PBS Forum

Good point that Deno did not usually grow on his material. Also, he got a lot of the seeds he used from the NARGS seed exchange, meaning that they had been harvested, cleaned (sort of), and stored in an uncontrolled way. I think he was too sure of his conclusions, but that was his manner. I remember hearing him pontificating to someone, saying that no one could say he was "growing" a plant until it was self-sowing in the garden. He once had me convinced that most Ranunculaceae had very short viability in storage, but now I try them all, and I have currently four species of Trollius growing well from the NARGS seedex leftovers.

There were several other pots of the same style at the Potters Association sale, but most of her work was in different styles (though also very skilled). Terry L. thought the "seaweed" pot may have been wood-fired.

Mark Akimoff and I recently visited Wild Ginger nursery and noticed that they had shade cloth put  up inside their poly hoop houses, rather than over the top. This would be easier, hanging it over hooks during the hot season. I don't know how available shade cloth is in other areas, but here it is sold in various proportions of shade. You can have grommets put in when you buy it. I used to put some over the solarium in my former home, but that entailed climbing out on the roof each June. I also hung the shade cloth at the edge of the west-facing veranda where I grew a lot of seedlings.

I'm puzzled about plants under the name Biarum dispar. When I saw it in nature, a botanist gave this name to a plant with a very large, broad spathe, flowering in October. Plants I've raised from seed under the name have much smaller spathes, but still rather broad. Robert's photo shows a narrow spathe such as I associate with Biarum carduchorum -- which does flower for me in midsummer. I don't have the monograph on this genus, but I've been told it is problematic.

The genus should be Caliphruria.

The attached photo shows Calochortus kennedyi using a tactic popular with long-stemmed species, climbing up along the stout stem of a perennial (Delphinium trolliifolium in this case). If not supported, it would have lain along the ground.

As I read old issues of Brian Mathew's Bulb Newsletter, I come across mentions of things I once grew and lost, mainly when I moved and had the bulbs out of the ground too long. Where can I now get seed of Colchicum kesselringii, Crocus baytopiorum, Fritillaria liliacea, Fritillaria brandegeei, or Fritillaria tubiformis? The full list is a long one. What are you missing now?

Not all the corrections I provided got into the SX list. Brodiaea "kinkinens" is B. kinkiensis. The others are trivial misspellings that readers can figure out for themselves.

Yes, Rick, the plants in the photo are leaning some away from the house, but in a fully open position they form a nearly upright colony. They grow mostly at openings in woodland, on roadsides, and other places with at least some sunlight. I've seen the subspecies in the east, and I can understand why people don't realize the western subspecies is a great border plant.

The summer-dry raised bed in the bulb house, May 21 2022. The tall blue plant is Triteleia laxa 'Mariposa Giant' and the clumps of pale blue to white flowers are Leucocoryne coquimbensis and L. odorata.

Maianthemum (Smilacina) racemosum subsp. amplexicaule is the western subspecies of a widespread North American plant. The inflorescence is denser and larger than in the eastern subspecies, and the flowers have a beautiful fragrance that will scent a room gently when cut, lasting almost a week in water. This group in my garden is a clone I found in a tree farm near my former home and is particularly robust.

David Pilling's photo of a hybrid Paeonia shows a remarkably good form. I assume it's a cross between P. delavayi and P. lutea. I've grown and seen a number of these hybrids, but never one with such striking color zones.

Calochortus are long-lived plants for me near Portland, Oregon, given a dry summer dormancy. They require considerable depth to mature properly. Even mature plants don't necessarily flower every year. Most should not require winter chill; those that are widely available come mostly from California west of the Sierra Nevada. I find certain inland species such as C. nuttallii difficult. All of mine are in my bulb house, which has a solid roof and open, wire mesh sides, so there is no temperature control but plenty of moisture control. Cutworm can attack the plants as they emerge. I grow them in a medium that is mostly coarse sand over a lower layer of clay loam, start watering in October, and about this time I stop watering. Some of mine self-sow, and at least one has produced an attractive hybrid. Calochortus seed can remain viable in storage for many years.

After all that walking you will have some dirty socks. Seed in socks, socks rolled up in a ball. Has not failed the writer.

This is the beginning of the Calochortus flowering season here in Portland, Oregon. I grow all mine in the bulb house, which has a solid roof and open wire mesh sides. I was happy to see the resurrection of C. amoenus after several years, as well as a few other species I'm hoping are appearing again. Probably extra efforts to control cutworm helped. A determined search for C. coxii finally turned up its plants almost smothered by a neighbor. One problem has come up with identification: there appears to have been some kind of mix-up in labeling (or numbering) of donations to one or more SX offerings in the mid teens, around 2015-2017. A couple of groups raised from seed with other names have proven to be C. luteus. One labeled C. pulchellus has admitted to being C. amabilis, and another group whose label I did not unearth is actually C. pulchellus. One labeled C. umbellatus does not have the multiflowered stems said to be characteristic, but as this is its first flowering, it may get stronger, and the flowers appear correct. If you raised plants from that era of the SX, it would be good to verify the names before donating seed of them.