Hello all, Here in the south of France the first rains come towards the end of August and there is a flurry of flowers and new vegetation in September (flowering:///Cyclamen/ hederifolium (since early August) Sternbergia, Amaryllis belladonna, Colchicum, Zephyranthes candida, renewed flowering on the Tulbaghias, emergence of Lilium candidum, Scilla peruviana, Freesia alba, Chasmanthe, Muscaris, Arums, narcissus etc etc. This year we only had a few small showers in mid september and we gave our garden and nursery one good irrigation around the 10th September. Now we are at the end of October with very warm and dry weather (day temp 20-25°--68-77F: only one important rainfall (early October 30mm) and by now the soil is dry again: So now again a good irrigation (50mm) With warm temperatures and no rain flowering is very interesting at the moment; Crocus (especially good: C goulimyi), Nerine, Amarine, Amarcrinum, Oxalis (serveral), Moraea polystachia (emerged early August and in flower since end of September), Unusual features this autumn are: Iris unguicularis in flower now (normally end of November), Buds on Dahlia imperialis since a week (which will probably open around 1 november. (3 weeks earlier than normal) At the moment we are planting the last of our remaining stock and we will be ready for the winter season Kind greetings From the Camargue region (a grey warm day and still no rain) Lauw de Jager http://www.bulbargence.com/ -----Original Message----- From: "Michael Mace" <michaelcmace@gmail.com> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 10:06:06 -0700 Subject: Re: [pbs] When to start watering/blooming now I'm late responding to this topic, but I wanted to thank Mary Sue for the great note on her status. It's always interesting to hear how someone's collection is doing, and I seem to learn useful things from every post like that. I live maybe 100 miles south of where Mary Sue is, in a substantially dryer part of California (to put it in tree terms, redwoods grow naturally in her area, mine is grassland/oak woodland, and I think Gastil in Santa Barbara and Lee in Pasadena are in areas that would be naturally chaparral). Our storms move north to south along the coast, and as winter progresses the "storm track" dips further and further south. So Mary Sue says she's had two significant rainstorms this season so far, I've had one plus a bit of drizzle, and Gastil and Lee I bet you haven't had any yet, right? The California native bulbs seem to be used to this, but like Mary Sue I think it's hard on some of the South Africans. I always think I'm going to get my repotting done by mid-summer, and I always fall behind and end up rushing to finish it in September-October. If we haven't had any rain at that time, the California natives that I repot will still be completely dormant, but often I'll find that some of the South Africans are sprouting while dry, especially Oxalis, Lachenalia, Ferraria, and some species Gladiolus. Even the South Africans that will stay dormant if kept dry don't seem to be harmed if the rain comes a bit early. In fact, they seem to like getting an early start on the season. So here's the watering schedule I've evolved for my summer-dormant bulbs: Amaryllids: Light water all summer (don't let the fleshy roots dry out). This includes the South Africans, and the Rhodophialas from South America. Early August: Start watering Oxalis and Moraea polystachya. Early September: Start watering Lachenalia and Ferraria Late September/early October: Start watering all the other South Africans Mid to late October: Start watering the California natives (I start after the first good rainstorm, or when the nights cool off). Your mileage will vary, depending on your climate and the particular bulbs you're growing (for example, there are moisture-loving Lily species in California that should never go dry, and I strongly suspect that the California native Fritillarias need at least some summer moisture if grown in pots). As for what's growing now: the Oxalis are in full bloom, Moraea polystachya is blooming well, Moraea speciosa is in leaf (a desert plant, but seems to respond well to early water), and the Ferrarias and Lachenalias are in leaf. Plus the Nerines are dazzling and as usual impossible to photograph properly. Mike San Jose, CA