Save the Pot

Over the past couple of weeks we have been clearing out the prop house and potting things on. There are always a heap of pots where there hasn’t been any germination and moss and liverwort normally take over the surface making any germination of small seeds virtually impossible. Luckily most smaller seeds get away fairly quickly when sown so if nothing is showing the pot is ditched.

Other larger seeds we have to make a call as to how long its worthwhile keeping. With plants such as Melliodendron, Perkinsiodendron, and in this image Rehderodendron it can often take several years to break down the hard seed endocarp allowing moisture to penetrate and bring the embryo to life. This emerging seedling in the attached photo has finally emerged after 6 1/2 years which i think is the longest time yet. Breaking the dormancy on these woody kernels can be interesting. Rotary mower run over Davidia has been known to work as has putting Melliodendron into a vice until cracking also seems to speed the job up…..

The Sun

Suddenly the sun appeared in the midst of a very dreary Spring and with it these two plants lit up the corner of the walled garden. Sophora cassioides looks as if it should be from New Zealand but in fact it comes from Chile. Very similar once mature this Chilean species doesn’t have a juvenile phase unlike S. microphylla from NZ which is presumably due to a lack of giant flightless Moa birds to mow the foliage in South America. It flowers early in the season as can be seen here on a young plant.

Growing above this is a recently introduced form of Clematis armandii var hefengensis from China. This variety was given to me by Chris Sanders who wasn’t sure that it was hardy. I planted it on the walled garden under a large camellia which it has vigorously started to monster covering the bush in only a few years. It has proved perfectly hardy and is worth growing when compared to the type with its more numerous and larger petalled flower with lovely dark staining to the underside .

Christmas 2023

This image was taken a couple of weeks ago when we had a few centimetres of snow one morning. The Cathaya argyrophylla looked spectacular and very Christmas like for a few hours until the snow started to melt after lunch. In fact the predicted temperature for the 25th of December looks as if it will be in double figures Centigrade this year, so very mild for us here in Cornwall.

I first planted a couple of Cathaya trees here out in the woodland about 20 years ago and the roe deer bucks immediately knew a new, tasty, and critically endangered tree to completely wreck, which they proceeded to do. So after that initial debacle I planted the next two trees in and around the walled garden closer to the house. These trees have done well and are now around 4-5 metres tall with foliage to the ground, very ornamental plants even with no snow attached….

Merry Christmas everyone and the very best for 2024 from all of us at Tregrehan; we look forward to welcoming you again, (if you can make it), when the garden opens again in Mid March.

Quercus insignis

At last we seem to have been able to keep a Quercus insignis alive in the garden for about 5 years now. Numerous trees have been tried in different places in the woodland and been knocked back by the winter every time. There were just two plants left nearly 4 metres tall about 50 metres apart and last winter nailed one right back to a few twigs but this one looks terrific and is shooting away with chocolate/purple coloured young foliage up to 30cm long this spring as can be seen here.

I have just received a couple more seedlings which after growing on for a few years inside will be ready to plant next to this one as it looks as if we have found the spot to give them the best chance of survival. The acorns are spectacular being several inches in diameter and shaped rather like flying saucers. It would be amazing if one day one of these subtropical Mexican trees would oblige and produce fruits in Cornwall……

Dendroseris litoralis

This fulla is providing some full on action in the greenhouse at the moment. A couple of small plants were given to me by a friend who gardens in a very mild situation in Mousehole in West Cornwall. The huge leaves look as if the plant has strayed out of a field of overgrown brassicas whereas it couldn’t be further from home. It is in fact native to Robinson Crusoe Island off the west coast of Chile where the dreaded goats are scoffing it into an endangered and rare item.

This small tree can also be found under the name Sonchus brassicifolius, which is part of the daisy family, Asteraceae. As can be seen in the image attached the wildly orange hanging flowers are in complete contrast to the foliage. Seemed to be easy to grow in the greenhouse, once it was up and away from the molluscs, that is. Plenty more buds to open for visitors to see when the garden is open on Wednesday afternoons.

Honeysuckle time

Lonicera spp. calcarata; subequale; hildebrandiana

With this sunny Summer weather and long days at this time of the year the Lonicera spp have been looking spectacular around the walled garden. A large genus with the three plants here showing some of the range in the flowering and habit that they are capable of.

The first one, (calcarata), is a strong growing climber from Sichuan in China. It is growing over a camellia next to the garden wall as can be seen in the image here but Mikinori Ogisu who introduced this plant advises giving it a large tree to scramble into. He has seen it in its natural habitat at least twenty metres high when given enough light next in marginal forested areas.

