Late fall in Maryland
Jane McGary (Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:56:40 PST)
Some comments on Jim's latest post:
I notice that I have another somewhat similar Narcissus under the name
Narcissus cantabricus foliosus. The two are sometimes said to be
distinguished by the extent to which the style does or does not project
beyond the corona (cup) of the flower.
I have long suspected that the two forms of Narcissus cantabricus
grown under the subspecies names "foliosus" and "monophyllus"
("leafy" and "single-leafed" respectively) have become so mixed in
horticulture that much of the stock we have is no longer
distinguishable as one or the other. I have a number of different
accessions (or I did, until they probably froze to death last week)
that tended to flower at different times, but other than that they
are hard to distinguish.
The big excitement here this winter is a trial of some of the Chilean
Tropaeolum. These were planted in the autumn of 2008; none sprouted the
first year. I checked the corms a few months ago, and all seemed well. But
this year only one has sprouted, and it is quickly making a tangle of
growth. I'm so tempted to check what's going on underground with the other
two, but for now I'll be patient.
I probably lost all these too, but will say that the tuber (not corm)
can persist for more than a year without making growth at all,
probably an adaptation to severe drought in its homeland. Mine have
often skipped a year in spite of adequate water.
Bulb fly nearly exterminated my stock of Sternbergia greuteriana two years
ago. I'm happy to see that the surviving bits are putting up good if small
growth.
Sternbergias seem to be more attractive to this pest than any other
genus. Several years ago I started covering the plants with Reemay
before the bulb fly emergence period, and in the garden I just
troweled sand over the lower part of their foliage as soon as it
started to go over (this is before the flies emerge). This seems to
have been effective in preventing further losses and I recommend the
practice(s).
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA
Freezing rain last night