Placea ornata germination
Jane McGary (Tue, 27 May 2008 10:13:00 PDT)

Jim SHields asked,
What I don't know is whether Placea are summer or winter growing, but I

The ones I've seen are in the subalpine zone (foothills) and grow and
flower in spring, being summer-dormant. I saw them growing among scrub on a
very steep hillside in rocky soil that would dry out severely in summer.

I agree with Jim that it's easiest to germinate and grow on Rhodophiala,
Placea, and Phycella by planting the seeds directly where the bulbs are to
remain for a couple of years. However, I haven't had much luck keeping them
permanently, except for R. pratensis and R. advena. Managed to flower
Rhodophiala rhodolirion once in the bulb frame and then it died. I haven't
grown any Placea, but I have some young Phycella seedlings thanks to Terry
Laskiewicz, who had the optimism to harvest what I thought were very unripe
seeds and the generosity to share them with me.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA