Hi Jane: I think "Pink Diamond" is a hybrid of D. ida-maia and D. multiflorum. D. multiflorum will often exhibit a slighty twining stem - not like the D. volubile, but it definitely twists some. An oddity I thought I would mention, is that I have often found D. multiflorum making a "double-decker" flower, the main umbel, then a short stem with a small umbel above it. I have gathered seed from plants like this, and so far they haven't done the same thing in cultivation, although maybe it's a question of greater maturity. Diana ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane McGary" <janemcgary@earthlink.net> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Dichelostemma--TOW > Mary Sue wrote, Dichelostemma ida-maia has the reputation for being the > most challenging from seed and may benefit from a wide range of > temperatures between day and night for success. > > I assume this means growing it from stored seed? I certainly have no > problem "growing" it from seed here, where it has thoroughly infested one > bulb frame by seeding and then pulling the bulbs down below a wire barrier > where I can't get at them, as Lauw de Jager mentioned is a habit of D. > volubile too. This deep delving no doubt protects them against mice and > voles; however, the above-ground plant is sought by deer and (I think) rabbits. > > By the way, I got a planting of Lilium rubescens (the small California > relative of L. washingtonianum) past the rabbits this year by surrounding > each stem with a cylinder of hardware cloth (stiff, closely netted wire > mesh) about 10 inches (25 cm) high. I think it kept the slugs out, too. I > pinned the cylinders down with groundcloth staples. > > D. ida-maia has survived about 5 years in the open garden here, receiving a > little summer water and experiencing temperatures as low as 5 F (minus 15 > C). I was not able to establish D. volubile outside the frames. D. > congestum and D. capitatum are easy garden plants for us. > > What are some opinions on the parentage of the commercially available > cultivar Dichelostemma 'Pink Diamond'? I've seen it called a selection of > D. ida-maia, which it resembles in flower form. However, it is about the > color of D. volubile and has a twining stem. Could it be a hybrid of the > two? I'll have to see what it does in the garden. > > Jane McGary > Northwestern Oregon > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php