Dichelostemma--TOW

diana chapman rarebulbs@earthlink.net
Wed, 28 May 2003 06:51:15 PDT
Hi Jane:

I think "Pink Diamond" is a hybrid of D. ida-maia and D. multiflorum.   D.
multiflorum will often exhibit a slighty twining stem - not like the D.
volubile, but it definitely twists some.  An oddity I thought I would
mention, is that I have often found D. multiflorum making a "double-decker"
flower, the main umbel, then a short stem with a small umbel above it.  I
have gathered seed from plants like this, and so far they haven't done the
same thing in cultivation, although maybe it's a question of greater
maturity.

Diana

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 3:47 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Dichelostemma--TOW


> Mary Sue wrote,  Dichelostemma ida-maia has the reputation for being the
> most challenging from seed and may benefit from a wide range of
> temperatures between day and night for success.
>
> I assume this means growing it from stored seed? I certainly have no
> problem "growing" it from seed here, where it has thoroughly infested one
> bulb frame by seeding and then pulling the bulbs down below a wire barrier
> where I can't get at them, as Lauw de Jager mentioned is a habit of D.
> volubile too. This deep delving no doubt protects them against mice and
> voles; however, the above-ground plant is sought by deer and (I think)
rabbits.
>
> By the way, I got a planting of Lilium rubescens (the small California
> relative of L. washingtonianum) past the rabbits this year by surrounding
> each stem with a cylinder of hardware cloth (stiff, closely netted wire
> mesh) about 10 inches (25 cm) high. I think it kept the slugs out, too. I
> pinned the cylinders down with groundcloth staples.
>
> D. ida-maia has survived about 5 years in the open garden here, receiving
a
> little summer water and experiencing temperatures as low as 5 F (minus 15
> C). I was not able to establish D. volubile outside the frames. D.
> congestum and D. capitatum are easy garden plants for us.
>
> What are some opinions on the parentage of the commercially available
> cultivar Dichelostemma 'Pink Diamond'? I've seen it called a selection of
> D. ida-maia, which it resembles in flower form. However, it is about the
> color of D. volubile and has a twining stem. Could it be a hybrid of the
> two? I'll have to see what it does in the garden.
>
> Jane McGary
> Northwestern Oregon
>
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