They can easily handle light frosts around freezing or slightly below in the morning. I think what they want is a lot of sunlight while they’re growing and hopefully flowering. Flowers have just started appearing in my pots, but this has been an unusually chilly winter. I think you could put them outside in full sunlight under an overhang, like up against a southern wall of your house under the eaves, as soon as the weather stays consistently above about 30°F. I don’t use any special kind of mix, probably half organic (peat, shredded/composted plant matter) and half inorganic for good drainage (pumice, perlite, crushed lava rock, fired clay). Since I have a day job and teenagers, I’ve settled on using a controlled-release pellet fertilizer the beginning of each growing season. After a lengthy online conversation maybe 15 years ago on one of the bulb forums about this type of fertilizer, I switched from Osmocote to Apex brand (made by Simplot). They have *all* kinds of formulations, and it can be found at a few agricultural supply stores around the SoCal area. I think it’s carried in most states in the U.S. as well as most states in Australia, too. (Don’t know about Europe.) But not every formulation is carried by any one store. It comes in 50lb/23kg bags. I usually try to get the 8-9 month at 70°F NPK Max or NPK Plus formulations (which include micronutrients). Here’s a link to a brochure that describes all the formulations they make: <http://simplot.com/pdf/…>. If you want data sheets on each of the formulations, use the left-hand column on this page: <http://simplot.com/turf_horticulture/apex/…>. They also have a nice page on the controlled-release coating they developed and use: <http://simplotgalxeone.com/>. There are probably equally good competitive products out there, but this one has worked well for me and I can find it locally. --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a Latitude 34°N, Altitude 1150 ft/350 m > On Feb 22, 2019, at 6:34 AM, Fred Biasella <fbiasella@watertownsavings.com> wrote: > > Hi Lee, > > Thank you for help and response :-))) Since I'm in the cold north, I have to grow them in post exclusively but they do go outdoors in the summer and in full sun. I tried to follow their native growing medium of a powdery sand and soil mix but they still don't flower. What type of medium do you use or what do you recommend? Also, what do you feed them and how often? > > Thank You and Warm Regards, > Fred > > -----Original Message----- > From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> On Behalf Of Lee Poulsen > Sent: Friday, February 22, 2019 12:32 AM > To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Nothoscordum dialystemon help > > I’ll just throw in my experience growing it in mediterranean southern California. It kind of grows and multiplies like a weed just by letting it get our winter rainfall and cool temperatures and endure its dormancy during our dry summers—even though it comes from the east coast of the southern half of South America and gets summer rainfall. I have to grow them in 2 or 5 gallon (20cm or 30 cm diameter) pots because they too quickly fill and crowd a 1 gallon (16cm) pot. The more I feed them, the better they grow and bloom. But they bloom every late winter; some years the entire pot is covered with yellow blossoms. I leave them out in full sun all winter long. (The leaves first emerge in late autumn.) They smell like honey to me. They sure act like they’re mediterranean climate plants even though they’re not. > > --Lee Poulsen > Pasadena, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a Latitude 34°N, Altitude 1150 ft/350 m > >> On Feb 18, 2019, at 9:36 AM, Jose <arlen.jose@verizon.net> wrote: >> >> Hello all, >> >> >> >> I have had this little bulb growing in pots in a sandy loam mix for >> years and it grows well.but no flowers. Can anyone tell me how to get >> them to flower? Do they need a dry/cold/resting period to initiate >> flowering? Any help would be greatly appreciated. >> >> >> >> Fred Biasella >> >> Cambridge (Boston) MA >> >> USDA Zone 6b Maritime >> > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…