Oporanthous bulbs
Jane McGary (Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:47:42 PDT)

John Grimshaw wrote about earlier than usual flowering of Colchicum in
England. Here in the Pacific Northwest, where the summer has been
atypically cool and rainy, Colchicum are also flowering somewhat earlier
than usual, considering a 20-year span of my own observations. However, I'd
attribute the flowering to the cool temperatures, not to the moisture per
se, since colchicums are notorious for flowering in the bag while being
shipped. Acis (formerly Leucojum) also does this.

People who purchase bulbs often wonder what to do about those that have
flowered during shipment. My preference is to snip the flowers off before
planting, because they will usually wilt and I think they might become a
conduit for fungi and bacteria to infect the rest of the plant.

Incidentally, there are a few western American bulbs that flower in late
summer, such as Calochortus weedii, C. plummerae, and Allium sanbornii.
They do this even when grown on a "Mediterranean," summer-dry cycle. The
Allium is quite decorative and I can grow it in the open here; it's about
30 cm tall in flower, opens greenish white and soon turns bright rose-pink.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA