What's blooming Week of 2 November

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:59:10 PDT
We've continued to have some lovely sunny weather after early rains 
and as a result my fall blooming bulbs have been really happy. That 
is supposed to change tomorrow however so today I took inventory. 
Some of these are new bloomers and some still blooming:
Crocus asumaniae, C. ochroleucus, C. goulimyi, C. niveus, C. 
serotinus, C.  cartwrightianus
Cyclaman hederifolium, C. cilicum, C. coum, C. intaminatum
Delphinium nudicaule, but most are just coming up
Haemanthus albiflos - just starting
Moraea polystachya - still going
Narcissus cantabricus
Nerine masoniorum, Nerine humilis (in ground), Nerine bowdenii, 
Nerine flexuosa x N. undulata

Most years I can't get Nerine bowdenii to bloom. I've tried it from 
others who say theirs bloom well. I've grown it from seed. 
Occasionally it has bloomed.  In the ground it disappears. In pots it 
soon gets pot bound. So in June when one pot went dormant early I 
decided, that's it and unpotted it and sent the bulbs to the BX. At 
the very last moment however I kept out some of the really large 
bulbs and potted them up in a 11 inch pot. This is one reason why I'm 
having such a hard time downsizing. I give things a last minute 
reprieve. Every now and then this summer I'd give that empty pot some 
water. Nothing much happened and I hoped the bulbs I sent to the BX 
were o.k. In August some healthy looking leaves appeared and three of 
them are now blooming. They must be totally confused about when they 
are supposed to grow. I've just unpotted another non blooming pot of 
Nerine bowdenii. There were more than 50 in an eight inch pot. Most 
of them are in the mail to Dell, but I did plant out a couple in the 
ground to try once more. At least I got rid of one pot that way.

Oxalis- Last fall was a particularly bad year for my Oxalis. We had a 
really cool summer with many foggy days and I didn't have many bloom 
and then not for long. This year is a real contrast.  Oxalis bowiei 
didn't even break dormancy last year. This year it started blooming 
in September and is still going strong. Still or newly blooming:
Oxalis luteola (several forms except for the spotted leafed one that 
never divides- the birds chose it for a snack and ate all the leaves 
and buds), Oxalis purpurea (several forms), Oxalis hirta (several 
forms), Oxalis flava (several forms), Oxalis caprina, O. commutata, 
(blooming since August) O. bowiei, Oxalis hirta, O. fabaefolia, O. 
gracilis,  O. massoniana, O. peridicaria, Oxalis zeekoevleyensis, and 
inside something that blooms most of the year if I keep it watered, 
O. triangularis
Pelargonium echinatum
Polyxena longituba
Romulea halli
Spiranthes odorata

Mary Sue

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers 




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