Last Blooms

J.E. Shields jshields104@insightbb.com
Sat, 24 Sep 2005 11:32:03 PDT
Hi all,

The last Lycoris in bloom here is one clump of Lycoris caldwellii, that is 
in full flower just now.  All the other lycorids are finished.

An unusually hardy clump of Rhodophiala bifida bloomed not long ago, and a 
pot of R. bifida is blooming right now on the deck.

The Colchicum are in full bloom this week.  They are a most welcome 
addition to the landscape here at the very start of autumn.

The Sternbergia lutea are starting to flower now, too.  I think you simply 
could not plant too many Lycoris, Colchicum, and Sternbergia.

The only thing left now is to see if Lycoris radiata radiata will flower 
this year.  It is fairly hardy here; and it usually blooms sometime in 
October, after everything else has disappeared.

It really is finally autumn here in Indiana now.  The temperatures the past 
few days have not exceeded 80°F for the first time in many weeks.  The 
hardy Carpathian (i.e., "English" or Persian) walnuts (Juglans regia) are 
ripening daily.  The shellbark hickory trees (Carya laciniosa) are starting 
to drop their massive hulled nuts; the squirrels are having a feast.  The 
Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) are dropping their nuts everywhere.  And the 
Chinese Chestnuts (Castanea mollissima) are starting to ripen; I can almost 
taste the roasted chestnuts ahead for us!

I really enjoy autumn.

Jim Shields
inn central Indiana (USA)

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA



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