Acis trichophylla: cultivation in pots

totototo@telus.net totototo@telus.net
Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:02:13 PST
I've always had a thing for the smaller snowflakes, but have never figured out 
how to grow Acis trichophylla in pots with any measure of success.

Acis autumnalis, A. roseum, and A. nicaeensis all do quite well in pots for me.

A. longifolia grows, though not strongly, but has flowered on occasion. (It's a 
disappointment as the flower is too small in proportion to the length of the 
scape -- a sort of shrunken Leucojum aestivum.)

Of these, only A. autumnalis is hardy should an outflow of arctic cold over the 
coast mountains give us a good winter freeze. The others all have to be put 
into frost-free storage when cold weather threatens.

But A. trichophylla has never done well for me. I once flowered a bulb from 
Avon Bulbs, but it was doing that on stored reserves and soon disappeared from 
both its pot and my life. Sad, as it was an exceptionally beautiful plant, the 
flower shaped somewhat like an umbrella or ballerina's tutu.

I see on the wiki that Jane McGary recommends "covered but not in heated frames 
in full sun", but I am not sure how to parse that: "covered, not in heated 
frames, not in full sun" or "covered, not in heated frames, but in full sun".

I rather suspect the problem is that the soil I use is too peaty, and as a 
result a little too soggy when wet, perhaps also not as airy as this species 
would like.

Our climate here is too cold to consider planting it out, though perhaps 
plunging a pot might work.

Comments? Does anyone have a sure-fire recipe for success with A. trichophylla, 
aside (perhaps) from jumping around in a grass skirt and a witch doctor's mask?


-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island

http://maps.google.ca/maps/…


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