Dear Jane: I am growing it, and I have been to the second site (at least I think it is the one referred to), where it grows on a steep rocky incline. I don't think they have free range cattle in the area. It is a fairly small site, although I didn't explore it fully, and when I was there there were only a few in bloom, so I may have had a mistaken impression that there were few plants there. I have no difficulty growing this species, and it sets seed reliably. diana > This morning I was in the bulb house observing (i.e., gloating over) > the Calochorti, and I found that a plant of Calochortus syntrophus > has produced a tall stem with numerous buds and also a secondary > scape branching off it with more buds. This species had flowered for > me at least once in the frames, where I had it in an 8-inch clay pot, > but (like most of the other species) it's suddenly much bigger now > that it's free-growing. I grew it from seed collected by Ron Ratko at > the type site, and I see from the recent book on the genus by > Gerritsen and Parsons that a second site has been found 70 km away > from the first. I had heard that the type site has been damaged by > grazing, so I was wondering how established this species is in > cultivation. Are any of you growing it? The authors write that it has > been grown from seed but is "reputedly difficult to get to flower." I > don't know how difficult that would be, as I never did anything > unusual with it; however, it's from northern California and may > appreciate the colder winters here in Oregon, as compared with > growing it in mild parts of California. > > I'm also wondering whether Calochortus (Mariposa section) are > self-fertile, because only one plant of this species is flowering > this year (there are two clones present, but one is resting), and > since it's so rare I'd like to hand-pollinate it to get seed. It had > set seed for me in the past when both plants flowered, but the seed > may have been sired by another of the numerous Mariposa section that > bloom around the same time, since there were a great many pollinators > at the old garden (very few here in the city). There doesn't seem to > be any information in the abovementioned book about fertility. > > I usually don't want hybridization among my plants, but have to admit > that when I look at the remarkable scarlet-orange color of > Calochortus kennedyi I wonder what its hybrid offspring might look > like! Fortunately, however, there are two clones of it in bloom and > I'll cross-pollinate them as soon as the pollen is ready. > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >