Well, Mark, my remarks were not really meant to be taken too seriously - I was just playing the devil's advocate and trying to stir things up a bit. I certainly share your enthusiasm for Crocus Prins Claus. If I'm not mistaken, the eponymous Prins Claus died only a year or two ago. Can anyone confirm that? Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net At 11:40 PM 2/24/2004 EST, you wrote: >Lots of good comments on dwarf Tulipa. Let me respond to a few items: > >There were two AlpenPix postings of Tulipa species, Tulipa undulatifolia >photographed by Graham Nicholls, and Tulipa neustreuvae photographed by Jon Evans. >Both are stunning dwarf bulbs, but I'm particularly smitten with T. >undulatifolia... not only is it among the most beautiful dwarf tulips I've seen, but it >is among the most stunning dwarf bulbs of all time. > >Tulipa undulatifolia >http://home.no.net/alpenpix/board/… >Tulipa neustreuvae >http://home.no.net/alpenpix/board/… > >The first species is available from Hoog and Dix wholesale, but maybe we >could convince Paige Woodward or Russell Stafford to import this beauty through >their nursery channels if there were enough interested buyers of a few bulbs >each. > >Mary Sue Ittner wrote: >>Tulipa bakeri 'Lilac Wonder' is another very >>satisfactory Tulipa. I have planted this in the >>ground hoping it might come back and occasionally >>see it returning, but it does much better for me in >>containers using my usual method. Funny, but I've >>never found its foliage "chubby." I'll have to look >>at it this year more closely. > >I do think the foliage is rather chubby, and proportionally too large for the >rather small cup-shaped blooms. Check out my photo page on T. polychroma, a >most delightful miniature white-flowered species, where it turns out that >Tulipa bakeri bulbs were intermingled in the Holland bulb bins. The narrow gray >foliage is T. polychroma, the wide, green foliage just emerging is bakeri >'Lilac Wonder'. The foliage will get much bigger and fatter than what you see in >the images of early foliar emergence. >http://plantbuzz.com/RockGard/Bulbs/… >...and here's the link to T. bakeri 'Lilac Wonder' bulbs growing out amongst >T. tarda bulbs: >http://plantbuzz.com/RockGard/Bulbs/… > >Jim McKenney <jimmckenney@starpower.net> wrote several paragraphs: >>Tulipa bakeri Lilac Wonder was also mentioned. Tulipa >>saxatilis puts up foliage in the fall; the foliage is >>severely damaged in a typical winter. As a result, I >>grew this species (by replacing it frequently) for years >>without ever seeing it flower. When Lilac Wonder >>became available, I was dubious: wasn't it just another >>saxatilis variant under a new name? Was there any >>reason to think that it might do better here? > >The two species are regarded as quite distinct, albeit the flowers have >similar coloration reported as paler pink in T. saxatilis. Considering T. bakeri >comes from Crete, it is surprising to me that it is ironclad hardy in New >England. The foliage does not sprout in the autumn like saxatilis, but waits until >spring. Tulipa saxatilis is said to be stoloniferous. Of the two species, >I've only grown T. bakeri, and it certainly shows no tendency to be >stoloniferous. > >>I couldn't agree less about your comments about >>what rock gardeners prefer. I'm a rock gardener -of >>sorts, but not the sort who measures everything and >>tosses anything over eight inches high. But then, I >>don't have a real rock garden. In my experience, >>most rock gardeners don't. > >You must not take my comments too seriously, as they were purposely >stereotyped to emphasize a point. My comments are based on some level of classic "rock >gardening doctrine", personal observation over the years in the New England >area, and a bit of mockery of the rock gardening "norms". I'm the first to >admit that I like displays of pansies, petunias, huge-headed hydrangeas, giant >hibiscus, snapdragons and zinnias, overbred iris and dahlias, lilacs, and a host >of shrubs and trees. > >>The rock gardeners you seem to be referring to >>are the space-starved modern rock gardeners who >>set aside a few square yards of rock heap and >>within that area manage to see glacial till, a >>moraine, assorted chasms and crevices > >I didn't realized I had implied so much! To your assertion, I believe quite >the opposite. Some of the best rock gardens in eastern USA that I've visited, >particularly in Connecticut, and western and coastal Massachusetts, among >other locations, had rather luxuriously expansive sites and elegant gardens, not >even close to being a "rock heap". > >>As for plants, nothing much bigger than >>a Draba need apply. And thus the need >>for tiny tulips and crocus. And, as far as >>I'm concerned, the result is proportionally >>reduced enjoyment. > >"Proportionally reduced enjoyment"?... based on the need for tiny tulip and >crocus? I don't see the correlation whatsoever, and find such an idea... let's >say...novel. It has more to do with the overall character of a plant, its >proportional balance, the disposition of leaves and flowers, and nuance of color >and scent; these things offering visual attraction and fidelity, not >necessarily based on size or height at all. I adore miniature narcissus... most >people seem to, and why not, they are darling replicas of their larger kin. But I >have my share of King Alfreds, as many people do, for the sheer exuberance of >spring splendor and color they offer. You're right to point out, most rock >gardeners are not strickly adherent to the so-called 12" rule (I haven't heard >of the 8" rule you mentioned, nor the draba-height rule implying 2" max. >height or so), and they tend to grow what they like. > >>So let's not bash the big tulips and crocus. >>And please! We all don't prefer the so-called >>species - certainly not to the exclusion of the >>"inflated Dutch crocus". "Absolutely not"? > >I don't think I bashed big tulips, other than trying to encapsulate a few >predispositions regarding them, and the perceived "norms" that ensue, whether >these be right or wrong. My mom's Red and Orange Emperor tulips that I plant for >her are indeed splendid when they bloom, and she's proud that her garden >stands out from the neighbors. Regarding Dutch crocus, it is my personal opinion >they look big and inflated, and lack the finesse and charm of the smaller >sorts. Are Dutch crocus pretty... sure they are, but I'd pass them up gladly, to >have a mature clump of C. chrysanthus 'Prins Claus', with pristine flowers so >tightly packed they can hardly open and the floral scent worth lying in the mud >for, to satiate the senses. >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… >http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… > >Jane McGary mentions a couple species that catch my attention; "T. >orithyoides (tiny, white-and-greenish, in flower now) from Central Asia; and T. >sharonensis from Israel, thanks to a NARGS member there". Where might we find T. >orithyoides? It sounds wonderful. Where is the species from? I guess I must >scour the seed lists to find the more unusual sorts. > >Thanks Iza Goroff for the reminder about the NARGS Plant of the Month, with 4 >Tulipa species represented. I particularly like the Tulipa batalinii 'Yellow >Jewel' photo, the soft yellow flowers so pert and engaging. >http://www.nargs.org/potm/potm_oct03.html > >Thanks to others for sharing their favorite dwarf tulips. If I had to draw a >conclusion from the experience of others, it would be that Tulipa species are >quite satisfactory in colder climates, and to a slightly lesser extent in >warmer climates, but in all cases, they seem desirable and rewarding to those who >grow them. > >On a closing note for this message, I must quote a line from Paige Woodward's >tulipa page on her Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery. >http://www.hillkeep.ca/bulbs%20tulipa.htm >In her offerings of Tulipa species (accompanied by photos), she says "Those >we offer are primal and voluptuous. Grow them in swathes." That says it all >somehow! I must try the primal T. carinata (distinctive flame red stars), >ingens (huge red waxy flowers), kaufmanniana 'Ak-Tash' (upfacing cream yellow >flowers), and ostrowskiana (hot red-orange blooms on short stems). > > >Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States >antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 >============================================== >>> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ < >_______________________________________________ >pbs mailing list >pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >
