Tiny bulbs-A rubrovittatum
Antennaria@aol.com (Tue, 17 Feb 2004 18:56:36 PST)
Lisa Flaum osthill@htc.net wrote:
My A rubrovittatum, which came from Jane,
flowers at about 4" (10cm). It is fairly dry in
the summer-perhaps its stunted?
Mark, it is growing outside in my rock garden,
a southfacing clay slope, amended with
chicken grit and horse manure. I plan to try
some in a trough because they are easily
overlooked in the garden.
Lisa, from a follow-up message I understand you garden in central USA
someplace. Can you tell us whwre and what you climate and zone are, to give context
to the fact you are able to grow Allium rubrovittatum outside. Do you
consider it reliably hardy for you? How many winters has it survived outdoors? I've
tried it twice here in New England, and both times it didn't survive the
winter, but maybe I haven't found the right spot for it. It is a cute plant if
you like true miniatures. You've given me some clues on how I might treat it
next time around.
By the way, in Seattle I grew a form of Allium parciflorum that was only
about 2-3" tall... absolutely minute. I no longer have that form, but in New
England I grow a iron-clad hardy form of this Mediterranean that grows 12"-16"
tall... a filmy mass of thready stems and a haze of tiny pinkish bugles in July.
This form is large enough, and the bulbs prolific enough building into
clumps, to make a noticeable display in mid-summer, whereas the smaller forms are
only suitable to a trough or pot.
Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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