Good to hear Jane that means it should be hardy here normally Roland 2012/11/3 Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> > Roland wrote: > >I am working on it > >try to get real good mother-plants > > > >Narcissus triandrus albus was always collected in the nature > >forbidden for the harvest there was no stock to grow > >and because not completely hardy (as far as i know) > >not really interesting to grow for the commercial growers > > Many years ago I bought bulbs of this plant from an importer that I > now suspect was selling wild-collected bulbs. Some years later, a > Dutch bulb grower visited my garden, saw it, and asked for bulbs > because he said it was an unusually good form. I sent them to him > that summer, but I don't know if the form ever entered commerce. > (Muscari muscarimi 'Frost', with the same history, has done so.) I > didn't know it was unusual, but it is larger than the forms I have > since grown from wild-collected seed. I brought the "good" form with > me when I moved recently, and it is still flourishing. It has been > perfectly hardy outdoors in temperatures down to about 12 F, growing > in rich soil in a raised bed designed mostly for ericaceous plants. I > won't offer seed of it to the PBS, though, because I grow so many > Narcissus in close proximity that any seed is likely to produce hybrids. > > I seem to recall reading that f. albus is actually the more common > color form of N. triandrus, and the yellow form is more unusual to > find. The latter is a pleasing light, clear yellow, as I've grown it > from seed from the Archibalds. I don't have any experience with the > hybrids, but some were bred at Mitsch Nursery near my home, so they > should be hardy down to the mid-teens Fahrenheit. > > This is just one more example of why it's important to keep growing a > variety of clones from wild populations, though now we know that > collected seeds are what we should use, not collected bulbs. We > should all do our best to support reputable and ethical seed > collectors. Chris Chadwell is still pursuing his longstanding > practice of selling shares in his expeditions (and I bought one > recently, hoping my efforts in helping arrange his US lecture tour > next spring will encourage him to treat me to some of the cream of > the crop, which has not always been the case for US investors). > > Jane McGary > Portland, Oregon, USA > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- R de Boer La Maugardiere 1 F 27260 EPAIGNES FRANCE Phone./Fax 0033-232-576-204 Email: bulborum@gmail.com