Regarding Tecophilaea, I was delighted to find mine in bloom today when I returned from a week-long trip. I obtained one each of C. t. leichtlinii and the regular from Jane McGary this summer, and following Rodger's directions planted them in a sandy gritty mix. I gave them no water at all until I saw the new shoots emerging, which was probably late November. I was concerned that they wouldn't bloom at all this year, and then shazaam! Leichtlinii has opened first, and the regular one looks like it will follow in a day or two. They are growing in a cool greenhouse, typically down to 40F. One question: are they self fertile, or should I try to cross the two? --Roy NW of Boston More snow, then rain. The driveway is a skating rink. Jim McKenney wrote: > Jane McGary wondered about the conditions here in Maryland which might have > prompted my Tecophilaea cyanocrocus to bloom early. > > I think we can confidently rule out summer moisture: my plants get no water > from the time they die down until sometime in the fall when I begin to water > them again. > > It's that "sometime" which is probably the answer. Because of the odd > weather we experienced last fall, I did not begin to water the bulbs in my > protected frame until sometime well into November. As a consequence (or so > it seems to me) everything in that frame is comparatively late this year. > > Now on to a related topic. Last year I purchased a bulb of what I think of > as "Lycoris aurea of commerce". I'm not sure what this really is. Many years > ago I grew it as a pot plant and when it bloomed I decided it was L. > traubii. The plant I have now has foliage which is distinctly on the yellow > side of green. The plants grown years ago had very dark green foliage. So > I'm wondering what I have this time. So far, the foliage has taken the > winter well and shows no sign of distress. This plant was planted into the > soil which forms the floor of the cold frame. > > And here's something else again: while tidying up the garden last week, I > was struck by the really handsome effect the foliage of Sternbergia lutea > makes at this time of year. There is a planting of this species in the > garden here about thirty feet long, and the foliage is very attractive, one > of the handsomest things in the garden now. > > Several of the western North American frits now have foliage rosettes up > above ground. This year I have them in a cold frame out in the garden - this > frame is not at all protected, and these frits seem later this year than > they were last year when they grew in the protected cold frame. In fact, at > this time last year, a half-dozen of the frits growing in the protected > frame had flower buds above ground. This year things are going much more > sensibly. > > Gelasine elongate (received as azurea), Calydorea xiphioides, Watsonia > humilis, Freesia viridis and - this is a big surprise to me - Zephyranthes > grandiflora have all kept good foliage all winter so far in the protected > frame. Talk about microclimate... > > Out in the open garden, a 40+ year old planting of Iris reticulata has > foliage up. > > > > Jim McKenney > jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com > Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7 > My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ > BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ > > Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS > Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ > > Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >