Fritillaria pudica

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Sat, 06 Jul 2002 18:52:19 PDT
Dear All,

I just ended up sending this message only to Rob because I hit the reply 
key so am now posting it to everyone. I tried earlier to hit reply to all 
and it still only had the person who wrote the message filled in. But if I 
start typing Pac.. on my to: area, my e-mail program fills in the rest of 
the address so that is what I will do if I can remember. You can all make 
Pacific Bulb Society <pacificbulbsociety@lists.mcn.org> part of your 
address book too. I hope I can change the way this is set up on Monday 
however. Thanks Joyce for introducing yourself.

Mary Sue
Dear Rob,

So glad you have joined us. I can't get any of my California Fritillarias 
to bloom except for the one that I have grown from local seed and it does 
really well for me in the ground. When you posted your question to the 
Australian group I was going to look up Diana Chapman's article in one of 
the more recent NARGS journals and in the meantime have been swamped. But I 
have just done it. In it she said that some of the ones I can't get to 
bloom need a warmer summer than they are getting here so I have moved them 
into my greenhouse and am hoping for blooms as a result. About the species 
in question she writes it is found in an arid area at 2000 meters. Perhaps 
what it is lacking for you is cold. This year I prechilled one of my native 
Alliums that is native to the mountains when I chilled my tulips and was 
rewarded with a long blooming period when usually I just have leaves. Diana 
is having more success with some of the mountain Calochortus with providing 
a cold period for them as well and it has really made a difference in 
germination as well.

The California fritillarias are really gorgeous, but many of them are a 
challenge to grow for even some of our best growers. So if this is the only 
one you can't get to bloom you are doing well. I once remember Wayne 
Roderick who has written about them in several publications showing slides 
of them in the wild. He told us not even to think about wanting some of 
them because they were impossible to grow outside of their habitat and he 
didn't want them to disappear from the  wild. I know a man in the Bay Area 
I met at Cal Hort meeting who is studying them in the wild and who says he 
is very successful with them and perhaps I can get him to join our group.

Jane may be able to help. But that's what I'd try.

Mary Sue 


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