wildflowers with corms

Alberto Castillo ezeizabotgard@hotmail.com
Mon, 06 Sep 2004 11:46:06 PDT


>From: ConroeJoe@aol.com
>Reply-To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
>To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: [pbs] wildflowers with corms
>Date: Mon, 6 Sep 2004 13:06:37 EDT
>
>Hi,
>
>Liatris don't form bulbs, but they make corms and overwinter nicely out of
>the soil or in the soil.  There are 5-6 (or more) Liatris species that grow
>locally (Montgomery, Harris and adjacent Texas Counties).  I have 2 types 
>growing
>at the back of my lot.  I think one is L. acidota, and the other is L.
>pycnostachya.  Actually, I've never keyed them and am just guessing.
>
>L. pycnostachya is listed by USDA as a facultative wetland plant in the
>Southeast, but I think L. acidota is more a prairie or upland-type species.
>Whatever they are, they survive soggy conditions for a few weeks each 
>winter and
>endure summer drought, I never water or fertilize them at the back of the 
>lot.
>When I have planted them in a regular flower bed, the L. pycnostachya-like
>species grew tall (4-5 ft.).  But, neglected at the back of my yard,  
>neither gets
>above 2 ft.
>
>They germinate easily for me by the outdoor method.  I scatter them on the
>surface of store-bought potting soil in a 1-gallon container (I use soil 
>with
>little or no peat).  Then, I place a bit of soil over them and cover the
>container with window-screen mesh.  I leave them out all winter in sunny 
>position
>(not hot) and by spring they have germinated.  The trick is to watch in 
>spring,
>when they germinate you have to start regular watering.  If I don't put the
>window-screen mesh over the containers, I lose half the soil to splash.
>
>I have seeds for SASE, please write off-list if you like some.
>
>
>Cordially,
>
>Joe
>(conroejoe@aol.com)
Hi Joe:
         My name is Alberto Castillo and I have a Botanical Garden in 
Argentina in which we preserve many South American bulbous plants by FREELY 
distributing the seed. I am in the process of recovering  from a serious 
heart surgery last April that proved almost fatal. Fortunately most of the 
plants have survived and we are always interested in adding more species. As 
you know, we must add wild origin material preferrably, hence your offering 
of Liatris seed sounds most exciting. We have grown a few species in the 
past and they were interesting. Their organ seems to be rather a tuber in 
which the buds are inserted although of course we would not risk cutting a 
precious plant to find out. ! Therefore please remember me in case these and 
other Texan geophytes become available. We can import bulbs or plants 
without paper work. The ideal number is 25 plants but a more practical one 
is three (we increase their number from seed sowing in due course). We used 
to grow a fantastic Texan section years ago and they were very easy here.
More soon.
Sincerely
Alberto

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