When plants bloom
Jane McGary (Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:20:54 PDT)

Lauw de Jager asked,
The latestwintergrowing species flowering at this time of the year here are

It seems to me that most of the western bulbs that flower late either are
alpine (e.g., the low-growing Allium and Calochortus species) or have very
tall scapes (e.g., almost all species of the genera Lauw mentions). The
latter emerge through tall grasses or shrubs which may offer them some
protection from browsing animals, but they also need to get their flowers
up and available to pollinators. The grasses would perhaps not be high
enough until late in the season. Most of these plants ripen their seed
quite quickly, too, but it lies dormant in the soil until the fall rains.

Interestingly, some of these plants flower and ripen seed not only after
the leaves have withered, but even after the stem becomes detached from the
corm or bulb. Apparently there's enough moisture in the tall stem to
support these functions.

Yesterday I was enjoying watching a pair of rufous hummingbirds darting
around in the bulb frame (which is wide open this time of year) feeding off
Dichelostemma ida-maia and some other members of the brodiaea alliance.
They also visited other Dichelostemma species, but I haven't ever noticed
hybrids here. In the garden, they particularly like Kniphofia and
honeysuckle; they're very adaptable in terms of foreign cuisine.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA