Lachenalia sargeantii

Karl Church 64kkmjr@gmail.com
Fri, 06 Sep 2013 07:53:48 PDT
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
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