Jeffersonia

Gene wrote:

If anyone can spare some fresh seed of J. dubia, I would love to grow some.  Please send me a personal message.  Thanks.

Hi Gene, I'd be happy to send you some when they're ready.  The seed is ephemeral and should be sown shortly after the late spring harvest.  But if you depend on me remembering to send seed, it'll probably never happen, so feel free to send me a reminder message to me in late May to early June.  I also recommend putting your Jeffersonia dubia seed request in the Plant and Seed Swap topic, that way it won't be lost among a general topic :)
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?board=70.0

Depending on one's taxonomic outlook, there are only two species, American J. dyphylla and Asian J. dubia.  However, the name of the Asian species was changed to the ugly name of Plagiorhegma dubium  (sounds like a skin disease), leaving Jeffersonia and Plagiorhegma each as monotypic genera.

RickR wrote:

McDonough wrote:

the name of the Asian species was changed to the ugly name of Plagiorhegma dubium

Not liking that. 

I guess that shows that our attempted (now generic) crosses all the less likely...

According to Darrell Probst, the cross between the two species if perfectly possible, and has been done, but I know of no particulars.  These plants may not care about the human-imposed nomenclature genus shift.  Time will tell ;)

Jeffersonia are awakening, ready to flower.  A bit too overcast, cold and windy for the blooms to open, but maybe in another day or two.  On the left is J. diphylla with ephemeral emergence in fleshy red-purple tones, and on the right, the Korean form of J. dubia with even deeper ruddiness and rich lavender flowers held closed from the cold.

Hoy wrote:

Beautiful, Mark, both of them!

Thanks Trond, these are nice plants that I'm particularly fond of.  I also like their early flowering, blooming at the same time as Corydalis solida and Pulmonarias, both of which have started.

A few more views on this relatively mild sunny (but windy) early spring day, a State holiday in Massachusetts (Patriot's Day, and the running of the Boston Marathon).  Thought I'd share a few more photos, as I have to wait until next weekend to see them again.

Two views of the Korean form of J. dubia, in the second photo you get a peek at the red ovaries (typically they are yellowish green).

Two view of regular J. dubia, although my plants came from a friend and nearby gardener Marsha Russell, who had some darker colors. Today, the first flowers actually opened.

A small grouping of Jeffersonia diphylla in my woods.  I fear I shall miss their fleeting 1-3 day bloom period this year, now that I'm back to working.

I typically have lots of seed of both species; happy to share moist-packed seed which must be sown upon receipt.

Howey wrote:

Hi Mark:  Could you please add my name to the list for Jeffersonia dubia seed?  I too have J. diphylla and have been admiring its slow motion and eye catching emergence and will probably have plenty of seeds to give away when the time comes.  I expect J.dubia seed could be planted nearby - would have same requirements as to soil and exposure?  Fran Howey
Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

Sure thing Fran.  And yes, the two species like similar habitat, although the American J. diphylla will sail through more drought than J. dubia.  I haven't lost any J. dubia to drought, but the leaves tend to collapse much more easily in dry weather than diphylla.

Gene wrote:

I planted some J. dubia seed from the NARGS (received 1/11, lot #1694) on 3/20/11 in an unheated greenhouse.  This was moist-packed seed.  It is germinating now (4/21/11).  I did not give it an initial warm period.  I assumed the moist packing took care of that.  Temperatures varied from 32F at night to 70F during the day.

This seed has very erratic germination.  I have some that are germinating two years after being sown.  It may have something to do with whether the seed has been dried.

Gene, I think you're right about the seed being dried creating the condition of erratic germination.  I believe the seed is best treated as ephemeral, like Epimedium, needing to be sown "in the green" as soon as the seed is ripe, then one gets fairly uniform germination the following spring after a long winter freeze.  Last year, as an experiment (and as a desire to greatly increase my Jeffersonia stock), in late spring 2010 I collected gobs of J. dubia seed, then made a new planting area in my shady woodland garden beds, an area 4' wide by about 4-1/2' long, and sowed J. dubia seed thickly through the area.  The seed was patted down on the soil, and covered with a thin layer of well decomposed pine bark mulch.  I checked today, and the area is thick with seedlings just emerging, I'm so excited.  There will many hundreds (thousands?) of plants.  I'll post some pics as soon as the seedlings get large enough to be photographed.

Hard not to fixate on Jeffersonia, they're in their prime at the moment, most J. dubia in full bloom, but a few flowers on J. diphylla opening too.  Here are a few more photos of J. dubia.  In one view, you'll see that the forms I have are variable in flower color, some are of a good deep blue-lavender color.

One more view of a Korean form of J. dubia.  This form flowers before the others, and has flowers that are more fleeting.  Notice a self sown seedling on the left and bottom edges of the photo.

With ephemeral spring flowers a lot can change in just 1 week.  Our spring was slow to warm up this year, but in the past week with mild temperatures and rain, and some very warm sunny days, plants are "leaping" out of the ground.  I also realize, now that I'm back to being a working man (as opposed to unemployed), that I would have never have had the chance to experience the fleeting flowers on Jeffersonia as I did last year, nor would it have been possible to play around with attempting to hybridize the two species.  

A couple Jeffersonia garden views, J. dubia in the first, J. diphylla in the second.  Lots of Dicentra cuccularia spreading everywhere; am getting worried about this one.

Two views of Jeffersonia diphylla, photos caught in an early morning dash before going to work.

Last year I collected lots of seed on J. dubia, prepared an area approximately 4' x 5', and sowed the seed in place, covering with a thin layer of decomposed pine bark mulch. The seedlings are coming up thick now.  As it is, seedlings are appearing here, there, and everywhere, what a wonderful "weed" to have ;D

Spring 2010 I also made crosses between J. dubia x diphylla, and the reverse, J. diphylla x dubia.  Seed is germinating.  First up, are J. dubia and the attempted cross... I have four flats of putative J. dubia x diphylla hybrid seedlings.  I also show a photo of two forms of J. diphylla germinating... this species germinates a bit later, so still waiting to see if any J. diphylla x dubia, and waiting for J. dubia alba to show.

Gene wrote:

Seed scrounger here.  Can anyone spare a few?

Sure thing... post a reminder in about 1 month, seed of both species should be ready. :)

Skulski wrote:

Well, I missed the bloom on Jeffersonia dubia, among other things...
This is all I got to see!  Oh well, there's always next year...  :rolleyes:

Lori, at least you have some good pods developing... collect the seed and sow around the base plant immediately after harvest, and next year you too could have a carpet of seedlings showing next spring!  My sown-in-place seedlings are growing fast, cute little babies by the hundreds, some could actually bloom next year.

Skulski wrote:

Wow, won't that be a show at your place!!
I will definitely do that.

My ultimate plan is to replace a major portion of my lawn with Jeffersonia; a Jeffersonian landscape (with both species) ;D
(and I'm not kidding!)

RickR wrote:

I have noted how massive Jeffersonia diphylla roots are compared to the plant, and I think they would be integral in keeping other weeds out. 

Both species had a great year last season for germination as unsown volunteers.

And it's a bummer when rain seems to always seems to be prevalent when my Jeffersonia bloom.  Although it is not detrimental on diphylla, rain makes blooming dubia unphotographic.

Wow, look at all them baby plants, what's your plan for these?  Potting them up for your Chapter plant sales?  I do think it would only take a few years to convert one's lawn to a Jeffersonia meadow. ;)

Jeffersonia dubia with pods.  This year, with lots and lots of cool weather and rain, plants are fattening up and growing tall.  Jeffersonia dubia plants in flower give the impression of compact tuffets covered with bloom, but later on they can grow large; mine are about 16" (40 cm) tall and they start splaying sideways in all directions with the leaf canopy opening up, with a spread of up to 2' (60 cm).

I've been watching the novel seed pods on Jeffersonia diphylla for nearly a month, waiting for them to ripen, as when they are ripe, they are suddenly so and quickly spill their bounty.  One can ever-so-gently squeeze the seem between the plump pipe-like base and the lid, to see if gives at all.  We had 5 days of rain, heavy at times, and this past Sunday I inspected the pods on the first sunny day since the rain, and nope... they were not ready yet.  

The following day when I got home from work, I checked, on some plants most of the pods already flipped-their-lids and spilled their load! :(  I collected what seed I could.  In the lower portion of my yard in deeper shade, the pods were still firm.  That was yesterday.  Today (tonight) when I checked those particular plants again, many pods had ruptured and spilled their contents, about half the pods flipped their lids but were still standing upright for easy collection, and just a few pods were still unopened but obviously ready... the seed all typically spills at about the same time, within a couple days.

They're attractive seeds, like small shiny popcorn kernels.  Notice that the pod on the right is a fused or double pod with back-to-back chambers and lids, although no party wall between the chambers.