The second, (subequale), also originated from a Ogisu collection in China. Much less vigorous than the previous sp. the flower bunches emerge from a curious hat like protective lid. Ogisu says that this plant is most often seen in wetter areas in the natural forests where it perches epiphytically in the canopy trees.

The third, (hildebrandiana), known as the giant Burmese honeysuckle has been in cultivation for well over a hundred years. It is rather more tender than the previous two plants and this image was taken in the greenhouse where the scent fills the whole area. The spectacular yellow and white flowers are the largest of the genus and continue appearing all Summer.

Rare Plant Fair 2023

Its looking all set fair for The Fair this weekend. Traders are all raring to go and hopefully everyone with chlorophyll filled veins will be here and fevered up as well. The garden is also still full of late spring interest and the flowers have held on as the nights have been on the cool side and with no wind to speak of. This is a phone shot from the house roof where we have been completing some work in this fine spell. White Pearl is still full out, echiums are on the move and the conifers; C. macrocarpa and P. totara have flushed out with soft young growth.

The garden will now be open on Wednesday afternoons until the end of October for season ticket holders, visitors and holiday makers alike. There is much colour brewing in the walled garden borders, in the glasshouse and amongst the climbers on the walls. A special entry price of £5.00 pp (Cash only) for this Sunday while the plant fair is on. We look forward to catching you soon….

Xeronema callistemon

Well we have finally done it, a big day after a long wait!

The top image here shows the plant of Xeronema in the glasshouse which has just produced a single flower bud. About 25 years ago we put this plant into a rubbish bin and dug a deep hole in the ground and buried the whole container. This was done to eventually constrict the root system enough after many years of root growth to mimic its natural growing situation in the wild. Xeronema is endemic to a couple of small islands off the North island of NZ where it grows on and in crevices of cliffs. There is very little soil there and the roots fight there way into the rock to gain a hold and find skerricks of moisture. We have been waiting this long without any sign of a flower until now.

In Auckland a few years ago I saw this plant in the lower image below growing out of an old clay tile drain. This neatly shows what we should have probably done in the first place to speed the flowering up a bit. The plant looks more than happy squeezed into the pipe and is flowering its head off! Mind you we hope that now that our one has fired up the numbers of blooms will increase every year; here’s hoping….

Rhododendron sinogrande seedling

There is a huge plant of Rhododendron sinogrande growing not far from the house near the dog statue. Unfortunately this tree doesn’t have any background as to where it came from originally, but it is all of 10 metres plus which must make it a fair age, certainly pre war. The flowers are still the largest of any in the garden which is remarkable on such an elderly tree.

A result of the spread of the canopy is that there is quite an area of shady mossy ground underneath where occasional seedlings emerge. There was one such plant about 15 years ago which I left as there was enough space for it to develop and not interfere with the parent. I was in the garden with a friend last year and noticed these interesting pink buds opening on the top half of the bush and was passing yesterday when I spotted these blooms much lower down at eye level. It is quite a sight and colour shade for this species. I’m guessing that it has played away with something nearby with some pink in its parentage. Maybe even Rh. Elsae which is nearby and was bred in the garden by Jovey Carlyon in the late 19th Century. This hybrid was supposedly half hodgsonii making it a possible candidate for imparting the colour into this seedling. It is well worth its place and also layering several of its lower branches to eventually move into more open situations.

Dimorphanthera sp.

This arresting bunch of flowers has just arrived for the first time in the glasshouse. It is a Dimorphanthera and belongs to the Ericaceae family. As can be seen in the image it is scrambling around using the sloping roof section as a support. Often in the wild these plants are seen as scandent lianas and use other more twiggy bushes such as vacciniums and small rhodos a metre or two tall to run around in. Originating from Equatorial zones such as Papua Guinea in Malesia, where they can appear at over 3000m elevation none are hardy in our climatic zone unfortunately, being able to withstand light frosts for short periods only.

There are several good collections of these ornamental plants where there are fine collections of rhododendrons as well. Namely Pukeiti in NZ, The Rhododendron Species Foundation in Seattle and the RBG in Edinburgh. I’m not sure which species it is yet but have sent a message to Steve Hootman at the RSF who knows a fair bit about these fellas for an ID…. These plants are great for a cold greenhouse, its such a pity we cant include the nectar feeding iridescent birds in this display for some pollination action as well!

Donation

Nothing really to add to this crazy image of Camellia Donation here at its finest in early spring. The plant isn’t attached to the house at all but I do rest a long ladder against it every couple of years and cut it back tight against the wall to prevent it bowing over in the wind and breaking up. Even so it looks as if the branches at the top of the camellia are just floating about and not even connected to the bush itself. What a sight against a blue sky. The season is well underway now….. and the garden opens for 2023 tomorrow.

Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sundays from now till the end of May. Lets hope that we get plenty more views like this on the open days, and some more rain in between. Daily entry is £10.00 per adult with children free and seasons tickets are available from the garden entrance too for just £25.00 pp.

Winter Orange Action

We were recently tidying up winter sticks and rubbish in the Chilean part of the garden when I noticed these two plants with stunning orange fruits. The first image is Luzuriaga radicans which loves to creep around in shady places on the ground but really excels when given a tree fern to climb or this soft redwood bark. It has reached a couple of metres in various places and the fruits are fairly persistant giving a good show into the winter. It really needs to climb to show off its attractive starry white flowers and subsequent fruits.

The second image is Myrceugenia chrysocarpa which was collected by Peter Cox in Chile. This genus belongs to the Myrtaceae so presumably the fruits are edible, (I haven’t tried) but maybe they don’t taste very sweet as there are still plenty on the small 2m bush right through the winter again, the birds haven’t touched them. Both fruits are remarkably similar in colour which is curious, maybe there is an animal in South America that spots these from a long way off and aids the seed dispersal?

Trachycarpus geminisectus

I wasn’t sure what would be the first post of 2023 but I have just been asked for an image or two of this recently introduced palm for The Palm Journal, so this palm it is first up for the Tregrehan Blog as well. The individuals in the image below have been growing here for only 10 years or so and have been comfortable with lows of -6 degrees. As can be seen from the group they are very ornamental with striking silver backed leaves and hairy trunks. The species was only brought to scientific attention in 2003 and named geminisectus due to the twinning of the divided leaf section tips, quite cool really!

Interestingly their natural habitat is very bony limestone rocky terrain in Nth Vietnam. Not much of that particular terrior in Cornwall, but they have adapted to the conditions here remarkably well. Two of them have been flowering and setting seed here for the past few years which is exciting. Having become adapted to thin poor soil they manage to reproduce at only a few feet tall unlike most other Trachycarpus which are mature at a much greater height. So quite useful for people with limited space who wish to grow a small palm. The species has clung on in the wild due to the relict flora being of an open sunny situation. The usual wide range of warm temperate evergreen broadleaved trees hasn’t been able to colonise and speciate within these isolated karst peaks and swamp out the marginal loving trees and palms with heavy shade.

Talauma hodgsonii

This is second time lucky for this plant outside. I did initially put it out about three years ago. It was looking well tucked under an old Tsuga dumosa. Unfortunately during that winter it was flattened by a falling limb and so it had to spend the next few years recuperating inside the glasshouse. It has responding well to a heavy haircut and has shot back up again as can be seen in this image. Its taxonomic background is quite complicated as most of its relatives grow in Central America and the Genus is accepted now by many botanists to be Magnolia rather than Talauma.

It was collected by Keith Rushforth in Arunachal Pradesh from evergreen forest at only medium altitudes. It will be tender looking at the accompanying flora but with some size to the trunk now I am hoping that if it does suffer in the winter there will be enough root and stem energy to spark it up again next season. JD Hooker first named this plant after his travels in Sikkim in the 1850’s. He describes the flower as having a strong scent with purplish outa tepals surrounding a row of pure white inner tepals, well we are definitely looking forward to that one day!

Araliad Action

The garden is open now on Wednesday afternoons until the end of October. There are a still quite a few interesting plants for sale including this selection of Araliads. Good stocks of Sinopanax formosana and Fatsia polycarpa “Megafatsia” in 2.5l pots, and also Brassaiopsis bodinieri and hispida in 5l pots. There is a 20% discount on marked prices of these if two or more are purchased together. It will save us the trouble of potting them on for next season! I’m afraid that we don’t deliver so pick up at the nursery is essential, if anyone has trouble making Wednesday afternoons then please contact through the website for arranging another time.

Now with cooler nights looming and crispy days there will be a reasonable chance of some Autumn colour in a few weeks time so a visit will be well worthwhile. There are lots of interesting fruits in the walled garden and in the glasshouses. Most things have picked up after the dry Summer although the soil moisture levels are still way down making digging planting holes hard work.

Lapageria rosea var. alba

The old Lapageria climbers in the greenhouse are beginning to really show off. They have loved the warm temperatures over the Summer, and with plenty of moisture from frequent watering several plants have produced large bunches of flowers as in the image here. They have been cultivated at Tregrehan inside and on east facing walls outside where they never dry out, for well over 100 years. These old plants can get a bit tatty and moth eaten though and when this occurs they are brutally cut to the base. This tip was passed on to me by someone who had observed this pruning method accidently carried out on some Lapageria plants under glass at Chatsworth. The resulting vigorous clean regrowth was outstanding and I can definitely vouch for the results having used this method and seen the subsequent large flowering bunches..

Over the next couple of months they will be one of the chief highlights of the walled garden here. A few more varieties have been added to the collection over the last twenty years and as well as red, white and pink varieties there are now picotee and spotted flowered selections growing. Patience is the key and it can take many years for a plant to really feel at home and start to produce the stiff, (but slug prone), strong shoots from below ground level. They love plenty of feed and a deep layer of mulch around the base is also key to successful cultivation.

Bretschneidera sinensis

I’m afraid that I havent had much time or energy to post much recently. Now that we have had at least a rain splash and temperatures have dropped back to normal the garden is looking slightly more refreshed. There is one tree that has looked magnificent right through July and August though and it is pictured here before any recent rain. The large leaves up to a couple of feet long haven’t looked like drooping or browning off to any extent at all. The late Peter Wharton did say that the trees he had growing in the UBC garden in Vancouver were always strong in an extended dry spell, and this has proved to be the case here as well.

Bretschneidera is a Monotypic Tertiary relict tree and rarely encountered even though its range extends from Thailand/Vietnam into China and Taiwan. Having emerged early on in the evolutionary chain and withstanding extremes of climate and glacial periods over many Millennia may explain how it has brushed off this recent testing dry spell in Cornwall as a mere blip. As a cultural tip the root system has strong mycorrhizal associations within undisturbed warm temperate forests. So if anyone is lucky enough to receive a plant in a pot then its best to get it into a piece of ground fast where there is a deep mixed leaf layer amongst other trees. Thereby freeing it up from sterile mediums which humans have been interfering with and where it will die in a flash. This tree is about 25 years old now, but hasn’t shown any urge to flower yet as no doubt it is in for the long haul which is a shame (for me anyway) as the flowers are spectacular white/pink erect spikes as seen recently by some botanist friends in Nth Vietnam.

Christmas Day

For generations it has always been the tradition at Gwavas in New Zealand to pick Rhododendron dalhousiae var rhabdotum to display on the table for Christmas Day. So here it is on the 25th of June in Cornwall flowering exactly six months away from our next Christmas. I haven’t doctored these images with a felt tipped pen or highlighted the green in the flowers. The colour range is a stunning sight with buds opening green, passing through a yellow tint and when nearly over the scented trumpet shaped corollas are pure white. It is an exceptional late flowering Maddenia which loves this position in an old rotten tree stump as can be seen in the lower image. It is often seen as a straggly hanging plant growing epiphytically on cliffs and trees, so is well designed for a dry season which it has to withstand during the winter in its natural habitat.

This particular plant was collected as seed many years ago from the Eastern Himalaya by Steve Hootman and Ken Cox. It is a particularly fine form with up to five flowers in the truss. Very difficult to tell apart from the straight species dalhousiae when the flowers aren’t present, but this variety is generally seen growing further east in the Himalaya Range and blooms a month or so later with these unique flowers which always attract much comment from garden visitors,

Summer Solstice

This last week has been perfect for the colours in the walled garden. Many plants in this area are at their peak now and for the next couple of weeks. The main avenue of Cornus capitata and the rose borders are looking fine. The still conditions have meant their flowering period has lasted longer than some years. Other climbers around the walls such as Abelias, Lonicera calcarata, Actinidia spp., Trachelopsermums, Hydrangeas both shrubby varieties and the climbers, are looking great. Jo’s borders along the south facing terrace are near their peak and full of colour and interest. The contrasting foliage colours are fresh after the rain in early June and their is plenty to see in the greenhouses. The garden is open throughout the summer on Wednesday afternoons, tea and biscuits, AND ice creams are available in the entrance.

Sargentodoxa cuneata

There are a couple of old Captain Rawes camellia bushes in the NW corner of the walled garden that needed pruning this week. They were leaning away from the wall and in danger of toppling over. When I climbed the step ladder to get on with this job there in front of me was a lovely bright green scented flower from the Sargentodoxa climber which I hadn’t noticed from the ground. It was half hidden in the camellia foliage but now it is clear of the bush and on display properly, looking stunning. The leaves are showy and unusual as well, as shown in the lower image emerging a dusky red/brown colour and comprising of three leaflets on a common stalk.

It cant be seen all that often in cultivation as it doesn’t appear in the Hillier Manual but does rate a mention in Bean. This entry is mostly interesting for the fact that it first flowered in the UK in Horsham, May 1922, exactly 100 years ago to the month. Hopefully it will still be in flower when the Tregrehan Rare Plant Fair is on this Sunday. Entry is free to the fair and half price to the garden, see you there….