Hardy Tropicals UK

I think I am about to be a member of the Lasiocarpa flowering club The flag has been out for a while so with a bit of luck I should have a flower in a few weeks.

3 down now ....Basjoo ,Velutina and Lasio. Sikki next fingers crossed

I got my Lasio from SteveW who almost seems to grow them commercially. It is the first one I have had that has grown, although the leaves were mushed in the -4.5C we had back in December, the leaf stalks are firm. Probably won't flower this year, but who knows about 2009.

Dave I have been watching mine now for a month or so and noticed that the tip was swelling and also the pups stopped putting out new growth. So I had an Idea that it was going to happen.Looks like it will only be a single flower though.

Congrats mate
Once they start flowering they never stop
I've got 2 clumps of the stuff in the garden of which only one has ever flowered and continues to flower to this day.
I'm pretty sure your plant came from the flowering clump Dave so you might be lucky in getting it to flower.It seems to prefer a semi shaded position in full clay ,as the one in full suns never flowered or got quite as big.

They should be stunning once it opens up! I've seen photos of the smaller pups flowering simultaneously with the biggest plant, looks good but also means losing nearly the entire clump

Mine has flowered only once (two years ago) but the flower lasted 11 months. I was sick of the sight of it by the time it finished

Steve, It is in semi shade when the sun is high or low. shaded by Trachycarpus and Bamboo overhead, from high sun, and shaded by fence and hedge from September to March.

Here it was in October.



Here in Decemeber after heavy frosts

AndyC wrote:Mine has flowered only once (two years ago) but the flower lasted 11 months. I was sick of the sight of it by the time it finished

I know what you mean Andy
On the plus side though mine have produced fruit,just hasn't ripened yet

Hi Dave,
Looks like its doing well
Hows your original one doing?

Welcome to the club, ours flowered last year for the first time.

Melissa

Glad to hear of your successes, I have one in the greenhouse looking quite happy, and a couple outside which I'm not so sure about. I think my protection measures may be doing more harm than good.

Is there a rule of thumb for how old they are before they start to flower?

Not sure of any timescale Mick .But I was told remove most of the pups if you want flowers as it saps the plants energy putting out all those pups.

I always thought that the plant produced the pups when its about to flower to carry on its life cycle.

I never removed any last year from this one.

There,s a picture on B.org of a Lasio with 7 flowers on one plant.
http://www.bananas.org/f30/musella-lasi ... -3415.html

I've only seen that photo of a lasciocarpa with the pups flowering too from an old UKO post, in an exhibition in Belgium(?).

They seem prolific in producing pups though, whether about to flower or not

Congrats Mark! I have 2 quite large ones I bought last year in the sales. If they make it through this Winter, I reckon they stand a good chance of flowering this year. Is there a rough guide on how old/tall they are when they flower? Thanks, take care

Pete

Thanks Mark, that seems to make sense.