Tecophilaea from seeds

Michael Mace mikemace@att.net
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:27:57 PDT
Roger wrote:

>> I have just harvested 3 capsules (32 seeds in toto) of Tecophilaea
cyanocrocus leichtlinii and now I'm wondering just what the optimum sowing
protocol might be.

I planted them in fall and grew them in a mix of 50% sand and 50% peat moss,
with a handful of complete bulb fertilizer added per eight-inch pot.  Full
sun.  I watered them every week in the winter and kept them dry in the
summer.  They didn't need any special treatment in my part of California.
Where you are, I suspect you'll want to keep the rain off them in summer.

They weren't super-fast to reach blooming size, but I don't remember them
being horribly slow either.  Certainly not as bad as most of my Amaryllids.

My biggest problem was slugs and snails, which loved them.  Can't remember
if they were subject to damping off when tiny, but I'd be careful just in
case since you're in a pretty humid area compared to me.

One caveat:  The fact that you're harvesting seed from your bulbs in August
makes me wonder if their growth pattern in BC might be substantially
different from California.  They were dormant a lot earlier here.

Hope that helps.

Mike
San Jose, CA (zone 9, min temp 20F)




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