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"Saxifrages
- by John Morris Which
to grow and where to raise them. A few tips for those wanting to cultivate these beautiful
plants. Good drainage is essential if the plants are
to survive for any length of time. The medium, whether in
containers or in the open, the top 8" layer must contain 40-50% gritty
components. Container and table gardens - The
typical trough will contain JI No 2/3, leafmould or
peat and 3/16" grit; 25% - 25% - 50% in that order. The most suitable
plants would be in the Kabschia / Englaria and Aizoon / silver sections
of the genus. Species and cultivars including the following: SS. Crenata, Cranbourne, sempervivum, Cherry Trees,
Valerie Keevil, Antonio, Gratioides,
Whitehill, Esther, Cecil Davies and Dr. Ramsey will
live happily in these conditions under partial shade. S. oppositifolia planted
to hang over the side is also very effective and the purple cultivars, S. Whetterhorn and S. Splendens as well as species S. latina would
do well.
In an Alpine
house environment, some of the higher altitude, earlier
flowering species and the more challenging plants to keep are a joy to
propagate and grow on. Some suitable species are those great cushions from
Asia (great as in good, not large) S.
lowndessii, S. georgii,
S. poluniniana, S. lilacina and S. hypostoma. The
Europeans consisting of, among others, S. porophylla var. montenegrina, S. media, S. marginata
var. Minor,
S. caesia, S. vandellii
and S. tombeanensis flower along
side those from Southern Spain and North Africa; further plants that need
winter protection - SS.
pedimontana, caniculata, erioblasta, maweana -
to progress successfully.
Tufa
- Most slow-growing, small rosette forming kabschias,
encrusted and englarias do well growing in this
medium as all limestone-loving alpine cusions
plants do. Beware inserting large rosette types and keep at least 30% of
the tufa rock submerged in the surrounding soil or
compost. If full
sun conditions cannot be avoided, choose Saxifrages from
the encrusted section for growing in this situation as the silvers are
not so prone to scorching as the kabschias. Plants
for open, sunny aspects can be chosen from the following: S. cotyledon Southside
Seedling with its crimson blotches, S.
mutata, S. longifolia [the
King of the Saxifrages], S.
hostii, S. cochlearis, S.
cotyledon pyramidalis, S. callosa australis, all
subspecies and forms of S.
paniculata, especially, var. minutifolia, Lutea, Rosea, Rex and Venetia. Shade - Plants that thrive in shade
usually come from the Robertsonia and Miscopetalum sections of the genus and are as
follows: S. umbrosa, S. hirsuta, S. x geum, S. urbium variegata, S.
urbium Elliotts
Var., S. cuneifolia, S. andrewsii, and
from the Diptera section those two autumn
flowering favourites S.
cuscutiformis and S. cortifolia from
Japan. The Saxifrages listed here plus many more are growing with
varying degress of success at Kentish Croft under
the conditions described here. Where classification is utilised, that used by Engler and Irmscher applies. A Saxifrage in a clay pot Saxifrages in plastic pots Other
articles by John:
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