Now that's a nice Silene!

I really don't know what I was thinking (that I should try a random Silene??), but I acquired this one

Silene waldsteinii
it had nice leaves all year last year...but I don't like the flowers
I tried really hard to catch it looking good when it started blooming and I never could. I think a single bloom might look alright for about 10 minutes max and of course they are all out of sync with each other. oh well


The stripey bladders are kinda cool, but I think I am going to have to find something cuter for that spot

Yes, I thought that Silene bolanthoides was really cool the first time you posted on the NARGS forum, Lori. Now it's exceptional!

Dirtdorphins, I know what you mean about "ugly" silenes. But you've given me a reason to post one of my disappointments, although I am glad I grew it just to see it.... Silene latifolia from seed wild collected in Japan. It hardly looks or grows any different than our cocklebur weed naturalized from Europe.

And while we're talking about not so great silenes, last year was the first time I saw this one, apparently another common weed here, but not for me.... Silene cserei


Grown from NARGS seed as Dianthus haematicalyx ssp. pindicola, it looks like a hybrid, even though this has been a very very wet spring for me. Heck, look what my Edrianthus wettsteinii and Penstemon hirsutus Pygmaeus look like this year!


Delosperma basuticum seedling


Allium moly and Dracocephalum ruyschiana. In the blurred background is Penstemon grandiflorus growing in the lawn.


And this was supposed to be Aquilegia coerulea.... Ha!
But it still fetched $5 at our NARGS chapter plant sale.

Wow, I like Silene waldsteinii - I dig those veiny calyces, and the turned-back petal edges, with the buff reverses! I would love to have some seeds, later on.
(Perhaps if it helps to explain, I'm crazy about these guys too - Silene uralensis:


Silene latifolia looks very pretty, Rick... though at the same time, I can understand your point of view - a little more contrast from the common weeds would be nice. At the same time though, I get a kick out of growing things with dandelion-like flowers but radically different foliage, or vice versa, just to mess with the passersby...
Wow, your plant sale must be fabulous, with all the excellent quality plants you grow!

I was out there many times trying to get a good photos of S. latifolia. Although flowers were always symetric, the way they displayed themselves was less than ideal. Those pics were the best.
Silene uralensis seed planted winter before last has come up in full force this spring.

It rained the whole day of the Chapter plant sale (open to the public). Under the picnic shelter where we have it, it was so dark, everyone was asking about get the lights on. (Thank goodness there were some.) We couldn't figure out how to switch them on! Then a savvy member discovered that there was an unmarked button in the maintenance room that did the trick. And a funny thing, you can turn them on, but not off!

We had about a third less plants to sell than usual, but total revenue was about $2100, only $500 less than usual. I only brought 5 flats this year, tow-thirds of my normal donation. But the plant auction was one of the most successful ever, bringing in $435. Since I changed the format of our sale, the auction has become far more "lucrative". Before I took over, the auction was during the sale, and some people participated while others continued to shop. I thought this was unfair. We either had the auction at the beginning of the sale, and bidders were forced to forfeit snatching up choice sale plants before someone else did, or the auction was during the sale. A lot of buyers would pick plants, buy, and be out of there in no time. Either way, the auction crowd was small. But for several years now, the auction is at 10am and the sale begins at 10:20am. So if people come early (and nearly everyone does), they have to "sit" through the auction, and I am convinced that I get more participation. Some always grumble, not understanding why they can't shop right away, but it's just not fair for those who want to bid in the auction. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to snatch up the choice plant, both in the auction and on the sales floor.

okay Lori, you can have it all! (please, tell me how do I know when it's ready to collect for you--but before it spreads itself?)

That's a fantastic pic of S. uralensis! Now, I like that one--it's got the fuzz thing going on and the purple (my favorite color) thing, plus a more appealing shape. Thank you for the words--veiny calyces--I was at a loss and making up terms, again,

I got this one, too, and I can appreciate its flowers more easily

S. petersonii


Congrats on your plant sale Rick

Silene petersonii is fabulous too! Re. catching them at their best, I find that Silene flowers are often fully open after the sun has gone past late in the afternoon/early evening - during the full sun, they are often sort of wilty, half-opened looking.

To collect seeds, just let the seedpods develop and dry and then shake out some seeds into a dish.

Rick, your sale sounds very successful. I agree with your point about the auction - if it's going to be an open, public thing, then it would be unfair to let others grab all the best plants! CRAGS has a silent auction - the auction plants and items are on display and people just sign up their bids on a sheet - it's totally up to the person to bid or not, doesn't make the uninterested sit through the auction (count me in this group), and doesn't give unfair advantage to those who bypass the auction. However, if the auction proceeds are very important to the club, I understand your approach too.
Wow, if you're normally buying 15 flats of plants per year, where the heck are you stashing them?! This is the sale for your chapter of NARGS, right? You sure owe us some pictures, big time!

growitall said:Wow, if you're normally buying 15 flats of plants per year, where the heck are you stashing them?! This is the sale for your chapter of NARGS, right? You sure owe us some pictures, big time!

Oops! I don't think I said, or at least meant, that! I usually bring 8 or 9 flats. And they are not all grown from seed or cuttings, either. Some are dug, and many are not alpines at all. Because I keep a list for myself (and taxes) and it's easy to copy/paste here; this is what I brought. Everything sold except one.

Allium maximowiczii
Allium sacculiferum
Allium senescens?
Allium sikkimense
Allium zebdanensis hybrid
Angelica gigas
Antennaria neglecta ssp. gaspensis
Aquilegia canadensis Little Lanterns
Aquilegia caerulea hybrid
Aster erichoides 'Snow Flurries'
Chiastophyllum oppositifolium
Clematis sp.
Colchicum x agrippinum
Digitalis lanata
Erigeron compositus
Erigeron compositus ssp. discoides
Helleborus purpurascens
Helleborus purpurascens hybrid
Hieracium lanatum
Hosta 'Mr. Isami Improved'
Iris cristata
Iris cristata from arboretum
Iris lacustris ex Copeland
Iris odaesanensis
Iris reichenbachii
Iris sibirica 'Nana Alba'
Iris sikkimense
Lilium superbum
Myosotis decumbens(seed from Lori)
Penstemon cobaea
Penstemon grandiflorus
Penstemon hirsutus Pygmaeus
Phemeranthus calycinus
Phyteuma scheuzeri
Platycodon grandiflorus double form
Pulsatilla turczaninocii
Saxifraga crustata hybrid
Scilla scilloides
Sedum obtusifolium
Sempervivum 'Apple Blossom'
Sempervivum 'Mike'
Sempervivum 'Noir'
Sempervivum octopodes
Sempervivum 'Robin'
Sempervivum 'Serapis'
Sempervivum 'Tiara'
Sempervivum unknown
Silene flos-cuculis
Syneilesis aconitifolium
Thalictrum coreanum+bonus Frit.meleagris
Thuja koraiensis
Veronica fruticans (seed from Trond)

(Edited for spelling)

Ooops, I read that as "bought", not "brought"... and then I did the math wrong too (doh!) My apologies. That is an impressive list!
So Chiastophyllum oppositifolius is hardy for you? That's one I've been unable to grow here.

Wow Rick!
I wish I had known about your plant sale when I lived out there--I might have stayed! Do you know anyone who wants to love a little hobby farm half as much as I did?? I really need to sell that place as soon as possible...but this is not the place for that...

growitall said:Silene petersonii Re. catching them at their best, I find that Silene flowers are often fully open after the sun has gone past late in the afternoon/early evening - during the full sun, they are often sort of wilty, half-opened looking.

Seriously, I tried--that pic of petersonii was taken at 5:38 pm; somewhere there is a later and better one where the side petals are showing but it's lost right now. I'll have to try again next year
the 'ugly' one, after the sun passed, about 7:30pm, and this probably is the best flower pic that I got


here is something cuter (to me anyway) that I found hiding today

little baby spriglet of Daphne cneorum 'Blackthorn Triumph'--last year it was a single spriglet with about 8 leaves and I am thrilled that it survived, branched, grew more leaves, and made some flowers--in about a decade, if all goes well, this thing might be a shrublet.
It is so hard to leave adequate space for my aspiring shrublets...

I'm kinda afraid of Daphnes Haven't tried any yet. Yours is really cute, Dirtdorphins, and tenacious!

Yes, Chiastophyllum oppositifolium is hardy for me, and at least one other Chapter member here, too. But another member did mention when I brought it to the sale that it wasn't hardy for her.

well I am afraid too, but I am trying several because as I understand it, one must start with the tiny little spriglets to get the shrublets...eventually

...and they are just so very sweet!!!

This is also from today, my first and most sizable baby, with a few more delicious flowers since it's first flush in the spring

'Ernst Hauser'

Because you were talking silene , I thought I would show you my find .I purchased it from a Lady she grew it from deed but just called it a red catchfly
the leaves are dark but the flowers pink.

Looks to be a good rock garden candidate, but I do not know its true identity.
Any ideas?

gardengus, that is a lovely plant! I searched up and down to try to figure out its identity, and have nothing absolutely conclusive, but my best guess is maybe a dwarf form of Silene dioica (of which there are some in cultivation according to James Jones' Lychnis and Silene in the Garden).
Here's an entry for Silene dioica which seems to hit the mark, from what I can see in comparison to your photo:
http://www.terrain.net.nz/frie...

ooh--That is nice Cinda!

Okay, hold onto your chairs... here's a traffic-stopper!

Lagopsis marrubiastrum in bloom... Yep, those itsy-bitsy yellow specks in the fur are the flowers. The whole thing is about 3 inches tall. As much as I enjoy unusual plants, even I am starting to wonder about this one.

Dracocephalum aucheri, with interesting furriness starting on the stems, from Beaver Creek this spring - CORRECTION: This plant turned out to be a mislabelled Lagopsis marrubiastrum... so I have yet another one;


Saxifraga 'Sieberi', from Wrightman's this spring:


Thuja occidentalis 'Teddy', a cultivar that keeps its juvenile foliage, doing surprisingly well:


Interesting bud on Centaurea paralica, also from Beaver Creek this spring:


Hmm, not a very floriferous entry this time - will have to do better next time!

As incredible as all these are, I like the last one the best.

All that "hair" on the bud flows from the center top!

Furry plants are way cool and entries don't have to be floriferous
--especially if they are humorous--
and I can see those little yellow specks stopping traffic for sure
At least you got some pics processed to post!

It'll be winter before I get a chance to make a decent dent in that labor of love.

In the meantime, here are some blue stems and prickly leaves


and a tiny little flower

came as a Satureja arkansana...but apparently it is Clinopodium glabrum. I cannot pretend to understand.

Well, who can keep up with these name changes? I sure can't and have given up, largely... I tend to use the old ones, like most people do.
I always enjoy the metallic blue stems on eryngium!

So, at the rate my Lagopsis marrubiastrum are growing (I intended that bed to have lean conditions and I guess I managed that), in another hundred years, they might look like this:
http://pisum.bionet.nsc.ru/kos...
http://www.plantarium.ru/dat/p...

dirtdorphins said:How about this really cute vetch that covers the mountainside in early spring?

I collected some fresh seed pods today and I'll get some more as they 'cure'--my first attempt at starting them this winter was a dismal failure.

The seed from Dirtdorphin's wild astragalus. Pretty fun, and thanks!

Cool! Wonder if it's Astragalus purshii?