Romuleas in bloom
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:26:48 PST)

Dear Marguerite,

I have a few Romuleas planted in raised beds. The rest are in containers. I
don't have any of them in the greenhouse (except for those I just started
last fall). I usually try to shelter my first year South African seeds from
all our rain, at least when the leaves are tiny.

Most of them are exposed to the elements, but it doesn't get as cold for me
as it does for you. A few of the species from the drier areas are in my
open sided covered shelter where they get less rain, but still some when
the wind blows it sideways. Most of them are responding just fine to this
treatment.

I've only gotten interested in this genus in the last couple of years after
Rod Saunders said it was his favorite bulb genus. That made a big
impression on me. Then when we visited South Africa we saw so many
different beautiful ones and I was hooked. So there is still more
experimenting to do to see what is possible.

I think sticking with Silverhill Seeds or IBSA seeds if you are a member is
wise. I have gotten far too many misnamed ones from several of the rock
garden seed exchanges. Those often had tiny unimpressive purple flowers.
Romulea hirta is an easy one with creamy yellow flowers sometimes with a
dark circle. It turns up a lot too called other things.

Mary Sue

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers