Rock Garden Quarterly Spring 2012 - (Page 169)

Disporum cantoniense var. cantoniense I received two different accessions of this plant and they turned out to be the same thing. Over the course of last winter I delved deeply into this genus to discover more and was lucky enough to read the original monograph by David Don (1839) and 150 years later that of Hiroshi Hori. This led me to conclude that this ever-popular genus was underserved by taxonomists. As a result, the horticultural veracity of Disporum was a mess. The December 2011 issue of The Plantsman has struck a chord for clarity with the in-depth article by Bleddyn WynnJones and Julian Shaw. Together both grower and botanist have sorted things out largely using the template provided by Hori. Well done guys. My only complaint was that it wasn’t long enough. But back to my plant. I was able to identify it because of Hori’s posthumous monograph published in 1988. Disporum cantoniense var. cantoniense is a superb plant that should be in every woodland garden because of its substance (about 3 feet tall), grace and colour. It is January as I write this and it still looks as fresh as it did in June with a few blue/black berries persisting. Achillea holosericea Seed from Mojmir Pavelka proved viable and I was able to get about 12 seedlings under way. The form and the colour are excellent – a bright, strong yellow on strong stalks. I grew it in the roughest and poorest section of my garden in full sun. It flourished. I was able to collect seed and share it with the Alpine Garden Club of BC as well as the Scottish Rock Garden Club. Achillea holosericea Plants that Dazzled me in 2011 169

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rock Garden Quarterly Spring 2012

Geoffrey Charlesworth Writing Prize
2011 Photo Contest Winners
2012 Photo Contest Announcement
Seven Unheralded Axioms of Rock Gardening
Rock Gardening from Scratch: Vegetative Propagation - Understanding Cuttings
Newfoundland's Southern Limestone Barrens
William J. Dress, 1918-2011
DNA and the Changing Names of Plants ... and Making Sense of the Dicots
Jennings Prairie
Carl Gehenio, 1922-2011
Rock Gardening Roots
Plants that Dazzled me in 2011
Phipps Conservatory
Rock and Ink Struck into Flowers - A Response
Bulletin Board
2012 - Eastern Study Weekend: October, Pittsburgh - Registration form and details

Rock Garden Quarterly Spring 2012