Mystery Scilla (Oncostema)
Mary Sue Ittner (Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:09:28 PDT)

Dear David,

I'll add my experience to the response you already got. Scilla
peruviana (Kew is still listing it as this) has only a brief dormancy
and in a well watered summer garden even shorter. My plants usually
dry off since I water very little in summer, but if I remember
correctly when I lived in Stockton and had clay soil and watered the
ground covers a bit more often my plants stayed green much longer.

I noticed this weekend that where I live a bit north of you some of
my plants have formed scapes. They often skip a year or two in
blooming and I was checking to see if they were going to bloom this
year. I don't know a source for a key, but there are pictures on the
wiki of it and Scilla hughii which is similar. Do any of the Italian
members of our list have a key?

Mary Sue