intro + Brodiaeoid questions

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:32:26 PDT
Before  we had a deer fence the deer sometimes munched on the corms 
of Triteleia, Dichelostemma, Brodiaea. I can't remember exactly which ones.

I tried planting the native bulbs that I have seen growing where I 
live that I thought would survive on a bluff trail I help to maintain 
and monitor. There are a lot of various fauna we've seen on this 
trail (skunks, raccoons, gophers, bobcats, rabbits, deer, birds, 
etc.)  The first ones I planted with a lot of small rocks in the soil 
around them as I read that would discourage the gophers. I never saw 
any of them. But I don't know what got them.

I tried again another year. The only ones to return were Allium 
dichlamydeum and Allium unifolium. A friend found the Alliums the 
most gopher proof of native bulbs she planted in the ground. She had 
quite a stand of them for a number of years, but I haven't seen them 
in her garden lately. Strangely I have planted these two species in 
my garden and have poor luck although they are fine in pots and in 
raised beds in pots.

>I wanted to ask about your experiences growing CA bulbs, particularly
>Brodiaea, Triteleia, Dichelostemma, Calochortus, Allium and others. I'm
>curious about predation from ground rodents, and to a lesser extent, deer
>resistance or lack thereof!

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers 




More information about the pbs mailing list