Maryland update
Jane McGary (Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:10:04 PST)

Roy Herold asked,
One question: are Tecophilaea plants self fertile, or should I try to cross
the two?

I'm sorry, I don't know because I don't hand-pollinate mine. They are
growing in an unheated frame and don't flower until mid to late March, when
pollinators are present (mostly honeybees that come for the crocuses). I
have a lot of different clones because I increased my original bulbs
(purchased from Potterton & Martin) by growing their seeds. Judging from
the report of the rediscovery of this species in the wild, it may be
invalid to distinguish leichtlinii as a subspecies of variety; it's
probably just a color form. I keep the two color forms about 30 feet apart
but in the same frame, so they probably cross here, but the bulbs I sell
are vegetative increase of those that have flowered so I do know which have
the big white center characteristic of leichtlinii. I suspect that the deep
blue forms with little or no white in the center are more common in
horticulture because growers selected for this type.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA