My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article ,
Sacha wrote:
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!

I would be happy to get flowers :-( The buds form, all right, but
the spring frosts do for them.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 15/12/05 12:03, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

In article ,
Sacha wrote:
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!

I would be happy to get flowers :-( The buds form, all right, but
the spring frosts do for them.

That's really bad luck because the scent is glorious. Would horticultural
fleece help at all or do your frosts just go on too late? We had a
Christmas card from a friend of Ray's who used be the gardener at Glamis
Castle and he said that they had frost right up until June last year! I
think I would find that very depressing!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article ,
Sacha wrote:
On 15/12/05 12:03, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:

In article ,
Sacha wrote:
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!

I would be happy to get flowers :-( The buds form, all right, but
the spring frosts do for them.

That's really bad luck because the scent is glorious. Would horticultural
fleece help at all or do your frosts just go on too late? We had a
Christmas card from a friend of Ray's who used be the gardener at Glamis
Castle and he said that they had frost right up until June last year! I
think I would find that very depressing!

Effectively, yes. The problem is that the warmth starts well before
the last significant frost, so the buds develop and then get killed.

The last frost I have ever seen here was on June 20th (and the earliest
on September 6th), but I haven't seen one after March for some years.
That may well not be true in 2006, of course.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and
will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one
of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an
extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

I would have been tempted to have a go at eating it, as somewhere it says
they are edible.
Which variety is it-there seem to be quite a few?

On 15/12/05 15:00, in article , "Rupert"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits.
snip

It would have been either H. latifolia or H. coriacea. I forget which we
gave them now.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
My son and daughter in law are visiting us and have brought with them from
Jersey a couple of Holboellia fruits. Ray had learned from their gardener
that he was just chucking them away! These large pink 'sausages' have
given us some lovely black seeds that Ray has rinsed of their pulp and
will
be planting this morning. Fingers crossed!
These plants have never fruited with us, not even the one growing in one
of
the glasshouses, so we're quite excited to see these - what an
extraordinary
difference that slightly milder climate makes to gardening!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Like you I never get fruit on my Holboellia's We have two forms of
H.latifolia (I think) and I have recently got hold of H. coricacea (again I
think!) its leaves are certainly markedly different being twice as long and
half as wide but I shall have to wait for the flowers to know whether I have
it right this time.
I am presently trying one on a north facing wall with no sun to see if I can
get it to flower later in hopefully warmer weather and therefore get fruit
set (which is supposed to be edible) but it probebly wont flower at all -
such is life :~)Akebia is another edible fruit plant that never sets fruit
with me allthough it flowers profusely every year.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Like you I never get fruit on my Holboellia's We have two forms of
H.latifolia (I think) and I have recently got hold of H. coricacea (again I
think!) its leaves are certainly markedly different being twice as long and
half as wide but I shall have to wait for the flowers to know whether I have
it right this time.

Well, several authorities consider that they are just different
forms of the same species.

Akebia is another edible fruit plant that never sets fruit
with me allthough it flowers profusely every year.

Does it produce female flowers? Mine doesn't, and nor did my mother's
(in Wiltshire). Anyway, Bean thinks that it may be self-sterile.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Like you I never get fruit on my Holboellia's We have two forms of
H.latifolia (I think) and I have recently got hold of H. coricacea (again
I
think!) its leaves are certainly markedly different being twice as long
and
half as wide but I shall have to wait for the flowers to know whether I
have
it right this time.

Well, several authorities consider that they are just different
forms of the same species.

Akebia is another edible fruit plant that never sets fruit
with me allthough it flowers profusely every year.

Does it produce female flowers? Mine doesn't, and nor did my mother's
(in Wiltshire). Anyway, Bean thinks that it may be self-sterile.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The male and female flowers are carried in the same bunch for Akebia with
the females above and males hanging below, and I have never seen an Akebia
without both, with my Holboelia's the Male flowers often appear a lot later
(weeks) than the female flowers and in separate bunches, which I took to be
a device to prevent self pollination (which is why I have my different
plants in the same general area - but still no luck so far) and being
related I certainly have no problem in believing Akebia to be self sterile
also, I have several times transferred pollen by hand and the female flowers
start to swell but then drop off, very irritating!

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:


The male and female flowers are carried in the same bunch for Akebia with
the females above and males hanging below, and I have never seen an Akebia
without both, with my Holboelia's the Male flowers often appear a lot later
(weeks) than the female flowers and in separate bunches, which I took to be
a device to prevent self pollination (which is why I have my different
plants in the same general area - but still no luck so far) and being
related I certainly have no problem in believing Akebia to be self sterile
also, I have several times transferred pollen by hand and the female flowers
start to swell but then drop off, very irritating!

According to Bean, the female flowers are a LOT larger - 1-1.5".
While I said that mine doesn't, I have seen a few large ones,
but very few. Almost all of the racemes are male only. Perhaps
I have a so-far unnamed clone "Mount Athos" :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.