Dracunculus vulagris and some Brodiaea
totototo@telus.net (Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:11:36 PDT)
On 9 Jun 2009, at 10:16, Jim McKenney wrote:
Is this the normal flowering time for Arum dioscoridis (note spelling) in
your area? I have several accessions of this species which have not yet
bloomed here. I hope at least one of them has a decoratively splotched
spathe.
I honestly can't say, as I don't keep records, but it's probably about the same
date as in other years.
Another "plant for the gardens of the curious" that I grow is Mandragora. I
have two forms, one of which I believe to be M. autumnalis, the other the
common mandrake, M. officinarum. It looks like I'm getting an exceptionally
good crop of fruit off one plant of M. officinarum this year, so hopefully
there'll be enough seed for a donation to one of the exchanges.
I used to grow M. officinarum ssp. haussknechtii, but they were in pots when we
had a month-long destructive freeze in February 1989 and perished. They'd been
lifted when I moved house the previous fall. No dogs were sacrificed in the
process.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island