Daubenya aurea (red) dormancy

Michael Mace michaelcmace@gmail.com
Sun, 19 Nov 2017 20:45:00 PST
Susan wrote:

>> some of the Hesperantha vaginata  in particular appear to be starting up
again with swelling corms and new root development. Also my Daubenya
seedling pots are showing some new shoots, plus what looks like fresh
rootlets on the bulbs in another pot... what is the best way forward with
the Daubenya in particular?

Those species both come from summer-dry desert areas where you'd expect them
to have a long dormancy (think inland southern California or Libya). So they
shouldn't be growing after only a short dormancy.

However, I've never had much luck trying to force a confused bulb back into
dormancy, so if they're trying to grow, I'd water them, keep them in a shady
spot where they won't get too hot in summer, and see what happens. Hopefully
they'll eventually re-synchronize with the seasons.

Be careful with the Daubenyas in dormancy. They have thin papery skins and
seem to dessicate easily when out of the ground. I've damaged some by
storing them out of pots for a couple of months in summer. I think it's best
to store them in the pots in a dry location -- when they finally do go
dormant.

Paul Cumbleton describes how Wisley grows them here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/wisley/2007/221107/log.html 

Good luck!

Mike


_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…


More information about the pbs mailing list