I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on pillars
along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and delights
me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!
--

Sacha

I think its one of the best in terms of flower power, I have a few promising
seedlings on trial where I crossed it with the normal coloured one but its a
few years before you know how much they are going to flower. I was trying to
get another cream/white which could then be grown in company with the
original there by getting both plants to fruit.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

In article ,
Spider wrote:
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Well, I grow the ordinary one. It is fully hardy here, and
would regrow from the ground if cut back, though I don't know how
it would handle the ground freezing more than an inch or so down
(because I have it in a protected spot, for my garden). But it
flowers very early, and I have seen the flowers frosted.

That's my problem with Holbellia. It loses its young shoots every
winter - big deal! - but it also loses its flower buds. But as
far as its leaves and stems are concerned, it's fully hardy.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 2014-03-25 17:55:48 +0000, Charlie Pridham said:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!
--

Sacha

I think its one of the best in terms of flower power, I have a few
promising seedlings on trial where I crossed it with the normal
coloured one but its a few years before you know how much they are
going to flower. I was trying to get another cream/white which could
then be grown in company with the original there by getting both plants
to fruit.

I wonder if you might get a pinkish colour out of that, too, Charlie -
very pretty and very interesting. It's such a good plant, smells
delicious and flowers for a long time. I've seen fruits on the
chocolate coloured one we have but not on the alba. That Lapageria you
pollinated for Ray has flowered well, especially last year and produced
several seed pods. It's the most lovely ivory colour just touched
lightly with pink. Did I tell you, btw, that Ray has a pink
Hardenbergia which he's growing on for cuttings?

--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-25 18:21:08 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice
that it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they
can't both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

It's been on the chains and pillars outside the Tea Room through a
couple of tough winters here, Spider, including the toughest in - was
it 2010 - when we had ice and snow for days on end, most unusual here.
It's probably a bit sheltered by that position but during that harsh
winter it was surrounded by snow and ice. It's very vigorous, too.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 25/03/2014 19:42, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Spider wrote:
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Well, I grow the ordinary one. It is fully hardy here, and
would regrow from the ground if cut back, though I don't know how
it would handle the ground freezing more than an inch or so down
(because I have it in a protected spot, for my garden). But it
flowers very early, and I have seen the flowers frosted.



Thanks, Nick. That's useful to know. I quite like the ordinary one, as
it happens, and it fits in with my colour scheming. Now that there's a
chance I could grow it, I'll do more research. The frosted flowers
sound a bit worrying :~/. I may be able to rig up some kind of
protection in one of my more sheltered corners. Good to know that it
may come back from the crown if damaged.


That's my problem with Holbellia. It loses its young shoots every
winter - big deal! - but it also loses its flower buds. But as
far as its leaves and stems are concerned, it's fully hardy.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



Holbellia is a familiar name, but I can't picture it. I'll look it up,
but if it loses yound shoots and flowers when faced with winter, then it
may not be the plant for me on high ground.

Thanks for your help, Nick.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

In article ,
Spider wrote:

I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Well, I grow the ordinary one. It is fully hardy here, and
would regrow from the ground if cut back, though I don't know how
it would handle the ground freezing more than an inch or so down
(because I have it in a protected spot, for my garden). But it
flowers very early, and I have seen the flowers frosted.

Thanks, Nick. That's useful to know. I quite like the ordinary one, as
it happens, and it fits in with my colour scheming. Now that there's a
chance I could grow it, I'll do more research. The frosted flowers
sound a bit worrying :~/. I may be able to rig up some kind of
protection in one of my more sheltered corners. Good to know that it
may come back from the crown if damaged.

I wouldn't worry too much - it flowers most years in Cambridge.
Not well, but it never gets direct sun.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't both
be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Its hardy to around -30c sadly the flowers are not and our winters and
springs are so mild compared to where it comes from that it often gets
caught by spring frosts which spoil the flowers.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:
"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't both
be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

Its hardy to around -30c sadly the flowers are not and our winters and
springs are so mild compared to where it comes from that it often gets
caught by spring frosts which spoil the flowers.

That hardy? Interesting. The other thing worth noting with such
plants is that they often look bad in spring with all their new
growth frosted, but they make up for that and much more as soon
as it warms up and stays warm. I have several times had casual
gardeners express sympathy (not mainly on this one, but similar),
but it really isn't needed :-)

Another tip, for Akebia specifically, is that its stems are not
all that long-lived, and tangled plants can be renovated by
removing most stems at ground level. A year of growth, and you
won't notice ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 25/03/2014 22:39, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Spider wrote:

I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!

I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice that
it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they can't
both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Well, I grow the ordinary one. It is fully hardy here, and
would regrow from the ground if cut back, though I don't know how
it would handle the ground freezing more than an inch or so down
(because I have it in a protected spot, for my garden). But it
flowers very early, and I have seen the flowers frosted.

Thanks, Nick. That's useful to know. I quite like the ordinary one, as
it happens, and it fits in with my colour scheming. Now that there's a
chance I could grow it, I'll do more research. The frosted flowers
sound a bit worrying :~/. I may be able to rig up some kind of
protection in one of my more sheltered corners. Good to know that it
may come back from the crown if damaged.

I wouldn't worry too much - it flowers most years in Cambridge.
Not well, but it never gets direct sun.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.




Oh good. I'm sure I could arrange reasonable sunshine. I may have just
the spot, but will have to lighten the soil a little.
Ta very much.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 25/03/2014 22:19, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-25 18:21:08 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice
that it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they
can't both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

It's been on the chains and pillars outside the Tea Room through a
couple of tough winters here, Spider, including the toughest in - was it
2010 - when we had ice and snow for days on end, most unusual here. It's
probably a bit sheltered by that position but during that harsh winter
it was surrounded by snow and ice. It's very vigorous, too.



Thanks, Sacha. Sounds lovely :~). I may have a panel of trellis that
would suit it very well. It will get good light and lots of afternoon
sun there.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 25/03/2014 23:05, Charlie Pridham wrote:

"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice
that it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they
can't both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Its hardy to around -30c sadly the flowers are not and our winters and
springs are so mild compared to where it comes from that it often gets
caught by spring frosts which spoil the flowers.




That's a shame, when it's the flowers that are scented. Do you know: is
this a case similar to Camellia where it's not so much the frost as the
rapid thaw that does the damage? Do you think it would stand a better
chance if grown on a south-west facing fence?
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 2014-03-26 16:18:30 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 22:19, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-25 18:21:08 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice
that it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they
can't both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

It's been on the chains and pillars outside the Tea Room through a
couple of tough winters here, Spider, including the toughest in - was it
2010 - when we had ice and snow for days on end, most unusual here. It's
probably a bit sheltered by that position but during that harsh winter
it was surrounded by snow and ice. It's very vigorous, too.



Thanks, Sacha. Sounds lovely :~). I may have a panel of trellis that
would suit it very well. It will get good light and lots of afternoon
sun there.

Just been past it again and the scent has even permeated the first
couple of feet into the big greenhouse!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 26/03/2014 16:31, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-26 16:18:30 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 22:19, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-03-25 18:21:08 +0000, Spider said:

On 25/03/2014 11:19, Sacha wrote:
I've just popped out to the Nursery and this climber is growing on
pillars along the path. The scent is astonishing! It always amazes
and
delights me that such wonderful smells come from such little flowers!



I have often admired this climber, but have read conflicting advice
that it is "tender, requiring shelter" and "hardy, H7. Surely, they
can't both be right? Has yours ever seen a really hard winter, Sacha?

Indeed, has anyone on urg grown it in harsh conditions?

It's been on the chains and pillars outside the Tea Room through a
couple of tough winters here, Spider, including the toughest in - was it
2010 - when we had ice and snow for days on end, most unusual here. It's
probably a bit sheltered by that position but during that harsh winter
it was surrounded by snow and ice. It's very vigorous, too.



Thanks, Sacha. Sounds lovely :~). I may have a panel of trellis that
would suit it very well. It will get good light and lots of afternoon
sun there.

Just been past it again and the scent has even permeated the first
couple of feet into the big greenhouse!




Now you're making me jealous! Gardeners are supposed to have green
fingers, not green eyes! I shall have to see if my local gc has one.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay