Why hello there, it’s Six on Saturday time again! This week, I am particularly pushed for time: work, self-imposed decorating deadlines and such. As a result, this is going to be quite brief. More photos, less chit-chat; a Six on Saturday in it’s purest form. For a more immersive SoS experience, head over to The Propagator.
What follows are six photos of tuberous Corydalis that have gone it on their own and cropped up in some unexpected place in the garden. Some call them ‘volunteers’; others call them ‘come b’chancers’; those of a less spontaneous disposition call the ‘weeds’. Here we go:
1. Corydalis malkensis
Here’s a veritable carpet of C. malkensis in the making. There’s another spot nearby with several malkensis seedlings cropping up. What’s interesting is that neither patch of plants is particularly close to where the parent group of plants is growing.
2. Corydalis paczoskii
It’s nice to see another species happily self-seeding (most of the plants that crop up are C. solida and malkensis).
3. Corydalis solida No. 1
Most of the foliage you can see here is that of C. heterocarpa (a herbaceous biennial, that has featured previously). However, I happened to notice this cheeky purple-flowered C. solida peeping out from underneath. It has the colour of ‘Purple Beauty’, but is flowering significantly later: perhaps a ‘Purple Bird’ seedling.
4. Corydalis solida No. 2
Another purple-flowering solida. I’m not sure whether this is a bi-coloured flower or whether the colour hasn’t quite filled out yet. If it is bi-coloured, that’s quite an exciting find. Time will tell!
5. Corydalis solida No. 3
A rather fetching pinky-red character lurking amongst the stems of a perennial Erysimum. There could well be some ‘George Baker’ parentage here.
6. Corydalis solida No. 4
A slightly lopsided pink flowered number, showing the influence of ‘Beth Evans’, most likely.
That’s all for this week. Next week looks calmer (although it always does until you get there), so hopefully I’ll have a more substantial offering. Take a look at The Propagator’s blog for more Six on Saturday posts. I’m off to work now, so forgive me if I’m a bit slow to respond – I’ll get there. Cheerio!
Interesting to see all the varieties. Not a plant I know a huge amount about.
They’re generally found across the Northern Hemisphere. Having said that, the same applies to several plants that you grow in your garden, so who knows how they’d fare!
C. malkensis is one I must seek out. A friend in Northern Ireland has it all over his garden, as a follow-on to snowdrops and it makes a wonderful display.
It’s a good ‘un. It’s taken a while, but it seems very happy now (as you can see from the self sown plants)!
If in doubt grow corydalis a wonderful splash of soft ferny leaves and delicate blooms. Am I right in that slugs don’t really go for these? Or are they too busy easting other things in my garden?
They’ve certainly never been a problem for me. I believe mice occasionally take a shine the the tubers, but they don’t seem to bother mine!
I love the way the three flowers of the Corydalis paczoskii are all facing in different directions. I will have to read up on Corydalis.
Yes, it seems like they’ve fallen out with each other!
I’m impressed by all the varieties of corydalis… but it’s your specialty … !
I don’t know much about these plants which would deserve a little more research on my side.
Cheers! As you can see, they look after themselves if they’re happy.
I think you have converted a lot of people to wanting Corydalis in their garden. Lovely colours.
Thanks!
I collected seed today from the C. malkensis you supplied me, sowed it carefully in a pot. Perhaps I should have just scattered it in the garden. In theory mine was the more reliable route, we shall see.
You’ll certainly get better results sowing in a pot (and you’ll know where your plants are!). You might well find that in time it’ll pop up here and there around the garden anyway.
Lovely to see your plants spreading themselves freely around the garden. You seem to be adept at identifying the “volunteers.” I often struggle to determine what I am dealing with when it first emerges and have to give each seedling time to declare its true colors before taking decisive action.
You’re right – I take it as a sign that they like the conditions in the garden. The leaves for most of the tuberous species look pretty much the same, so you have to wait til they flower to identify them.
I love all of these. You know so much about corydalis varieties – I wouldn’t know where to start with all those names.
Obsession has it’s uses! If it can be called a use anyway…
Nice selection of your favourite plant (at least am guessing so?), I am taken with the colours, and love the dusky purple of C. Solida No. 1.
You guess correctly! It’s a nice one, isn’t it.