April 2024

[Diane Whitehead]

A second Leucoryne from Flores and Watson seeds in 2003.   L vittata first flowered in 2019.

It is sweetly scented.

[Too Many Plants!]

Another Cultivated Ixia (most likely hybrid). 

[Rdevries]

A few Eucrosia in bloom together in the garage under lights

Left tall E aurantiaca
Center red E eucrosides - Ponas-Zaruma
Right E mirabilis with yellow petals

Lower right little red
Urceolina peruviana/Stenomeson miniatum

Hippeastrum evansii in last pic

[Uli]

As we had good rains this winter the native flora on our land is particularly rich this spring. A lot of Serapias cordigera ssp. cordigera orchids are in flower now.

[Carlos]

I went to look for Colchicum last Sunday, I found them in my third attempt after about 4 hours trying. I was looking for C. triphyllum for Dmitri Zubov, it occurs on Mediterranean high elevations and I did find some, but I'm not sure if they are montanum. Photos taken at about 1550 m.


I came back crossing a badly burned area in 2022, there are few signs of recovery, but I saw a few patches of Iris lutescens.



I also found Muscari atlanticum again.



Now at home, the Albuca viscosa ripened three capsules, they are quite insect-looking, like egg cases of a Mantis. Opening like a mini Alien egg...


Finally, I got some capsules on my Asphodelus acaulis by selfing. The pedicels curve and at first the fruit is hidden between the leaves, then it dries up releasing the whole fruit, so it seems that they roll away from the mother plant. A most amazing dispersal behaviour, unique in Asphodelus and among most geophytes, I think.



I know my fingers often appear quite dirty, I prefer to touch the ground without gloves.

[Too Many Plants!]

Well...curious. I just had the IPhone update installed, and now my phone won't upload pictures.

Just powered off and back on, and it's working...

Moraea Ochroleuca ? Just found out from the gifter of the bulbs that these are hybrids of the Homeria complex, with multiple generations of growing together open pollination hybridizing.

Looks a bit different than my yellow flowered version.

[Arnold]

Tulipa altaica

[Uli]

Hello Arnold,

Does Tulipa altaica need winter chill or frost to stimulate flowering?

[Too Many Plants!]

I came back crossing a badly burned area in 2022, there are few signs of recovery, but I saw a few patches of Iris lutescens.

FANTASTIC seeing them in habitat like that! Thanks for sharing, Carlos!!

[Martin Bohnet]

Moraea Ochroleuca ? Just found out from the gifter of the bulbs that these are hybrids of the Homeria complex, with multiple generations of growing together open pollination hybridizing.

Looks a bit different than my yellow flowered version.

Looks completely like what I got from Lauw as M. ochroleuca aurantica  - which could of course also be a hybrid. it does set seeds like mad, though.


 

[Too Many Plants!]

Moraea Ochroleuca ? Just found out from the gifter of the bulbs that these are hybrids of the Homeria complex, with multiple generations of growing together open pollination hybridizing.

Looks a bit different than my yellow flowered version.

Looks completely like what I got from Lauw as M. ochroleuca aurantica  - which could of course also be a hybrid. it does set seeds like mad, though.

I suppose it could be either. I just don't know. But to me they look different than my yellow ones. And if memory serves me when I had the peach ones with my yellow ones (I got them together) they looked the same. They came from an old-timer collector that as far as I know only had the one species of Homeria. I got most of my Sparaxis Tricolor from him, that Robin seems to believe are hybrids with other Sparaxis sp., and they had been flowering in his yard for 15+ years so that's possible.

[Too Many Plants!]

Looks completely like what I got from Lauw as M. ochroleuca aurantica  - which could of course also be a hybrid. it does set seeds like mad, though.

Also, I guess IDK for sure what species of Homeria my bulbs are. BTW... what is Lauw?

[Uli]

Lauw de Jager is the owner of the now defunct nursery Bulb'Argence in southern France. He sold a wide range of often unusual bulbs suitable for the Mediterranean Climate. He also wrote a nicely illustrated booklet on Mediterranean Bulbs but in French.
I also got the orange form of Moraea ochroleuca from him but it tends to disappear in my garden. It is planted in the open ground and I suspect mice........ there is just one single specimen flowering at this moment.
The yellow ones have also declined but seem to be less palatable to the critters.

[Uli]

The website of Bulb'Argence is still active 
https://www.bulbargence.com/m_catalogue/

[David Pilling]

Lauw de Jager is the owner of the now defunct nursery Bulb'Argence in southern France. He sold a wide range of often unusual bulbs suitable for the Mediterranean Climate. He also wrote a nicely illustrated booklet on Mediterranean Bulbs but in French.

Booklet available in French and English from the PBS archive:

https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Archive