February 2024

[Rdevries]

The warm weather has awakened the Hyacinthellas.

[janemcgary]

Rimmer, our favorite typing-challenged correspondent, has posted a Hyacinthella. Most species in this genus seem to be among the earliest "spring" bulbs in flower. First one here is H. glabrescens; two more showing color.

[Too Many Plants!]

Updated pics of my M. Elegans after days and days of So Cal rain, and my first attempts at Moraea hybridizing. Following (trying to) Michael Mace instructions (Thank you Michael!) applying Elegans pollen on PolyStachya flowers. Polystachya are vigorous for me and flower from July through February. So I figure it's the choice parent to use for more flowers over a much longer period of the year. Wish me Luck!





 



 

[Martin Bohnet]

@David Pilling Well Cat pictures never fail...

@Uli No scent is definitely a plus in an arum. Personally I've tried to get Arum palaestinum

to flower for several years, no succes yet. Yes, I did fertilize it, which is definitely atypical for me..

First 2 pics are a comparison of Amana edulis

(left) and Amana anhuiensis (right), which actually seem almost identical to me besides intensity and definition of the outside pattern and (invisible in the picture) the growth of up to 3 buds from one bulb in the edulis. Edulis is new for me, anhuiensis slowly does clump up.

Third pic is Crocus fleischeri

which seems to have a slug problem in this very wet spring.

Fourth pic is my still most expensive Galanthus: The Wizard. But I'm already surfing around the common sites and I'm batteling the urge of getting one of the apricots, which again would double the invest... Of course I could blame Galanthus Viridapice (pic 5) for this, as cheap as it was, started the slippery slope. I'm actually thinking about donating it to the EX to infect others...

[Too Many Plants!]

First flower from new bulbs from last BX, planted in November. 

Romulea Tortuosa

Once again, thank you to those generous PBS folks that share the bulb and seed Love!!

 

[Carlos]

Another strain of Sternbergia candida, with bigger flowers. I think this is a clone, unlike the first one to flower, which has four ripening pods (in three plants). There was still some pollen but it was spoiled by a rain last Saturday.

[Too Many Plants!]

I've slowly spread this Lachenalia around to different spots in my garden, and it's interesting how different it flowers in different spots.



  

 

[Too Many Plants!]

I spied these today...they're supposed to be baby blue and usually are...not sure why they look white this year. I've long forgot/lost-tag and can't remember the genus/sp.. My clumps are definitely getting fuller and bigger.

   

[Carlos]

Hi, that's Ipheion, probably 'Alberto Castillo'

Carlos

[Too Many Plants!]

Hi, that's Ipheion, probably 'Alberto Castillo'

Hi Carlos, thanks. These are normally a light blue. I googled Ipheion and looks like they may be Wisley blue.

[Lee Poulsen]

You can see a hint of blue in the petals. Alberto Castillo is pure white without a hint of blue. Also the leaves of Alberto Castillo are slightly-bluish green. This doesn't look like Alberto Castillo to me.

[Martin Bohnet]

As Ipheion uniflorum

seeds around like mad AND changes colors depending on the temperatures it doesn't have to be a special cultivar.

[Lee Poulsen]

I've grown 'Alberto Castillo' along with a number of other cultivars of Ipheion uniflorum

for years, including a white flowered one I got from England many years ago. And 'Alberto Castillo' is noticeably different than all of the others. It's the most vigorous. It has those distinctly more bluish green leaves. And it almost looks like it's a hybrid with some other species, or at least a different subspecies. I agree that the seeding around produces lots of interesting color variations. But at least in this area (inland southern California), the various cultivars never change that drastically in coloration from year to year.

[Too Many Plants!]

After looking at the PBS Ipheion page, my guess is it's that lighter blue Uniflorum.

Newer pic of flower showing more color.

[Arnold]

Lachenalia quadricolor