PBS Forum

Blooming today.

Lachenalia sp. unknown

Ferraria sp. unknown

Cyrtanthus obliquus coloring up

Sinningia concinna
  It's been  blooming since mid December. 

14 November 2022
Sinningia concinna plt14Nov22 TB149600.jpg 

27 December 2022
Sinningia concinna hab27Dec22 FS coin closerTC279803 FS.jpg 

2 February 2023
Sinningia concinna hab2Feb23 FS closer T2020419 FS.jpg

Hey Rick R - that's a very nice plant.

This is finally blooming, a dark leaf Oxalis purpurea 'Garnet'.
Oxalis purpurea 'Garnet'.jpg

Still too dark and cold for the crocus to open up, but at least there's one first Cyclamen coum

. Galanthus-wise, today Alison Hillary (pic 2), Mrs Thompson and Greenbrush (pic3) showed some enthusiasm. Biggest surprise of the day was Himantoglossum robertianum

Height:	45-80 cm (1.5-2.6 ft)
Flower Colors:	pink, purple, white, patterned
Flower Season:	mid spring
Special:	fragrant
Life form:	tuber

in the cold house under lights - the warm time "in between the years" phase has started it early, usually blooms 3-4 weeks later for me.

Lachenalia callista

Cyrtanthis obliquus

Daubenya aurea, one of the weirdest-looking bulbs ever in my opinion. To me it looks like something you would find underwater on a coral reef. You need a bright sunny day to get the flower head to open fully.

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I have this one growing next to Daubenya zeyheri, which bloomed in December. I saved some pollen from it, and if everything works out, maybe in a few years we'll have an even weirder hybrid.

Lachenalia splendida

Leucocoryne macropetalum

Dear All,

Here are some impressions from my garden.

We had a long cold spell and now rainy and windy weather, so some flowers look a little unhappy.

Cyclamen persicum, pure white form 

Gladiolus carinatus. I had to hold the flowers for the photo because the shoots were pushed sideways by the bad weather 

Lachenalia bulbifera 

Bulbinella eburnifolia, from Silverhill Seeds 

Tropaeolum hookerianum 

Native Narcissus bulbocodium in a friend's garden 

I have this as Lachenalia namaquensis, but I have some doubts.

Literature doesn't state leaves are pustulate.

@Uli how dare you calling that a cold spell, having lived in Germany for so long >:( ???

Just envious ;-) :P

Trying to do my first post on the board.
This is Belvallia flexuosa, a very common plant here in Jerusalem Israel. Zone 9b  I love the purple scape.

Sorry, couldn't do it on my phone. Will try later.

Hello Martin,

It was cold! Frost! In the very Southwestern end of Europe.....
It is the first time since 2017 that this has happened, I did not like to see this but finally there was only very marginal damage to the most fragile plants. It was early morning frost for several days in a row but daytime temperatures always went up to about 15 degrees.
We now have overcast weather with more or less the same temperatures day and night between 12 and 15 degrees.

well, my cold spell is more like -6°C at night - which may still be mild for some out there...

Anyway, my plant of the day from the cold house would be Amana anhuiensis which flowers for me the third year now and finally seems to start to clump up a bit, even if it's still just one flower. I got it out for some sun today to open up the flower, but it went back to frost free conditions for the night....

Ferraria variabilis

Flowered a week later last year.

Some Lachenalias currently in bloom.

Lachenalias_2023_feb_lpoulsen.jpg

Interesting. My L. quadricolor are long finished and L. aloides have not even started their flower scape.
Shmuel
Jerusalem Israel 
Zone 9b

Is Amana anhuiensis definitely different from Amana edulis? It looks very similar, and one reads that Amana is a monotypic genus.

Lachenalia carnosa

Quote from: janemcgary on February 15, 2023, 02:23:57 PMIs Amana anhuiensis definitely different from Amana edulis? It looks very similar, and one reads that Amana is a monotypic genus.

Plants Of the World Online lists 6 species these days. Since I only grow one species I can only say what it was sold as.  From what I've seen on pictures, edulis has a red net with distinguished lines on the outside, and mine has a soft reddish shade.

Some hoop-petticoats from Spain:

Narcissus bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium var. ectrandrus, or just subsp. ectandrus for some, after its well exerted style and stamens:

WhatsApp Image 2023-02-13 at 18.21.31.jpg

Narcissus cantabricus SL 432 (Almería, Spain, thanks to Dylan Hannon)

WhatsApp Image 2023-02-15 at 20.27.21.jpg

Narcissus x bastitanus, an invalid name which will have to be replaced sometime. Narcissus blancoi x cantabricus.

WhatsApp Image 2023-02-15 at 20.27.48.jpg

Narcissus bulbocodium from above Ifrane towards the sources of the Oum er Rbia river, Middle Atlas, probably at 1200 m or more. This circulates as subsp praecox but it is not, as praecox was described from coastal areas being light yellow (ochroleucus) and with included stamens. Not jeanmonodii, not jaquemoudii, not peroccidentalis...

20230216_181823.jpg 20230216_181718.jpg 20230216_181708.jpg

Screenshot_20230216-201849_Drive.jpg

More to come

Carlos Jiménez

So there must be two different ways to include photos. One produces the thumbnails with a filename that can be clicked on to open a much higher resolution image. The other just seems to insert the photo at maybe not it's highest resolution but is much bigger than a thumbnail image. But I don't see any icon in the Reply box to insert a photo. It wasn't till I "previewed" my post that a button appeared for "Attachments and other options". But it only gives the method to insert attachments by dragging and dropping or pressing an Add Files button. I don't know how to insert photos that produce the thumbnail with hidden but included high resolution image.

Quick reply (which appears by default) has no option for photos. But if you click on Reply, you get the full fat version with a button for attachments.

Secrets of photos
1 - use the Reply button
2 - Find "Attachments and other options" down at the bottom.
3 - cue up your photos and then click upload (by which I mean drag and drop on the upload area, or browse for them, having selected photos for upload they then have to be uploaded)
4 - you can now use "Insert" which puts "attach" markup in your reply (or copy the markup) (square brackets with the word 'attach' and an image reference in).
5 - Or do nothing at step 4 and your photos will appear as thumbnails at the end of the post

Quote from: Lee Poulsen on February 14, 2023, 03:44:31 PMSome Lachenalias currently in bloom

Dang! That's impressive, Lee!

A few warm days finally did the trick, the garden almost explodes...

While the yellow "Spindlestone surprise" graces me with two flowers in its first season, it's the nondescript basic Galanthus nivalis

that throws around spring excessiveness.

Talking about garden center species, the Iris reticulata

-clones and hybrids also almost explode from the ground - and, as always, Scilla monanthos

opens the blue star season for me.

Meanwhile in the house, Trimezia steyermarkii

has reactivated a stalk I thought I had lost for good via side growth - see that nibbled away leaf in the lower corner? fascinating how one always manages to get a geometer moth caterpillar or two into winter quarters...

Ferraria crispa

Is this the world's tallest crocus - growing through another plant has apparently elongated the flower. A whole new hobby growing extra long flowers by forcing - they do it with leeks.

Two photos (of the same plant) of (Clivia caulescens x mirabilis) X self, blooming now for the first time since I sowed the seed (from South Africa) 5 years ago.  This is very typical of the flower shape and color of the five Clivia species other than Clivia miniata, which is the one most people think of when they think Clivia.  These can be, and are being bred with Clivia miniata, resulting in a flower sharing traits of both parents to varying degrees.

Narcissus x susannae (cantabricus x coronatus), named afrer Dr. Alfonso Susanna

20230223_181820.jpg

I got this one as N romieuxii rifanus JWB.89-28 from rareplants.co.uk. I don't think it is romieuxii, and the website has mixed photos. It should come from the Iguermalet mountains and, if not named before by Maire ot Jahandiez & Maire, it might fit one of the ultra-splitter Fernandez Casas's poorly documented taxa.

20230223_181750.jpg

20230223_181736.jpg

Narcissus hedraeanthus just opening

20230223_183615.jpg

Comparison of Narcissus x barrae (F1 bulbocodium x cantabricud, mostly sterile) and the fertile, possibly polyploid, Narcissus grandae.

20230224_175725.jpg

Carlos J

Daubenya aurea in all its glory.  One of the few South Africans I grow.  Last year I blasted the flower buds and the leaves by forgetting to close the greenhouse one cold night.  We've been having a cold spell so I brought it in the house for a bit. 

Tomorrow I'm going to do a little work with a paintbrush on cotton swab.  I hand pollinated it a couple of years ago and didn't get any seed.  Heat is sometime helpful for seed set so I think I'll keep it inside. my husband keeps this place a balmy 72 degrees so maybe it'll feel at home.  And yes I know those of you in Germany or Great Britain think he's nuts.  I agree but then I run hot.  I have also thought of dabbling the stigmas with a little sugar water (hummingbird nectar) and see if that doesn't anything positive for seed germination. 

And if anyone also has a bright red daubenya blooming talk to me about trading pollen. 

JantempImagecYTWt5.jpg

Hyacinthella acutiloba has lovely sky blue flowers.  Hand pollinated last year and now have a few seedlings coming.
tempImageUlyoNu.jpg

Crocus 'Pilgrim' from Odyssey Bulbs.

Vigorous narcissus hybrid.  I believe I got the seed from Anne Wright at Dryad Nursery.

Scilla 'Sibrose' a hybrid of Scilla siberica and Scilla rosenii.  I also have its sister S. 'Rosiba'.  Neither are all that great but I'm hand pollinating them in the hope the F2 generation will yield something that looks more like S. rosenii but isn't so demanding.

Tecophilaea cyanocrocus

. All three of the main varieties found in the trade. vars cyanocrocus, leichtlinii, and violacea. I don't understand why they are so expensive. They're very easy to grow in my climate and multiply without any problem whatsoever. I grow them almost identically to how I grow my Cape bulbs, same soil mix, same dormancy treatment, same emergence time in early winter, same watering regime. (This winter I haven't had to water them at all due to all the rain we've been having.) The only pest I've found they have is mice, during dormancy. So I keep them shaded but in full view of cats and humans. I think var. leichtlinii is the actual type species because they are more vigorous in almost every way (growth, flowering, multiplication, etc.).IMG_9037.jpgIMG_9039.jpgIMG_9042.jpgIMG_9044.jpg

A couple of my Paramongaia weberbaueri have also bloomed. They really do look like daffodils on steroids, and have a really nice scent. They grow well here, at least the winter flowering strain, but the leaves do not like actual 32°F/0°C temperatures.

IMG_9035.jpg
IMG_9036.jpg

This is my attempt at trying to get more colors into Hyacinths that grow in warmer climates. I don't really care for the big fat flower scapes. I like the colors and the scent. So I have various selections from the trade mixed in with pots of blue, white, and pink "Roman" hyacinths which grow fine in sunbelt climates, hoping the bees will cross pollinate. Before the current rains we're getting, I saw a lot of bees busy doing their thing among them, so maybe it will work?

IMG_9033.jpg

Hello Lee,

Thank you very much for your stunning pictures and the info on cultivation.
Ordinary hyacinth does not do well with me in a similar climate. Are roman hyacinths genetically different? I have always thought they are ordinary hyacinths with the central bud destroyed in order to make them produce offsets. I have never grown them.

Uli 

Hi Uli,

I think what you're referring to are called "multiflora" hyacinths here in the States. There is a blue, pink, and white one in the trade. I've read that they are not the "Roman" hyacinths and may not return in our sunbelt states, whereas the "Roman" type are heirloom varieties that have been grown in the South for many decades (maybe even for more than 100 years?). I'm pretty sure they're the same species, but genetically they seem to be adapted to climates without much winter chill and do not require freezing temperatures to flower. I know they are grown in southern Europe as well. Back when Bulb 'Argence was in business they used to offer the blue and the white one. (Just checked and their website is still up, but they don't sell much at all anymore. <https://www.bulbargence.com/m_catalogue/index.php?id_categorie=109>) 

Have you tried Tecophilaea yet? They are stunning when they fill a pot with flowers. I haven't tried them in the ground, but if you have a place where it is dry in summer and not too sunny then, they should do well. (They don't seem to mind hot temperatures in the summer if they are in the shade. Last September we had a week where the high temperature was between 40°-45°C with lows between 21°-26°C every day for the entire week!) They do need sun in winter, though.

