Oh, Saint Valentine


Around Valentines day, the tipping point happens – for by mid-February, the sun begins to feel stronger. One notices the days staying longer, ( it’s light out when I leave work now), and the plants all seem to know that spring is coming, for suddenly, buds start to swell, and many plants begin new growth. This is Camellia season, both in California and under glass in the cold, snowy north. So on this St. Valentines Day, I simply will share some images of what is in bloom today.
The Vireya crossed made with x ‘Saint Valentines Day’, are all good bloomers, and this one, which has lost its tag, is appropriately in full bloom.
The Hobby Greenhouse Association of Massachusetts had their garden tour in our greenhouse yesterday, we all had a good time and thankfully, it was sunny. This Acacia pravissima caused some chatter, since it looks very much in like many Acacias one sees in northern greenhouses.

The mid-season Cyclamen species are starting to bloom, here, a cute tiny C. trochopteranthum blooms in an alpine pan. This relatively new to cultivation, species comes from a limited area in south-west Anatolia, Turkey. It was first classified as C. alpinum, but recently the Cyclamen Society is researching wild populations to clear-up this muddled genus, with the first task of clearing up the taxonomy within this species where there seems to be two variants. Which ever one I have, it clearly is not as floriferous as some of the photos I’ve seen in England, but, then again, I don’t fuss over mine that much.
One of my new Japanese Azaleas, Azalea kurume from Nuccio’s Nursery in California is starting to bloom, the color is perfectly purple.
The Correa Western Pink, that I brought back from Oregon last March, is still in bloom. I don’t think that there was a day all year, that this shrub from Chile didn’t have flowers on it.

A Pink single Camellia from Japan.

The single Camellia’s are all blooming a bit late, this one blooms more typically at the Holidays.
Camellia ‘Silver Chalice”
This one looks big, but the flower is the size of a nickle. The species form from China of Camellia lutchuensis. It’s fragrant, too!
Oxalis purpurea ‘Peach’

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Comments

  1. For a New York winter, you've got it going on! We have had one of the most fruitful winter years with our citrus. They are blooming their heads off. Beautiful shots!

  2. The greenhouse must be great to be in at this point with all this in bloom. The Correa Western Pink is very pretty.

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