COLCHICUMS in wet summer
Arnold Trachtenberg (Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:09:46 PDT)

I have grown about thirty different colchicums in wet humid summers here
in New Jersey about 100 miles north of Jim M. I have planted them in
garden soil augmented with at least 50% grit by volume. The drainage is
excellent and they have multiplied nicely. It seems the flowers are
more robust as time goes by with more and larger blooms on most. The
foliage persists in the first part of the summer dying back around late
June to July. I cover the bare ground in fall after blooms have all
faded with evergreen boughs over dried leaves to hold them in place.
I usually don't water the area in summers but we get a good amount of
rain fall, except for this year. The drought has prevented the falling
over of the blooms which is possibly one of the only draw backs to
growing colchicums other than the large cabbage like foliage which comes
up in spring.

Arnold
New Jersey