I have drawn a complete blank on obtaining any seed of the species
I am looking for, and should appreciate any pointers. Please DON'T
bother to point me at seed catalogues that use the names, as these
species are misclassified even in herbarium catalogues :-( I am
looking for things that have at least a HOPE of being the right
ones! They a

I. hederacea, I.nil, I. purpurea and I. pes-tigridis.

I. indica (a.k.a. learii, a.k.a. acuminata); it is self-sterile
but I believe that viable seed can be produced by crossing two
geographic varieties.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 30/3/07 14:12, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


I have drawn a complete blank on obtaining any seed of the species
I am looking for, and should appreciate any pointers. Please DON'T
bother to point me at seed catalogues that use the names, as these
species are misclassified even in herbarium catalogues :-( I am
looking for things that have at least a HOPE of being the right
ones! They a

I. hederacea, I.nil, I. purpurea and I. pes-tigridis.

I. indica (a.k.a. learii, a.k.a. acuminata); it is self-sterile
but I believe that viable seed can be produced by crossing two
geographic varieties.


I know you said "no catalogues" but I assume you have tried Secret Seeds
somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way', plus some others you're
not looking for.
http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/I.html

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| I know you said "no catalogues" but I assume you have tried Secret Seeds
| somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
| They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way', plus some others you're
| not looking for.
| http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/I.html

Thanks. I hadn't, but I am not very convinced that they have it right.
For example, "Milky Way" is classified as I. tricolor, I. purpurea and
I. nil by different catalogues. I grew some purportedly I. purpurea
seeds last year, and don't think that they were. I believe that most
catalogues assign species names at random to this group of morning
glories, which is justifiable because most botanists don't do much
better!

Also, for other reasons, that is the one that least interests me :-(


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| I know you said "no catalogues" but I assume you have tried Secret
Seeds
| somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
| They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way', plus some others
you're
| not looking for.
| http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/I.html

Thanks. I hadn't, but I am not very convinced that they have it right.
For example, "Milky Way" is classified as I. tricolor, I. purpurea and
I. nil by different catalogues. I grew some purportedly I. purpurea
seeds last year, and don't think that they were. I believe that most
catalogues assign species names at random to this group of morning
glories, which is justifiable because most botanists don't do much
better!

Also, for other reasons, that is the one that least interests me :-(


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I suppose Thompson & Morgan might also have the same problem....or not. Who
knows?

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" writes:
|
| I suppose Thompson & Morgan might also have the same problem....or not. Who
| knows?

They do, redoubled in spades. Look at their entries for Ipomoea;
they can't even work out whether I. nil and I. imperialis are species
or crosses. If I recall, I bought their "Scarlett O'Hara" and it most
definitely wasn't - though it was the right colour.

B and T World Seeds do a LOT better, but I have never dealt with
them, and their Web pricing is, er, bizarre. As they are expensive
and not just perverse, I am a bit cautious. Does anyone know how
good they are? Particularly the accuracy of their classifications,
and the viability of their seed (though Ipomoea isn't usually a
problem there).
[*] Actually, I. imperialis is a superseded name for I. nil. While
I. hederacea is currently regarded as different, it has been made
a synonym of I. nil in the past. Anyone who says that I. tricolor,
and either I. purpurea or I. nil are synonyms is probably confused.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" writes:
|
| I suppose Thompson & Morgan might also have the same problem....or not.
Who
| knows?

They do, redoubled in spades. Look at their entries for Ipomoea;
they can't even work out whether I. nil and I. imperialis are species
or crosses. If I recall, I bought their "Scarlett O'Hara" and it most
definitely wasn't - though it was the right colour.

B and T World Seeds do a LOT better, but I have never dealt with
them, and their Web pricing is, er, bizarre. As they are expensive
and not just perverse, I am a bit cautious. Does anyone know how
good they are? Particularly the accuracy of their classifications,
and the viability of their seed (though Ipomoea isn't usually a
problem there).

[*] Actually, I. imperialis is a superseded name for I. nil. While
I. hederacea is currently regarded as different, it has been made
a synonym of I. nil in the past. Anyone who says that I. tricolor,
and either I. purpurea or I. nil are synonyms is probably confused.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Your comments are correct about B and T but they do have a good reputation
and supposedly supply fresher seed than most. You may have to wait the odd
week for supplies. I have not bought Ipomea but their musa seeds performed
reasonably well.

On 30/3/07 14:41, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| I know you said "no catalogues" but I assume you have tried Secret Seeds
| somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
| They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way', plus some others
you're
| not looking for.
| http://www.secretseeds.com/acatalog/I.html

Thanks. I hadn't, but I am not very convinced that they have it right.
For example, "Milky Way" is classified as I. tricolor, I. purpurea and
I. nil by different catalogues. I grew some purportedly I. purpurea
seeds last year, and don't think that they were. I believe that most
catalogues assign species names at random to this group of morning
glories, which is justifiable because most botanists don't do much
better!

Also, for other reasons, that is the one that least interests me :-(

Can't help otherwise, I'm afraid because we have only I. learii and the
annual one.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

Thanks to Rupert and Sacha. I may try B&T.

Incidentally, the common one in the UK is I. tricolor, which is fairly
easy to distinguish from the I. nil complex (including purpurea, nil,
hederacea and indica). It has glabrous stems, where the others are
hairy, and its sepals are different. I have no idea why it should
get so badly confused.

The common ones in the USA are purpurea and hederacea, just to confuse
the issue. And I suspect that they are also more common around the
Mediterranean.

The 'purpurea' seed that I tried was definitely mostly tricolor. The
"Scarlett O'Hara" was one of the I. nil complex and scarlet but was
NOT what it said it was, and was a miserable plant! This might have
been because it WAS nil (nearly as tropical as indica), and there was
a typical mediocre summer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

O.T.

Nick, I replied to your query about restaurants in another group but
the two groups that you were posting to, only 1 would accept my reply
so I am not sure if you have seen it on group or not, if not, email me
and I will send you the same info.

It's not too off-topic as you will be eating vegetables at the
restaurants!!

Judith

I get mine from Ebay.


--
There are those who believe that life here, began out there, far across the
universe, with tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the
Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. Some believe that they may yet be
brothers of man, who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the
heavens.


The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Sidewalk Astronomy
www.sidewalkastronomy.info
The Church of Eternity
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/church/Eternity.html


"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

Thanks to Rupert and Sacha. I may try B&T.

Incidentally, the common one in the UK is I. tricolor, which is fairly
easy to distinguish from the I. nil complex (including purpurea, nil,
hederacea and indica). It has glabrous stems, where the others are
hairy, and its sepals are different. I have no idea why it should
get so badly confused.

The common ones in the USA are purpurea and hederacea, just to confuse
the issue. And I suspect that they are also more common around the
Mediterranean.

The 'purpurea' seed that I tried was definitely mostly tricolor. The
"Scarlett O'Hara" was one of the I. nil complex and scarlet but was
NOT what it said it was, and was a miserable plant! This might have
been because it WAS nil (nearly as tropical as indica), and there was
a typical mediocre summer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Sacha
writes

assume you have tried Secret Seeds
somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way',

I grew Milky Way about three years ago, looked like bindweed climbing up
the trellis next to the front door and I wasn't impressed!

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 30 Mar 2007 13:12:17 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:


I have drawn a complete blank on obtaining any seed of the species
I am looking for, and should appreciate any pointers. Please DON'T
bother to point me at seed catalogues that use the names, as these
species are misclassified even in herbarium catalogues :-( I am
looking for things that have at least a HOPE of being the right
ones! They a

I. hederacea, I.nil, I. purpurea and I. pes-tigridis.

I. indica (a.k.a. learii, a.k.a. acuminata); it is self-sterile
but I believe that viable seed can be produced by crossing two
geographic varieties.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I suggest you contact your local botanical gardens. They are pretty
clear on identification. You can't tell me the taxonomy is so
involved in this species that botanists won't know the clear nature of
these seeds.

On 30 Mar, 21:53, Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article , Sacha
writes

assume you have tried Secret Seeds
somewhere near Tiverton, Devon?
They have Ipomoea purpurea, I. purpurea 'Milky Way',

I grew Milky Way about three years ago, looked like bindweed climbing up
the trellis next to the front door and I wasn't impressed!

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraphhttp://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Have you looked at these people?
http://www.banana-tree.com/catalog~S...ategory~12.cfm
I have had some seeds from them and good service and no great postage
costs.

David Hill
Abacus Nurseries.

On 30/3/07 22:08, in article ,
"Jangchub" wrote:

On 30 Mar 2007 13:12:17 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:


I have drawn a complete blank on obtaining any seed of the species
I am looking for, and should appreciate any pointers. Please DON'T
bother to point me at seed catalogues that use the names, as these
species are misclassified even in herbarium catalogues :-( I am
looking for things that have at least a HOPE of being the right
ones! They a

I. hederacea, I.nil, I. purpurea and I. pes-tigridis.

I. indica (a.k.a. learii, a.k.a. acuminata); it is self-sterile
but I believe that viable seed can be produced by crossing two
geographic varieties.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I suggest you contact your local botanical gardens. They are pretty
clear on identification. You can't tell me the taxonomy is so
involved in this species that botanists won't know the clear nature of
these seeds.

Some of those who sell them admit they can't be clear on what they've got.
I don't know *why*, however.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

In article ,
Sacha writes:
| On 30/3/07 22:08, in article ,
| "Jangchub" wrote:
|
| I suggest you contact your local botanical gardens. They are pretty
| clear on identification. You can't tell me the taxonomy is so
| involved in this species that botanists won't know the clear nature of
| these seeds.
|
| Some of those who sell them admit they can't be clear on what they've got.
| I don't know *why*, however.

A combination of honesty and legal reasons. Classifying the species I
am referring to is tough even for specialists!

Unfortunately, both Cambridge and Kew have been inflicted with modern,
efficient, targetted management, and have closed their front doors to
amateurs. I got a complete brush-off from the former, which did not
impress me, as all I asked for was a pointer to references if anyone
knew of any offhand. I don't know the people personally, or would
bypass the bureaucracy.

In both cases, amateur botanists have to make do with the schoolchild-
oriented pap that they provide as public information or find a way
around the mechanism :-( And, increasingly, non-trivial information
is being excluded even to academics of other disciplines, though it
is only people like me who bemoan the fact. I can see the harm that
it does to the specialities, but the specialists can't see widely
enough to realise that.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.