Thank you Rick, that is very helpful information.

Interesting! Still haven't found Cotula hispida for sale here yet. I think my button-shaped bloom needs should be filled by the Santolina virens, silvery foliage by the Artemisia

I believe the seed of Cotula hispida needs a cold treatment. I've sprouted it successfully starting it outside Feb 1 (zone 4), but unsuccessful starting in April 1. Both seed batches came from the NARGS seed ex.

Cool! I want to try cuttings or a starter plant though I doubt I have the ability to germinate and keep the seeds alive...

Can I have a rock garden in Zone 7 VA. I am only familiar with the rock garden plants in Alaska (Anchorage) and the few ones I had in a tiny rock garden at my home. Doesn't seem like they would live through what I understand is blistering heat here. I don't want a big elaborate one. I just love to see the ephemerals in early spring.

Yes, but you likely need to find new species more adaptable to the warm. And you'll also probably need to change the soil, etc. comapared to in Alaska. About a year or so ago there were some write-ups in the NARGS Quarterly, about rock gardens in Raleigh, NC. If you are not a member, I believe these old ones are even available to you.

Oberon46 said: Can I have a rock garden in Zone 7 VA. I am only familiar with the rock garden plants in Alaska (Anchorage) and the few ones I had in a tiny rock garden at my home. Doesn't seem like they would live through what I understand is blistering heat here. I don't want a big elaborate one. I just love to see the ephemerals in early spring.

Well, lucky for you, I am in VA! Most of the stuff does ok... A lot of the Saxifragas do not like the summer heat. If you keep them in an area that stays relatively cool you might get them to survive.

I would think the mossy saxifrages would be problematic, but the crustate types would be the one you should try. The bulbous ephemerals, too, I would think would do better, because I would assume the bulbs would reach deeper in the soil to find cooler temps. Erythroniums are known for bulbs that go very deep, even more than a foot down. Colchicums would be another good candidate, as their bulbs grow more finger-like and naturally raise and lower in the soil quite easily from year to year. There are both spring and fall blooming types of Colchicum.

Leftwood said: I would think the mossy saxifrages would be problematic, but the crustate types would be the one you should try. The bulbous ephemerals, too, I would think would do better, because I would assume the bulbs would reach deeper in the soil to find cooler temps. Erythroniums are known for bulbs that go very deep, even more than a foot down. Colchicums would be another good candidate, as their bulbs grow more finger-like and naturally raise and lower in the soil quite easily from year to year. There are both spring and fall blooming types of Colchicum.

Erythroniums and Colchium definitely do pretty well here, I see them pretty often.

There is a beautiful rock garden on display at the botanical garden associated with Plant Delights nursery just outside of Raleigh, NC (Juniper Level Botanical Garden). You can see a surprising variety of rock garden plants thriving in a southern climate. It would be worth a visit!

Would love to see it Scott. Maybe my next trip back east.

I really like the emerging leaves of this Campanula.

Nice, but be careful. It's easy to grow and very pretty, but this is one of those campanulas that are difficult to get rid of, should you decide to move it, or don't want it anymore.

This bloomed for the first time in 2017 in a pot:
-- from seed, Pulsatilla halleri ssp. rhodopaea



Although the flower itself is nothing special, I've never seen any pulsatilla with such beautiful bracts.
It must of have gotten "lost" in my plant menagerie, and I think I finally planted it in the garden in 2022 or 2023.



It's been an incredibly dry winter: normal snowfall is 50+ inches. This season, 14 inches and none of it stayed longer than a week, so instead of the normal cover that keeps things frozen (and moist), it's been exposed all winter. I have had a tuft of white "feathers" for a month, with no bud to be seen. Something I hadn't seen before with Pulsatilla. I thought it was an anomaly, but now I wonder if that is just the way this subspecies normally grows. It is rapidly putting up a bud now, despite no rain or snow.

Rick, those photos are stunningly beautiful.

I agree. Exquisite!

valleylynn said: Rick, those photos are stunningly beautiful.

I thought so, too! Of course, they are a couple out of many. Seems like I take a zillion photos 'cause tomorrow will be different, and I won't get another chance. (Thank god for cheap digital photography!) I thought about entering them into the NARGS photo contest, and now I am wondering about expanding into writing an article for the Rock Garden Quarterly.

Here is what they look like today, two days later (from the previous pics).
Previously, it's only been cloudy, which is fine for pics, but today I was able to work with some evening sun.



I've been kicking myself because I didn't get a pic it it a month prior, but I do have this one of 2 weeks before. It was so unusual because the bracts seem to be coming from below ground and for the first couple weeks, no bud detectable at all! I had wondered if it was blind.

I don't have a membership to NARGS anymore. I think your photos would contest worthy. Wish I still had membership, I would love to read your article on Pulsatilla halleri ssp. rhodopaea.

Very pretty. Here is my only Pulsatilla :)

And also, Sedum ternatum coming into bud...