. These two species are quite divergent in their form. S. paniculata can be a large plant with flower stems up to 40cm tall and has rosettes with a diameter of up to 9cm. S. valdensis, on the other hand, is always small and compact with short flower stems up to 11cm tall and rosettes usually only 1cm in diameter. Such a marked difference between the parents could produce a very varied progeny. All the hybrids I have examined have been much closer in size to S. valdensis but this does not mean that hybrids do not exist which are closer in size to S. paniculata. The following features can be used to identify the hybrid:  S. paniculata always has a sharply serrate leaf edge with saw-like teeth pointing towards the leaf tip.  S. valdensis always has entire leaf margins with large lime glands on the margin and also on the upper surface of the leaf.  S. x cottianensis has no lime glands on the leaf surface and has rudimentary blunt teeth which can be indistinct.  S. x cottianensis has between nine and 15 flowers per stem on the plants collected so far; S. valdensis usually has five to six flowers per stem, while S. paniculata has between ten and 60 flowers per stem. 246

New Saxifraga described Adrian Young, manager of the National Collection of Silver Saxifrages at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire, describes a newly identified natural hybrid To simplify identification, S. x cottianensis always lacks lime glands on the leaf surface and has some rudimentary teeth on the leaf margins. A plant going under the name of S. ‘Pseudo-valdensis’ may also be S. valdensis x S. paniculata. It has previously been included in S. cochlearis, but the plants I have examined show two features that distance them from S. cochlearis. Firstly, there are several blunt teeth on the leaf margins and, secondly, the leaf is not spatulate. S. cochlearis always has spatulate leaves. The leaves of S. ‘Pseudo-valdensis’ may be semiorbicular with a shallow apex but this is quite different to spatulate, so I would suggest that S. ‘Pseudo-valdensis’ is included in S. x cottianensis. This hybrid’s distribution is extremely limited. I have four specimens that are all slightly different, all from the the south-west Alps around Bessans, on the road from Lanslebourg to the Col de l’Iseran. I have one specimen sourced in the Vallée du Ribon by Philippe Pechoux, also in the Bessans area. THE ALPINE GARDENER

ALPINE DIARY

Saxifraga x cottianensis, a cross between S. valdensis and S. paniculata found in the French Alps. Right, a close-up of its flowers

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W

eighing in at 6lb (2.7kg) this is a monograph that has really spread its wings over 574 pages, covering every conceivable aspect concerning Cyclamen. It is edited by Brian Mathew, with major contributions from 30 enthusiasts including two very highly respected botanical artists. It is divided into nine chapters with the major ones covering the botany of Cyclamen, Cyclamen in nature, scientific studies and fieldwork, Cyclamen in cultivation and Cyclamen in botanical illustration. It is profusely illustrated with photographs of plants in nature, in gardens and in pots. There are many exquisitely executed full-page botanical illustrations by Pandora Sellars and Christabel King. These can be disconcerting until you look at the percentage increase or reduction in the size of the images, which varies between 80% and 150%. The botany is covered very clearly and there are detailed descriptions of the species in the second chapter. Here the latest thoughts on classification are set out, with Cyclamen rhodium taking over and peloponnesiacum and vividum becoming its subspecies. The Hederifolium Group now contains three species: hederifolium, confusum and africanum. C. hederifolium now has two subspecies, namely hederifolium and crassifolium. The distinguishing factors seem to be thicker leaves and fragrant flowers. We need a micrometer and a good ‘nose’ to sort them out. The Cyclamen Society plans to do further fieldwork to find out exactly how far C. hederifolium subsp. crassifolium has spread from its Peloponnese home. 248

An essential Cyclamen reference BOOK REVIEW Genus Cyclamen: Science, Cultivation, Art and Culture, edited by Brian Mathew, published by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, £90. ISBN 9781842464724

The descriptions of the species are augmented by observations, usually by members of The Cyclamen Society, from their travels and fieldwork. These are often reprints from their journal. The fieldwork is covered in greater detail in the next chapter where full reports and summaries of trips are included. There is in-depth recording of location, variation in flowers, leaves and growing conditions for many species but not all. As a complete contrast, there is a chapter on the development and the commercial selections of Cyclamen persicum. The chapter on cultivation gives views and advice from all around the world, but seems strangely to be quite reticent THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

ALPINE DIARY

A silver-leafed form of Cyclamen coum

about how to grow Cyclamen in the garden. The stalwarts – C. hederifolium, coum, repandum and purpurascens – are covered in detail but the rest are confined to pot culture. There is no discussion of the use of microclimates and different soil conditions to help spread the joy of growing some of the other species in the garden. Nearly 100 pages are given over to very well-researched historical information about Cyclamen in botanical illustration and art. The engraving of Cyclamen persicum of 1788 from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine is a beacon of quality which still stands up to scrutiny today. The chapter on Cyclamen in literature is confused in many ways and does leave the reader rather struggling. For instance, I could not find ‘Cyclamen’ by SEPTEMBER 2013

Doris E. Saunders from the AGS Bulletin of March 1959 mentioned among the articles of interest from the AGS, but then found it in the section on books from 1901 to 1975, indicating it was a seven-page article, when in fact it is a 58-page résumé of the genus. This book is a huge achievement, long in gestation and full of information so freely given by so many. It will undoubtedly be the essential reference work on this genus for decades to come. Rod Leeds

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S

ome of the most over-used phrases of our times include the word ‘factor’. ‘The determining factor.’ ‘The must-have factor.’ The ruddy ‘wow factor’. Did anyone dare utter ‘The X Factor’? But two centuries ago, Wordsworth identified a phenomenon that can be usefully called the ‘all at once factor’. Applicable not just to Cumbrian daffodils but to plants the world over, it sums up the delight experienced when you chance upon a display in scarcely imaginable profusion, in the most surprising of places or in bizarre circumstances. The most improbable place I’ve ever seen a plant? Well, a dozen years ago, in north-west Argentina, I was astonished to espy a small colony of an unidentified Tillandsia perching on telephone wires, seemingly very happy in this lofty and draughty placement. These ‘air plants’, which had a minor vogue in cultivation a decade or more ago, have anchoring roots but absorb moisture and nutrients though their leaves, or more precisely the trichomes on the leaves. They barely qualify as bona fide alpines, unlike other bromeliads, most notably the househigh Peruvian/Bolivian Puya raimondii. But given the wire-clinging colony’s magnificent backdrop of the Sierra de Famatina, an easterly flank of the Andes reaching 6,250m at its highest point, the association with mountain scenery lingers in my mind. A bumpy six-hour drive further northwest, among the even loftier volcanic peaks of the Reserva Natural Laguna Brava, on the fringes of the Atacama, I recall an arid landscape brightened

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In the wild or on street corners, plants often surprise us ROBERT ROLFE in December by a solitary flourish of a bright orange-yellow Argylia. I’m sure that when the rains come, the montane desert is transformed, but why this brazen burst of vibrant colour, when all around was parched and deceptively barren? Staying in this part of the world a moment longer, readers will recall that in volume 78, page 132 (June 2010) we published images of Oxalis perdicaria blooming in abundance on a seasonally abandoned football pitch in Chile. Such thoughts were triggered on an otherwise humdrum train journey back in March, across country to Manchester. Just outside the station at Stockport – noteworthy for its majestic Victorian viaduct over which the rail line passes – we juddered to an unscheduled halt. Gazing out the window, I was THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

ALPINE DIARY

Asplenium trichomanes growing among the delicate Parahebe catarractae

confronted by the sight, barely a metre away, of a soaring, north-east facing, retaining wall dripping with water. This was spangled with innumerable tufts of that most delicate of ferns, Asplenium trichomanes, its bright green, newly emerged fronds a welcome assertion of spring on that wintry day. The majority had insinuated themselves into the mortar of the old brickwork, but an enterprising minority had rooted into swagged bundles of various wires and cables. Members will have seen the obliging maidenhair spleenwort in other parts of the world: it grows almost everywhere except Antarctica. Not long ago, a holidaying friend sent me images from Hawaii, where it relishes lava field niches at up to 2,700m. Much closer to home, for SEPTEMBER 2013

British readers, it forms an elegant film over the retaining wall at the back of the trough yard at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, sprouting from numerous crannies where its spores have lodged. Often its bright green fronds either frame or infiltrate other plants, among them mats of the delicate Parahebe catarractae, a very useful New Zealander seen above in a white form (the flowers, at their most profuse in June, can also be pink, lilac or even purplish) and overlooked by another familiar fern, Adiantum venustum. Another favourite dwarf fern, Asplenium ceterach or rusty-back fern, sometimes grows alongside maidenhair spleenwort. A. ceterach is found intermittently throughout much of the British Isles but is most frequent in the 251

ALPINE DIARY  south and the west, where it is often a lowlander, ascending to around 550m in Wales. Travel further afield – as far east as the Himalayas and western China (from where 90 other species have been described) − and it can be found colonising limestone crevices as high as 2,600m, the lodgings surprisingly dry in summer. The evergreen, elegantly inrolled, sculpted fronds, their much paler margins and reverses displayed to full advantage, exceptionally reach 20 x 5cm. More typically they measure half as much or less. Widespread in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, and parts of North Africa for that matter, it is certainly present on Cyprus, where I once found it close to my hotel in Platres. Having mistimed my stay, and with snow all around, there was precious little else to see! Both ferns thrive on the mortar rubble of old walls. Scarcely ever recommended these days, at one time this material was a stock item in the armoury of potting mixture ingredients. Given the contemporary mania for recycling old materials, this change is puzzling. Along with spent hops, Sorbex peat and Cornish grit, mortar rubble’s place as an essential ingredient in potting composts has greatly diminished. One reads in Gwendolyn Anley’s Alpine House Culture for Amateurs (1938): ‘In the case of lime-lovers, old mortar rubble and sand should be used in equal quantities in place of pure sand or crushed gravel.’ The following year, in this journal, G.H. Berry wrote an article on ‘Stones for potting’ in which he advocated the use of crushed tufa in potting composts, given its propensity to provide ‘air 252

saturated with water vapour, and ideal conditions for the development of roots’. He added: ‘Mortar rubble and, to a lesser extent, crushed brick mean much the same thing; rough, irregular surfaces, full of small holes which resist the packing of the soil particles.’ Lawrence Hills, another soil analyst of note at the time, also championed its use. Writing for Gardening Illustrated in September 1940, he praised the very usefully late-flowering (June to August, although one has seen plants in full flower in mid-May) Himalayan Primula capitata subsp. mooreana, whose dark flowers and mealy stems rival the sophistication of much trickier species. While noting that it is often considered a plant of moist soils, he added that ‘it will frequently flourish in full sun where it is not subject to summer drought’ and that it appreciated ‘mortar rubble in the mixture of leaf-mould, good loam and sand’ for an optimum performance. A compost along these lines has also been recommended for Ramonda nathaliae, witnessed by one-time editor of this journal Kit GreyWilson in Macedonia, south of Teto Veles, inhabiting an artificial stone embankment in semi-shade. ‘The plants cram every crevice and niche in the stonework for a 40-yard stretch along the road, and as much above it,’ he wrote in AGS Bulletin volume 39, page 16. Famously sharp-eyed when it comes to noticing similarly unusual placements, on the 1994 ACE Expedition he photographed Primula sonchifolia at Napa Hai in Yunnan, where it had seeded into the gaps among logs stacked horizontally to stabilise a THE ALPINE GARDENER

HARRY JANS

ALPINE DIARY

Gentiana saxosa growing in a path outside the Waipapa Point lighthouse in New Zealand

roadside embankment. Rooting into the cool, damp soil, and with their foliage shaded, the plants had found a very congenial niche. Two decades earlier, at an ambassadorial function in Kabul, Kit observed the occasionally cultivated Inula rhizocephala growing in the lawn of the British embassy. And coming up to date, on a recent trip to the Picos de Europa, a late spring meant that Narcissus triandrus was present in unsuspected abundance, while Anacamptis papilionacea, surely the most beautifully patterned of all European orchids, was putting on a career-best display numbering tens of thousands of spikes. SEPTEMBER 2013

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ALPINE DIARY  His friend, fellow ACE expeditionist and peripatetic plant-hunter Harry Jans, who will be in China for a second time this year when this is published (having been to Kyrgyzstan in spring), made a first trip to New Zealand in January. Among the countless images he summoned up for me on his iPad one very rushed day back in April were those of Gentiana saxosa, taken on the southernmost tip of South Island. In the steps leading to the 19th century Waipapa Point lighthouse (still functional but nowadays unmanned and solar-powered) and even in cracks in the hardcore foundations, this most obliging of the 25 or so species found on the islands – it also hops over to Stewart Island – is as much at home as in the surrounding short coastal turf that constitutes its orthodox habitat. Geological surveys record that this part of the Catlins region is predominantly made up of sandstone, mudstone and silt stone, but clearly the gentian couldn’t give a fig for such nuances. As with many plants in many localities, when suited it will establish in both ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ (for the latter, read ‘surprising’) lodgements, where it can achieve reasonable permanency. Its reputation as short-lived in gardens is down to maltreatment rather than an innate biennial, boom-then-bust recklessness on the plant’s behalf. Even those who frequently visit a favourite place in the mountains or a well-planted garden can, by choosing a different season or even a different week, be taken by surprise in what they witness as a consequence. Species whose presence was either muted or entirely 254

unsuspected briefly take centre stage, making you wonder how on earth you managed to overlook them on previous trips. Well, they went unheeded for a number of reasons. They might have been dormant. Or they might have colonised their present position recently. Possibly they were putting on a once in a decade, vintage display. Then again, you might have just grown more observant with age. I’ve already mentioned RBG Edinburgh, where, on a bright but very blustery day in late April, an island bed occupied by a metre-high thicket of Rhododendron hippophaeoides, in a pale purple-pink form, was in full flower. But sheltering underneath was a prettier sight still: wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) carpeting the ground in both its typical white and pink phases, the latter offered by several nurseries under the varietal epithet subpurpurascens. Optimum levels of shade and shelter had induced the plants to flower prolifically, but this miniature set-piece was scarcely apparent from the main path. The only other visitors who noticed it were those who came over to enquire why on earth I was sprawled, camera in hand (no tripods allowed), on such a soggy stretch of lawn. Woodlands where the wood sorrel grows often also harbour drifts of the wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa, again predominantly white, though from the numerous named forms in cultivation – those with rich pink or blue-purple flowers have proven most popular over the years − a casual observer might think otherwise. From time to time this plant breaks cover and THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

ALPINE DIARY

A fine display by Anemone nemorosa at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

grows in the open, usually on banks covered in short turf, and it can be seen growing this way in some parts of the garden at Edinburgh. It’s also in the woodland beds, often under mature trees or large shrubs. Where I certainly didn’t expect to encounter it was on the crest of the rock garden, chest-high above the path. A large keystone was capped by a long-resident Gaultheria rupestris, through whose open system of branches the anemone had drawn up as much as 35cm in order to reach the light. Return there in August and the first of the autumn-flowering plants will be in evidence. As summer draws to a close, Acis autumnalis is one of the very first SEPTEMBER 2013

hardy dwarf bulbs to signal a change of season. I use the word ‘hardy’ advisedly: it has breezed through winters that have slaughtered many truly alpine ‘monocots’. It can form a good colony if left undisturbed to seed around for a few years, to such an extent that a few gardeners regard it as a weed. The Edinburgh display was the best I’ve seen. On the lower levels of a sloping bed, and spreading over a metre across, its onetime recognised variety oporantha was at the height of its display in the fourth week of August. This stock came from a Mike Salmon collection (MS1061). Recourse to his old catalogues reveals the source as Sancti Petri in southern Spain, on the Costa de 255

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Acis autumnalis on the rock garden at RBG Edinburgh in mid-August

la Luz, close to the border with Portugal. He also offered an accession from Ceuta on the Moroccan coast (SF342) and, in its other sometime variety, pulchella, a further selection from Ifrane in that same country (ABS4356). Distinctions between the two can confuse. The first is supposedly taller, to 25cm, confined to the Rif Mountains and with pedicels arching from the midpoint, while var. pulchella, with a much wider distribution, is said to differ by producing both flowers and foliage simultaneously and has pedicels ‘arching over at the apex’. As the photograph shows, this sampling of var. oporantha is clearly synanthous (i.e. the leaves appear at the same time as the flowers) under garden conditions. There are more inconsistencies: it has been described as only suitable for 256

‘warm, sunny spots in southern gardens’, whereas there are several gardens in central and northern England in which it romps away. And it has been queried as native to Crete (very doubtful indeed), and more certainly from Sardinia and Sicily, from where recent reports of its existence, while apparently incontestable, are lacking. This snowflake tends to flower much better in some years than others, doubtless influenced both here and at home by rainfall levels when it is in leaf, and again upon re-emerging from a fairly short summer dormancy. As the past year has amply demonstrated to British gardeners, this is equally true of many other plants. For example, images taken in early May at Barnsley Warren in Gloucestershire confirmed that Pulsatilla vulgaris was THE ALPINE GARDENER

DOUG JOYCE

ALPINE DIARY

Pulsatilla vulgaris in profusion at Therfield, Hertfordshire

having a veritable annus mirabilis there. AGS photographer Doug Joyce responded with more spectacular pictures from further east, on chalk grassland at Therfield in Hertfordshire. Whizzing along the A505, just to the north, which follows in part the route of the Icknield Way (often proclaimed Britain’s oldest road), and surveying the intensively farmed landscape, you would little guess that just a mile or two away lies incontestably the best site in England for the pasque flower, blooming in 2013 better than ever before in living memory. For many years Doug Joyce played a large part in the construction of AGS displays at the Chelsea Flower Show. The horticultural endeavours at Chelsea have latterly spilled out into the area around the show ground with ‘Fringe’ SEPTEMBER 2013

events such as street planting, and some of the more august retailers in Belgravia and Knightsbridge decorate their shop frontages with lavish floral displays. Some establishments in the King’s Road, once the address of the Veitch Nursery, also get into the spirit of Chelsea but it was still a surprise to find that, just round the corner from Sloane Square Underground station, a bespoke shoemaker had constructed a thigh-high dry-stone wall in which were positioned, quite effectively, an assortment of rock garden plants. Long ago we published a piece about a balcony close to Baker Street Underground station where pinguiculas flourished in a trough – a further illustration of the resourcefulness of alpine plants and the resourcefulness of their owners. 257

The great Cypripedium revolution

Slipper orchids, for so long persecuted in the wild by illegal collection, are now being grown in their tens of thousands at a nursery in the Netherlands. Christopher Grey-Wilson visited this veritable cathedral of cypripediums

A sea of cypripediums at Anthura nursery in the Netherlands. All pictures by Christopher Grey-Wilson

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Phillip Cribb, left, with Camille de Jong at the Anthura nursery in Bleiswijk

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everal orchid genera are referred to as slipper orchids but none is likely to grab the attention of alpine gardeners more than the genus Cypripedium. Exotic, flamboyant, spectacular, intriguing and fascinating are all words commonly used to describe these extraordinary plants. Once considered rare and difficult to maintain in cultivation, cypripediums have undergone a revolution in the past 20 or so years. From being difficult to source and expensive, they have become far more widely available and at a price that has become increasingly competitive. Thirty years ago there were just a few Cypripedium species in cultivation. C. calceolus, C. formosanum, C. macranthos, C. parviflorum, C. pubescens (the last

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two formerly considered to be forms of the British native C. calceolus) and C. reginae were about the limit, except in the hands of a few specialist growers and botanic gardens. Today, in contrast, the majority of species are in cultivation along with a plethora of exciting and often vigorous hybrids. But how has this revolution come about? In early May this year I, along with Phillip Cribb (a noted world authority on the genus), visited Camille de Jong at the Anthura nursery in Bleiswijk, Holland. The nursery is one of the largest and most impressive in the Netherlands, indeed in any part of the world, with state-of-the-art production methods more reminiscent of heavy industry than the growing of flowering plants. THE ALPINE GARDENER

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A vibrant assembly of cypripediums in variety at Anthura

It is set amid neat drainage dykes in the flat Dutch landscape and specialises, as its name suggests, in the genus Anthurium, of which it controls some 85% of the world market – around 20 million plants every year. The heat used in the glasshouses is a by-product of heavy industry in Rotterdam, while a fully automated system enables benches to be moved via conveyor belts for regular washing and sanitising. All the precious water is recycled, being cleaned and sterilised at the same time to eliminate potential pathogens or unwanted chemicals. Nutrients are added automatically as the plants are irrigated. There is a fine outdoor garden at the nursery, planted with a range SEPTEMBER 2013

of trees and shrubs where orchids, especially cypripediums, are displayed to perfection. Other orchids include bletillas, calanthes and pleiones. Anthura has an impressive 54 acres under glass, of which about two and a half acres are assigned to cypripediums (incidentally, the Dutch name for Cypripedium is Vrouwenschoentje). All plants, and this includes cypripediums, are bar-coded and grid-referenced and this information is stored in the firm’s elaborate computer system. This means that any plant or group of plants can be located instantly but, more importantly, details of breeding, seed sowing, pricking out and so on are all recorded and instantly retrievable. For instance, if a particular cross has been made, the 261

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The naming of the genus The name Cypripedium is derived from Cyprus (Cypria) and slipper (pedilum). Cyprus was the mythological birthplace of Aphrodite (although cypripediums are not found on the island) and the latter is an allusion to ‘Our Lady’s slipper’, hence the popular name of the plants. It was Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) who first used the name Cypripedium in his Species Plantarum of 1753, although the plant was known long before that time. The first illustration, of C. calceolus by Conrad Gesner, dates back to 1541.

parent plants (especially the seed parent) can be readily located and viewed. Camille has a philosophy that enables him to get the most out of the plants, presiding over a growing regime that optimises production. ‘Every day in the glasshouse has to be a perfect day,’ he says. This means that not only do the plants have a carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere, but they are given optimum light, nutrients, water and temperature to enhance growth­. The ideal growing temperature in the house is around 20C during the day, rather lower at night. ‘They don’t like hot days,’ says Camille. Judging by the huge numbers of plants (8,000 in the first glasshouse we entered, 100,000 plus in the second) this has proved a highly successful system. An important part of this approach is the production of hybrids and several employees are engaged with Camille in the selection and crossing of plants. The delicate and tricky task of transferring the pollinia from the selected male parent to the chosen female requires, as with all orchids, knowledge, skill and patience. Each operation, from pollination to fruit set, is recorded on a computer via the plant’s barcode so 262

that a date can be estimated for the fruit capsule’s maturity. This varies enormously from species to species and between the hybrids, from 25 to 96 days from fertilisation to full maturity. This is critical in the commercial production of cypripediums. If the capsule is left to dehisce, the seed is subjected to a self-imposed dormancy that can radically delay germination and the production of saleable plants. This dormancy clearly has benefits in the wild, where germination will be delayed until the conditions are just right – provided, that is, the seed has alighted in a suitable habitat. Not only must the seed have its dormancy broken, but the seedling requires, like most orchids, to develop a symbiotic association with specific soil fungi. Without this partner, the tiny seedlings will fail. The fungal partner is needed only as the plants develop. By the time they come into flower, the partnership has been broken and they will grow happily without the fungus. Camille has shown conclusively that both these factors (dormancy and associated soil fungi) can be bypassed in cultivation simply by taking the THE ALPINE GARDENER

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Cypripedium formosanum growing outdoors at the Anthura nursery

green seed shortly before the capsule matures and growing it in vitro in sterile laboratory conditions in flasks or petri dishes in a nutrient agar gel. Under natural conditions the fungal partner passes essential nutrients into the young seedlings via their roots; in the aseptic conditions of a flask or petri dish the seedlings acquire all their nutrients from the agar gel. Seedling cypripediums Asymbiotically (grown without a fungal partner) produced cypripediums, both species and hybrids, first appeared in the late 1980s and today a number of nurseries offer seedlings in their catalogues or on websites. GrowingSEPTEMBER 2013

on seedlings requires strict adherence to detail, otherwise they will fail. For a start, healthy seedling roots should be white or yellowish (if brown or black they are dead or almost so) and should sport two or more roots and a tiny shoot. The young seedlings must be thoroughly washed in tap water or sterile water upon leaving the agar. It contains high levels of sugars that sustain the developing plantlets, but once removed from the sterile containers it can attract harmful pathogens which can in turn destroy the plants. At this stage two options present themselves. Which to choose depends on the time of year. If seedlings are acquired in the autumn, in advance of winter frosts, they can be 263

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Flower power in a single pot of a Cypripedium calceolus hybrid at Anthura

planted immediately in pots and kept through the winter at a temperature of 0-8C. If seedlings are acquired in late winter or spring, they will require vernalisation, that is to say being kept for between three and six months at a similar temperature as for option one. The reason for this is that asymbiotically raised cypripediums require adjusting to a cold-winter (winter-hardy) regime. Some growers supply seedlings that have already been subjected to cold treatment and they can be potted as in option one. Failing this, 264

the seedlings, once thoroughly washed, can be placed wet into clean polythene bags, sealed and placed in the lower part of a domestic fridge. Once a month the bags must be opened and the seedlings rinsed in water, then returned to the fridge. Young seedlings lack any immunity to pathogens, having been raised in sterile conditions, so they should be weaned with care, always ensuring that composts and pots are sterilised. The compost must not contain any organic matter whatsoever because this will spell THE ALPINE GARDENER

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Cypripedium formosanum x fasciolatum, one of many new hybrids

disaster for the seedlings. It is generally recommended that young plants be grown on in pots for two years before being put in the garden. In this period they should have built up resistance to at least some harmful pathogens. Under normal garden conditions plants should be flowering well in their fourth or fifth season. In the optimal conditions at Anthura some plants start to flower in their second season while many will be in flower by the third. The massed ranks of cypripediums grown at Anthura on benches or on SEPTEMBER 2013

wide beds at ground level are very impressive and one cannot but marvel at the skill and technology that has led to this revolution in their cultivation. There are very large numbers of the European Cypripedium calceolus (one of Britain’s most endangered plants) and its American equivalents, C. parviflorum and C. pubescens (the latter now generally considered to be a variety of the former, i.e. C. parviflorum var. pubescens). Other American species are also abundantly represented – C. reginae (in both the normal pink-lipped 265

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How cypripediums grow

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o master the cultivation of cypripediums it is necessary to understand how they grow. The roots are annual and new ones replace the old during the summer, so any damage to plants at this vital stage can greatly harm or kill them. Rhizome growth, like that of the roots, starts when plants are in full growth and continues until the autumn. That is one reason why wild-dug plants, whose growth is interrupted, often fare badly in cultivation. At the same time plants are forming their new growth buds for the following season, just below the soil surface and close to the base of the existing flowering or leafy stems. In

form, as well as a startlingly lovely white one) and the large-flowered, bold and exquisite C. kentuckiense. There are considerably more plants of the latter at Anthura than today exist in the wild, for C. kentuckiense has been endangered by a combination of over-zealous collectors and habitat destruction. It frequents ravines and stream banks over sandstone in acid woodland. In contrast C. reginae is a denizen of wetter habitats, swamps, upland bogs and wet meadows and woods. While the majority of Cypripedium species can be cultivated with great success, some are fickle and cannot be generated in sufficient numbers to be considered in any way commercial. 266

cultivation, any help that plants can be given at this stage to ensure that they continue growing vigorously and for as long as possible each season will benefit them the following year. The more numerous and larger the new growth buds, the better the subsequent flowering will be. Regular feeding and watering, never allowing plants to dry out, will all help them to do their best. As far as pests and diseases are concerned, it is worth seeking out sprays that are specific to orchids because some pesticides and fungicides can harm them. The peak flowering season for cypripediums is May and June, with a few flowering outside this period.

Among these must be included the exquisite moccasin flower, C. acaule, with its solitary scapose flowers with demure petals and sepals but with a large and elongated bladder-like lip in pink, occasionally white, which is characteristically infolded down the centre. Found in raised areas of highly acid, humus-rich sphagnum bogs and pine forests in part shade, C. acaule has a distribution from central northern Canada to Newfoundland, southeastwards to encompass the eastern USA, excluding Florida. Another North American, C. montanum, equally defies easy cultivation and is restricted in the wild to a relatively small area of northwestern North America from southern THE ALPINE GARDENER

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Cypripedium tibeticum is used to breed new hybrids at Anthura

Alaska to Washington state, eastwards as far as Idaho, Montana and northern Colorado. Asiatic species The familiar European and North American species have been well known for many years (for instance C. pubescens has been in cultivation since 1790, C. calceolus for very much longer, C. reginae since 1731 and its white form since 1897). The Asiatic species, with a few exceptions such as C. macranthos and C. tibeticum, have appeared only in recent years, especially those from western China. They include C. fasciolatum, C. flavum, C. lichiangense, C. wardii, C. yunnanense and many more besides. SEPTEMBER 2013

Many of these have proved important in hybridisation at Anthura and elsewhere. This interest in Chinese species has grown since about the mid-1980s but they have, unfortunately, been subjected to quite hideous exploitation in the wild. Nonetheless, without this oriental richness (China has 32 of the known 46 species) cypripediums would not have gained the popularity that they have today, especially as the Chinese species have been paramount in the production of a host of exciting, hardy and very garden-worthy hybrids. Of the Chinese species it is the bolder, large-flowered, big-lipped members of Section Cypripedium (to which the American C. kentuckiense 267

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Cypripedium x ventricosum, a natural hybrid (C. calceolus x C. macranthos)

and C. montanum belong) that have played the major part: C. fasciolatum, C. franchetii, C. froschii (possibly only a form of C. tibeticum), C. tibeticum and C. yunnanense. Neither must the widespread and variable C. macranthos be left out the equation: it is one of the loveliest of all the species, with flowers ranging in colour from white to cream (var. rebunense), white faintly flushed or veined with rose-pink or purple (var. speciosum), to those of the deepest and richest purple (var. hotei-atsmorianum). With a distribution from eastern Europe through Siberia to north268

eastern China and Japan, it has one of the widest geographic spreads of any of the genus, being rivalled only by that of the common lady’s slipper orchid, C. calceolus. Several other groups of Asiatic slipper orchids should not be overlooked. Two of the sections contain small species with rather understated flowers. Section Retinervia contains C. debile and C. elegans, while Section Sinopedilum contains three species, C. bardolphianum, C. forrestii and C. micranthum. While these species are in cultivation, their significance in THE ALPINE GARDENER

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The American native Cypripedium kentuckiense

producing useful rather than interesting hybrids is probably limited. However, to some gardeners it is the species that are of greatest interest. While some spurn any hybrids in their purist zeal, others like to grow a selection of species and hybrids. Hybrids clearly offer advantages in their vigour and floriferousness, but it is important that species are maintained in cultivation and that their purity is preserved as far as possible. Collections at botanic gardens, in large nurseries such as Anthura and also in private hands are crucial to this end. The presence of SEPTEMBER 2013

species in cultivation also relieves the pressure on wild populations, a matter that must concern us all as custodians of the world’s remarkable diversity of plants. Many gardeners are fascinated by the so-called spotted-leafed species of Section Trigonopedia. The six species, native to western and south-western China (with one also found in northeast Myanmar or Burma), all sport pairs of broad, usually spotted leaves that lie close to the soil surface. From the centre of each pair arises a solitary flower held close to the foliage. These extraordinary 269

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Cypripediums in the wild

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he genus Cypripedium has a circumpolar distribution from Alaska to Eurasia, including Japan, stretching south to about 25ºN in southwestern China and even further south to 10ºN in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. While some can be found at low altitudes (for instance Cypripedium parviflorum in the broad sense can be found from sea level to 2,000m), others are more strictly montane (C. tibeticum has a range from 2,300 to 4,600m). Isolated plants are found on occasion but cypripediums generally form colonies, which are sometimes scattered with many hundreds of individuals covering an extensive area. Their success, however, depends on exacting requirements of soil and climate, as well as shade and moisture, so many locations are unsuitable.

plants, which include the now familiar C. lichiangense and C. margaritaceum, were once thought to be impossible to cultivate. This is not so and there were some impressive plants on display at Anthura. The potential of these plants in breeding programmes has perhaps been overstated and few offspring of any great significance have been produced to date. However, the following three have resulted in interesting and attractive combinations: C. Bernie gx (C. reginae x C. fargesii), C. Fantasy gx (C. reginae x C. margaritaceum), and C. Princess gx (C. reginae x C. lichiangense). Members of section Trigonopedia are slower growing from seed than are those of other sections of the genus. It is clear, however, that the production of hybrid slipper orchids still has a long way to go. If we end up with anything like the plethora of Pleione hybrids produced over the years by Ian Butterfield and others, then there are rich rewards awaiting gardeners. 270

Hybrids While the integrity of the species in cultivation is paramount, and many are outstandingly beautiful plants, it is the hybrids that have ignited the horticultural world. The aim of any hybridisation programme is clearly to increase the range of variability and to produce robust, garden-worthy plants. To this end hybridisers at Anthura and elsewhere have been hugely successful. Take a glance in Hardy Cypripedium: Species, Hybrids and Cultivation by Werner Frosch and Phillip Cribb, a lavish book published last year by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and you will see an astonishing range of hybrids, sometimes involving a species and a hybrid or two hybrids. In the Cypripedium world, no cross seems impossible, although some are certainly trickier than others are and not all produce good garden plants or even interesting hybrids. However, there is no doubt that hybridisation has greatly increased our interest in this fascinating THE ALPINE GARDENER

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Cypripedium Tilman gx (C. tibeticum x C. fasciolatum)

genus while, at the same time, making a whole range of colourful plants available to the gardener. Cypripedium hybrids, like those of Pleione, are classified in grexes (abbreviated as gx), each grex being the product of the same cross, or the progeny of the same parentage, allowing for the variability that can be expected. This depends to a greater or lesser extent on which is the pollen parent and which is the seed parent and on the inherent variability of each parent. As a result, SEPTEMBER 2013

crosses between the same parents can produce widely differing results. Today there are in excess of 100 grexes registered. Grexes are more viable commercially because it would take more time and expense to propagate clones (genetically identical propagules) in sufficient numbers. Thus two of the best known – Ursel gx (C. fasciolatum x C. henryi) produced in 2003 and Ulla Silkens gx (C. reginae x C. flavum) in 1996 – are now fairly widely available. The advice on selecting hybrids is to 271

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The three plants pictured on this page all belong to Cypripedium Sabine gx (C. fasciolatum x C. macranthos)

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Cypripedium Victoria gx (C. parviflorum var. pubescens x C. fasciolatum)

purchase them in flower so that you select a good and attractive form. For instance, the Ulla Silkens gx produces a range of flowers. There are those similar to C. reginae (white with a purple lip), those with variable markings on the lip or a few scattered spots, and others with pale creamish or whitish, virtually unmarked flowers. All are very attractive. The first artificial hybrid was, in fact, registered as recently as 1987. Frosch and Cribb, in their book, state that at the time of publication 107 grexes had been registered (many in fact were created by Werner Frosch himself), while some nine natural hybrids are to be found in the wild. Although many of the species have been used in crosses, some have SEPTEMBER 2013

proved to be more than significant, namely C. calceolus, C. fasciolatum, C. kentuckiense, C. macranthos, C. parviflorum (including var. pubescens), C. reginae and C. tibeticum. When to plant The best time to plant cypripediums in the open garden is during late autumn when they are entering dormancy. Alternatively, in areas subject to severe winter frosts, it is probably wiser to plant in the spring when the danger of hard frosts has diminished. Once established, plants will build up year on year into sizeable and many-flowered clumps if the conditions are right. Plants grown in pots should be placed at the same planting depth as they are in 273

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Cypripedium Ulla Silkens gx (C. reginae x C. flavum)

their original pots. They greatly resent deep planting. Cypripedium roots naturally spread out laterally not far below the soil surface and this should be borne in mind when planting. Holes can be up to 10cm deep and wide enough to accommodate the roots, taking great care not to damage these, and with the shoot or shoots about 2cm below the soil surface. The planting hole is then filled with good crumbly compost and lightly firmed. A mulch can be applied to the whole area and the plants watered in well. Likes and dislikes High temperatures: plants become stressed if temperatures rise much above 274

25C and in full sun the foliage will scorch. In addition, long hot summers will tend to diminish flowering the following year. Many slipper orchids and their hybrids will survive in gardens with winter temperatures as low as -20C. However, in spring, young growth can be damaged by spring frosts (-4C or below) and this will impair flowering. Some protection from late spring frosts is therefore desirable, for which several layers of fleece work well. Winter protection is generally not necessary but in areas prone to heavy frosts a covering of coarse bark might be advisable, but never apply peat. Humidity: cypripediums like a humid atmosphere during the growing season, THE ALPINE GARDENER

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A new hybrid at Anthura – Cypripedium parviflorum x kentuckiense

especially when they come into flower. Low humidity and high temperatures will cause stress. Ideally plants should be placed in part-shaded positions that avoid direct sunlight during the midday hours. However, direct early morning and evening sunshine is beneficial (sunrise until about 10am is fine). A woodland position or one shielded from hot sunshine, such as the north side of a building, is ideal. Avoid planting too close to the base of trees and large shrubs which tend to suck any moisture SEPTEMBER 2013

from the soil during dry periods, leaving the orchids desiccated. Soil: light and sandy soils dry out too easily and are unsuitable, as are heavy clay soils that become waterlogged. The moisture-retaining properties of the former can be improved by adding ample quantities of perlite, Seramis or even crushed pumice. A medium-heavy loam is ideal - porous yet moisture retentive. Organic mulches can be applied around the plants to help retain moisture but should not be dug in, which would spoil 275

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Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens 276

THE ALPINE GARDENER

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The Asiatic species Cypripedium cordigerum

the soil structure, besides which these orchids do not like humus material dug in around their roots. Mulches (conifer duff is often recommended) should be 3-4cm deep for the best effect and refreshed annually. Water: in dry periods water will have to be applied if plants are not to suffer. This should preferably be rain water, but tap water may have to suffice and, unless it is unduly acid or alkaline, it will not harm the plants. Newly planted cypripediums require ample water, especially in their first year, and will decline rapidly if they are allowed to dry out. In succeeding years watering during dry spells, especially in the late spring and SEPTEMBER 2013

summer, is advisable. This is particularly important because these plants put on their new root growth (i.e. the roots that will support the plant the following year) during the summer when they are in full growth. It is also at this time that the next year’s growth buds are initiated: the larger and stronger they are, the better the plant the following season and the greater the flowering potential. A healthy green plant with plenty of fully grown leaves is the ideal, as is keeping the plant in this condition for as long as possible. For this reason it is essential not to cut back the shoots after flowering, although the dead flower remains can be snipped off above the 277

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Another new Anthura hybrid – Cypripedium parviflorum x shanxiense

bract(s). Once the shoots have started to die down in the autumn they can be cut away. Unless artificially pollinated, plants will not normally set seed in the open garden. Seed requires specialist culture, so unless you have access to such facilities it is not worth keeping. Nutrients: plants should receive most of the nutrients they require from the soil, especially in newly planted areas. However, in long-established plantings the slipper orchids will require 278

some feeding as the soil becomes impoverished. An occasional very weak liquid feed applied at fortnightly intervals during the growing season is all that is generally required. The build-up of mineral salts in the compost, particularly for those plants cultivated in pots, can lead to a rapid deterioration in their health and this can be avoided by flushing out the pots with copious water from time to time. In the open garden cypripediums require very little extra nutrients but if plants THE ALPINE GARDENER

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Young cypripediums ready for despatch at Anthura

are not growing strongly then a weak application of slow-release fertiliser in early summer, low in nitrogen but with additional magnesium, will suffice. Orchid fertilisers, both granular and liquid, are available at most good garden centres. Pot culture All the likes and dislikes that apply to growing slipper orchids in the garden also apply to pot culture, although this requires much more care and attention, with temperature control, watering and fertilising all the more critical. It is recommended that the minimum pot size for success should be 19cm for mature plants and smaller, of course, for seedlings and young plants. SEPTEMBER 2013

As in the garden, the best time to plant is when the plants are dormant, in the autumn and winter. Plastic pots, which retain moisture, have a great advantage over clay pots, which naturally have a higher rate of evaporation. The general recommendation is to fill the base of the pot with a drainage layer of coarse, inert, angular material to a depth of 4-6cm. The next 10-15cm (depending on pot depth) can be filled with a stable granular material such as expanded clay pellets, sieved pumice or other materials that hold their structure even after heavy watering. At Anthura, Camille de Jong uses a standard compost for most of his cypripediums which consists of crushed pumice or coarse angular sand, perlite, 279

CYPRIPEDIUMS  fibrous peat and coconut fibre, with crushed limestone added for the benefit of certain species such as C. japonicum and C. formosanum. Whatever compost is employed, the growing point of the plants should rest at or just below the compost surface. The top couple of centimetres can then be finished with a dressing of pine duff or coconut fibre. As these composts contain little or no nutrients, regular feeding is a vital part of the cultivation regime, with weekly feeds right through the growing season. Feeds should be at half the manufacturer’s recommended rate or less, but this can be increased for vigorous plants during spring. Specialist orchid fertilisers contain the correct balance of minerals, particularly important for these plants. To avoid wide fluctuations in humidity and temperature during summer, potted plants should be placed outdoors in a cool, part-shaded site. Pot plants will deteriorate if winter temperatures fall much below -10C. Conversely, under glass, winter temperatures above about 8C will spur plants into early growth, which is undesirable. A bright future My visit to Anthura was stimulating and awe-inspiring and showed that modern technology, combined with skill and knowledge, can produce magnificent results. Without doubt the large-scale production of cypripediums, particularly the species, has had, and will have, a profound effect on their status in the wild. Before this, plants were being ravaged from their habitats in large numbers to be sold over the internet at alarmingly high prices to unscrupulous 280

growers who gave no thought to the status of these exquisite orchids in the wild. Many such plants suffered root or shoot damage in their hasty removal from the wild, which led in turn to many failures in cultivation. The availability of a wide range of species from authentic cultivated stock (i.e. from plants reared from seed in cultivation) has therefore proved to be a good conservation measure, although there will be those, as with so many other groups of plants, who continue to steal plants illegally from the wild. However, the fact is that strong healthy plants with one or several flowering shoots (I have had up to 11!) can be purchased relatively inexpensively in the £15 to £30 range, much cheaper than the prices sought for wild-collected plants, or plants of wild origin. The fact is that plants from seed-raised stock will be healthy, free of pests and diseases and more adaptable to the open garden or pot culture. In addition, the production of a fine range of vigorous hybrids has given the grower some excellent and relatively easy plants for the garden. The process of producing new and interesting hybrids is ongoing, both at Anthura and elsewhere. I would like to thank all those at Anthura for welcoming Phillip Cribb and me to the nursery and for their exceedingly generous hospitality. In this regard special thanks must go to Nic van der Knaap, Maurice van Veen and Camille de Jong. For more information visit the Anthura website at www.gardenorchid.com THE ALPINE GARDENER

PRACTICAL GARDENING

CYPRIPEDIUMS

A Cypripedium fasciolatum hybrid in Wim van Kruijsbergen’s garden

Cultivating cypripediums with success in the garden

C

ypripediums are becoming more popular with gardeners in many countries. Over the past 15 years they have been bred with increasing success, helped by their propensity to hybridise easily. The hybrids, generally, are stronger garden plants than the species and you can also be sure that they have not been plundered from the wild. Although cypripediums are still relatively expensive compared with other plants, large-scale propagation, as described in the preceding article by Christopher SEPTEMBER 2013

AGS member Wim van Kruijsbergen describes how he encourages slipper orchids to thrive in his garden in the Netherlands, where he took all the photographs for this feature Grey-Wilson, is starting to bring down the price. Members of this genus of the Orchidaceae are found only in the 281

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A floriferous clump of Cypripedium calceolus, widely distributed in Europe and Asia

northern hemisphere. Almost all the 47 species grow in shady and cool habitats in mountainous areas, so it is no surprise that they require similar conditions in the garden. All cypripediums are terrestrial and have a clump of fleshy, unbranched roots just under the soil surface. They all undergo dormancy during winter and are, in our climate in the Netherlands, fully hardy. Some require protection from winter wet. Towards the end of the growing season the plants make new buds for the following year. Under the right circumstances, the number of buds will increase every year. After several years you can expect to have large clumps, sometimes with more than 20 buds. 282

The first Cypripedium I bought, in 1992, was C. calceolus. Hoping for the best and with some advice from the book by Otakar Sadovsky, Winterharte Orchideen im Eigenen Garten, I planted it in the shadow of a blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) in a mix of limestone gravel, sand and beech leaf-mould. It was a success! Year after year the number of buds increased and many of the stems produced more than one flower. At its height there were 16 stems bearing 31 flowers and it even produced two seedlings. I became totally enchanted by my C. calceolus and the desire for more cypripediums was born. This plant is still growing in my garden in the same place and still flowering, THE ALPINE GARDENER

CYPRIPEDIUMS

Cypripedium Sabine gx, yet another example of the cross featured on page 272

with seven stems and eight flowers last year. But after 20 years it is slowly losing vigour. Few cypripediums will survive for such a long period in garden conditions. Every autumn I mulch the plant with beech leaf-mould and some Dolokal (a limestone powder). Ten years ago it was rather difficult to buy cypripediums and, of course, they were very expensive. This all changed when people such as Werner Frosch and Peter Corkhill started to grow plants in vitro. They also made crosses and Frosch, in particular, was very successful. On his websites www.cypripedium.de and www.w-frosch.de one can find information about plants and culture in both English and German. SEPTEMBER 2013

Since 2005 the number of nurseries and the species and hybrids they grow has increased enormously. Plants are still expensive but the rising supply is resulting in lower prices. I don’t believe they will become really cheap because cultivation to flowering-sized plants often takes five to seven years. Growing conditions Cypripediums are not recommended for the average gardener. One has to provide the correct conditions for each species, otherwise they will fail, but there are some general rules that should be followed. First, they dislike full sunshine (i.e. between 10am and 4pm). Early 283

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Cypripedium kentuckiense x microsaccos

morning and late evening sunshine will not harm your plants – they enjoy it. A place beside a north-facing wall suits them best. Cypripediums also like to grow in the dappled shade of trees and shrubs, but try to ensure that tree roots do not mingle with the roots of the cypripediums. The trees will absorb all the water and your cypripediums will dry out. Second, cypripediums require an airy, extremely well-drained soil. In most gardens this means preparing the soil before planting. They like a dampish soil without any stagnating moisture. The substrate you make has to stay open and airy for years because cypripediums resent being moved. 284

Preparing a cypripedium bed Almost every garden has a suitable spot for cypripediums. In my garden the soil is very sandy so drainage is not a problem. If you have a clay soil you will have to prepare the planting area thoroughly or construct a raised bed to ensure good drainage. To prepare a planting site, dig a hole 40cm deep. Discard the soil and line the hole with a porous weed-suppressing membrane, which will prevent the roots of other plants infiltrating the cypripedium roots. Then place a layer of 10cm to 15cm of drainage material (such as lava grit or another not-toofine stony material) in the hole. The roots of cypripediums will not reach THE ALPINE GARDENER

CYPRIPEDIUMS

Cypripedium Emil gx (C. calceolus x parviflorum)

down into this layer because they grow horizontally. The next layer is the growing medium and, because of the specific requirements of cypripediums, you will have to prepare it yourself. The mix I have used for some years consists of equal parts of VulkaTec Bims gravel, perlite, grit (2-6mm) and grit-sand (sharp sand). If you can’t obtain VulkaTec you can replace it with lava split or hydro grains. It is not the material itself that is important, but its porosity and permeability. In this growing medium you must not use organic compost – and absolutely no peat! If you use peat, the Cypripedium roots will rot. I have planted cypripediums in a peat bed and SEPTEMBER 2013

I learned my lesson the hard way – I lost almost all of them. Just two survived: C. reginae and C. flavum. Peat holds on to too much moisture and in time loses its porosity, resulting in an airless mix. It is fatal for your plants. Most cypripediums will do well in the neutral medium I have described. For the lime-lovers I add some crushed tufa, and for acid lovers I add some pine bark and pine needles (see the table at the end of this article). It is on this medium that you position your plants. Spread the roots as widely as possible, keeping the buds vertical. Cover the roots with the same growing mix, to which you can add ten per cent beech leaf-mould. The buds have to be just at the surface of 285

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A healthy stand of Cypripedium reginae in Wim’s garden 286

THE ALPINE GARDENER

CYPRIPEDIUMS

Cypripedium Cleo Pinkepank, also known as C. Kentucky Pink

this mix. Water in firmly. I never press the mix onto the roots. Finally, give the plants a mulch of beech leaf-mould, pine needles or pine bark. And then wait… Caring for your plants When the plants are in growth, the mix should be kept moist, not wet. When you have to water, try to use rainwater as much as possible. Tap water can contain chemicals and, in some areas, lime. As soon as the buds start to grow, I feed my plants every two weeks with a tomato fertiliser with a very low nitrogen content. I stop fertilising when all the leaves have died back and the new buds and roots for the following year have been formed. This process takes place while the stems are dying back, so don’t SEPTEMBER 2013

stop feeding or watering in dry periods until they have disappeared. All cypripediums are hardy in the Dutch climate. Cold does not harm them but some species will not tolerate excessive moisture in winter. They should be protected from rain by placing a glass or polycarbonate sheet above them. In November I mulch all cypripediums with a layer of 5cm to 8cm of beech leaf-mould. This helps to prevent big swings in temperature adversely affecting the plants. Some of the smaller cypripediums can be grown in pots. I use big pots with a diameter of at least 28cm. Digging the pots into the ground helps to keep the roots cool and prevents too much evaporation through the sides – 287

PRACTICAL GARDENING  effectively an outdoor plunge. Pots offer the advantage that they can be placed in a winter-dry and frost-free area such as a cellar or garage. Make sure, however, that the pots do not dry out and never allow cypripediums in pots to freeze. Although they are hardy, they are vulnerable to being frozen via the sides of the pot. Getting started If you are a beginner with cypripediums it is best to start with some hybrids. There are several nurseries selling them online. I have never had problems with postage and packaging and, over the years, all my plants have arrived in good condition. Try to buy flowering-sized plants, which does not mean that they will necessarily flower the following year. It simply means they should be strong and have a good chance of surviving their first year in your garden. Healthy plants have creamy to light brown roots. Reliable nurseries will never send unhealthy plants. Do not buy plants from Chinese nurseries because they usually don’t have CITES (conservation) papers and you cannot be sure that the plants have not been taken from the wild. The plants you buy from reputable nurseries in Europe will be cultivated plants. As soon as the plants arrive, plant them either in the garden or in pots. If this is not possible you can store them for a few days in a refrigerator. Usually the more buds the plants have, the more expensive they are. After buying my first C. calceolus in 1992 I next tried C. reginae, which did very well until 2002. Then suddenly it disappeared. In the meantime a good 288

Cypripedium Philipp (C. macranthos x kentuckiense)

choice of hybrids had come onto the market. When I prepared my peat bed I bought some new plants including C. Ulla Silkens, C. flavum, C. henryi, C. reginae, C. pubescens and C. Aki. But, as I have said, I lost them all except reginae and flavum. By the way, my dactylorhizas do very well in this bed! After this failure I prepared three new beds, all in the shadow of a northfacing wall. I filled these beds with the inorganic medium I have described. Since 2009 I have collected more plants from several nurseries in Europe. They are all doing well. The number of buds on almost all of them is multiplying and they are making good clumps. I now have more than 80 species and hybrids THE ALPINE GARDENER

CYPRIPEDIUMS

Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens

in my garden and the collection is still expanding. I have lost just two plants since 2009 – C. tibeticum and C. speciosum – after I failed to give them enough protection from winter rain. Growing cypripediums is not as difficult as many people would have you believe. Every year I look forward to seeing them come into growth and how many flowers they will produce. On the following pages I have produced a basic guide to growing the species. I have largely avoided hybrids because there are now so many of them. Also, until you try them, you don’t know which characteristics they have inherited from their parents. SEPTEMBER 2013

I wish you much success in growing these wonderful plants. Further reading Die orchideengattung Cypripedium by Wolfgang Eccarius (2009), EchinoMedia Verlag, Bürgel. The Genus Cypripedium by Phillip Cribb (2008), Kew Publishing. Growing Hardy Orchids by Philip Seaton, Phillip Cribb, Margaret Ramsay and John Haggar (2011), Kew Publishing. Hardy Cypripedium: Species, Hybrids and Cultivation by Werner Frosch and Phillip Cribb (2012), Kew Publishing. (The last three books are available from the AGS book shop.) 289

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Based on his experience with the genus, Wim has compiled this basic guide to growing Cypripedium species Name

Soil type

Specific demands

acaule Very acidic Once a month add some vinegar when (pH4-5) watering (a teaspoon to 10 litres). Protect in winter. arietinum Acidic calceolus Calcareous californicum Acidic Protect from winter cold. cordigerum Acidic corrugatum Calcareous debile Calcareous Mulch with pine needles. Protect in winter. fargesii Calcareous Mulch with pine needles. farreri Calcareous fasciculatum Calcareous fasciolatum Calcareous No organic material; not too moist in summer to avoid root rot. flavum Calcareous Use an open, very mineral compost; keep it cool in summer, protect in winter. flavum Calcareous As above. (white form) formosanum Acidic Mulch with pine needles. Protect in winter. franchetii Calcareous guttatum Calcareous henryi Calcareous Perhaps best in a pot, protect in winter. himalaicum Calcareous Protect in winter. japonicum Neutral kentuckiense Acidic Protect from severe cold. lichiangense Calcareous Mulch with pine needles. Protect in winter. macranthos Calcareous Use a compost with little organic material, protect in winter. makasin Neutral manchurium Calcareous margaritaceum Calcareous Protect in winter. micranthum Calcareous Mulch with pine needles. Protect in winter. montanum Calcareous palangshanense Acidic 290

THE ALPINE GARDENER

CYPRIPEDIUMS

Cypripedium franchetii Name

Soil type

parviflorum passerinum plectrochilum pubescens reginae segawai shanxiense smithii speciosum tibeticum ventricosum wardii yunnanense

Neutral Neutral Calcareous Neutral Neutral Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous Neutral Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous Calcareous

SEPTEMBER 2013

Specific demands

Mulch with pine needles. Protect in winter. Do not allow to dry out in summer. Protect in winter. Has a long winter rest. Protect in winter. Protect in winter.

291

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HOW TO GROW IT

I

Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’

n the late 1970s, I bought a rather nice plant for my garden, under the name Lithospermum diffusum. There were two cultivars on offer at the time: ‘Heavenly Blue’ and ‘Grace Ward’. I do not remember which of these two names was on the label. I was advised to plant it in a half-shady position, so placed it in a west-facing border. The results were unimpressive. It gradually formed a mound of straggly stems, bare for half their length, and a sparse scattering of flowers. Its only saving grace was that the flowers, such as they were, were produced throughout the year. Eventually I adopted my ‘kill or cure’ method, cutting it back hard and moving it to a position in full sun. Success! The next season produced a compact, rich green mound, smothered in flowers in April and May with occasional flowers at other times. Today, of course, I am much wiser. I now know that this species has its main distribution in Portugal and Spain, spreading into France. Oleg Polunin succinctly describes the habitat as ‘Heaths’ (Flowers of Europe: A Field Guide), so a sunny position is clearly its place in nature. You can look up details such as this in the AGS Encyclopaedia of Alpines on our website. Since my first experience of the plant, there has been one of those tiresome name changes and it is now Lithodora diffusa. In my present garden, I have discovered (by accident, I might add) another use 292

A cushion that’s also a climber! by Vic Aspland for it. In an existing border I planted a mature specimen of Rhododendron hirsutum ‘Flore Pleno’, not realising at the time that a Lithodora was already present further back (it was winter, after all, and I was in a hurry to get plants into the ground). The Rhododendron soon grew over the Lithodora, but this did not harm it. The stems simply climbed up through the shrub until they reached the top, then flowered perfectly normally. Consequently, the foliage of the Rhododendron is covered with blue flowers in April and deep pink ones in June and July. I do like getting double value out of the same patch of ground! More recently I saw a new clone on sale at an AGS show. Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ was a name I did not know. It looked compact, with more fleshy leaves than the ones mentioned above, so I snapped it up. It was planted in the front garden, which is south-facing, and has been a splendid performer. Even this year it has flowered prolifically and has not been affected in any way by drought, high temperatures or intense sunshine. THE ALPINE GARDENER

HOW TO GROW IT

Tulipa linifolia Batalinii Group pushing through a mat of Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ in Vic Aspland’s garden

As it has gradually spread, other merits have been revealed. It adds a nice feeling of maturity when clothing the top of a sandstone rock. It has gradually spread over a Galanthus cultivar (name unknown) and Tulipa linifolia Batalinii Group, which flowers in April and May. Both have continued to flower well under this cushion of foliage, so again I get an extended flowering season and extra value from the same patch of ground. In the course of writing this profile, I SEPTEMBER 2013

traced this clone back to its introducer, Ron McBeath, who kindly supplied me with the following information: ‘This Lithodora was collected as seed in 1980 under the collection number Gardiner & McBeath 1028 (the Gardiner is Jim Gardiner, now the RHS Director of Horticulture). Jim worked at Edinburgh at the time and we were on holiday in France and Spain. ‘It was collected at 1,900m at Fuente De, La Colladina, in the Picos de 293

PRACTICAL GARDENING

Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ mingles happily with an unidentified Galanthus cultivar in Vic’s garden

Europa, where it grew among Genista in limestone rocks and scree. At the time I did not realise that it was a compact form. I assumed it was low-growing due to the harsh conditions it had to endure. A batch of seedlings was raised and they all made the same compact plants. ‘At the time I thought it was interesting that the Lithodora was growing in limestone because most books state that they require acid conditions – see the AGS Encyclopaedia of Alpines. This was one of the reasons we collected the seed. I am not sure how it copes with a high pH in gardens. In Edinburgh there is an acid soil and at our Lamberton garden on the east coast of Scotland we are on neutral soil. Although the Lithodora was on white limestone I have no idea what was the pH of the soil. But lots of rhododendrons in China grow on limestone.’ So there you have it: a plantsman in the right place and with an eye for a good 294

plant. With me, ‘Picos’ has proved to be an outstanding performer that I can thoroughly recommend. If you check the entry in the AGS Encyclopaedia, do not be put off by the statement that it must have an acid soil, which is incorrect. My soil has a pH of around 7.0, which is exactly neutral. You should note, however, that if grown in strongly alkaline soil it may start to show signs of chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves) because these conditions lock up some nutrients. In my travels to some limestone mountain areas, I have observed that where the rainfall is high, a soil enriched in organic matter will not be alkaline. This may have been the case with Ron’s plant. Perhaps I should take a holiday there to check…  If you wish to have ‘Picos’ in your garden, Aberconwy Nursery and Pottertons Nursery (www.pottertons. co.uk) both stock it. THE ALPINE GARDENER

HOW TO GROW IT

HOW TO GROW IT

Androsace vandellii

A well-flowered specimen of Androsace vandellii grown by Sue Flanigan

I

joined the AGS in 1969 but the first show I attended was the International Conference Show at Harrogate in 1971. This was where I first set eyes on Androsace imbricata, which now goes under the name of Androsace vandellii. It was love at first sight and it remains to this day my favourite alpine plant. Over the years I have been lucky enough to grow four specimens of A. vandellii that have been awarded the Farrer Medal at AGS shows, and one that has been awarded the SRGC Forrest Medal. In nature it always grows on noncalcareous formations, mostly in

SEPTEMBER 2013

Star of the Alps that thrives in cultivation by Geoff Rollinson the Pennine Alps. Its main centre of distribution is the Bernese Oberland, with scattered populations down to the 295

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Androsace vandellii grown by Cyril Lafong and exhibited at the International Conference show in 2011

Maritime Alps. It also occurs in the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada. Having spoken with people who have seen it in its Spanish habitat, it is clear that the forms there are much inferior to those in the Pennine Alps. Plants in nature are seldom bigger than 10cm in diameter and most, but not all, grow on the shaded side of cliffs and rocks. A. vandellii makes tight cushions and some forms exhibit a silvery appearance due to the tiny star-shaped hairs on the leaf surfaces. Individual rosettes can vary in diameter between 4mm and 8mm. The white, scented flowers have a yellow throat and quite often in cultivation the flowering is so profuse that the flowers prevent each other from opening fully. To grow A. vandellii in pots, I have experimented over the past 40 years with various composts and have found the best for my conditions in West Yorkshire to be a 50-50 mix of leaf-mould and a 296

neutral grit. I have access to a three-acre oak wood so obtaining leaf-mould is not a problem. This compost, however, is so sparse in sustenance that the plants must be repotted every year. Sometimes I tease the old compost away from the roots and replace the plant in the same pot with fresh compost. The pots are kept in a damp sand plunge in my alpine house. In summer I water directly into the pots every day if the temperature is high, as it has been this summer. In winter they are watered once a week, but more often if we experience a spell of higher than average temperatures. You can tell when the plants are becoming dehydrated because the cushion ‘cracks’ – in other words the rosettes separate slightly instead of being held tightly together. All my plants are raised from my own THE ALPINE GARDENER

HOW TO GROW IT

Geoff Rollinson with one of the many fine specimens of Androsace vandellii he has grown over 40 years

seed. Around ten years ago they were getting more difficult to grow, which I suspected was due to interbreeding in my stock. I swapped some small plants with Brian Burrow and Don Peace and allowed them to intermingle with my SEPTEMBER 2013

own seedlings and let the bluebottles do their work. Subsequent seedlings seem to have regained their previous vigour and floriferous nature. After flowering I remove all but half a dozen flowers on each plant. These set the seed needed to produce the following year’s stock. The resultant seedlings are grown on until they flower and I then select the best for flower size and the appearance of the cushion. There is no quick fix – it takes at least four years from first flowering to show bench. Aphids and root aphids can both cause problems for the plants. To reduce the possibility of outbreaks, I use halfstrength Bayer Top Rose watered directly into the pots each month from March to October. I use this for all my show plants, not just A. vandellii. Although I prefer to grow the species in an alpine house, it can be grown outdoors. The AGS Encyclopaedia of Alpines says: ‘In its early years this is a relatively easy and popular species which can be grown outside in vertical crevices or a scree bed, ideally with winter rain protection using a sheet of glass.’ I have tried twice to see A. vandellii growing in the wild, but each time have been thwarted by snow. High above SassFee in Switzerland, the cliffs alongside the path to the Britannia Hűtte have been covered in snow in August! The plant’s habitat in nature is very rocky, with very little if any organic matter. The roots tend to run along cracks and crevices and provide the plants with a meagre supply of nutrients. That’s why plants grown in cultivation are far superior to anything you will encounter in the wild. 297

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HOW TO GROW IT

I

Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’

n the late 1970s, I bought a rather nice plant for my garden, under the name Lithospermum diffusum. There were two cultivars on offer at the time: ‘Heavenly Blue’ and ‘Grace Ward’. I do not remember which of these two names was on the label. I was advised to plant it in a half-shady position, so placed it in a west-facing border. The results were unimpressive. It gradually formed a mound of straggly stems, bare for half their length, and a sparse scattering of flowers. Its only saving grace was that the flowers, such as they were, were produced throughout the year. Eventually I adopted my ‘kill or cure’ method, cutting it back hard and moving it to a position in full sun. Success! The next season produced a compact, rich green mound, smothered in flowers in April and May with occasional flowers at other times. Today, of course, I am much wiser. I now know that this species has its main distribution in Portugal and Spain, spreading into France. Oleg Polunin succinctly describes the habitat as ‘Heaths’ (Flowers of Europe: A Field Guide), so a sunny position is clearly its place in nature. You can look up details such as this in the AGS Encyclopaedia of Alpines on our website. Since my first experience of the plant, there has been one of those tiresome name changes and it is now Lithodora diffusa. In my present garden, I have discovered (by accident, I might add) another use 292

A cushion that’s also a climber! by Vic Aspland for it. In an existing border I planted a mature specimen of Rhododendron hirsutum ‘Flore Pleno’, not realising at the time that a Lithodora was already present further back (it was winter, after all, and I was in a hurry to get plants into the ground). The Rhododendron soon grew over the Lithodora, but this did not harm it. The stems simply climbed up through the shrub until they reached the top, then flowered perfectly normally. Consequently, the foliage of the Rhododendron is covered with blue flowers in April and deep pink ones in June and July. I do like getting double value out of the same patch of ground! More recently I saw a new clone on sale at an AGS show. Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ was a name I did not know. It looked compact, with more fleshy leaves than the ones mentioned above, so I snapped it up. It was planted in the front garden, which is south-facing, and has been a splendid performer. Even this year it has flowered prolifically and has not been affected in any way by drought, high temperatures or intense sunshine. THE ALPINE GARDENER

HOW TO GROW IT

Tulipa linifolia Batalinii Group pushing through a mat of Lithodora diffusa ‘Picos’ in Vic Aspland’s garden

As it has gradually spread, other merits have been revealed. It adds a nice feeling of maturity when clothing the top of a sandstone rock. It has gradually spread over a Galanthus cultivar (name unknown) and Tulipa linifolia Batalinii Group, which flowers in April and May. Both have continued to flower well under this cushion of foliage, so again I get an extended flowering season and extra value from the same patch of ground. In the course of writing this profile, I SEPTEMBER 2013

traced this clone back to its introducer, Ron McBeath, who kindly supplied me with the following information: ‘This Lithodora was collected as seed in 1980 under the collection number Gardiner & McBeath 1028 (the Gardiner is Jim Gardiner, now the RHS Director of Horticulture). Jim worked at Edinburgh at the time and we were on holiday in France and Spain. ‘It was collected at 1,900m at Fuente De, La Colladina. 293

BLACKTHORN

In the second of a three-part series on the garden of Robin and Sue White in Hampshire, Robert Rolfe focuses on the area behind the house which was such a vital part of their former nursery. Photographs by Jon Evans unless credited otherwise

A back garden for the plant connoisseur

T

he garden at Blackthorn flanks the house on all sides, but the area behind the house is far and away the most substantial, involving a complex series of borders, raised beds and sleeper beds, trough collections, an alpine lawn, woodland fringe plantings and an avenue of polytunnels. Several tunnels, at one time crammed with plants when Robin and Sue White’s nursery was in full production, have recently been dismantled: the garden continues to develop. I visited Blackthorn several times last year from March to early September. Even so, this second article − like its 310

bookends − is very much a snapshot impression of an enormously eclectic gathering of thousands of plants. In the last issue, the impromptu tour finished on the bank at the front of the garden. From there the undulating perimeter bed extends some 100m down the left-hand side of the property, overhung with trees. It repays close inspection at almost any time of the year, but particularly when the foreground THE ALPINE GARDENER

A view across the meadow at the rear of the house, with an assortment of sleeper beds and troughs in the foreground

plantings of hepaticas in variety are in bloom, or a couple of months later, when a second-storey overlay of perennials such as foxgloves, aquilegias and Ranunculus aconitifolius ‘Flore Pleno’ are at their best. Midway along is a 2m tall specimen of Deutzia setchuenensis var. corymbiflora, used as an accent plant, and as attractive when wreathed with thousands of pinkcalyxed buds as when the foaming SEPTEMBER 2013

mantle of white flowers opens in June. At Blackthorn it flowers earlier than the July start sometimes signalled for British gardens. Yet in its native Chinese provinces of Hubei and Sichuan, blooming takes place in May at altitudes of 800-1,500m, where the prevailing habitat is ‘dense forest’, hence it enjoys this site in dappled shade. While tolerant of full sun, in such a position late frosts can do damage. Is there a better mid311

BLACKTHORN

Alstroemeria ligtu hybrids, which resent being moved once established

height, deciduous shrub? A white form of Geranium phaeum and pink Lilium x dalhansonii stand either side. Across the lawn and close to the house, two parallel borders intersected by a path provide much interest from ankle to head height and beyond, for the walls are clothed with climbers, none more attractive than Clematis macropetala in a double-flowered white form. It vies with an unnamed, delicate pink form of C. alpina – espied in a local garden and now happily scrambling up a tree at Blackthorn – for first place in the owners’ affections. The plantings are not strictly alpine, but blend in well with bona fide examples of these. 312

Older readers will recall that Clarence Elliott, one of the 20th century’s more notable alpine nurserymen, raised a series of Alstroemeria ligtu hybrids. Descendants of these relish the warmth and deep soil beside the house. Described by Clarence’s son Joe as occurring in ‘many vivid shades of pink, salmon, tangerine, flesh and near white, with the pinks predominating’, he advised that they remain in flower for fully six weeks, need replanting in July or August, form brittle tubers that should be handled with care and take two years to become fully established. Avoid moving them ever again: ‘The roots go very deep and resent any disturbance,’ he warned. THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

BLACKTHORN

A few of the troughs on the terrace, crammed with alpines

There’s a conservatory at the back of the house and a terrace in front of this, with an array of largely stone containers. A selection of large pots is planted up first with tulips, then later in the year with combinations such as Phygelius ‘New Sensation’ (a purplepink Blackthorn raising) surrounded by a fringe of grey Helichrysum petiolare and reddish Verbena x hybrida. Other pots contain sparkling white Swainsona galegifolia ‘Albiflora’ and associates such as blue Convolvulus sabatius, in flower from mid-June onwards if started off under cover. Shortly beyond is a raised bed made of dry-stone walling, four to six tiers deep. SEPTEMBER 2013

Alpine plants cascade over this, enjoying the free drainage, full sun and elevated siting. Dwarf Phlox, Iberis sempervirens and sempervivums clothe the sides. On top, a handsome clump of Paeonia mlokosewitschii has established. The terrace is closed off, barring an exit path, by a border that is shaded later in the year by shrub roses but in March and April is spangled with celandines (all single-flowered, though in every shade from palest lemon to bright yellow) mixed with oxlips. Hellebores thrive here, their season opening with bold clumps of H. niger in February followed by near blackish-purple H. x hybridus a month later, when green, free-flowering 313

BLACKTHORN H. foetidus ‘Wester Flisk’ is also in its prime in a drier, sunnier position by the house wall. (Plants sold as H. niger ‘Blackthorn Strain’ were the products of a controlled F1 cross, their flowers held well clear of the leaves on dark coloured stems.) Troughs are the main feature of the terrace. Anne Ashberry’s Gardens in Miniature (1967) opens with the line: ‘Can you imagine looking at a lovely garden through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars?’, and this telescoping, microcosmic effect is the essence of trough gardening. If I say that the Blackthorn troughs are crammed with as many plants as possible, this is meant as praise. They teem with alpines, and even in winter the contrasting rosettes of Kabschia, Engleria and silver saxifrages are a delight. Saxifraga oppositifolia does well, unusually so for a garden in southernmost England – a sure sign that watering is attended to throughout the summer (there’s a garden hose nearby, cleverly hidden by a brick housing that blends in well with its surrounds). After the first couple of years, regular liquid feeds are given in spring and summer to keep these and other occupants in good heart. Of course, a trough devoted to just one plant can work well. One thinks, for example, of the dazzling group of Ramonda nathaliae that once flowered by the hundred at Broadwell Nursery. But it is the intricate associations that this form of gardening makes possible that appeal most. At Blackthorn, the Ramonda associates with another Balkan endemic, Teucrium aroanium, so successfully that the latter forms a 314

silvery-grey lace fringing around the deep green rosettes of the gesneriad, its pale lilac, dark-veined flowers appearing on and off for much of the summer. From the same part of the world, Asyneuma limonifolium (ZE&S51598) was introduced by the 2002 Zetterlund, Erikkson and Strid Greek expedition. This is one of the high-alpine forms, only 5-10cm tall and very much in scale with other dwarf trough occupants. Lowaltitude examples of the species, whose spikes can reach 1m, are more suited to a dry border or a large gravel bed. The plant was first deemed a Phyteuma – a more puzzling misplacement than that of Edraianthus serpyllifolius (true to character in another trough, its flowers darker than any other species), once included in Wahlenbergia. These distinguished Campanulaceae members are less vulnerable but not immune to mollusc predation when grown in this manner. Accordingly Campanula raineri has achieved a degree of permanency very seldom witnessed if put out on the rock garden. One could spend the whole article discussing the plants in this part of the garden, but I’ll confine my comments to another notable performer, a dwarf (10cm) form of Aquilegia pyrenaica, introduced by Henry and Margaret Taylor from the Pic d’Anie. Very similar in appearance to A. bertolonii, but with even larger flowers in examples such as this (measuring 6cm across) and sometimes with slightly longer spurs, it is given as ‘bright blue’ in Flora Europaea, whereas its Maritime Alps counterpart is described as ‘blue-violet’. This distinction is not clear-cut and you THE ALPINE GARDENER

BLACKTHORN

A dwarf and large-flowered form of Aquilegia pyrenaica

could easily mistake one for the other, provenance apart. Seedlings will flower within a year of germinating, but as with so many of the genus, bees will transfer pollen from any other aquilegia in the vicinity, so ruthless dead-heading is required to maintain ‘pure’ stocks. Beyond the terrace is waist-high, tidily clipped hornbeam hedging, marking the former limits of the garden. The area behind it was all at one time given over to nursery production in the form of numerous frames and polytunnels. Since 2005, this area has been extensively reworked, the most important initiative involving the deployment of a subsoiler – a single tine, dragged behind a tractor, SEPTEMBER 2013

to break up the heavily compacted soil. There is a run of sleeper bed frames, part planted out, part even now filled with young – and not so young − plants in pots; a substantial triangular bed filled largely with dry meadowland plants; a more extensive alpine meadow that is coming on in leaps and bounds; a slightly shaded border containing an entirely different mix of plants; and a shaded frame bed where trilliums, cypripediums, anemonellas and numerous other woodlanders have established spectacularly. In the fringing border can be found a Roy Lancaster introduction, the rich blue Veronica umbrosa ‘Georgia 315

