Flores and Watson old Leucocoryne seed
Diane Whitehead (Wed, 24 Dec 2003 16:36:46 PST)
Pabellonia incrassata grows in very dry, rocky soils quite near the
coast, with large Copiapoa cacti and xeric shrubs, and the most
robust plants seemed to be down near seasonal drainage gullies on
sloping banks. If I were Diane, I would not plant any outdoors on a
bet!
Jane,
Many of the small islands around here have native cactus and all but
two Cyclamen species grow well outside on them, even ones that are
grown in pots in England. (I forget which the two are, but persicum,
libanoticum, cyprium, africanum are fine.) Is there any chance that
such an island garden would approximate the area you describe?
I was planning to try only the most likely to succeed, not all the
species. I thought maybe purpurea could be the one. I have 600 seeds
of it, so I figured a few of them could show if they have any
hardiness genes. The rest will be protected inside my cold
greenhouse.
Alberto mentioned Leucocorynes should be frost-free, but is there one
species that has a possible chance of growing outside? We do get
cold winters without warning about every ten years, but having the
leaves killed off every so often might not kill the bulb. Alberto
also mentioned how deep the bulbs grow, so they shouldn't freeze, as
I can remember the ground freezing only twice in the 60 years I've
noticed such things. (It was frozen perhaps 15 cm deep.)
--
Diane Whitehead Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8
cool mediterranean climate (dry summer, rainy winter - 68 cm annually)
sandy soil