Triteleia--PBS Tow

J.E. Shields jshields104@insightbb.com
Mon, 06 Jan 2003 15:10:46 PST
Hi all,

I have grown a few Triteleia for several years -- some of the from Jim and Georgie Robinett.

Triteleia bridgesii came from Robinetts' in September 1999.  It is planted on the ground -- clay amended somewhat with sand.  It is not noticeably increasing, and I have not tried to collect seeds from it.  However, it survives and blooms in this bed on the east side of a grove of trees, among the roots of some Staghorn Sumac trees.

T. dudleyi came from Jane McGary in autumn 2000, and I think it survived two winters, but I know for certain that it survived the first winter and bloomed the summer of 2001.  This is in a different bed, clay loam amended with lots of sand.

T. hyacinthina "Modoc" came from Robinetts in 1999.  Like dudleyi, it survives and blooms.  It also produced copious seeds the first two summers.  I'm very fond of this one and its tall scape topped with white flowers.  Perfectly hardy so far in my Sumac bed.

T. ixioides scabra "High Sierra" from Robinetts in 1999.  Survives, blooms reliably, and produces seed.  Another favorite of mine, also in the Sumac bed.

T. laxa and T. laxa 'Queen Fabiola' from various sources.  Hardy and blooms.  It might even be increasing slowly -- I'm not watching it closely enough to be sure.  It is planted in several places.

T. tubergenii from Russell  Stafford in autumn 2000.  Survives, grows vigorously, blooms, and is probably increasing.  It is certainly perfectly hardy here, in the second sandy bed.

Our summers are marked by rainfall in every month, but with occasional drought periods of three to four weeks duration.  Last summer was wet in spring and in fall, hot and dry in the middle.  We had over 60 days in which the afternoon high temperatures exceeded 80 F (27 C) and of those, on 30 days it exceeded 90 F (32 C).  Last winter was mild -- lowest temperatures only down to +08 F (-13 C).  So far this year, winter has been wetter and milder with lowest low temp only down to +12 F (-11 C).  Average annual precipitation (as liquid) is 39 inches (1000 mm).

Having grown these for three years now, I would not be without them in my garden here in central Indiana (USA).  They certainly warrant larger production and mass marketing, and I think they are starting to appear in some of the mass market bulb catalogs. 

Regards,
Jim Shields

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA                   Tel. +1-317-896-3925
Member of INTERNATIONAL CLIVIA CO-OP




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