Six on Saturday – 3/5/2025

Categories six on saturday34 Comments on Six on Saturday – 3/5/2025

Just another week? Well not quite. On May 6th 2017 this post appeared on The Propagator, a blog I’d been following for a while. Scroll down to the comments section and you will see that I rose to the bait of a proposed new meme even in that very first week, posting an opening six comprising Camellia ‘Nightrider’, Maianthemum racemosum, a graft of Apple ‘Plympton Pippin’, Schefflera taiwaniana, Libertia x butleri and a just pruned Camellia ‘Annette Carol’. Not bad for a first effort, if I say so myself.
I became a regular contributor; in fact the only Saturday I have missed was April 7th 2018. My punishment for such sycophancy was for Jon, The Propagator, to ask me to take on the entirely pleasurable role of host in October 2022, his last post being October 15th 2022.

And here I still am. Four of the original six plants from post one are still going; Schefflera taiwaniana succumbed to honey fungus; Libertia x butleri was euthanised in its scruffy old age but has in fact been replaced by what is probably one of its offspring. This is my 416th Six on Saturday post.

You won’t catch up if you don’t join in. It’s the simplest of concepts, find six things in your garden that are worth a mention and post a picture plus the mention onto a blog or some such. Put a comment down below with a link to your post. There’s even a participant’s guide.

One.
Camellia ‘Nightrider’ was in a six just a couple of weeks ago but since it featured in my opening six, it is getting another outing here. It is a slow grower by Camellia standards, only ever making a single flush of growth in the spring, never making longer extension growth later in the season as most do, at least as young plants. The strongest new shoots are around 150mm, most a lot less. It is just breaking bud and in a couple of weeks time I may show it again with its new growth. The problem is that the posts of the fence behind it have snapped at ground level and need replacing and one has been supporting ‘Nightrider’ for several years. I may have to prune it quite hard to stop it encroaching on the adjacent path.

Two.
Maianthemum racemosum used to be Smilacina but is probably not very well known under either name. It is in the family Asparagaceae and has a similar scent to Lily of the Valley, which is too. Also in the same family is Polygonatum, Solomon’s Seal, and Maianthemum can get attacked by the Solomon’s Seal sawfly. When I put it in my 2017 post it was on the opposite side of the garden, in the shade of a conifer which is no longer standing. It didn’t like being in full sun so I moved it into my main shady area.

Three.
In 2017 ‘Plympton Pippin’ had only been grafted for a couple of months and still had the wax and ties on it. Even so, it was already flowering and has continued to do so without ever producing much of a crop. It flowers just a little later than the other varieties on the family tree so while its flowering overlaps some of the others, it doesn’t seem to get well pollinated. Did I ever mention that my granddad on my father’s side hada five acre nursery in Plympton? It’s a run down housing estate now. The labels have done well, as good now as eight years ago. Printed on a Brother GL-H105, stuck on lengths of 15 x 2mm aluminium and hung with plastic coated wire.

Four.
That’s enough of reprising ancient history. This is a Rhododendron. It came to me as Rhododendron atlanticum but I am not confident of that as an identity. I have two seedlings of it, one of which I put in last week’s six, both so different from the parent as to suggest that (a) it will readily cross with other rhododendrons and/or (b) it wasn’t a pure species to begin with. It’s a fairly understated thing, smallish flowers and somewhat glaucous leaves on a sparse twiggy bush. But, and I really mean BUT!, it has a scent to die for.

Five.
Holboellia brachyandra also has scent; I would describe it as a heavy vanilla type but I admit to having a poor nose so don’t take my word for it. It’s a thug and it runs the full length of the aforementioned fence behind Camellia ‘Nightrider’ that is due for replacement. It’s probably all that’s holding the fence up but is going to get a brutal haircut. The larger, paler flowers are female, the smaller, more numerous ones are male. However, it is not self fertile; I would need a different clone to get fruit. One is enough.

Six.
Wulfenia x schwarzii has been growing where it is for a long time; it may have been there all the time I’ve been doing sixes on Saturdays but it’s never had an outing and it’s looking rather fine. It has to be said that even now there are going to be some pretty classy plants with their noses out of joint having been passed over for this, Gladiolus tristis, Zantedeschia ‘White Giant’ with a 1.3m tall flower, Sue’s cactus in the front porch. There might be a few extras at the bottom of the page.

That’s it for another week. We’re having the house painted from mid week so expect next week’s six to be paint spattered. I hope it’s not too traumatic, tradesmen have such big feet and no respect for garden plants.

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Published by Jim Stephens

Gardener, no-dig allotmenteer, camellia enthusiast. I love colour, it cheers me up. Retired nurseryman.

34 thoughts on “Six on Saturday – 3/5/2025”

  1. Pingback: Six on Saturday: Coming Up Roses | Rambling in the Garden

  5. Nightrider really is a fabulous Camellia, and I do like that rhododendron. The delicate flowers may not make a big impact but I rather like them. And the fragrance is an added bonus. Congratulations on so many SOS posts, and thank you for your dedication. I rarely join in, but do enjoy your weekly posts and many of the others linked in. 😃

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  6. Yes, you’ve done and are doing a great job of being the host. I enjoy visiting The Propagator’s blog, too. I didn’t join in this week simply because it’s been a very busy one. I’ll join in again soon. Thank you, and Happy Anniversary!

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  8. I feel like I joined the party shortly before you became the host. We all appreciate the time you put into it and enjoy your many lovely photos! Especially when I am still in the slow time. I love that dark camellia I have never seen one like that. The Holboellia brachyandra also caught my eye.

    Things are speeding up here finally! I have had some more of my native plants pop up, and excitingly have edible things popping up too which makes me very happy! It is a bit rainy, but the temps are much better than a month ago. Here are my six. I need to go for a haircut, so I will be back later to visit everyone else’s gardens!

    https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/05/03/may-3-2025-six-on-saturday/

    Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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  9. I missed that post including Camellia ‘Nightrider’ a couple of weeks back, so I am very happy to have caught up with it today. It is such a rich, gorgeous colour. I hope your fence repairs and pruning go well. Many years ago, in a different house, I planted a Smilacina racemosa in its shady front garden. I loved it’s scent. I’ve not seen one recently and now with the name change I can guess why. Thanks! Also huge thanks for hosting every week!!

    Here are my six : https://wp.me/pM8Y1-9o2

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  17. Happy anniversary. And thank you for taking on the job as host, not to be underestimated. You always have such unusual plants to tempt us with. It’s a joy to visit your garden each week.

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  18. Pingback: Six on Saturday. 03.05.2025 | Lead up the Garden Path

  19. Congratulations on being so diligent in posting through all these years, your blog posts are always interesting – and a good read. The flowers of the Holboellia brachyandra are unusual and very attractive, I hope the plant returns after its haircut. I’m impressed with your plant labels, and whatever name the Rhododendron has, it has a pretty flower. Here is my post:

    https://notesfrommygarden.co.uk/2025/05/03/a-few-glorious-days-in-april/

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    1. I find watching out for the adult sawflies and killing them can reduce problems significantly. They’re very recognisable (pitch black) and relatively slow. I like Maianthemum for its form as well as the flowers, it doesn’t flower for long but looks good for several months.

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  23. Pingback: Six on Saturday 03/05/2025 – A Plantsman's World
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    1. There’s no getting away with liberties is there. The Zantedeschia was left out as a duff picture and the Rhododendron is the sister seedling to the one I put in last week. They’re either side of the path at the bottom of the header picture. Gladiolus tristis is nice, supposed to have good scent but doesn’t strike me as very strong, which doesn’t tell you much.

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    1. I’ve seen pictures of Holboellia brachyandra from Crûg with better flowers than mine, I wonder if they raise them from seed. It probably doesn’t flower as a young plant so there would be no opportunity to see it flower before buying. H. coriacea and H. latifolia are the usual species out and about.

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  27. Pingback: Six on Saturday: 3 May 2025 – My Tiny Welsh Garden

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