Thanks Leo &Dylan As a new PBS members & neophyte in attempting to grow bulbs other than those commonly available commercially I really appreciate the detailed advice ya'll have provided. Karl zone 9b On Oct 10, 2013 10:57 AM, "Hannon" <othonna@gmail.com> wrote: > To add to what Leo says here, it is important to consider elevation as > well. This affects nighttime temps especially and accounting for this can > make all the difference culturally. Most of our favorite plants do not grow > at sea level or high in the mountains but in places in between. > > Plants that grow where nights are cool (about 55F) cannot properly process > the food they have gathered via light during the day if nights are too > warm. Their metabolism is interrupted and this can be fatal. Understanding > the importance of nighttime temps, which is greater than daytime temps, is > critical in growing certain bulbs. > > The worsleyas, as I understand their habitat, do grow on exposed inselbergs > but these receive appreciable cloud cover at least for part of the year. > They are tropical but elevation (several thousand feet I believe) plays a > vital role. > > Probably a majority of terrestrial plants, including bulbs, grow in soils > that are predominantly mineral-based. This can be difficult to replicate in > pots and we are tempted to use a lot of organic material out of habit. It > is true that many of these plants can thrive in such an organic mix > (witness commercial cactus culture) but for the hobbyist it is probably > better to grow in a long-lived "mineral" compost that is mostly pumice and > sand and just a little organic matter to add body and hold things together > structurally. In this way there is little to break down and many plants can > be kept happy for years in the same pot and mix. > > Dylan > > > * > > * > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >