wildflowers with corms
Alberto Castillo (Mon, 06 Sep 2004 11:42:00 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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