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Strictly
speaking, the acknowledged habitat of true alpine plants, as classed
by botanists, is between the limit of coniferous tree growth, (the
Treeline) and the permanent snow line. This area can be found at
or near sea level in arctic regions and can be above 6,000 feet (1,830
meters) in mountain regions. Some will be found tightly wedged between
cracks and fissures on rocky cliff faces, whilst others grow on steep
shifting scree slopes. Many are the travelers who have risked life
and limb to get a closer look at these alpine aristocrats growing
in these inaccessible places. However, the alpine gardener has expanded
the range of habitats to include the alpine meadows and valleys,
the cool earthy-smelling forests and woodlands; the prairies, tundra
and steppes and the regions too dry to support a forest; but not
dry enough to be a classed as a desert. In
general then, (from the point of the alpine gardener) an alpine plant
is a reasonably hardy perennial, of compact habit and doesn’t
necessarily have to come from high altitudes. We may equally refer
to these plants as 'rock garden plants' - even though not all of
them grow amongst rocks and not all of them grow in alpine regions.
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Annuals
are almost none-existent at the higher altitudes
and few are suitable for the rock garden. The majority of alpine
plants
are true species, true wild plants that haven’t been altered
in anyway by plant breeders, as have such plants as roses, chrysanthemums,
pelargonium’s auriculars and begonias etc., where countless
newer “improved” cultivars are being offered each year. |
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The
Mountains.
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  The
mountains of the world cover one-fifth of the earth’s land surface, and occur in 75 percent
of the countries of the world. More than half of the world’s
fresh water originates high in the mountains; and the entire world's
great
river systems are fed from mountain sources.
The Himalayas are the highest and one of the youngest mountain ranges in the
world, forming a 1,500 mile (2,400 km) broad crescent through Northeastern
Pakistan, Northern India, Southern Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.
The Mountains of the Andes in South America are the longest and one of the
highest mountain ranges in the world, stretching 4,500 miles (7,200 km) from
north to south, along the west coast of the continent.
The Rocky Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges, are situated in Western
North America, extending north-south from British Columbia to New Mexico, a
distance of about 3,000 miles (4,800 km). Though part of North America's Pacific
Cordillera, the Rockies are distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges which are
located immediately adjacent to the Pacific coast.
The mountain ranges of Europe consist of the Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians, Apennines,
Urals and Balkan Mountains. Many other familiar mountain ranges in Europe are
included within those mentioned
above.
There are other significant mountain ranges around the world and to go into
further detail would fill many more pages. There are the mountains of Africa,
Japan and New Zealand where a number of choice alpine plants come from.
Mountains
affect the climate of the world. Whilst some mountain peaks may be
covered in ice and snow, the foothills may have a tropical climate.
There will often be a range of differing temperate regions between
these two extremes. The Himalayas, Tibet and other mountain ranges
such as the Rocky Mountains and the Andes are good examples of this
climate variation. In some parts of the world a mountain range may
block the rainfall, so that one side may be rainy, whilst the other
side may be a dry desert. Accordingly, the plants would be very different
from one side of the mountain to the other.
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Why
are some alpine plants difficult to grow in cultivation?
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  The
vast majority of alpine plants are easy to grow in any reasonably
good well-drained garden soil with adequate humus; and ask
for nothing more than to be placed in an open sunny position, and
not
have to
compete with pernicious weeds. Those that are considered difficult
are so, for a variety of different reasons.
For many months of the year the plants that grow at high altitudes above the
treeline are covered by a deep blanket of snow which keeps them dry and at a
constant low temperature, but not as low as the air temperature above the snow.
They are also protected from cold bitter winds. When spring arrives and the snow
melts these plants receive an abundance of moisture, and they soon put on rapid
growth. Many have a deep tap-root system that provides a strong anchorage in
the often shifting and moving scree; so even if there is a land-slide which decapitates
the plant, it often has the ability to put up new growth from the root, much
as a dandelion does. Because the neck of these high
altitudes alpines have a good dressing of fine pebbles and stones around them
and the water and nutrients they receive is soon filtered from the surface to
the roots, they survive and flourish.
Very often the snow at these higher altitudes may not disappear until late
June; then in September the plants will be covered and protected again
with a blanket
of snow. So in their short season of spring and summer they must bloom
and set seed, and then hibernate under the snow until the following spring
snow
melt.
The Soldanella grows in damp meadows, mountain valleys, river banks and
along the edge of melting snow patches. Throughout the winter the plant
remains
dormant under a thick blanket of snow, and then, with the first trickling
of water
from the start of the snow melt in spring reaching the roots, it is “kick-started” into
germination. The flower stalks with its unopened bud starts to generates
heat from the fuel stored up in the leaves. It pushes its way upwards through
the
snow, melting an area around the flower stalk as it does so; to eventually
emerge in the spring sunlight with snow and ice still around its feet.
By melting its
way through the snow and flowering before other plants have grown, the
Soldanella preserves its life and produces seeds which will grow and carry
on the species.
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  Now
consider the different environment alpine plants are obliged
to grow in when bought into cultivation;
perhaps for example in a garden in Staffordshire in the United
Kingdom. The winter months are cold
and damp, with usually little snowfall and fluctuating temperatures – a
damp, foggy day, followed by a night of frost and then a sunny
morning. This cycle of damp, fog, frost and sunshine could continue
for a
number of weeks, and the foliage of the plant, which would otherwise
be covered by snow in its mountain home, will become a damp mush
that will just wither, rot away and die. Whilst
we can’t provide a deep covering of snow for several months
to protect our choice alpines in cultivation, we can go some way
into providing an environment in which they will be contented and
induced to put on a magnificent show of flowers. The plant shown
right (Androsace vandellii) is a high altitude alpine plant from
the granite cliffs in the Central and Southern Alps where it forms
tight cushions whose
roots penetrate deep into the calcareous rocks in search of food.
It can be grow outside with a covering of glass during the winter
months, but only with limited success! By far the best environment
in cultivation is the alpine house; where it can be cosseted so that
it puts on a show worthy of a Farrer Medal at the spring shows. Dionysia
is a genus related to Androsace, and these too need alpine house
protection, they come from Iran and Afghanistan where their habitat
is crevices and fissures on shady cliff faces and cave entrances.
They were at one time regarded as being almost impossible to keep
in cultivation, and a few decades ago there were only a few species
grown, and clinging tentatively to life in cultivation. Today, around
half of the known species are in cultivation, and regularly appear
at many alpine plant shows – grown to perfection! This
is due, in no small way, to the skill of dedicated growers, whose
understanding,
devotion and cultural knowledge of these wild plants has led
to
them gaining a more secure foothold in cultivation. There are
possibly other species in the wild that are not in cultivation,
but because
of the political instability in their native lands, it will be
many
years before they do become available.
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The
Alpine House
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 An
alpine house differs from the more conventional greenhouse in that
it serves to provide a home and conditions for the plants, similar
to what they would experience in their native habitats. It should
have a reasonably low pitch in order that the plants are not grown
out of character and their growth is not drawn up. It should also
be well ventilated with lights, (windows) that can be opened along
the whole length of the ridge, as well as those along the length
of both sides, as the free movement of fresh air over the plants
is of paramount importance. Heating in the alpine house is not
strictly necessary but if used with discretion by the alpine grower
it can prevent some losses, as although direct rain is prevented
from falling on the plants, the high humidity which can occur during
dark, dull and foggy spells could be detrimental to those plants
with ‘woolly’ foliage that could hold the damp air.
A little heat on such days can help to dry the air to some extent.
Likewise, in the summer when the days are very hot and there is
little or no outside breeze a cool electric fan can be of great
benefit. Some form of shading will be required on very hot sunny
days, and this is best done by means of one of the various adjustable
laths or plastic material blinds; a colour wash on the glass is
not recommended, as they cannot be easily removed when shading
is not needed. 
Nowadays, advanced technology gives the alpine grower the option of having sophisticated
electronic controls in the alpine house, to open and close the lights, the shade
blinds, the heaters and fans, and even a time/humidity controlled Micro-Drip
water irrigation system.
The staging, which should be strongly and securely build, should be covered with
sheet iron and have a slight slope to carry away surplus water to the pre-drilled
drainage holes. The staging should finish up at a height that the top of the
pots are at about waist height when placed on a fine shingle covering, or better
still to plunge them up to the rims into coarse and sterile sand. At this waist
height the alpine grower has the advantage of being able to admire and tend to
the plans at a comfortable and convenient level.
It is the cushion-forming plants that are most typically grown in the alpine
house – like the beautiful Dionysia and Androsace, (see pictures above).
The well known Kabschia and Engleria saxifrages, the many species of bulbous
plants, the early blooming plants from the Primulaceae and the vivid and varied
Lewisia; to name but a few.
A visit to the alpine house in the R.B.G. Edinburgh, the R.H.S. Gardens at Wisley
and Kew can inspire and be rewarding, as can a visit to the many A.G.S. Shows
around the country. |
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The
Plant Hunters. |
Gardens
and gardeners, plant lovers and plant collectors from all over the
world owe an enormous dept of gratitude to the plant hunters of the
past and the present, for it is they who have bought plants, flowers,
trees and vegetables of every kind to our gardens. The glorious rhododendrons,
azaleas and camellias from remote wild placed such as the Himalayan
Mountains - from Nepal and Sikkim, to Yunnan and Sichuan in China.
The enormous number of bulbous species; crocus, cyclamen, galanthus,
iris, lilies, narcissus and tulip – to name but a few, are
predominately found in countries where the winter is cold and wet
and the summer is hot and dry. This habitat encompasses the Mediterranean
areas of Europe, North Africa and Asia, and into desert areas like
the Mojave in California, the Karoo in South Africa and the Atacama
in Chile. Then there is the exotic and huge family of orchids, whose
main distribution is in the tropics of America, Africa and Asia,
but which also boasts terrestrial species in temperate regions in
Asia, North America, Europe, Australasia etc, growing in meadows
and woodland.
