Blooming in my garden

I always like hearing what is blooming in people's gardens and am pleased
that the Narcissus (originally from Bill Dijk and a BX) is doing well for
Kathy. I used to grow a lot of Narcissus in my Stockton (California) garden
and they returned well and expanded, but have not had as good luck in my
coastal garden. Perhaps there isn't as much sunshine. But a few of these
bulbs from Bill I am growing in pots are absolutely wonderful. The one
Kathy is talking about had its first bloom in September during one of our
heat spells. It looked a bit stressed, but bloomed in October, took a break
in November and sent up more buds in December and January. There is another
one he labeled N. monophyllus which I understand is N. cantabricius ssp.
monophyllus which has been blooming since October. Two pots of N. romieuxii
(also BX survivors) from him have been in bloom since early December. I
just love their soft yellow blooms. In the ground this week Narcissus
pseudonarcissus is in bloom right next to Iris unguicularis which has been
putting out its gorgeous huge flowers for months now. There are buds on a
pot of one of the detective series Narcissus from Dave Karnstedt, Narcissus
'Smarple'. I've very excited about this.

This little corner of California has escaped unusual rainfall. We've only
had about 25 inches of rainfall so far which is below the amount we had
last year at this time. I think my bulbs have done much better with less as
the last two years we had so much all at once that it was difficult to
avoid disease. Since it hasn't really been cold yet (we had frost one night
on the roof only), a lot of bulbs are blooming earlier than usual. We've
had a week without rain which is supposed to change soon and new Romuleas
have opened every day. Romulea hallii has finished. In bloom now are R.
tortulosa, R. luteoflora, R. kombergensis, R. tetragona, and two European
Romulea bulbocodiums, including a new yellow one that Jane McGary gave me
(syn. R. crocea). The Romuleas have such bright colors that they definitely
lift your spirits. I'm happy to have that new R. from Jane as I tried to
grow it before, but eventually figured out what I was growing was really R.
hirta. Also in bloom from seed from an early BX (#7) is a yellow Romulea
(labeled, large yellow flower in the BX offering). I think it looks like R.
diversiformis, but will have to remember to look at the corm when it is
dormant to be absolutely sure. R. sabulosa has buds and a lot of other
Romuleas as well. I avoided R. sabulosa seed because I had read it was hard
to grow even though it could well be the most beautiful Romulea of all, but
then Bill Dijk sent me some seed and it has been absolutely faithful,
returning every year. I guess we all have to find out for ourselves what
works in our environments.

Speaking of bright colors, this lover of Oxalis has been enjoying the
Oxalis obtusa now blooming and joining the Oxalis versicolor, O.
goniorhiza, Oxalis glabra, Oxalis purpurea (white), and Oxalis luteola
which have been blooming for months on those days it was warm enough for
them to open. There are two forms of Oxalis luteola that I have never been
able to get to bloom which is such a contrast to the two that do bloom for
me often for 4+ months. There are two oxalis I got from Uli that are yellow
that are very floriferous and wonderful in bloom. I'll try to get pictures
to the wiki soon to see if Diana, Andrew, Robin Attrill, or David Victor
have any clues about what they might be. I didn't get the habitat
information from Uli, but I think they are both South African.

My little collection of Cyclamen I've grown from seed is getting to take up
a whole bench now. I've got so much that I am planting more and more of it
out even though so far they seem to dwindle away that way. The one
exception seems to be a couple of Cyclamen that I assume are C. coum but
need to key out to be absolutely sure that came up in a pot of Brunsvigias
to my surprise. I haven't wanted to disturb that pot I put in the middle of
my raised bed octagon where it gets a lot of sun and no summer water and
very little fertilizer. This year peeking out of either side of the
Brunsvigias are pink and white flowers and Cyclamen leaves. C. coum in
many forms, C. repandum, and C. persicum are all in bloom in pots as are
some hybrids.

I have a couple of Muscari in bloom: M. neglectum from an old Mike Mace BX
and M. botryoides from NARGS 2001 seed (and a very nice blue.) My Gladiolus
caeruleus has escaped the rain this year. Usually just as it starts to
bloom in January it get pounded by the rain as does Ixia rapunculoides
which is another early bloomer. I've had to stake both of them as they flop
a bit, but am grateful for the lull between storms. Not so lucky were the
Lachenalia viridiflora and L. bulbifera that have pock marks in their
leaves from our hail storm in early January. The ones I protected look
much better and my first L. carnosa is doing its slow dance. This bulb is
so large I should have planted it one to a pot as it is overwhelming its
companions. The leaves on this plant are lovely and as each flower opens I
just find it so fascinating.

In my unheated greenhouse I have 3 Cyrtanthus mackenii in bloom. A friend
of Rhoda's gathered up a bunch of seed from various colored forms to give
to me on our first trip to South Africa and in this pot one is white, one
light pink, and the third an orangy pink. Before I've usually just had one
in bloom at a time. There is also a Phaedranassa in bloom. I don't think
I've ever had one bloom in January before.

I'm sure I won't remember all the others, but I have Crocus, Babiana,
Androcymbium, and my first Tecophilaea too in bloom. Native Cardamine has
been blooming since December and Allium hyalinum and the dwarf form of
Triteleia hyacinthina are in bloom too. On my hike this week I spied the
first Scoliopus bigelovii in bloom in the wild and then once I saw it
looked around and they were everywhere. I didn't have Bob's camera with me,
alas. My own Scoliopus plants are breaking dormancy. Last year I watered
them all summer when they were dormant on Ian Young's advice, but don't
know yet whether that helped enough for them to bloom this year.

If there are still any of you reading another long post from me you will
note that I love my geophytes and greatly appreciate all the contributions
I've received (knowledge, bulbs, seed) from the bulb community even if I am
out of room and still starting seeds!

Mary Sue

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers