What Is Your Oldest (Bulbous) Plant?

Leo A. Martin leo@possi.org
Mon, 01 Oct 2012 23:40:33 PDT
I planted some Narcissus canaliculatus and N. tazetta (paperwhites) at our
new house in Orange County, California sometime around 1972 while in high
school. Mom still lives there, they still bloom every spring, and I still
take care of that bed when I visit her, so they sort of still belong to
me. Along with non-bulbs, I have added to the bed over the years hybrid
Hippeastrum, bearded Iris, and recently what was bought this spring from
the UC Irvine Arboretum as Scilla natalensis, properly Merwilla plumbea,
but is actually a Eucomis of some sort. Its twin in the package came to
Phoenix and promptly melted when it hit 110 F this spring.

The oldest bulbs in the ground here at my house in Phoenix are
paperwhites, planted not long after I bought my house in 1986. I'm one of
those who love the scent. My oldest container bulb is Drimia (Urginia)
maritima, bought as a seedling around 1999, and blooming for the first
time last season. (It also bloomed this year but seems not to be
self-fertile. Three other seedlings bought a few years ago from the
Huntington aren't nearly blooming size.) I didn't start growing bulbs
until later in life.

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA




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