BLACKTHORN   Blue’ (aubrieta-like from a distance but far longer flowering), Geranium sanguineum ‘Jubilee Pink’ (the flowers fade a few days after opening but are produced in quantity) and Viola cornuta in both blue and white, the longevity of whose performances outstrips almost any other member of the genus. Sue White commissioned an ironsmith to devise vase-like and skeletal structures to rein-in and marshal taller growing plants such as peonies and intermediate delphiniums: the ironwork is almost invisible when such plants are in flower. I will make brief mention of the outlying frames, for these have been used in part for a trial of dwarf forms of Daphne cneorum, some of them (such as ‘Czech Song’) sent over by Zdenĕk Zvolánek, but the majority introduced from the southern French/Maritime Alps by Chris Brickell and Peter Erskine. Robin White will shortly be writing about these, I understand. Suffice to say that the daphnes need overhead fleece shading in warm spells during late spring and summer (the local chippings absorb the sun’s heat and cook the plants) and that several have grown very well when sheltered from early frosts, which brown the flowers. Most of them repeat-flower if kept well watered. They are, in the main, turf-dwellers, benefitting from their association with other plants that provide shade and ground-cover. These frames, in full sun, also contain mature plants in pots and others with their feet well down into the gritty ground. A highlight is the orange-red Castilleja miniata with fellow North Americans Penstemon heterophyllus and P. procerus ‘Roy Davidson’ (Keith Wiley 316

had advised that the two genera very much enjoyed one another’s company). In early June these give a blaze of colour. The triangular bed nearby constitutes a dryland meadow in miniature, where a vibrant association of occupants comes to the fore in late spring, with a changing cast that remains eye-catching through to mid-autumn. Fringing the main performers is a low-growing apron chiefly comprising Thymus serpyllum forms, rich blue Anagallis monellii, which self-sows, surviving even the worst of winters, and the equally brilliant, similarly dwarf but palish-eyed Campanula ramossisima. By mid-June, the main troupe includes Salvia pratensis in several shades from pale to deep blue, buttercup yellow Anthemis tinctoria ‘Compacta’ (which blooms right through to the first frosts if cut back hard to 10cm stumps in late July), kniphofias (K. thomsonii, and later on K. ‘Bressingham Comet’) and the late-flowering, bright greenish-yellow Euphorbia ‘Blue Haze’. This refined, 45cm tall Blackthorn hybrid between E. seguieriana subsp. niciciana and the narrower leaved E. nicaeensis is the showiest of spurges, not only when the bright chrome yellow bracts are at their best, but even after these are pruned away in August, almost to the base, for the new flush of glaucous shoots remains attractive throughout the winter. Through to late autumn, the taller presence of Stipa gigantea adds both structure and swaying movement to the gathering, while at a lower level Serratula seaonei is useful not just for its pinkish flowerheads (eclipsed by various asters, for which it provides a THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

BLACKTHORN

The long-flowering Viola cornuta

subtle foil) but for its seedheads, too, which remain ornamental right through winter and on into March. It is a native of south-western France and parts of the Iberian peninsula and copes easily with drought and spartan conditions. Even in October, purplish-pink Diascia personata is still going strong, its stems supported by the twiggy remains of earlier performers, accompanied by a tracery of Bidens aurea and Clematis orientalis, trained in the horizontal (rather than the perpendicular) fashion that was popularised by John Treasure. And so to another fairly recent feature SEPTEMBER 2013

– an alpine, or rather a subalpine meadow, sown in 2008. Taking the form of a square, it is softened by a curvaceous path running through it. Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) has been planted to quell the existing sward (no plant serves this purpose better), and bearing in mind Blackthorn’s location so close to the chalk downlands, many of the showiest inhabitants of those scarp and dip slopes can be found in this borderfringed quadrangle, some there by design, others fortuitous incomers. The natives are at their best in high summer – marjoram (Origanum vulgare), 317

BLACKTHORN   Scabiosa columbaria, great knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa), vetches and vetchlings, and a scattering of orchids: Epipactis palustris needs spot-watering. A small population of ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) is carefully monitored to prevent a takeover. Sundry occupants continue the season into August, alongside Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum in both pink and white phases, whose blooming is cut short by a mid-month mowing, the optimum time to do this. The range of plants being trialled for suitability in the meadow is very wide: almost world-wide, one might say. The season starts in February with Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus, which is slowly spreading from seed. Several anemones are close on its heels: Anemone blanda and a bright red form of A. pavonina have established. In the main the occupants are under 20cm tall, the bar set by an attractive eastern Turkish Gladiolus from Hakkari Province, collected by Norman Stevens at over 1,800m on Beyez Dağ, and usually pink (albinos occur infrequently): it is close to G. antakiensis. Several other dwarf Turkish species have been introduced. Rhodohypoxis baurii in white and several shades of pink is among the dwarfest residents, entirely at home amid the sward and fully hardy in such a position. The nominal height restriction is loftily breached by the mainly Caucasian Lilium monadelphum, whose nodding, 10cm diameter yellow flowers appear in June. It has settled down both here and in an adjacent border, where a stem with a dozen lightly freckled flowers is an annual delight. 318

From here, and towards the boundary, the garden becomes progressively shadier, with a broad L-shaped border that blends into part of the elevated sleeper-bed rock garden, and after that some rehabilitated woodland frame beds. These used to accommodate stock plants but now they house some of the garden’s choicest woodlanders. A majestic oak provides much of the shade and sheds a mulch of acorns by the tens of thousands. The rehabilitated frames are home to a variety of erythroniums (including an atypically greenish Erythronium oregonum, which enjoys the free drainage), anemonellas, THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

BLACKTHORN

Hepatica x media ‘Millstream Merlin’ at home in a frame bed. Opposite, a bright red form of Anemone pavonina in the newly created alpine meadow

a North American raising of the European-parented Hepatica x media ‘Millstream Merlin’ (this royal blue Lincoln Foster selection is far and away the best of its kind), trilliums in variety (T. chloropetalum in both ruby and creamy-white is oustanding) and a selection of orchids. There are notable clumps of pink and white Cypripedium reginae and the purple-pink on pale pink C. Gisela gx, at their best in the second half of May. Also here you will find a sturdy clump of Dactylorhiza ‘Harold Esslemont’, a D. foliosa selection, or else a hybrid, with unspotted leaves and rich purple flowers SEPTEMBER 2013

on sturdy stems to 50cm tall. It has, as a backdrop, a clump of the strikingly creamy-white variegated Disporum smithii ‘Rick’, stocks of which in British gardens are largely derived from Blackthorn divisions, effected in late spring and kept shaded until established. All around Narcissus triandrus self-sows freely, a rare occurrence in this country nowadays. October-flowering Crocus banaticus is sprinkled here and there, sometimes in pleasing proximity to silver-leaved forms of Cyclamen hederifolium. C. pseudibericum has also settled in here, for all that it is often regarded as a 319

BLACKTHORN  ROBERT ROLFE

Dactylorhiza ‘Harold Esslemont’ in front of variegated Disporum smithii ‘Rick’

species best kept under glass, even in southern England. The presence of a Paris reliably signifies that you are in an out-of-the-ordinary garden. The Chinese species have caused much excitement in recent years and several of these are grown at Blackthorn. This said, arguably the showiest in the genus is the Honshu endemic P. japonica, whose flowers with seven to ten ‘petals’ are easily distinguishable from the others and have in the past seen it classified as a Trillium (T. japonicum), a Trillidium (T. japonicum), and a founder member of the genus Kinugasa. The stems can be up to 80cm tall, though half this height or under is more usual, and the creamwhite flowers are at their best in late 320

April or early May. Around the same time, British native Paris quadrifolia (also found across Europe, through to Siberia, Mongolia and northern China) comes into flower, lasting well into June in some localities. Rather too green and understated on its own, for some tastes anyway, it makes a first-rate companion plant, used at Blackthorn with erythroniums. The deep soil of an old stock frame, enriched with leaf-mould and kept reliably moist by irrigation in the summer, is much to the liking of Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides (pictured on the back cover of this issue) from central and eastern China and Taiwan. First grown by British gardeners in THE ALPINE GARDENER

A single flower of Paris japonica and, right, a fine stand of P. quadrifolia

the late 19th century, but only reliably available quite recently, its stem can reach over a metre, carrying up to five exotically frilled, red-spotted flowers, usually in August, yet last year at their peak in early October. In the sunnier, stonier conditions of an adjacent gravel bed, June-flowering L. pomponium has formed a slowly increasing clump: is there a more richly red lily? Having mentioned Chinese plants, it would be remiss to delay any longer the mention of epimediums, for that country is their stronghold and further new species have been described in the last few years. Blackthorn Nursery offered far and away the best selection in the British Isles. They are present in all SEPTEMBER 2013

the woodland areas of the garden, with Roy Lancaster’s introduction Epimedium stellulatum very effective when the justmentioned lilies are barely through the ground, its clouds of white flowers contrasting beautifully with the newly emerged, purplish leaves. Blooming for longer still, and with very handsome foliage, is E. ‘Amber Queen’, one of Robin White’s earliest named hybrids. Its long, spinymargined leaflets endure the year-round in a sheltered site, and here the greenflowered Daphne pontica provides a windbreak and a frost-shield combined. E. ‘Amber Queen’ is a deliberate cross made in 1994 between E. wushanense ‘Caramel’ and E. flavum. It has inherited 321

BLACKTHORN

Epimedium ‘Amber Queen’

the vigour of the mother plant and much of her stature too: come late April and May it stands 55cm tall in full flower. At its feet, Cyclamen purpurascens has established better than anywhere else in the garden and now forms a summerfragrant drift. These plantings gracefully convey the impression of a woodland-fringe backdrop to the garden, with hepaticas and wood anemones at their feet. In February, when the neatly mulched bed is just stirring, a couple of snowdrops, the tubby Galanthus ‘Bill Bishop’ and the refined, yellow top-and-tail G. ‘Spindlestone Surprise’, team up with generous clumps of Eranthis hyemalis Tubergenii Group ‘Guinea Gold’. From 322

then the pace quickens, by the week in a normal season and almost by the hour during the unprecedented warmth of a March such as that of 2012. During that month some hearty clumps of primroses come to the fore, accompanied by Erythronium ‘Eirene’ (an E. tuolumnense hybrid barely 10cm tall when the first flowers open), Trillium rivale and pulmonarias all around, for there is just enough shade to prevent the mildew to which this genus is prone if placed in full sun. The first wood anemones will be in flower, pinks to the fore, and in particular a clone named after Evelyn Meadows is worthy of mention. This was contributed by Richard Nutt, under the number 43, THE ALPINE GARDENER

BLACKTHORN

Primula halleri interplanted with a cream-white double primrose

to the RHS Anemone nemorosa trial at Knightshayes that concluded in 1998. Set apart by a combination of redflushed leaves and deep pink flower buds that open blush-rose it has, over the past decade at Blackthorn, produced even better seedlings where it has interbred with Lionel Bacon’s ‘Picos Pink’ and Gerry Mundey’s ‘Tinney’s Blush’. Glorious natural stands of this peerless wood anemone can be seen, in March and April, only a few miles away, along several shady verges of the many narrow roads that criss-cross this part of Hampshire. Rounding off the season for this species, A. n. ‘Miss Eunice’ has deep blue flowers, almost vying with those of Hepatica nobilis. SEPTEMBER 2013

Where the border trends round to run parallel with an edge of the alpine meadow, the nature of the plantings gradually alters as shade gives way to full sun. The soil is still humus-rich and remains moist throughout the summer, enabling autumn gentians to grow well despite the chalk bedrock. A cream-white double primrose is at home here, its blooming coinciding with the interplanted Primula halleri, whose slightly taller, mealy stems and large lilac flowers provide a likeable foil. The border’s fringe continues round at ankle height but the main bed is raised to the level of one, two or, at its highest, three stacked sleeper beams. Dwarf shrubs, herbaceous perennials and bona fide 323

BLACKTHORN

A white Pulsatilla vulgaris hybrid

alpines are mixed at every turn. In the last vestige of shade, a pure white Phlox divaricata selection forms a bold clump close to semi-double Delphinium ‘Space Fantasy’ (a gift from a Japanese visitor that will repeat-flower if cut down after its first effort, and both fed and watered), but most of the plants that follow are resolute sun-lovers. Certainly pulsatillas in variety appreciate the deep root run, providing a highlight in March and early April. The more vigorous Kabschia saxifrages grow well here, with primrose-coloured Saxifraga ‘Gregor Mendel’ (still often listed as S. x apiculata) forming the 324

largest clump of all. Bred in Germany over a century ago, for ease of cultivation and generosity of display it remains without equal. Nearby, set in holes drilled through mounds of tufa, a scattering of S. longifolia of different ages pleases with their geometrically precise rosettes. Their flowering is less certain: on average it takes five years before the spectacular plume appears, in late May or early June. Another highlight at this time is the too little-grown Iris kerneriana, a distinguished Turkish member of the Spuria series. Only 20cm tall, it has a short succession of svelte flowers, THE ALPINE GARDENER

BLACKTHORN

Iris kerneriana benefits from division after flowering every third year

their ground colour palest lemon but with the falls and standards pervasive orange-yellow stained. A Brian Mathew introduction, it benefits from division after flowering every third year and provides a refined counterpoint to the blue I. sibirica, in evidence elsewhere in the garden. Diascia rigescens is planted close by, reaching at least 30cm in British gardens, though considerably taller in warm, sheltered spots, and provides continual bloom over four months. The far limit of the bed has along its edge such plants as Hypericum olympicum f. uniforum ‘Citrinum’ (this should be in every collection of summer-flowering SEPTEMBER 2013

alpines), Arenaria montana (in bloom May-June; the same sentiment applies) and its cushion-forming, smallerflowered, deep pink Iberian relative A. purpurascens in a free-flowering form. It is probably referable to stock introduced by Clarence and Joe Elliott from the Cordillera Cantabrica and is identified as ‘Elliott’s variety’. The shade of neighbouring plants enables a Dianthus alpinus hybrid to persist (without which it would certainly shrivel), while several silver-leaved dwarf ‘pinks’ nearby can cope with full sun. Some fine daphnes have also settled in, notably Peter Erskine’s Italian Daphne cneorum 325

