Diane, I've grown most of the California native taxa from seed. I have my seedpots on the north east side of my house where they get morning winter sun until 11am but otherwise merely bright shade. My seedling mix is a 1-1-1-1 pumice, granite 1/8", granite fines, potting soil. Berkeley is in zone 10a - so we get cool-to-cold nights but moderately warm days and some very warm days throughout growing season. The pots are in an area with a pretty consistent breeze so airflow is nearly constant... I have struggled in very wet years when my potting mix was too organic/water retentive and I have lost pots to damping off when I planted seedlings too closely. I start my seeds in October with the first good rains or give them a soak if the rainy season starts off slow. I can only hazard an issue with substrate or, perhaps, your average temps are too cool for the seedlings? Can you talk more about the initial seed starting/first season vs attrition in years after sprouting? -|<ipp ________________________________ From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> on behalf of Marc Rosenblum via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 5:10 PM To: Diane Whitehead via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Cc: Marc Rosenblum <ivanhoe3@charter.net> Subject: Re: [pbs] Calochortus Hi Diane, Many Calochortus are from higher elevations and welcome some winter frost. Some like alkaline soils; but, most want acid soil. Most want a very lean soil with a lot of sand & gravel. A few are evergreen, but those which are not will welcome a light leaf cover after their leaves drop. I keep all my Calochortus in the ground unprotected except for a light leaf cover, all year. Marc Rosenblum Falls City, OR zone 8b. On 12/2/2024 4:12 PM, Diane Whitehead via pbs wrote: > I am ready to give up on trying to grow Calochortus from seed. > > In the past 8 years I have sown 61 packets of seed from various exchanges, 39 of them germinated. > > The pots have been kept in my cool greenhouse - unheated, but frost-free in winter and well-ventilated so not very hot in summer. > > I did not keep track of how many showed green leaves and for how many years. > > However there have been no recent leaves. Today I dumped all the pots out to check for bulbs, and there were none at all. > > Is there something I’ve done wrong, or neglected to do? > > > Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada > cool mediterranean climate warm dry summers, mild wet winters 70 cm rain, sandy soil > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//…<https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…> > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//…<https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…