>> I recently bought a bunch of geophytes in a fit of enthusiasm. One >> of them is Scilla peruviana. Has anyone grown it in the ground in >> a colder climate? >> >> - Barbara Weintraub >> Santa Fe, New Mexico >> 6700 feet elevation >> (Think high desert) >> nominally zone 5b On Jun 27, 2010, at 7:46 PM, Jane McGary wrote: > Scilla peruviana (despite the name, about which there is a > "confused botanist" story) is native to Spain, where it grows in > the mountains at mid elevations. I grow it outdoors in Oregon, > where it survives and flowers after winter temperatures in the mid- > teens F. It is well adapted to dry summers, which Barbara probably > does not have in New Mexico -- I believe the rains there are mostly > in late summer? In the wild, I saw it growing amid shrubs and in > roadside ditches, in considerable shade. Jane, Barbara, Summer water should be no impediment to growing Scilla peruviana in Santa Fe--or anywhere else, for that matter. First, the area where it is native--southwestern Spain, southern Portugal, and northwestern Africa, the Mediterranean summers are considerably less dry than ours in California, with occasional summer storms blowing in from the Atlantic. Second, Scilla peruviana has naturalized in Cuba and other Caribbean countries that are certainly NOT summer-dry. Third, in several gardens I care for here in the Pasadena area, I have Scilla peruviana planted in beds mixed with a wide range of other plants--bulbs, perennials, roses and other shrubs from all parts of the world--southern California versions of English mixed borders. These beds are given regular twice-weekly water at all times of year when nature fails to provide us with an inch of rain. We have lost some of the South African Cape bulbs and many other California and mediterranean-climate plants with this treatment, but Scilla peruviana thrives, multiplies, blooms regularly, and even seeds around. Actually, the continental climate of the mountains of Castilla is remarkably similar to that of the mountains of Central New Mexico. (Born in Albuquerque, I lived and gardened for several years in Santa Fe.) Occasionally snowy winters, usually without persistent snow cover, and temperatures down to zero F. and below would be the limiting factors in Santa Fe. Deep planting with very good drainage, a protected exposure near the south side of a house, and a thick mulch might help to overcome these factors, but even so I would hesitate to experiment with more than a couple bulbs. Scilla Peruviana is usually recommended for USDA zones 8-10--marginal in z. 7 with a heavy mulch. Barbara, you would probably be safer to grow yours in a good-sized pot indoors in winter, and put it outside in early June for the summer. It should go dormant in July and August (in spite of rains) but begin to grow foliage again in September and retain long green leaves through the winter, blooming about April. Bring it inside before the first hard frost. Jane, not to steal your thunder, but if I remember correctly (please correct me if I don't), back in the Sixteenth Century a consignment of Scilla peruviana collected wild in Spain was delivered to England aboard a Spanish galleon named the "Peru". The plant retained the association with the name of the ship, from which Parkinson picked up the epithet. Linnaeus repeated this name, believing it was a native or Peru. John C. MacGregor IV Horticultural Consultant Garden Design and Maintenance Writer, Photographer, Lecturer South Pasadena, CA, USA USDA Zone 9 Sunset Zones 21/23