S. rosea Leah Wilkerson Bog, Walton Co. FL
Jan 12, 2020 19:27:11 GMT -5
stevebooth, rudeko, and 5 more like this
Post by calen on Jan 12, 2020 19:27:11 GMT -5
The seepage slope on Leah Wilkerson's property in Walton Co. FL is best known as the home of the famous cultivar that bears her name. It also has a prominent population of S. flava, S. leucophylla, and other moorei. The bog hasn't been burned since the early 2000s and had become quite overgrown with trees and shrubs by the time I first visited with @dirtydivisions in 2014. We decided this was unacceptable and after befriending the very sweet Leah, had a big work day there with several other guys in 2016 during which a significant area of the bog was essentially clear-cut.
One of the amazing discoveries made in the process of exploring the overgrown bog was a sizable population of S. rosea hanging on by a thread waaaaaay back under dense shrubs and pine trees (credit for this find goes to Julian I believe). We were never going to be able to clear that far back, so we decided to transplant as many as well could find out into open areas. The first plants were moved in 2015 I believe, with many more transplanted during the 2016 work day.
It was with much gratification that we visited in 2019 to see the roseas absolutely thriving. Not sure how many clones exactly were saved, but it could be as high as 25-30 individuals. They are a bit hard to see even in the short grass, but you can tell these pups have come a long way from the sad, etiolated state we found them in! Seed pods were also abundant at the time of our visit, and this relatively open sandy area will hopefully make a good seedling nursery.
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
A big clump! Many of the plants from the shady bushes were very large, multi growth clumps, but took the move very well!
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
Gorgeous plants - a lot of red and heavily veined clones in this population:
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
The future of the site is far from secure. Leah is aging and it's unclear if her heirs will value the plants as she does, or allow visitors. Some plants were collected with permission in 2015 and crossed together. These are a few of the resulting seedlings and they are gorgeous. Hopefully some of these will get distributed in the near future to help back these genetics up in cultivation.
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
One of the amazing discoveries made in the process of exploring the overgrown bog was a sizable population of S. rosea hanging on by a thread waaaaaay back under dense shrubs and pine trees (credit for this find goes to Julian I believe). We were never going to be able to clear that far back, so we decided to transplant as many as well could find out into open areas. The first plants were moved in 2015 I believe, with many more transplanted during the 2016 work day.
It was with much gratification that we visited in 2019 to see the roseas absolutely thriving. Not sure how many clones exactly were saved, but it could be as high as 25-30 individuals. They are a bit hard to see even in the short grass, but you can tell these pups have come a long way from the sad, etiolated state we found them in! Seed pods were also abundant at the time of our visit, and this relatively open sandy area will hopefully make a good seedling nursery.
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
A big clump! Many of the plants from the shady bushes were very large, multi growth clumps, but took the move very well!
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
Gorgeous plants - a lot of red and heavily veined clones in this population:
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr
The future of the site is far from secure. Leah is aging and it's unclear if her heirs will value the plants as she does, or allow visitors. Some plants were collected with permission in 2015 and crossed together. These are a few of the resulting seedlings and they are gorgeous. Hopefully some of these will get distributed in the near future to help back these genetics up in cultivation.
Untitled by Calen Hall, on Flickr