Snowmelt bulbs
Jane McGary via pbs (Thu, 03 Feb 2022 15:36:29 PST)

The appearance of winter-spring crocuses and the need to verify their
identity reminds me of the special delight of geophytes that flower just
as winter snowbanks recede above them. Other alpine gardeners already
know about the challenges of growing shrubby or herbaceous plants that
spend a long winter dormancy under snow, and bulb growers face some
similar challenges. Curiously, many species of Crocus are standard
subjects in gardens with widely varied climates, even those that receive
only a few brief snowy periods. High-elevation Tulipa, Gagea, and
Romulea species can also adapt well. Snowmelt meadow genera such as
Puschkinia and Muscari are perfect bulb-lawn plants here too. In
contrast, such snowmelt plants as Galanthus platyphyllus, Fritillaria
latifolia, Rhodophiala rhodolirion, and Lloydia serotina have defeated
many lowland growers, including me. If any readers who don't live in
high latitudes or altitudes succeed with these, I'd like to learn how! I
don't want to carry them in pots into and out of the refrigerator, as I
once tried to save a failing Androsace bryomorpha. And I don't want to
move back to Fairbanks, where Diapensia lapponica did fine in the rock
garden. What are your comments on geophytes that emerge under the lip of
the snowbank and flower before they are overgrown by grasses and tall
perennials?

Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…
Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>