Calochortus notes

[janemcgary]

This is the beginning of the Calochortus flowering season here in Portland, Oregon. I grow all mine in the bulb house, which has a solid roof and open wire mesh sides. I was happy to see the resurrection of C. amoenus after several years, as well as a few other species I'm hoping are appearing again. Probably extra efforts to control cutworm helped. A determined search for C. coxii finally turned up its plants almost smothered by a neighbor. One problem has come up with identification: there appears to have been some kind of mix-up in labeling (or numbering) of donations to one or more SX offerings in the mid teens, around 2015-2017. A couple of groups raised from seed with other names have proven to be C. luteus. One labeled C. pulchellus has admitted to being C. amabilis, and another group whose label I did not unearth is actually C. pulchellus. One labeled C. umbellatus does not have the multiflowered stems said to be characteristic, but as this is its first flowering, it may get stronger, and the flowers appear correct. If you raised plants from that era of the SX, it would be good to verify the names before donating seed of them.

[Diane Whitehead]

I like calochortus and have taken special trips to photograph them.  The photography was a lot more successful than my attempts to grow them.

In a recent five year period I sowed 58 packets of seeds from various sources.  36 germinated.  All the ones I bought from Alplains did, but some from various society exchanges did not.

However, my pots, kept in an unheated though frost-free greenhouse,  have not shown any leaves in the years from germination.  I've begun dumping them out to look for bulbs and haven't found any yet.

Any suggestions for success?  Give up on seeds, and try to buy bulbs?

[David Pilling]

The only calochortus I have had flower were Dutch bulbs - reasonably cheap and flowered immediatley after planting.

[Randy Linke]

I have less than ideal situation in my current setting, no direct sun until the past few weeks, but had C. luteus, C. albus, C. tolmiei, C. amabilis and a couple others bloom after being transplanted from my Seattle garden.  Several others did grow but did not flower.

I have found that it is critical that they have a dry, cool rest in the summer.  Before I started doing this I never had them live over from year to year.

Next year they will be in much happier circumstances, and I will be starting more from seed.

[MarcR]

Diane,

I think that one problem may be that they want more winter chill than you are giving them.
many grow in mountain regions and don't appreciate much protection.

[David Pilling]

It would be good to know which are the easy/robust ones - same applies to other genera.

[Jim Barton]

Diane
I would start by finding a copy of Calochortus by Gerritsen and Parsons (WIKI reference) it is full of useful information. Start with species that grow in climates similar to yours and try growing the seedlings out side, depending on the species most Calochortus can take some frost, although I don't know about the Mexican species. This spring I had over 20 species of Calochortus flower, but they are all ones that naturally grow in a climate similar to mine, cool winters and hot dry summers, and they are all grown outside and most are grown in the ground. Start with the local ones and work up from there.
Jim Barton

[janemcgary]

Calochortus are long-lived plants for me near Portland, Oregon, given a dry summer dormancy. They require considerable depth to mature properly. Even mature plants don't necessarily flower every year. Most should not require winter chill; those that are widely available come mostly from California west of the Sierra Nevada. I find certain inland species such as C. nuttallii difficult. All of mine are in my bulb house, which has a solid roof and open, wire mesh sides, so there is no temperature control but plenty of moisture control. Cutworm can attack the plants as they emerge. I grow them in a medium that is mostly coarse sand over a lower layer of clay loam, start watering in October, and about this time I stop watering. Some of mine self-sow, and at least one has produced an attractive hybrid. Calochortus seed can remain viable in storage for many years.

[Diane Whitehead]

Thanks, Jim.

I have the book and have used it on many trips south.

A preponderance of the seeds I've grown are ones that fit my climate - late fall, winter and early spring rain, and a rainless summer.  I've also occasionally tried a few that don't, like C. kennedyi.

Your suggestion to grow them outside is what I must try.

[janemcgary]

The attached photo shows Calochortus kennedyi using a tactic popular with long-stemmed species, climbing up along the stout stem of a perennial (Delphinium trolliifolium in this case). If not supported, it would have lain along the ground.