Tigridia--Topic of the Week
Robert Hamilton (Tue, 23 Sep 2003 05:32:40 PDT)

Hi all,

Thanks to Alberto for the really (as usual) informative
introduction to Tigridia. I am interested to hear that Rigidella has
now been included with Tigridia.

I grow Tigridia pavonia and find it does very well in the ground
here staying quite wet during its winter dormancy . In fact those
in the ground do better than those in pots which I presume are
drying out too much during summer. Tigridia (Rigidella) orthantha
also tolerates moisture through winter dormancy.

I grow the other species mentioned by Paul - chiapensis,
dugesii, durangense, multiflora and vanhoutei as well as mexicana
passiflora. I treat them all the same way- in pots which I keep out
of the rain through winter dormancy. The first 5 species flower well
and increase by bulb division and seed freely. I have never
flowered mexicana passiflora which grows at 1000m in Mexico and
clearly finds my climate a little cool. The bulbs are continuing
to enlarge so I live in hope . I have given a couple of bulbs to
friends in different climates this winter so hope they can produce
flowers.

I have raised T philippiana from ABA seed by courtesy of Julian
Slade but have to admit they are not really happy- I dont have a
lot of returns in their second season.

Last summer I put some pollen of Rigidella orthantha onto
Tigridia pavonia and managed to harvest 3 seeds. I had read of
this hybrid in Brian Mathew's "Larger Bulbs" and thought it was
worth a try. I will let you know if I get any germination.

Seed for most of my species came from Southwest Native Seeds in
Tucson which I am sure will be far easier for most of you to
access than it is for me. I also managed to grow and flower the
tiny irid Nemastylis tenuis nana from their seed but unfortunately
wasnt able to maintain it in cultivation for very long.

I would love to hear of any seed sources for the other species
mentioned on Alberto's list.

Cheers,

Rob in Tasmania

Zone 9 equivalent. (-2C minimum)
Average rainfall 26.5 inches fairly evenly distributed throughout
the seasons.
Coolish summers with average maximum summer temperatures in low 20C's.