Hi all, thanks for the help, now that we've found sources on the RHS
site, the general reading of the comments says get crowns, which I'll
probably do, but I've got some different questions now:
1. The seeds wont all be true, out of the packet, how many will be
true?
2. When will I know they are true?
3. How will I know they are true?
4. The untrue plants, will they be ay use?
Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article , echinosum
writes
If you look at RHS plant-finder, under Rheum x hybridum "Champagne" you
will find the wording "tentatively accepted name", which I suppose
means
that it isn't a well-defined variety. Two possibilities occur to me
(1) it is Stein's Champagne, an established variety with AGM, but very
rarely available.
(2) Champagne rhubarb was used as a synonym for forced rhubarb. Then
people turned up wanting to buy it as if it was a variety, and some
unscrupulous seller offered them whatever they had to hand and called
it Champagne. Informal networks then spread it out to people's gardens.
(With easy-to-propagate plants, this is a remarkably effective method -
a rare Chinese plant previously unknown to science or nurseries was
discovered about 10 years ago as a houseplant common in Scandinavia,
and traced back to a missionary who brought it back early in the 20th
century as a memento of his stay. Likewise, the prolifically
self-seeding giant Echium (E. pinninana) is rapidly becoming very
common in England without it being easily available in garden centres
as more of us get it to over-winter.)
My father claims to have "Champagne rhubarb" in his garden. It is more
tender to the bite than my Timperleys, but so it ought to be growing it
on moist Somerset clay as opposed to my dry stony soil. I ought to take
a division and see if I can spot any difference.
There are about three varieties of champagne Rhubarb (as opposed to just
forcing stuff) however I only found Tweedy's (BIG COINCIDENCE!) Fruit
suppliers in Scotland had any. They have at least one type I believe
though it's difficult to find out as their catalogue wasn't great online
or by post.
There is a variety called Bucks or Buckinghamshire champagne Rhubarb but
that's grown only at Chenies as far as I know.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk