Soils and flower color
Rodger Whitlock (Mon, 18 May 2015 14:21:45 PDT)
On 17 May 2015, at 19:11, Peter Taggart wrote:
That period of semi-dryness [which serves to maintain plants in drought
mode] so important for bulbs lasts longer in small particle soils than in
granular, when soils are drying out and bulbs are 'dormant'
Cyclamen, for example, imbibe moisture via the roots even in dormancy. Try
lifting a cyclamen tuber in summer and leaving it on a shelf. It will soon get
flabby.
Tulips pose another interesting example of how people misinterpret words. It's
commonly said that tulips need to be dry in summer, and a fair number of people
misinterpret this as meaning a sandy soil. Nothing could be further from the
truth; tulips do best in a rather heavy clay-ish soil that goes dry in the
summer. Put them in a lean, sandy soil and they won't thrive like they do in a
heavier soil.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Z. 7-8, cool Mediterranean climate