Favorite Pink Bulbs-TOW
Jane McGary (Tue, 10 Aug 2004 17:02:04 PDT)

Rodger wrote,Finally, Crocus kotschyanus comes close to pink. The Dutch, in
their

I've grown several forms this species and have never seen one that I would
call "pink." The only crocus that approaches pink, in my sight, is C.
tommasinianus 'Roseus'.

Rodger is right, however, about the poor performance of the common
commercial C. kotschyanus. It is a clone that offsets very freely but does
not flower much. I don't know if it's always virus-infected. The two
kotschyanus that I grow, 'Reliant' and a Ruksans selection that I have as
JRJK, are both good bloomers that don't offset freely, nor have I noticed
them seeding. Both are more blue than pink, certainly.

Since I can't grow such things as Lycoris, Nerine, and Amaryllis here
(nights too cool for flowering), I suppose my favorite pink bulbs are
colchicums. Most of them are close to true pink rather than lavender. I
think the finest color is in C. umbrosum.

Most pink forms of normally blue flowers look muddy or washed-out to me.
However, pink forms of typically white flowers can be pretty, such as Acis
(Leucojum) trichophylla 'Rosea'.

A native plant here that has a little tuber, Trientalis borealis (there is
an Old World species, T. europaea), has cute pink flowers. I have not been
able to figure out how to handle it as a dormant bulb, but it tends to come
up where fir bark is spread as a mulch.

There are several fairly pink Calochortus, the best of which is C.
simulans, and some of the myriad color forms of C. venustus appear pink,
though actually they are red stippled on white.

And let's not forget Alstroemeria, not exactly a bulb but certainly a
geophyte, and much given to pinks of all shades.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA