Here is what I meant to say before I hit "send" early by mistake. Tulipa humilis 'Albocaerulea Oculata' is a seletion of a species native to dryland central Asia, where the soil is alkaline owing both to geology and to low rainfall. What plants require varies by site, garden, gardener. What plants require is not the same as what they will tolerate. Dryland bulbs are not so much dryland bulbs as bulbs that have evolved through many difficulties to survive certain conditions. They will tolerate a lot of drought if they're hunkered deep down in the ground where their roots can stay cool and faintly moist. They will tolerate rain and more rain if that water shoots down past their roots. Tulipa humilis 'Albocaerulea Oculata' is mass-grown in flat fields in the Netherlands in soil that is mostly sand, with assiduous irrigation and nutrition every year. But this same tulip makes offsets under very different conditions in my garden, where the dense, clay-loam soil is acid and rain abates only in August-September. How could these tulips not just survive but multiply in my conditions? I think it's important that nutrients are not just present but available in my soil; but it's also important that the bed slopes slightly, which increases drainage; and that the soil is very porous, making oxygen available to root hairs. Paige Woodward paige@hillkeep.ca http://www.hillkeep.ca/ From: "Pacific Rim" <paige@hillkeep.ca> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2012 8:49 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Tulipa humilis 'Albocaerulea Oculata' > In my experience Tulipa 'Albocaerulea Oculata'' and many other dryland > bulbs > will survive for several years of too much moisture; then croak. But it is > possible to give them enough oxygen that they can dwell and multiply even > in > climate of extreme winter rain ; yet humilis Some may indeed require total > drought in summer. But dryland bulbs have been shuffling back and forth > across mountain ranges, rain shadows, and so on, for ages, and in > consequence are more adaptable than > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Kathleen Sayce" <ksayce@willapabay.org> > To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2012 4:43 PM > Subject: [pbs] Tulipa humilis 'Albocaerulea Oculata' > > >>I find that species tulips keep coming back in my garden. My garden has >>well drained sandy soil (60 percent sand, 40% silt), dry in summer, >>slightly acidic, and I sometimes add compost and fertilizer. I'm a bit >>erratic about fertilizers, and add compost every 3-4 years. These bulbs >>are in the no water bed, which dries out for 2-3 months every year. >> >> If Roger's tulips don't persist, it's probably due to soils not drying >> out >> in summer. Make a raised bed with very good drainage in full sun, and >> don't water it. Let nature deliver the water. Or use pots, ditto, once >> flowering is done. >> >> Species tulips do not appear to be as palatable to deer as hybrid tulips >> are, so I gravitated to them years ago, and have enjoyed watching >> several >> species persist and multiply. >> >> Kathleen >> >> Kathleen Sayce >> PNW Coast, WHZ 8, dryish cool summers & mild wet winters; right at the >> end >> of the dry season right now. >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/