Yes, thank you Lee, you are right. I confused the Multiflora hyacinths up with the Roman ones. I will try to get some. Is there anyone out there in the EU who would be willing to swap some with me?

I managed to get two Tecophilea bulbs from the last EU BX and one has flowered. I have had them before with no success and this time I will follow the regime you suggest.

Uli 

Hello All,
Some friends and I were out to visit Anza Borrego Desert State Park (Colorado Desert) a couple weeks ago. Thought I would share some pics from our outing.  To those familiar, I was on the west flanks of Coyote Mountain in the Coyote Creek Wash area. The wildflower zone trends along the base of the mountain to the southeast intersecting Henderson Canyon Road and fizzles out on the other side of the road as the natural water flow is diverted at that point. The larger section of the same  wild flower zone is at the Eastern terminus of Di Giorgio Rd. The pavement becomes a dirt road and eventually a trail.  We hiked back up the wash to the narrows to see if there were more Hesperocallis up the valley. I'm not sure if it was too early in the season, usually have visited to see wild flowers later in the season and there are many more Hesperocallis in bloom.  Is it a Super bloom, I don't believe so.  Although with the rains this past week and  more this coming week, the low desert, is pretty spectacular.  I was lucky to head out on a Monday after a rain overnight, the plants were flush with moisture and Springtime.
The Colorado Desert is the western arm of the Sonoran Desert, its also the driest. Most of the moisture for the Colorado desert is winter moisture. The eastern and southern portions are more influenced by the Monsoon and get most of their moisture in Summer. The saguaro does not grow in the Colorado desert for this reason.  We have the Ocotillo, Teddy Bear Cholla as mascot

If you have a chance to visit, well worth the effort. A good two hours from San Diego, but only 10 minutes from Borrego Springs. I'm headed out one more time, to visit a spot especially interesting for Hesperocallis Undulata. It involves a little off roading to get there, probably why its still intact with Desert Lily.  It's  in the Southwest corner of the park along the Laguna Escarpment, isolated from the three other areas I have known Desert Lily to  grow near Borrego Springs. 

Anza Borrego Desert State Park  Colorado Desert:
-Grape Soda Lupine
-Sand Verbena, ( only area where we saw White Sand Verbena, all other examples were predominated by purple )  
 Desert Big Horn Sheep Sculpture  one of 130 across Borrego Valley by  Ricardo Breceda
-Hesperocallis Undulata  ( Desert Lily)
-Cholla (ouch), Sand Verbena and Big Horn Sculpture
- Yellow Sunflower and mixed flowers
- Dodder plant ( parasitic) wrapped around  Lupine. It looks other worldly, I see it hiking in the mountains  
  and the desert. There are many species of Dodder that grow in the park.  Supposedly it will not kill the host? The 
  Lupine sure does not look happy cloaked in Dodder.  Dodder finds its pray by scent, and each.
-Grape Soda Lupine, Verbena and Desert Primrose.
-Grape Soda  Lupine again, 4 foot + flower spikes just a beautiful specimen attesting to the amount of water the desert has   seen from a strong Summer Monsoon coupled with Tropical Storm Kay. Followed by the 22/23 winter rains. Borrego Springs has had measurable rainfall each month since August.  

Mike

thanks for the amazing images.

Do send more when you revisit.

One of my favorite Lachenalia in my collection.
Lachenalia Carnosa

Hello Mike,

Thank you for sharing the desert pictures with us. Anza Borrego is my favorite desert, I particularly love the spot where the stream flows through a grove of Washingtonia palms. A little further up I have seen the wild sheep...

Uli