Colin, being a neophyte I need clarification of sacrificial lambs. Thanks Karl On Sep 6, 2013 12:16 AM, "Colin Davis" <codavis@ucdavis.edu> wrote: > To all PBS Lachenaliacs - I have just sent a good amount of offsets of > Lachenalia sargeantii to Dell for an upcoming BX. As I will be backpacking > in France and Spain for the next couple of months I will not be able to > answer any potential questions about this species, and since it behaves > markedly different than other members of the genus I thought I would > comment. > > L. sargeantii produces copious amounts of offsets annually, far more than > any other I have grown (counted nearly 50 off one mature bulb this year). I > have posted a picture of this on the PBS site. > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… > > Also, these offsets can remain stubbornly dormant for however long they see > fit (some come up the first year planted, others take years off). As I > understand in the wild this species can remain dormant for many years on > end, emerging only when fire clears surrounding vegetation and allows this > species to flower. I have tried to induce flowering with smoke treatment as > well as burning matter on the soil surface, all to no avail. Nevertheless, > I have plans for more extensive trials including in-ground treatments, so I > hope to crack the code with this species, which is far tougher than the > related L. montana. Another interesting bit about this species is that it > grows on much longer than the other Lachenalia, well into the heat of > summer if given water. I usually get tired of seeing it so force dormancy > by withholding water. Curiously though, my plants come up reliably every > year, in contrast to their wild brethren. Its the offsets they produce > which are finicky about breaking dormancy in fall. They also naturally pull > themselves a bit deeper than other Lachenalia (about 6cm), which is an > important aspect to pay attention to for all geophytes, especially when > repotting. > > They also require weekly sacrificial lambs, but other than that, they > require the same treatment as other Lachenalia. The offsets are a mix from > 8 different seed raised parents (judiciously monitored for and protected > from Virus), for those who are conservationally-minded like myself. Best of > luck with them! > > Colin > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >