PBS Forum

I will arrange a way to observe the progress of bulbs of F. imperialis and of F. crassifolia, which are in two different sections. I will measure their diameter periodically. However, I can't see how this "annual" characteristic could apply to Section Liliorrhiza, which forms rice-grain offsets that are definitely not annually renewed; they remain loosely attached on the parent bulb year to year until disturbed. I'm familiar with the website Fritillariae Icones, which offers photos of plants in flower, removed from the soil so the bulb and roots are exposed. Also, I will ask someone who knows a lot more than I do,.

I don't understand this statement, which generalizes an observation of one species (or its section) to a whole genus. I have grown many species of Fritillaria for almost 40 years now, and I lift and replant or repot the bulbs in late summer -- not on their sides. I grow them from seed. The bulb  grows from a tiny first-year seedling to its eventual mature size over several years. Small frit bulbs will indeed reorient themselves during growth; you can sow the rice grains freely. Different sections of the genus have bulbs of different forms, some more solid-looking, others with "rice grain" offsets loosely attached to the parent bulb, and some, like the Imperiales section, with two big scales. I'm tempted to uncover a F. imperialis bulb right now, replace the soil with a removable layer and observe what happens to it through the growing season. One method of propagating this type of fritillaria is to cut the bulb in half horizontally, replant it in a sterile medium, and wait until it produces offsets around the cut. (I think most commercial ones are now tissue-cultured.) Perhaps the structures described as "a new bulb forming around the shoot" are the precursors of stem leaves, bracts, or other structures that may develop and remain underground.

Could members please post the names and websites of seed sources that they have found interesting and reliable? Most of the lists I used to depend on are no longer available, some because the sellers have retired, others because they will no longer ship to the USA. The great seed offerings on the new EU BX/SX are breaking my heart! I don't grow bulbs that need to be kept frost-free, so I rarely find anything I can order in the US exchanges, despite dutifully donating.

I got around to the scheduled repotting of one-fourth of the collection in my bulb house, and discovered significant losses. In mid-January 2024 we experienced a 5-day period with temperatures around 20-24 degrees F. December 2023 had been historically warm here, and many plants were growing and flowering earlier than usual, in the garden as well. Several broadleaved evergreens that had not been damaged in comparable temperatures in previous years defoliated completely, but almost all have recovered. Notable among the bulb-house losses were species from the eastern Mediterranean, mostly grown from Oron Peri's seed collections; certain Crocus species (some had produced flowers, but the corms were obviously frozen); and some Californian species. Some of the lost species had grown well here for more than 10 years; of course, they weren't likely to be immortal anyway, but I'll miss them. A few treasures (e.g. Anemone biflora) were clearly in decline already.
 I had not covered the plunge beds of potted specimens, because I didn't believe it would get quite so cold, and a bad knee made getting around the raised beds hazardous. I did bring in the more delicate seedlings, which are OK. I got a new knee at the beginning of June and am working it, mixing potting soil and climbing in, around, and out of the raised beds. Next winter, I'll have covers ready if it looks like this is going to happen again, since the bulb house has only a solid roof and is exposed to ambient temperatures.

"South American bulbs" is not a monolithic category. South America has a vast range of climates, and bulbous plants grow in many of them. There are bulbs from rain forests, from high mountains, and from coastal deserts. You need to research what areas have climatic patterns close to those you can approximate in your garden. For Los Angeles, you would want to look at coastal Peru and northern to central Chile, and the dry eastern foothills of the Andes in Argentina. You could expand beyond that if you can create small irrigated habitats. The PBS wiki will give you information on species origins. Be aware that plants from high elevations can be very difficult to maintain in the lowlands, as they may be unable to tolerate high temperatures and may require a long dormant period under snow cover. The PBS has published and sells a book, "The genus Hippeastrum in Bolivia," which offers eye-opening descriptions of the varied habitats of this genus in that mainly high-elevation country.

As Mark wrote, milled sphagnum is not peat. It's processed from living sphagnum harvested from nature. Excessive harvesting could damage fragile bogs. I don't know whether that happens. Sphagnum moss can be transplanted into carefully managed bog gardens, but probably the water has to be very pure.
The American view on using peat is different from the British and European, thanks to the existence of Canada (and Alaska) just north of here, with its vast peatlands.
I don't use peat in bulb potting soil because it would be difficult to rehydrate after the summer dry period my bulbs undergo. For the second year now I'm using a purchased "garden topsoil" as the minor organic component; it worked well last year. It was hard to find a product without bark in it, but I did eventually. I do use a little peat in seed-sowing mix.

Someone mentioned milled sphagnum moss. I used it when I grew Meconopsis (no longer possible since I moved), and it was very effective in keeping the tiny seedlings from damping off, even with the pots covered with very thin plastic (the kind dry-cleaners' bags are made of). It is sold in small bags in good garden centers for use with orchids and other indoor plants. One should not breathe in the particles, however, as it is reported to carry some microorganism dangerous to humans. Another observation on damping off: Calochortus seedlings are very prone to it, so the seed should be sown thinly.

"It will look better with plants on it."
Specifically, in regard to rock gardens, particularly the currently faddish crevice gardens.

This reminds me that when I have received emails with a subject line being the taxonomic name of one of the many plants with the species epithet formed from the Latin adjective for 'black' (niger nigra, nigrum), the message gets tagged with a red chili pepper, signifying offensive content. Earthlink apparently believes it's a message from a nasty racist who can't spell either.

Interesting question. The site is sloping toward the street, so runoff might decrease persistence of Casoron. However, the bark itself would be a good home for wind-dispersed weeds from the unmaintained lots across the street. Perhaps I should just leave the eyesore for a year (no neighborhood committee here), then replant with inexpensive bulbs and seed some shade- and drought-tolerant grass over it. It's going to be summer-dormant whatever I do because of huge Douglas firs nearby. I surrounded the trees with Cyclamen hederifolium, which is effective about 9 months a year in a gravel mulch.

I'm in the process of renovating a part of the bulb lawn. Near the street where people park weed-dispersing cars, it acquired an infestation of Geranium lucidum (shiny geranium) that could not be stopped except by killing the whole area. I'm thinking of applying the persistent pre-emergent Casoron now and having the area covered with a bark mulch, then waiting to see if the weed reappears next spring. If it doesn't, I'll replant with low shrubs and bulbs. Does anyone know how Casoron might affect bulbs planted about 14 months after application?

Can someone change the title of this topic to "Babiana" so it will be properly searchable? Thanks.

Ignoring for the moment the recent explosive splitting of the genus Scilla, I think Jan (who lives across the city from me) has the same thing that's flowering in my rock garden now. I'm pretty sure, given the botanical description and the history of my bulb collection, that it's Scilla lilio-hyacinthus, with S. verna another possibility. I'll find out more when it goes dormant and can be lifted, as S. lilio-hyacinthus is described as having distinctive scale-like structures on the bulb. Either one could have got into my rock garden as random seedlings when I moved to the present place.

When I started my bulb collection around 1990, I bought and grew from seed many species of Crocus at my home near Portland, Oregon. I've lost a lot of them over the years (especially to field mice) and have tried to bring in replacements and new species as often as possible. I can't import corms any more, but I have new seedlings most years and keep them carefully. Mark Akimoff's Illahe Nursery in Oregon is growing many different Crocus species, including some from my collection. Sadly, little seed is now being collected and offered for sale, but perhaps importation of corms from Europe will occur soon.

Paeonia species are starting to flower here in northwestern Oregon, and as usual I was looking around the web for information and help verifying their identity, as mine are all seed-grown. I came upon this excellent site: https://www.peonysociety.eu/peony-species/ . People from all around the world post photos with brief text there. I was amazed to see an emerging cluster of Paeonia brownii (or P. californica) in a garden in Finland. I'm still trying to identify one that came up, probably from a forgotten seed that got moved to this garden in potting soil with another plant. I have Josef and Jarmila Halda's sumptuous book on the genus and will see what I can find there to match this plant with crimson flowers and sharply lobed, dark green leaves. Another spot to watch is a large colony of P. daurica seedlings, the offspring of P. daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii (I think that's the current concept of the yellow form), left to grow in hope of another real yellow, but so far mainly cream flushed pink. The yellow parent, from a Halda collection, is stronger in color than the wild plants I saw in the Caucasus. The common pink form of P. daurica grows nearby, and here and there around the garden, possibly planted by jays.