Watsonia in Pacific BX 188
Mary Sue Ittner (Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:43:35 PDT)

Hi,

I'd just like to ask that you not send any of #3 to anyone in California
or a Mediterranean climate. If we know that a bulb can become a serious
problem I don't think we should share it with others. There are great
stretches of Northern California and Australia and I'm sure other areas
around the world where Watsonia meriana var. bulbillifera is spreading and
overwhelming native habitats. Not only does it increase by seed and corms
around the main corm, but by corms in the stem of the plant which fall off
and create new plants. There are a lot of other Watsonias that are much
more attractive and not such a problem. Some made it to my garden from a
neighbor's yard and I did eventually get rid of it since I immediately
recognized it and dug it up right away, but still had offsets coming up for
a couple of years.

I guess I feel the same way about Lee's recent donation of Nothoscordum to
the BX. Even with the warning, someone might end up with it who didn't
realize how very difficult it is to get rid of once you have it.

NARGS won't distribute seeds I don't think of known problem plants and
perhaps the Pacific Bulb Society should give some thought to doing this as
well.

Mary Sue