These and many other plants, including alpines and thousands of other floral
wonders; and the tropical fruits, berries, vegetables, seeds and roots that
are now an every day part of our culinary taste have come from all corners
of the globe. From new found cultures in remote and beautiful lands the Plant
Hunters have collected plants that have shaped the style and richness of western
garden design for the past 200 years.
They often encountered great danger and hardship, travailing in foreign lands,
often where no other European had been before; cutting a path through thickets
and shrubs, climbing steep hills and cliffs, wading rivers and streams, encountering
hostile tribes, bandits, wild beasts, hunger and disease; all this, and the
constant search and look-out for a new undiscovered plant to send back to civilisation.
There
is only space to mention but a handful of these many intrepid adventures – for
adventures they certainly were – they were the “Indian
Jones’s” of the plant world, and obtaining some of the
many books that are now available about these Plant Hunters, makes
fascinating and interesting reading. |
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| Meriwether
Lewis (1774 – 1809), and William Clark (1770 – 1838) |
In
1803 the U.S. purchased not only New Orleans but the whole of Louisiana
Territory from France, (The Louisiana Purchase) for  fifteen
million dollars; an area of over 800,000 square miles. Much of this
vast new territory was unexplored and what little knowledge there
was; was more myth than fact – legends of woolly mammoths,
erupting volcanoes, fierce giants that killed all intruders and mountains
of
pure salt.
In 1804 U.S. President Thomas Jefferson selected Captain Meriwether Lewis to
lead an expedition across this unexplored area of western North America. The
objective was to seek a possible water route to the Pacific Ocean, to study and
cultivate a friendship with the native Indian tribes encountered, to record,
observe and collect all that was noteworthy concerning the indigenous flora and
fauna, the minerals, rocks and climates. They were also instructed to map the
sources and courses of rivers and important landmarks by means of the stars to
determining exact latitudes and longitudes. Almost immediately after his appointment
by President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis wrote a letter to his long-time
friend, 32-year-old William
Clark; recruited him to be the expedition's co-leader. Clark was four years older
than Lewis and a seasoned frontiersman.
The expedition consisted of a force of over 40 men – soldiers, navigators,
boatmen, hunters; and others skilled and accustomed in various frontier ways.
There were also two horses and Lewis’ Newfoundland dog “Seaman”.
The journey of about 8,000 miles through very difficult and dangerous conditions
took over two years to complete but was considered a great success, with over
300 new plant and animal species unknown to science, nearly 50 Indian tribes,
and a charted passage to the west coast, this great endeavour was the beginning
of the American westward movement. Pioneers, immigrants, gold seekers began
to settle the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and the Pacific coast. The stress
and
hardship of the journey took a toll on Lewis. He never wrote the formal report
of his experiences that he had promised President Jefferson, and sadly he died
three years later in 1809, aged 35. Clark fared much better, and lived a productive
life until his death in 1838, aged 68. |
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| David
Douglas (1799 - 1834) |
Douglas,
the son of a stonemason, was born in Scotland in the village of Scone
north-east of Perth. After leaving school at the age of 11 he found
work as an apprentice gardener on the estate of the 3rd Earl of Mansfield
at Scone Palace. He spent seven years at Scone and then for a while,
went to college in Perth where he learnt more about the scientific
and mathematical aspects of plant culture. After a spell working
in Fife (where he had access to a library of books on zoology and
botany)
he moved to the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow, where he attended many
botany lectures at Glasgow University His talent as a young naturalist
was further developed through work with Professor William Hooker,
and in 1823 on the recommendation
of the Professor, he moved to the Horticultural Society of London.
It was from this recommendation that lead to Douglas undertaking
his first plant collecting expedition to the eastern part of North
America. Over the course of
Douglas’s eleven years as an exploring botanist and plant collector,
he introduced more than 250 new species of plants to Britain. Initially he
travelled
with parties of trappers, but as he grew more confident he travelled only with
an Indian guide. His main collecting area was the wild unexplored Indian territories
of the Pacific Coast, from California to British Columbia and inland to the
Rocky Mountains; far from civilisation. Between 1825 and 1827 he covered over
10,000
miles.
At the age of only 35, David Douglas meet a tragic and untimely death in Hawaii
on July 13, 1834; where he was trampled to death after falling into a bull-pit
in which a bullock had already fallen. He was buried at Kawiaihoa Church at
Honolulu, where a plaque stands to commemorate his achievements; and a second
fitting memorial
to him stands in the grounds of the old church at Scone. It has been asserted
by one authority that: "No other plant collector has reaped such a harvest
in America or associated his name with so many plants". |
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knowledge
of plant anatomy." At 14 years of age he made his first rock
garden in an abandoned quarry, and also at that time he made his
first of many published contributions to botanical literature. He
entered Oxford University at 17 years of age and graduated in 1902,
and in that same year he set out for Japan where he lived for eight
months and began a long and popular writing career with 'The Garden
of Asia', published in 1904. In 1907 he published his first real
gardening book, My Rock Garden, which became a very popular and influential
book which was kept continuously in print for over 40 years.