BLACKTHORN   ROBERT ROLFE

Hypericum olympicum f. uniforum ‘Citrinum’ – an essential summer alpine

‘Benaco’ (very showy, since flowers are produced both in terminal racemes and from the upper axils) and a more recent, much dwarfer French arrival, for which he shares credit with Chris Brickell, presently identified only by the alphanumeric reference ‘PE-CDB-07Y’. Walk further on and you reach a lowerlying gravel bed. Helianthemums are abundant (white, yellow and brilliant orangey-red in the case of dark-eyed ‘Ben Heckla’). Viola cornuta seeds everywhere, a very serviceable ‘link plant’, in both blue and white, Later, in September, Sedum cauticola ‘Lidakense’ is generously purple-pink in flower, 326

but even in summer its lavender-grey leaves are appealing, while erysimums infiltrate, some soft lemon (‘Moonlight’), others a strident orange (‘Apricot Twist). These associate well with an evenly double-flowered form of Ranunculus montanus, tinged with mustard rather than the glossy yellow of the species overall. Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’ provides deep mauve-blue spires to 40cm here and there from early June. Veronica gentianoides comes rather earlier and more fleetingly. A few dwarf clones are known (‘Nana’ most obviously) but the one grown at Blackthorn, under 10cm tall in some THE ALPINE GARDENER

BLACKTHORN

Daphne cneorum PE-CDB-07Y, a French find by Peter Erskine and Chris Brickell

years, can almost double that height if it rains heavily in the mid-spring buildup to its main efflorescence. I recall it growing alongside Gentiana verna subsp. pontica half-way up Ulu Dağ in northwest Turkey, where it was frequent in summer-damp yaylas. It tolerates drier conditions if given a deeply cultivated, gritty soil and occasional dousings. In two further sets of sleeper beds, rock is used to create pleasing jumbles and planting clefts. The first occupant to awaken in these, sometimes in January and still in good order through to late March, is summer-dormant Ranunculus calandrinioides. Its fellow Moroccan, SEPTEMBER 2013

Catananche caespitosa, also enjoys an end-of-bed position in full sun, cohabiting with deep pink Gypsophila repens ‘Rosenschleier’ and another émigré from the terrace troughs, navy blue Edraianthus serpyllifolius ‘Major’, flowering flat to the ground rather than drawn up, as is too often the case. At least half a dozen silver saxifrage clones come to their best simultaneously. Following them are sundry other cushion- and hummock-forming plants, many from north-west America, with eriogonums to the fore. Variously with silvery, whitish and greyish foliage, these hummocks are serviceable long before their flowering, 327

BLACKTHORN

The gravel bed features helianthemums in white, yellow and orangey-red 328

THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

BLACKTHORN

The fleeting Veronica gentianoides in the gravel bed

when the Sicilian Asperula gussonei and its pinker, western Turkish stablemate A. sintenisii bloom, in late May. The longest established bed, referred to as ‘Sue’s Bed’ after its prime architect, has many of these and a wide range of other alpines. Here can be found the southwest Chinese Veronica pyrolaeformis, quite recently reintroduced from the Yulong Shan but traceable to a longlost Farrer introduction. Dwarf linums, dwarf geraniums, Lithodora oleifolia: these and many others have established, now requiring only occasional liquid feeds when in full growth and routine weeding. Further on is another Blackthorn raising, Daphne x napolitana SEPTEMBER 2013

‘Bramdean’ (collina of gardens x cneorum var. pygmaea), over 20 years old and as such close to the original 1988 progenitor. Close by is a polytunnel where other daphnes abound: this will find its place in the third part of this series, which will focus on Blackthorn plants kept under cover.   Robin and Sue White regret that they are unable to accept visitors to Blackthorn.   Most of the photographs in the first part of this series were taken by Jon Evans. We omitted to credit Jon in the last issue. 329

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS BILLY MOORE

DUBLIN

Harold McBride’s pan of Soldanella carpatica x pusilla and, right, Val Keegan’s Trillium rivale

O

n either side of the Irish Sea, spring made a much-delayed appearance, but by the first week of April change was clearly, albeit belatedly, under way. As anyone who has made the crossing will know, Irish gardens and their very distinguished past and present owners have long figured prominently in the horticulture of these islands. This tradition continues with the cultivation of alpine plants to the fore, as was much in evidence at the Dublin Show. Harold McBride won several awards, including the ACC Cup for the most first-prize points in the Open Section and the Farrer Medal for Soldanella carpatica x pusilla. This specimen had been grown over the past eight years from a home-raised seedling of S. ‘Sudden Spring’, flowering slightly later

330

Plants catch up with late spring than the parent plant and producing even more flowers. Grown in a compost of equal parts John Innes No. 2, threeyear-old leaf-mould and grit, and overwintered in a well-ventilated cold frame, it had benefitted from liberal watering upon reawakening. Like all soldanellas, it needs maximum light in spring to prevent the flower stems from etiolating, coupled with vigilance to keep slugs at THE ALPINE GARDENER

SHOWS FEATURED: Dublin, North Midland, Northumberland, South West, Midland

LIAM McCAUGHEY

BILLY MOORE

DUBLIN

DUBLIN

COMPILED BY ROBERT ROLFE FROM REPORTS BY: Liam and Joan McCaughey, Jo Walker, Angie Jones, Graham Nicholls and Jim Almond

bay. This plant was also awarded the David Shackleton Trophy for the best pan of Primulaceae. Harold deemed his most interesting plant a Ranunculus species, which received a Certificate of Merit. The seed had come from the late Jim Price and was sown in 2000. Its true identity remains conjectural (guesses concerning its origins range from Crete to China), SEPTEMBER 2013

Pulsatilla grandis Waverley Budapest Series shown by Harold McBride 331

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS

FARRER MEDAL WINNERS DUBLIN Soldanella carpatica x pusilla (Harold McBride) NORTH MIDLAND Fritillaria davidii (Brian & Jo Walker) NORTHUMBERLAND Tecophilaea cyanocrocus (Cyril Lafong) MIDLAND Iris suaveolens Helvolus Group (Bob & Rannveig Wallis)

but this golden buttercup is of sterling worth. From the same family, his muchadmired Pulsatilla grandis Waverley Budapest Series, sown in July 2008, formed part of an AGS Medal-winning six-pan entry. It came from the late Dr Molly Sanderson, who received it from David Shackleton by way of Lady Moore, who in turn had it from Valerie Finnis, who obtained the original from a Hungarian woman familiar with it growing wild on local hillsides, the flowers used to decorate her breakfast table. What a fascinating provenance and what a fitting way to keep alive the memory of these distinguished g a r d e n e r s ! The Margaret Orsi Bowl for the best plant from North America went to Val Keegan’s large plant of Trillium rivale, a gift from Helen Dillon at least 15 years ago. Unlike many trilliums the leaves are matt green. It grows happily outside in an open frame and very occasionally receives a liquid feed. Mainland potgrown plants were devastated by the 2010-11 winter, and this spring no plants at any of the other shows approached its e x u b e r a n c e . 332

Ian Leslie is one of several UK exhibitors who in recent years has caught the ferry to Dublin for this event, bringing with him a cargo of plants. His Saxifraga desoulavyi, awarded a Certificate of Merit, was bought ten years ago from Dutch nurseryman Ger van den Beuken and is grown in an open, part-shaded cold frame. Native to the limestone screes and rock crevices of the central Caucasus, it is not conventionally attractive in the manner of many kabschia saxifrages, yet its fresh and original appearance was greatly a p p e a l i n g . Also held on the first Saturday in April, the North Midland Show stays in the mind for several reasons beyond the fine display of plants. It was the first time this year that taking photographs outdoors could be conducted in comfort (the compacted snow around the school car park evidenced how different conditions had been just a week before). It was the last time, I vow, that I will hobble with easily the heaviest pot in the hall from the farthest end of the farthest bench out to the temporary photographic studio... and back. And, as in Dublin, there was THE ALPINE GARDENER

ROBERT ROLFE

NORTH MIDLAND

Anemone caucasica, grown outdoors by George Young palpable evidence of a seasonal changeover, with late winter-flowering plants such as snowdrops and Iris winogradowii on display but also those that definitively register spring, such as Cassiope ‘Muirhead’ (Cecilia Coller’s plant won the Chesterfield Vase for the best pan of Ericaceae), that uniquely pink Pyrenean outlier of the Aretian androsaces A. ciliata (Geoff Rollinson), and a uniform grouping of the more southerly Iberian Narcissus rupicola (Brian and Shelagh Smethurst), from a 2005 sowing. In the face of strong competition from half a dozen other would-be claimants, a dazzling panful of dwarf, rich blueviolet Anemone caucasica, grown by George Young, opened up beautifully in the sunshine. This received the John SEPTEMBER 2013

Saxton Trophy for the best plant native to Europe, for all that its north-eastern Turkish, Caucasian and Iranian occurrences mean that it is at the very fringe of that continent. George grows this outdoors in as much light as possible (it very readily etiolates) in John Innes No. 2 and grit. An inhabitant of subalpine meadows at up to 2,000m, it flowers early in the year and forms extensive colonies, like a miniaturised version of the well-known A. blanda. This richly coloured phase is the one most often seen in cultivation, although the full range of hues pretty much (and prettily) mirrors that of its more westerly alter e g o . European Primula hybrids were present in variety at this gathering and those 333

ROBERT ROLFE

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS NORTH MIDLAND

Brian Burrow’s Primula ‘Coolock Snowball’ and, right, Brian and Jo Walker’s Farrer Medalwinning pan of Fritillaria davidii

shows either side. A very welcome newcomer, P. ‘Coolock Snowball’ (Brian Burrow), is a P. allionii descendant with small but abundant, cleanest white, thrum-eyed flowers that will prove as welcome as P. ‘Broadwell Milkmaid’ (which one nurseryman present offered by the score) if it submits readily to wide-scale propagation. Raised by Jim Almond, it upholds the solid reputation of his Porophyllum Saxifraga hybrids, my favourite of which, the raspberry pink S. ‘Coolock Kate’, was also well s h o w n . The Farrer Medal at Chesterfield was awarded to a mature grouping of Fritillaria davidii, exhibited by Brian and Jo Walker, boasting 48 flowers in their prime. At Exeter a week later it was also deemed best in show, but was denied another Farrer Medal because the same plant cannot win two in one season. (Chris Lilley’s veteran Trillium 334

grandiflorum later also performed the double, first at the East Anglia Show and then at Malvern.) The Fritillaria, a native of Sichuan, had bulked up from just two bulbs. It has a uniquely mat-forming proclivity and produces leaves earlier than any other, in late October. Reported from wooded, north-facing hillsides, it has also taken very well to a semi-shaded position in a Solihull alpine house. It is moved to a slightly larger container only when potbound and has thrived in a mixture of John Innes No. 2, humus and grit, the compost never being allowed to dry out, even during its leafless phase from May to October. Enjoying analogous conditions, Dichocarpum is a principally SinoJapanese genus of 15 species. Dichocarpum nipponicum, shown by Julian and Sarah Sutton at Exeter, is a summer dormant, rhizomatous, subtly THE ALPINE GARDENER

seductive charmer, its multi-lobed, apple green leaves acting as a sophisticated foil for the nodding, cream and brown flowers: pinkish- and white-flowered species are also known. Earlier nursery catalogue offerings came courtesy of imports, but nowadays home propagation, by means of freshly sown seed or division in early spring, is more u s u a l . From woodland to dryland: Eric Jarrett staged a notably well-flowered hummock of Dielsiocharis kotschyi, a limestone cliff-dwelling crucifer from Turkmenistan and right across neighbouring Iran, from where it was introduced in 1966. Justly described as Draba-like, others have compared it to a pulvinate Alyssum (hence the synonym Alyssopsis kotschyi), while Paul Furse noted its Dionysia-feigning appearance SEPTEMBER 2013

JON EVANS

JON EVANS

NORTH MIDLAND & SOUTH WEST

SOUTH WEST

Dichocarpum nipponicum shown by Julian and Sarah Sutton 335

JON EVANS

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS SOUTH WEST

Dielsiocharis kotschyi grown by Eric Jarrett and, right, David Boyd’s large six-pan entry of hepaticas and irises

from a distance. The flowers are only 3-4mm in diameter, but a count of up to 20 per raceme has been recorded. If given too rich a diet the cushion becomes flabby and a lifespan of at best five years is likely, whereas if kept in a well-ventilated alpine house and grown in a compost of around 80 per cent grit, with the remainder made up of a John Innes No. 2, far better results are likely. Cuttings taken in late spring or early summer will root easily if kept under a propagator hood. A week later, the 21st Northumberland Show took place in Hexham. The display of plants was suitably celebratory, and David Boyd, who year after year enters dozens of plants, had a particularly eyecatching large six-pan entry, with mature, beautifully flowered hepaticas at the back and three ‘reticulata’ irises in front. The grouping of Iris ‘Sheila Ann 336

Germaney’ was especially noteworthy, while here also was yet another accomplished exhibit of I. winogradowii, clearly enjoying something of an annus mirabilis on the show benches. David is very adept at bulking up his plants by growing them under light shade in woodland soil, then lifting them and growing them in pots once they have found their feet. Mention of the genus Cardamine conjures up in the minds of many gardeners visions of weeding on a grand scale, but even the insidious hairy bittercress can claim some well-behaved, attractive relatives. David Boyd showed the attractive C. kitaibelii, a subalpine woodlander with a scattered distribution in Switzerland, Italy, northern Yugoslavia and a few localities in the French Alps (Mont Cenis in particular) according to some sources. This 20-30cm tall, THE ALPINE GARDENER

rhizomatous plant has shiny green, pinnate leaves and creamy yellow bells with nipped-in waists, similar to but often larger than those of the more widespread, more often grown C. enneaphyllos. In a humus-rich, acid soil, it has remained well-behaved over many y e a r s . Karel Lang is arguably the leading breeder of kabschia saxifrage hybrids, and a considerable number have been imported from the Czech Republic by British enthusiasts. Nearly ten years ago he wrote an article in these pages on the breeding of red-flowered offspring using the Turkish Saxifraga kotschyi, interbred with various Caucasian, Himalayan and Chinese species, which gave flowers ‘ranging in colour from vermilion to blood red’ (see volume 72, pages 61-64). Although not christened at that time, one that has performed well was shown SEPTEMBER 2013

MIKE DALE

MIKE DALE

NORTHUMBERLAND

NORTHUMBERLAND

Saxifraga ‘Emil Holub’ by Mark Childerhouse under the name S. ‘Leonardo da Vinci’. Yet upon checking the 2010 issue of the Prague Rock Garden Club journal Skalničky in which the clone was first described, the photograph shows a markedly different plant, its parentage given as S. kotschyi x 337

MIKE DALE

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS NORTHUMBERLAND

Erythronium ‘Ardovie Bliss’ shown by Ian Christie ‘Radvan Horný’. On the opposite page, conveniently, is a much better match, captioned S. ‘Emil Holub’ (S. kotschyi x dinnikii), a 1998 raising with very short stems and deeper red flowers whose petals have the trademark grooving and slightly fluted margin of the pollen parent. Apparently the vivid colour doesn’t fade and the flowers last well. The very elegant Erythronium ‘Ardovie Bliss’, shown by Ian Christie, has E. hendersonii as its seed parent, its flowers dark-eyed, the perianth segments palest pink. Its name references the small settlement of Ardovie, near Brechin, and east of the exhibitor’s Kirriemuir home. Grown in woodland conditions in John Innes No. 3, leaf-mould and grit, it will soon form a clump, which is not always 338

true of this species. The same goes for another pale lilac pink form, obtained from Kath Dryden, and sometimes deemed a hybrid, a substantial potful of which Tim Lever brought to the Midland Show at Knowle. Here there was a very good representation of north-west American erythroniums. Several exhibitors showed E. helenae, for example, the glistening white of the flowers emphasised by their bright yellow c e n t r e s . I mentioned Dielsiocharis kotschyi at the South West Show, and the same plant reappeared at Knowle, its rather unappealing scent masked by that of a headily fragrant member from the same family, Matthiola scapifera. This, too, THE ALPINE GARDENER

JON EVANS

MIDLAND

Matthiola scapifera is grown in a shaly scree mixture under cold glass was introduced some 50 years ago, for while first brought to the attention of alpine gardeners by Richard Seligman in 1937, following his visit to Morocco High Atlas the previous year, no seed was found. His description of ‘little splashes of pink’ at over 3,000m, representing perhaps the loveliest really high alpine encountered, persuaded Jim Archibald to revisit in 1962. It has stayed the course ever since, for as Dot Sample (the owner of the fine clump exhibited) observed, it is an ideal plant for nursery owners, increasing well by underground stolons. Stock had been raised in the 1980s from seed supplied by onetime Surrey nurseryman Les Kreeger. Grown in a shaly scree mixture under cold glass, like its SEPTEMBER 2013

European counterpart M. fruticulosa subsp. perennis it will spasmodically bloom copiously but is rarely without a flower when in full growth. At the Midland Show it joined numerous other little-seen alpines that appeared in exemplary condition. Of these, George Young’s Pulsatilla (syn. Miyakea) integrifolia was a delight, the reverses of the ice blue petals, the bracts and the short stems covered with dense white hair that positively shone when backlit. Differing from the rest of the genus in its rather fleshy, undivided leaves, it also occurs further east than almost any other, on Sakhalin, inhabiting alpine tundra at 1,300-1,600m. Peter Korn, that most energetic of Swedish gardeners, has pioneered its cultivation. 339

JON EVANS

MIDLAND

JON EVANS

PLANTS FROM OUR SHOWS MIDLAND

Pulsatilla integrifolia and one of the colourful benches at Knowle While in the UK, lecturing to an AGS Local Group, he sold a few young plants, this one flowering for the first time four years after it was purchased. Grown in a deep, black plastic pot filled with a lean, gritty, acidic mix, it has progressed steadily and will, one hopes, make many more public appearances. George also received The Midland Challenge Cup for a phenomenal Saxifraga burseriana ‘Mangart’, whose cushion was just under the 19cm diameter maximum size for this award, though its snowy-white canopy of flowers spread slightly beyond. Normally at its 340

best several weeks earlier in the year, this distinguished clone can be traced back to a 1974 introduction from the Slovenian Mount Mangart made by George Smith and Eric Watson (from whom the plant shown was received, as a cutting, in the early 1990s). A score or more other clones have been named, on the whole faster-growing, but all too few of them widely grown nowadays or exhibited with any frequency. Various kabschia hybrids were evident elsewhere in the hall, but while certainly not decrying such developments wholesale (the choice of first-rate clones available has never THE ALPINE GARDENER

JON EVANS

MIDLAND

been wider), on this occasion they were all comprehensively eclipsed. The award plant is kept during spring and summer in a sand plunge covered by an openended polytunnel, then transferred to an alpine house during winter. To peerless e f f e c t , d e m o n s t r a b l y ! Scores of other exhibits at the Midland Show deserve mention, but there’s space for just one other show-stopper, exhibited in the Intermediate Section by Andrew Ward. His Iris bucharica was the best seen in many a year. The pleated leaves were immaculate and not over-developed, the bicoloured pale lemon and orange-yellow flowers abundant and all in their prime. While a scattering of rarer species had

JON EVANS

Andrew Ward’s Iris bucharica was the best seen in many a year. Below, George Young’s Saxifraga burseriana ‘Mangart’

MIDLAND

been exhibited earlier on in the show season, this readily obtainable, generally reliable stalwart (it can be grown outdoors in a well-drained, sunny position) had a bravura presence that advertised the very best qualities of a Juno iris.

Full show reports and more pictures can be seen on the AGS website SEPTEMBER 2013

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The plant twitcher of Aragon

Todd Boland visits the Aragonese Pyrenees in north-east Spain, where his quest for all things feathered is surpassed only by his eye for a fine plant

The spectacular view from the monastery at San Juan de la Peña and, right, Hutchinsia alpina at the base of a cliff near the Lizara ski resort

EXPLORATION

A view along the Vadiello valley in the Aragonese Pyrenees

W

hile my first love is plants, in particular alpines, I do have another passion – bird watching. I have travelled to many places ‘twitching’ for new birds. To get the most out of a trip, I like to combine both my passions so I often select a birding tour based on the potential for finding interesting plants along the way. A recent trip to the Spanish provinces of Aragon and Catalonia provided such an opportunity. A portion of this organised birding trip was centred in the Aragonese Pyrenees to find special birds such as the wallcreeper, alpine accentor,

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black woodpecker and lammergeier. Coincidentally, this region is also one of the best in Spain for encountering spectacular alpine plants. The trip took place in early May. The first couple of days were spent near the village of Loporzano, just east of Huesca. Loporzano is near the foothills of the pre-Pyrenees and our first excursion into the mountains was to the Vadiello reservoir. On the drive we passed fields stained red with the blossoms of Papaver rhoeas before slowly making our ascent along the twisting, narrow road in the Vadiello valley, ending at the dam and reservoir. The scenery was spectacular, THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

Impressive limestone minarets in the Vadiello valley

especially the towering limestone minarets. It was here that I had the first of several encounters with one of my most soughtafter birds, the lammergeier or bearded vulture, and here also that I had my first exposure to the spectacular alpines which make the Pyrenees famous, for cascading along the cliffs of the roadside were wonderful sprays of blooming Saxifraga longifolia. I have grown this monocarpic saxifrage in my own rock garden in St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. However, mine pale in comparison with the beauties that form fountains of white along the vertical rock SEPTEMBER 2013

faces of the Vadiello valley. Some of the non-flowering rosettes measured over 30cm across while the inflorescences of those in flower were close to 60cm long. As if this was not enough, alongside were flowering rosettes of Ramonda myconi, a famous Pyrenees endemic. After I’d had my fill of these two species, I started to examine the other alpines tucked into the limestone cracks. Allium moly is among the commonest of garden bulbs but there was something special about seeing the species in its native habitat. Another common bulb in the area was Brimeura amethystina. Several of the other plants I saw were 345

EXPLORATION

Allium moly growing in a limestone crevice

familiar to me as I grow them in my own garden. Among them were Saponaria ocymoides, Thymus serpyllum, Valeriana montana, Sedum album, Helianthemum apenninum, H. canum and Aquilegia pyrenaica. These set the stage for the rest of the alpines I would see on this trip. From Loporzano, we ascended the prePyrenees to the Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña. Making their homes in the montane forest of this region were some charming woodland birds like firecrest, subalpine and Dartford warblers, cirl bunting, red crossbill and crested tit. 346

Some choice woodland plants were also seen, including Cardamine raphanifolia, Hepatica nobilis, Isopyrum thalictroides, Viola riviniana, Saxifraga granulata and Helleborus foetidus. Open fields were home to several bulbous plants including Muscari neglectum, Asphodelus albus, A. cerasiferus and Narcissus assoanus, the latter mostly gone over. Here I encountered the first of 18 species of orchids I would see in flower on this trip. Anacamptis laxiflora and Orchis militaris dotted the grassy fields with spikes of magenta and pink, while THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

The shadeloving Cardamine raphanifolia and, below, Saponaria ocymoides

Dactylorhiza viridis required more careful searching to see its unusual green-tinted flowers. From here we continued on to the Hecho valley of the true Pyrenees, where we settled for a few days in the alpine town of Siresa and from where we made three day trips. The first was to Selva SEPTEMBER 2013

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EXPLORATION

Left, the dramatic Orchis purpurea. Above, the early spider orchid, Ophrys sphegodes, and, below, Asphodelus cerasiferus

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THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

Cardamine heptaphylla in dense beech forest

de Oza, a lovely open forest dominated by beech and box. Of note along a small mountain stream were clumps of Pinguicula grandiflora. The whitethroated dipper was the target bird in this area and we were not disappointed – we saw a parent collecting stonefly larvae for its nestlings. Stumbling into the orchids Cephalanthera longifolia, Ophrys sphegodes and the unusual man orchid, Aceras anthropophorum, were added treats but none compared to the spectacular lady orchid, Orchis purpurea, whose purple-spotted white lip contrasted dramatically with the SEPTEMBER 2013

nearly black petals and sepals. Lilium martagon was also in evidence but its tight buds would not be open for at least another fortnight. The next day we headed to the Refugio de Garbardito to search for the elusive wallcreeper. We passed through dense beech forest where we were treated to remarkable views of a black woodpecker calling beside its nesting hole. Along the forest trail I found Cardamine heptaphylla, Pulmonaria officinalis and Scilla lilio-hyacinthus. The trail then broke out onto an alpine meadow complete with grazing cattle. This 349

EXPLORATION

The woodlander Scilla lilio-hyacinthus and, left, Helleborus viridis growing in an alpine meadow

territory was home to thousands of Primula veris and P. elatior, scattered clumps of Helleborus viridis and the beautiful Lilium pyrenaicum. At the far end of the meadow were the jagged limestone cliffs that the wallcreepers call home, and a narrow trail at the base of the cliffs revealed additional alpine gems. The first encountered was Vitaliana primuliflora, cascading down a moss-covered boulder. Several distant patches of lavenderblue looked promising and turned out to be Linaria alpina. While waiting 350

THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

Fritillaria nigra subsp. pyrenaica and, above, Globularia nudicaulis were found on rocky outcrops

patiently for the wallcreepers to appear, I investigated the rocky outcrops around us. Here I found Globularia nudicaulis, Ranunculus gramineus, R. montanus, Anthyllis montana, Linaria pyrenaica, Fritillaria nigra subsp. pyrenaica and Muscari comosum. Several small ferns were clinched in the narrowest of cracks, among them Cystopteris fragilis, Asplenium trichomanes and Cryptogramma crispa. The wallcreepers eventually appeared but they were quite distant – hardly the sightings we wanted. Not to fear: our leader informed us we SEPTEMBER 2013

would have another opportunity to see them at closer quarters. Our consolation prizes were crag martin, golden eagle and red-billed chough. The next day we headed to the Lizara ski resort near Jasa. The only remaining snow was atop the highest peaks, which reach about 2,300m (7,500ft). Typical of ski resorts worldwide, the spring and summer months often reveal meadows of bountiful alpines and this area was no exception. Even before we left the mini-bus I could see magenta and yellow spikes interspersed with patches 351

EXPLORATION

Orchis mascula 352

of intense blue. The magenta spikes were revealed as orchids – Orchis mascula and Dactylorhiza sambucina. Some exceeded 40cm tall and their abundance was mind-boggling. The yellow spikes were also D. sambucina. I would have thought these a different species but apparently this orchid occurs in both magenta and yellow forms and both were equally abundant. The blue turned out to be a mix of the spectacular Gentiana acaulis and G. verna, both which were at the peak of perfection. We traversed the slope to a distant cirque, whose vertical walls were known to house wallcreepers. En route we stumbled into rock buntings and a flock of citril finches. Two lammergeiers were lazily soaring over a small herd of chamois, indicating that a misstep by this mountain ‘goat’ could result in dinner for the vultures. As promised, the cirque walls were occupied by several wallcreepers and they were cooperative enough to allow those of us with telephoto lenses to take decent photographs. My macro lens was also kept busy by alpine flowers at the base of the cliffs. There were patches of Androsace villosa, Iberis spathulata, Hutchinsia alpina, Veronica fruticans, Cerastium cerastoides, Saxifraga granulata, Geum montanum, Lotus alpinus, Anthyllis vulneraria subsp. praepropera and several unidentifiable drabas. Unfortunately, Pulsatilla vernalis was already past blooming and into its plumed seedhead phase. I encountered only two woody plants flowering this early in the season: Daphne laureola and Thymelaea tinctoria, both with highly fragrant yellow-green THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

Yellow and magenta forms of Dactylorhiza sambucina and, below, Androsace villosa

flowers. The scattered grass-like clumps of Iris latifolia, spiny leaves of Eryngium bourgatii and Carlina acanthifolia subsp. cynara, evergreen rosettes of Campanula barbata and Horminum pyrenaicum and the huge pleated leaves of Gentiana lutea hinted at the floral display that would take place within the next couple of weeks. Our last alpine stop was yet another ski resort situated on Piedra de San Martin. During our ascent, we left the hardwood forests behind and entered forests of Pinus uncinata. Here we found yet another target bird, the ring ouzel, singing its haunting yet beautiful song. SEPTEMBER 2013

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EXPLORATION

The delicate, fringed bells of Soldanella alpina

Patches of snow on the slopes were becoming commonplace and soon there was snow even alongside the road. We stopped for lunch at a café with a breathtaking view of the mountains. While the other birders ate inside, I took my meal outside as I wandered the edges of snow beds looking for the earliest of alpines. The most obvious were clumps of Narcissus pseudonarcissus and Erythronium dens-canis. Not as showy but exquisite nonetheless was Scilla bifolia. I saw plenty of alpines which would be blooming within the next few weeks including Saxifraga paniculata, various Viola species, Pulsatilla alpina, Anemone narcissiflora, Gentiana acaulis, 354

Gentiana alpina and Geum reptans. However, a few plants were flowering close to the snow beds including Helleborus viridis, Salix pyrenaica, Salix reticulata, Draba subnivalis and that quintessential alpine Soldanella alpina with its delicate, fringed bells. Overhead I saw a golden eagle being mobbed by alpine choughs. The main target bird here was the alpine accentor, not unlike the dunnock but restricted to the highest peaks. While closing in on a singing accentor I stumbled upon Silene acaulis, Arabis alpina and what was perhaps my favourite alpine of the trip, Ranunculus amplexicaulis. Who doesn’t love a white buttercup? THE ALPINE GARDENER

ARAGONESE PYRENEES

Two choice alpines: Primula integrifolia and, right, Ranunculus amplexicaulis

While most of the Ranunculus were in tight bud, at least a few had opened their first relatively large, pristinewhite blossoms. Many photos later, I caught a glimpse of pink which, upon investigation, was a patch of another choice alpine, Primula integrifolia. This would become the climax of my trip for at this stage I heard my name called as our group was ready to descend the mountains and head out over the desert-like country around Zaragoza en route to the Ebro Delta on the Mediterranean coast, for a new group of birds … and flowers! SEPTEMBER 2013

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