February photos

[Carlos]

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



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.





Narcissus hedraeanthus just opening



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



Carlos J

[Jan Jeddeloh]

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. 

Jan

[Jan Jeddeloh]

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

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Crocus 'Pilgrim' from Odyssey Bulbs.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

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

[Jan Jeddeloh]

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.

[Lee Poulsen]

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.).

[Lee Poulsen]

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.

[Lee Poulsen]

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?

[Uli]

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 

[Lee Poulsen]

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.

[Uli]

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 

[Mike Lowitz]

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.  

[Arnold]

Mike

thanks for the amazing images.

Do send more when you revisit.

[Mike Lowitz]

One of my favorite Lachenalia in my collection.
Lachenalia Carnosa