Redstart Blooming!!!

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by Barbara Cameron, Jan 16, 2010.

  1. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    I can't believe it but my one of my Redstart plants actually has a Salmon coloured flower on it! It's only 16 Jan and we have had a really mild spell in our weather. Last year we had 2 ft. of snow covering my little garden but this year what a difference. We could easily have snow any day (our climate is really goofy now) and the flower may go but there are tons of ready to bloom structures on all of the Redstart plants (which I've spread all through my tiny 72 sq. ft. garden because they are so hardy and prolific). They self propagate too. What a plant!
    I'll send photos when more are blooming.
     
  2. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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  3. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Janet,
    Your photo of Lungwort isn't the same as my "Redstart". The Redstart hugs the ground and it starting to have a lot of blooms. They are a Salmon colour, The plant is very easy to transplant and appears to be evergreen (unless it is just our super mild winter that is keeping them green). They also self propagate so I started out with 2 plants and now have about 15.
     
  4. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    I'd love to see some photos, and to figure out what the plant is! The Pulmonaria I am familiar with is like the website photo in Katalina25's quote of the site, only I have never seen that colour! In NS they were all a soft quiet purple-blue... and the leaves on mine had a dappled effect -- spots on them...
     
  5. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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  6. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Are you sure you aren't referring to rock cress or Aubretia, which perhaps can come out early if warm enough... and the nurseries are beginning to sell the starter plants. It seems to have various shades of red, etc. I just can't find a Plumera or Plumeria on the web, the Plumeria are exotic tropical shrubs are they not? Pulmonaria are something which I had mentioned, but you say they aren't yours...
     
  7. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Michael,
    Neat photo of the "Redstart" bird, but we were discussing the perenial (sp?) plant called "Redstart. Thanks anyway.
     
  8. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Janet,
    I took a photo of my Redstart plant - it is some variety of Lungwort but stays close to the ground even when it really gets going. The wierd thing is that it is blooming way more in the shadiest part of my little garden. The catch 22 is that trying to take a photo without the flash going off is not possible at least today (another typical grey day). But here it is anyway. I'll take another of the Redstarts that are really growing and blooming (it's only 3 Feb) when (and if) we ever get sun.
    I tried to crop this photo but it didn't work.
     

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  9. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    That looks like a variety of Pulmonaria, to me, which is lungwort, and the form I am familiar with in my former Nova Scotia garden had spotted leaves, purplish-blue flowers, was an early bloomer and was about the same height -- it certainly stayed low.
     
  10. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Janet,
    I know this is OFF -TOPIC but it was so nice to "know" you all these years. I can't believe that this wonderful resource is vanishing. I've asked Daniel if he has a list of volunteers to keep it going. I work part-time and am 66 so I may or may not be able to volunteer even it there is a list. I go past the gardens often when I'm on my way to the sub at UBC for Pizza.
     
  11. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Yes, Barbara, we've had some good exchanges, but I don't think this forum is completely dying. I don't understand exactly what the final form is going to be, but I think we can keep going at it, perhaps if we frame our questions as Pacific North West gardening! [hopefully not all just native plant information, although that is better than nothing]
     
  12. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Whew! You both have given me hope. Eventhough I don't post that often, just the fact that this forum is here gave me a comfortable feeling.
     
  13. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Barbara, go to the officially retained forum, "Gardening in the Pacific Northwest", that's where we can all touch base. It is clear to me now: Daniel is having time issues and can't keep up with the numerous posts in the numerous threads in the numerous forums, and we should be sympathetic to that, so is retaining basically only the Gardening in the Pacific Northwest forum plus the other local relevant ones re workshops and the UBC Botanical Garden and so forth. That's fine, we can all touch base there and establish threads as before. I have asked the question today in several threads and forums, how does one qualify as a Pacific Northwest gardener? I mean, couldn't a member from Ecuador, England, France, Australia, the USA in states like Ohio, all regions where we have active members, still connect regarding various plants? Wherever the plants are grown, they will share some similar characteristics but the nub of the question will be its growth in the Pacific Northwest...

    I don't think you and I and several others we have received help from are going to have to suffer, really... just start going regularly to the Gardening in the Pacific Northwest and ask your question there. The whole change, as I think I see it, is so Daniel doesn't have to jump around from one forum to another and manage numerous forums, threads and posts, but basically just one!
     
  14. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    I see that my post has been moved to a new Forum - Gardening in the Pacific Northwest. Does that mean that the Small Space Gardening Forum is already defunct?? This is just a question - not any sort of complaint!
     
  15. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Hello, Barbara, saw your post... The Gardening in the Pacific Northwest will be subdivided up into threads, I suppose, anyway, such as started by a small-space garden question. I am not clear on how the forums are subdivided but just separate threads should work, such as one on groundcovers or small-space gardening, within this Gardening in the Pacific Northwest. If you have a next question on small-space gardening, or I do [I only have a small space] then we could establish a thread on that... we would have to start it with Small Space Gardening in the title, though, I think -- in order to encourage others to post into it if their posts were relevant to small space garden plants, design, etc...
     
  16. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Well, I thought it a better fit here while reviewing it. The fact that 'Redstart' is blooming so early is a phenomenon associated with the weather we've been having in the PNW -- and not as much to do with growing it in a small space.

    Janet, that gives me the seed of an idea -- I could add prefixes for the PNW section, so that people can classify threads according to various topics. It'd give people an at-a-glance way of seeing if a thread is possibly of interest to them.

    It'll have to wait until next week though.
     
  17. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Yes, that sounds great, although I am not to clear on what it means for you and for us -- if it is a little informal classification system which we could grab onto before we post, then our post is labeled appropriately -- it should be easier to find later. We don't want to add much more workload to your day, though. if the prefixes are set up by you and listed at the top of the forum somewhere in the title of the forum as a watchword or instruction-line for people to follow if they want to, and they think their post should be categorized by one of the prefixes, it would help us to do the classification ourselves and do some of your work. Already through all of this discussion re the forum changes my husband is telling me I am on the computer all the time, what is going on... you must be on the computer 96 hours per day [joke]. I am really such a klutz when it comes to all the computerese nowadays, although I am relatively computer-literate.
     
  18. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Additional thought:

    However, if we all just try to categorize our thoughts such as small-space gardening, woody plants or "shrubs" [easier for newcomers to know what we are talking about?], deciduous trees, conifers, etc., then we could keep things together in the same threads -- sort of like the sub-forums which are closing down.
     
  19. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Bit like subject cataloguing.

    Mainheading

    sub heading

    sub sub heading

    Don't forget to use relevant tagging as well makes the system more searchable if you tag Latin names etc. Not common terms that will create a mess.

    :)
    Liz
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2010
  20. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Sorry, Liz, what is "tagging"? I have seen the term, but I don't know what it is. Is it some way one can help the subject-indexing for searches along in this Forum, when making a post? Can you point out where on the Help or Instructions menu that "tagging" is explained? I never did know what it means, and don't have the time always to go searching the help menus, etc.

    It does occur to me that some of the more experienced users could start Threads on a general topic like Groundcovers, Small Space Gardening, Shrubs, Deciduous Trees, Conifers, Perennials, Annuals, and anything else that occurs as commonly discussed, then we can all just add to that Thread.
     
  21. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    If you have a look at the bottom of the page just under the last message there is the word Tags in green. This one currently says none underneath. If you go to edit tags on right hand side on the green bar it will guide you.

    Make sure to use words that are relevant such as your Latin names/common names combination is useful. Or as said above words that may not be in the message but will tease information out. A botanists name may be a good one if you are talking about for eg the old seed collection who you thought may have belonged to Darwin etc. It is a very usefull indexing tool but should be used with care.
    Liz
     
  22. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Great, thanks, Liz. I see it now. As a former librarian myself, although one who never did cataloguing or indexing, I should be aware of this but "indexing term" I guess is what I would have thought of it as -- I would see "tags" in photo editors, which really is the same thing, an indexing term... but didn't pay attention to it. And then it became a piece of the language of social networking, which I didn't pay attention to either except for this forum! So now I know. Thank you again. I sometimes have the feeling there is too much on my agenda to absorb the details of a website anymore, but really, I am not as busy as I used to be! The encroachments of age.
     
  23. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Daniel,
    Thanks so much for you explanation. Of course the Redstart Blooming!!! in January is about our super mild weather, although this plant started blooming in February last year (freezing winter which killed off 1/2 of my perennials - including 3 varieties of Ivy which normally do great through the winter).
    I'm fully in favour of anyway that you can lessen your work load!!
     
  24. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Janet, et al,
    Your ideas are so good. I must admit that like you I'm not a computer whiz. But if there is anyway that Daniel and Eric could keep this wonderful site open for the non-UBC folks I would be so happy.
     
  25. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    I read in the Forum Restructuring section of the How-To's etc., this morning, Barbara, a nice note from Daniel -- he said there that yes, others could write in if the focus was on a plant or condition common to the Pacific Northwest. Go to the main forums page and find the section in question. Most reassuring.
     

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