Watsonia
Mary Sue Ittner (Mon, 18 May 2015 11:18:49 PDT)

This has been a great year for Watsonias here in coastal Northern
California. We are in a multiple year drought, but they didn't flower
well in the previous dry years. I grow a number of species planted in
the ground and although a couple bloom each year, some don't bloom
for years on end even though they produce leaves. But this year they
are all blooming well and others planted about in the community are
as well. I know that some species only flower well after a fire, but
I'm curious what it is about this year that has triggered a change.
We have gotten a little more rain than we did last year, but most of
it came in two "atmospheric rivers" early in the rainfall season
that dumped a lot of rain at one time. Since then we haven't had
much, but enough to keep the barrels that collect water from the roof
full so we can use that water to water plants. The ground is
unusually dry. We are only supposed to water otherwise two days a
week and then only for ten minutes and only at night or early
morning. We also are using lots of gray water (shower, kitchen,
washing machine) besides what we have been collecting from the roof.

Any one wanting to speculate on why this year is different? More
light with fewer storms? Rainfall at different times of the season?
Are others experiencing more flowers with Watsonia this year in other
parts of the state? We also had a nice Sparaxis and Tritonia season
so I guess there are some plants that like less water than we usually get.

Mary Sue