Another picture from the same talented grower in Russia and this time seedlings of Meconopsis betonicifolia. The seed was from the form  Hensol Violet. This batch of her seed was from a Swedish source and  it shows how great the genetic diversity that there is in cultivated stains of this species now.

These are some lovely images from Russia. A quite superb form of what I still call Meconopsis betonicifolia rather than the new name for M. baileyii - and anyway these were grown from seed sent as Hensol Violet from Sweden. They are grown in the garden of a clearly very accomplished plant grower in St-Petersbourg  in Russia - Svetlana Voronina - who has large collections of many plants. She gardens near a forested area so there is shade and wind protection and the area is normally quite wet. 

David and Margaret Thorn returned to Arunachal Pradesh this year and have brought back some more beautiful images particularly of Meconopsis grandis shown here. I shall add more of these images later in the new year. What is particularly interesting is that they were taken  near the site in Bhutan that the famous Ludlow and Sherriff expedition found L and S 600 - perhaps the best known Meconopsis of all time. I am very grateful to them for sharing these wonderful pictures

This is another recent image taken in Arunchal Pradesh by Jeanie Jones from Dumfries. It is of a lovely group of Meconopsis simplicifolia. In general this species tends to be monocarpic - that is die after flowering - and regretably these are usually the best forms. I suspect this group belong to a monocarpic strain and will die after flowering this year. Having said that one or two of these plants do look asa though they may be multi-rosetted and perhaps will flower again next year. I doubt any will be truly perennial like good forms of M. grandis. There are forms of this species reported that may be perennial, but those I have seen are usually with small poor flowers. This species differs from other blue poppy species (like M. grandis and M. betonicifolia or baileyi) in that the filaments that have the anthers attached are a good blue colour. 

A really wonderful image of Meconopsis bella. The name says it all as it is exquisitely beautiful and really quite large. It can be pink or pale blue with all flowering stems scaopose and this image is quite typical of it in a rock crevice. This was photographed recently on an expedition to Arunchal Pradesh by Jeannie Jones. A slight downside to looking for plants in many of the Himalayan Meconopsis sites is that they tend to flower in the rainy season! Seed used to be available of this species from an Indian seed company and I tried it a number of times. The seedlings are minute even at two years and go dormant for the winter. I did just succeed in flowering it one year at 4 years old and my children at that time were somewhat underwhelmed by the rather small and insignificant flower that fleetingly appeared after all the fuss I had made over it as it gradually got a little bigger!

Another lovely image from Tetsuo in  Japan. Anemonopsis macrophylla do well with Meconopsis and I already have several that grow happily in between them. This is a lovely double pink form. Tetsuo has also generously sent me seed.

This beautiful image is of a remarkable variation on the lovely form of the genus Cardiocrinum native to Japan and called Cardiocrinum cordatum. It was sent to me by a very good Japanese friend as well as some seed!  I shall sow this immediately since it will not hurt to stratify it in the cold before putting some heat on it late January. He also sent images and seed of some really exquisite variations on Anemonopsis and I shall show images of these soon. This Japanese Cardiocrinum is normally a creamy white with variable red markings in the throat so this deep maroon red is extra-ordinary. This genus Cardiocrinum was first described from Japan and the Chinese and Himalayan species were discovered later. It has similarities to the Chinese species C. cathayanum but they are currently separated. Cardiocrium giganteum occurs throughout much of the Himalayas with the sub species C.g. yunnanense from parts of China and Burma.