Tigridia

Dennis Szeszko dszeszko@gmail.com
Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:32:28 PST
Pam:

From my experience, the most critical aspect of growing Tigridia sp. is to
ensure that they receive a 6 month dry rest.  If they are watered all year
round they will almost assuredly rot.  On the other hand, during the growing
season, water the bulbs almost daily and ensure that the soil never dries
out.  Another important point is that Tigridia that grow naturally in the
wild rarely offset and that they prefer to expend their energy on burrowing
deep down into the ground (sometimes over 12 inches deep).  In the wild, I
often see bulbs sandwiched between two rocks deep underground or sometimes
just growing in small pockets of dirt directly in rocks. I would recommend a
deep pot with a mixture of sandy soil, pebbles and small stones as a
substrate covered with a thin layer of leaf mulch at the surface.  These
growing conditions would most accurately reflect their natural climatic
preferences.  If you are undecided about the size of the pots, I'd recommend
larger pots because they have the advantage of not warming up as easily as
smaller pots provided that you can provide EXCELLENT drainage.

What species of Tigridia are you planning to grow?

-Dennis

Just wondering if any of you could give me a few suggestions for growing
Tigridia in pots.  I?m doing this so a friend can shoot close up photographs
of them.  I know the basics including fertilizing.  I?ll be using standard
clay pots and am mostly wondering if I?ll need to start them in small pots
and bump them up into larger ones as they grow.  I?m also concerned they?ll
get too hot in pots here in Scottsdale, even in my shadehouse that is
covered with 50% shade in the summer.  Thanks for the help.


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