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alpines from Mountain to Garden
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richard wilford
alpines from Mountain to Garden
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© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2010 Illustrations and photographs © the author, unless otherwise stated in the captions The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher unless in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of the information contained in this work. However, neither the publisher nor the author can be held responsible for any consequences arising from use of the information contained herein. First published in 2010 by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey,TW9 3AB, UK www.kew.org ISBN 978-1-84246-172-3 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Production editor: Ruth Linklater Typesetting and page layout: Christine Beard Publishing, Design & Photography, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Cover and page design: Lyn Davies Design Maps: Pat Davies and John Stone Printed and bound by Firmengruppe APPL, aprinta druck, Wemding, Germany
For information or to purchase all Kew titles please visit www.kewbooks.com or email publishing@kew.org Kew’s mission is to inspire and deliver science-based plant conservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life. All proceeds go to support Kew’s work in saving the world’s plants for life.
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Contents Foreword by Martyn Rix
vii
Preface
ix
List of paintings
xi
Chapter 1 Introduction
1
Chapter 2 Growing alpines
9
Chapter 3 Europe
17
Chapter 4 North America
49
Chapter 5 South America
83
Chapter 6 Australia and New Zealand
109
Chapter 7 Japan
127
Chapter 8 China and the Himalaya
149
Chapter 9 Western and Central Asia
179
Chapter 10 Africa
213
Index to scientific names and cultivars
235
Index to common names
244
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Foreword
Alpine plants appeal to gardeners because of their small size, neat habit and relatively large flowers. Add to this the romance of their mountain homes — close-cropped alpine meadows, gravelly screes and hot or cold cliffs, and both interest and attractiveness are heightened. Rarity in the wild and difficulty in cultivation often add to this heady mix, and sometimes even the name recalls someone who has died far from home, bringing these romantic plants into cultivation. Who can resist the charm of the ice-blue Gentiana farreri, or rose-pink Fritillaria alburyana? True alpine plants have to attract pollinators in often sparsely vegetated habitats, and at the same time resist exposure: wind, intense winter cold and intense summer sunlight. To survive, they have evolved their neat habit and large flowers. The actual species in the alpine zone reflect the flora in the surrounding area; there are numerous
by Martyn Rix
alpine primulas in Europe and the Himalaya, but few in the Rockies. In the Andes are found alpine petunias, alstroemerias and tropaeolums, in New Zealand, celmisias. Climatic conditions impose numerous similarities in plant habit: cushions of Raoulia from New Zealand look like Arenaria tetraquetra in the Sierra Nevada and Gypsophila aretioides in the Elburz in Iran. In some mountain ranges different genera have diversified, such as saxifrages in the Alps, Dionysia in the Zagros or rosulate violets in the Andes. Richard Wilford is well-placed to explain these interesting similarities and differences, with fascinating examples. He has travelled widely in the mountains himself, and for 21 years has looked after a range of hardy collections at Kew, growing and propagating an unrivalled variety of alpines, dwarf bulbs and woodland plants. The Davies Alpine House, the Rock Garden and the Woodland Garden are filled with rare and beautiful plants from around the world. These plants are not only used for display to the public, but are studied by scientists in the Jodrell Laboratory, who read their DNA sequences, and taxonomists in the herbarium who classify them. Richard has contributed many writings to Kew magazine, and to Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, in which the paintings in this book were first published. Alpine plants have been grown avidly in England ever since the time of William Curtis, who started the magazine at Chelsea in 1787, with a painting of Iris persica, still considered rare and difficult to grow. Anyone who visits Kew will be fascinated by the wide range of alpines grown successfully there, and this book will not only increase this interest but inspire others to try to grow them as well.
opposite Cyclamen coum subsp. caucasicum carpeting a woodland floor near Tbilisi, Georgia. below left Campanula fragilis subsp. cavolinii, from the Apennines of Italy. The compact growth habit and large flowers are typical of many alpine plants.
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Preface
From the very beginning I wanted this book on alpines to look at the geography, history and cultivation of these beautiful plants. That beginning was several years ago now and the scope of this book has changed over the intervening period but it has always been arranged so that each chapter focused on a different region. By approaching the subject in this way I hope to give an insight into the world of alpine plants, where they come from and how they arrived in our gardens. The alpine flora is one of the few that can be found worldwide, from tropical mountain peaks to tundra. In the chapters that follow, the mountains and their associated climates are discussed, and a selection of the plants that grow there are looked at in detail. How these plants ended up in our gardens is down to the plant hunters who searched for and collected them. Their stories are fascinating, particularly when they were among the first to explore a region, and those who collected alpines often had the hardest job of all, contending with harsh weather and challenging terrain. The inspiration for this book was Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, a journal that has been published continually since 1787, describing and illustrating plants new to cultivation. Over thirty botanical paintings from this magazine are reproduced here and they have been chosen to illustrate the story of alpine plant introductions over the past two centuries and more. I would like to thank Brian Mathew, who was editor when he suggested a book on alpine plants that have appeared in the magazine, for
encouraging me to write it and for looking through the early manuscripts. I must also thank Martyn Rix, not only for kindly writing the foreword, but also for his support when he took over the role of editor from Brian. Alpine grower and prolific writer Robert Rolfe edited an early version of this book and his comments and guidance at that time were extremely valuable. I hope he approves of the final version. I would also like to thank Gina Fullerlove, Head of Kew Publishing, and her team, including John Harris, Lloyd Kirton, Christine Beard and Ruth Linklater, for their patience as I struggled to find the time to finish this book and for allowing several last minute changes. I am also grateful to Pat Davies, who painted the wonderful maps for each chapter. The Library at Kew has been a great resource and each chapter ends with a bibliography of references and further reading. The living collections at Kew have also been invaluable and some of the horticulturists responsible for their care have helped by lending photographs and reading some of the chapters for me. In particular I would like to thank Joanne Everson, Katie Price, Kit Strange and Christopher Ryan. Lastly, I want to thank my wife Kate and sons Tom and Matthew, for giving me the time and space I needed to complete this book. I hope this book inspires you to find out more about alpines and have a go at growing some yourself, if you are not already. You may even make your own journey, to seek out some of these plants growing in the beautiful mountains they call home.
opposite The Rock Garden at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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List of paintings reproduced from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine Primula marginata Plate 191 (1792) Francis Sansom
2
Gentiana acaulis Plate 52 (1788) James Sowerby
20
Saxifraga burseriana Plate 747 (1977) Margaret Stones
28
Androsace pubescens Plate 5808 (1869) Walter Hood Fitch
36
Anemone blanda Plate 598 (1977) Margaret Stones
40
Crocus sieberi Plate 6036 (1873) Walter Hood Fitch
44
Penstemon kunthii Plate 154 (1951) Lilian Snelling
52
Trillium nivale Plate 6449 (1879) Harriet Thiselton-Dyer
58
Phlox stolonifera Plate 563 (1802) Sydenham Edwards
62
Lewisia rediviva Plate 5395 (1863) Walter Hood Fitch
68
Silene hookeri Plate 6051 (1873) Walter Hood Fitch
72
Mutisia subulata Plate 9641 (1936) Lilian Snelling
86
Espeletia schultzii Plate 158 (1990) Ann Farrer
92
Tecophilaea cyanocrocus Plate 8987 (1923) Lilian Snelling
104
Stylidium graminifolium Plate 1918 (1817) Artist unknown
114
Celmisia spectabilis Plate 6653 (1882) Matilda Smith
122
Asarum asaroides Plate 4933 (1856) Walter Hood Fitch
132
Glaucidium palmatum Plate 159 (1936) Lilian Snelling
x, 140
Primula denticulata Plate 3959 (1842) Walter Hood Fitch
154
Delphinium cashmerianum Plate 6189 (1875) Walter Hood Fitch
160
Gentiana sino-ornata Plate 9241 (1931) Lilian Snelling
168, 238
Cassiope wardii Plate 168 (1951) Stella Ross-Craig
174
Helleborus thibetanus Plate 353 (1998) Joanna Langhorne
175
Campanula betulifolia Plate 389 (2000) Joanna Langhorne
184
Verbascum dumulosum Plate 258 (1955) Ann Webster
192
Crocus baytopiorum Plate 664 (1974) Mary Grierson
194
Iris afghanica Plate 668 (1974) Mary Grierson
202, 234
Silene schafta Plate 336 (1959) Margaret Stones
204
Narcissus cantabricus Plate 5831 (1870) Walter Hood Fitch
218
Gazania linearis Plate 9354 (1934) Lilian Snelling
226
Oxalis hirta Plate 217 (1993) Mark Fothergill
230
List of paintings
xi