Dear All, O.K. I'll bite on this one. For all of you who have read my comments on Delphiniums before you can just hit delete. In the early days of another unnamed bulb list I caused a huge controversy simply by asking if we could discuss Delphiniums. It was amazing how strongly some people reacted so I have kept a lower profile about them and have resisted making a wiki page for them even though I have really wanted to. There are some that are definitely tuberous, but others would be described as perennials with stick like roots. If you used the definition of geophyte as something that you could put in a envelope and send to someone when it was dormant, they would surely qualify, but if they had to be bulbs, corms, tubers or rhizomes, most of them would not. They are in the Ranunculaceae family and we have a couple of genera in that family with species that are considered "bulbs", but many species are a stretch. In California we have two kinds: those that are coastal and foothill plants that start into growth after it starts raining usually in winter and bloom in spring and go dormant in summer and those that live under snow in winter in the mountains, start to grow when the snow melts and bloom in the summer. Many of the latter are found in areas that are still quite wet into summer and can be quite tall. I've been growing as many of the coastal and foothill species (many of which are much shorter) that I can find seed of and am having really good luck growing them like bulbs, moving them to the shade in summer when they dry out. They start into growth when it starts raining, sometimes sooner if I water them in the fall. They are beautiful, long blooming, and have been really easy for me, returning year after year when I leave them in their pots. They bloom from seed in 1-3 years for me. I've lost some I've planted out, but some of them are returning. I was quite pleased to see Delphinium luteum returning and looking quite vigorous this year from one I decided to try in the ground a year ago. I would suspect the ones that Jane sent out have done just fine. Delphinium luteum is extremely rare, apparently found in just one place near Bodega Bay, Sonoma County, California, south of my location (north of San Francisco on the coast). My climate shouldn't be too different so I'd love to get some established in my garden. It probably would have made my favorite list if I thought it would be allowed. I've just added a picture of it to the wiki, but will take it off in a month or so if the consensus is that we shouldn't include them. Letting me call them geophytes would make me very happy. :-) http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… I believe the species Jim mentioned is supposed to be tuberous. Some of the tuberous ones I grow have very tiny tubers. When he mentioned "the yellow Delphinium" little did he know that we West Coasters might have a different species in mind. You have to protect these from the snails (and I found this year from the fall birds who found the leaves quite tasty when they first appeared). Mine are visited by quite a few pollinators and the seed pods often break apart before you notice meaning that you will get seedlings in other pots. I have some mixed Delphinium Cyclamen pots and I haven't quite had the heart to root them out. The Cyclamens reappear before the Delphininums. Mary Sue >Jim asked, >Has anyone out there tried the yellow Delphinium? It qualifies as a >>geophyte. [D. zalil/sulphureum] Mary Sue Ittner California's North Coast Wet mild winters with occasional frost Dry mild summers
