Tiny bulbs (mostly western US natives)

I grew various colors of the common A. blanda in my previous garden. They
come up late in this climate (May-June), remain in flower longer than many
other spring-blooming "bulbs," and the dying foliage isn't offensive.

Uncommon and probably not in commerce is the native A. tuberosa. I found
(and photographed) one plant blooming along I-10 near the Arizona/New
Mexico border after a particularly wet winter and during a particularly wet
spring. It's an amazingly delicate little thing, unexpected in the desert
sand, that would be difficult to find unless one is looking for it. If
there had been an expanse of them, I might have collected one. Collecting
seed would be preferable, but doubt I could find it again when not in bloom
unless flagged beforehand.

If grown hard, another native, Pulsatilla patens, remains in character with
a leaf or two and a striking bloom of lavender-blue. It is fairly common in
the Ponderosa pine zone of the Rockies, including New Mexico. It is often
confused in nurseries with the European species which is larger and has
more foliage. If you want the real thing, either grow it from
wild-collected seed or get it from a reliable native plant source.

Another hard-to-find native is Leucocrinum montanum. I have quixotic
directions for a population in/near Raton, New Mexico for which I searched
last June. No luck. Turns out that it flowers early (April) and disappears,
its seed forming underground. I think I've found a source in Colorado and
will check again this spring.

Lewisia pygmaea is just that: tiny. Found in montane forest openings and
subalpine meadows, it is impressive in large numbers. It would provide an
early seasonal splash of color in a trough. This one is fairly common in
the right habitat in New Mexico and, I suspect, the rest of the southern
Rockies.

Claytonia lanceolata and Lloydia serotina are other small, high elevation
beauties.

Talinum /Phemeranthus sp. - Several species of Talinum are tiny! There's
one as-yet-unidentified annual growing on my property that would look great
in a trough; it's easy to miss otherwise. It blooms in mid-summer to fall.
Most talinums are hard to find in the wild, let alone in commerce. There
was an article in The New Mexico Botanist several years ago about the
genus, including descriptions of newly-identified species.

When hiking through the same canyon where the rare endemic Ipomopsis
sancti-spiritus grows, I found (and photographed) a 3" wide mound of a
yellow-flowered corydalis. It looked liked Coydalis aurea, except that it
wasn't growing upright, was in an entirely different biosphere, and wasn't
weedy. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it again. Perhaps there are other tiny
corydalises?

How's that for a start? I bet there are other tiny yet impressive native
bulbous, tuberous, etc. plants that would look great in troughs!

- Barbara

Leaf and Stone
Barbara L. Weintraub
20 Estambre Road
Santa Fe, NM 87508-8769
7000 feet elevation
blweintraub1@earthlink.net