Hot-summer Tulipa and other species?
Rodger Whitlock (Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:34:44 PDT)
On 23 Jun 05 at 18:29, Leo A. Martin wrote:
This fall I'm going to be constructing a fairly large rock garden with
extremely well-drained soil and boulders.
I'm looking for suggestions as to bulbs to plant, especially species
Tulipa or others from Asia Minor and the Middle East, which I suspect
may have a climate similar to here. There is almost no information
available about growing Tulipa in hot summer climates.
Consider the various irises from the middle east: oncocyclus and reticulate ones. These
are the very devil to grow in a damp climate -- impossible, really.
I've seen oncocyclus irises for sale in the bins of fall bulbs at a garden center in
Santa Rosa, California (an hour north of San Francisco). I *think* they're hybrids raised
in Israel.
From your description of the Phoenix climate, the real barrier to success with middle
eastern bulbs may be the lack of adequate winter chilling. I doubt your hot summers are
an issue at all for such bulbs -- as long as you plant them deep enough.
I'm faintly surprised that the hybrid tulips don't do well for you. What might be the
issue?
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island