Eranthis question

Rodger Whitlock totototo@pacificcoast.net
Sat, 14 Aug 2004 08:34:28 PDT
On 10 Aug 04 at 10:38, John Ingram wrote:

> I am placing fall orders for OH...

Please don't abbreviate like that. This list is distributed 
internationally and not all subscribers may understand that 
OH=Ohio.

In this instance, clarity is especially important as your .sig says 
Los Angeles. (Hopefully everyone worldwide will understand LA=Los 
Angeles, but I wouldn't put any money on it.)

End of finger-shaking.

> ... and wanted to include more early blooming bulbs. I have always
> loved seeing Aconite but have never planted any. Does anyone on this
> list in the appropriate areas have any suggestions? I will be
> ordering from Brent and Becky's so my choices are E. cilicia and
> hyemalis.

The tubers of E. cilicia take drying out better than those of E. 
hyemalis, hence the former is offered much more frequently than the 
latter. OTOH (on the other hand), it's my impression that E. cilicia 
demands a soil containing reasonable amounts of calcium, whereas E. 
hyemalis has no such requirement, though it doesn't seem to object to 
lime.

Also, E. cilicia can handle a great deal more sun than can E. 
hyemalis; the latter behaves much like a woodland plant in my garden.

I've had very poor luck with E. cilicia. The best it ever did for me
was when potted with 50% marble chips in the mix and given a warm
dry summer -- not a tulip-like baking, but fairly warm. That kind of
treatment would probably kill E. hyemalis, which thrives here in
light shade under trees, mixed in with Cyclamen repandum, C. coum,
and C. libanoticum.

See if you can find a copy of Elizabeth Lawrence's "The Small Bulbs" 
(I think that's the right title). She mentions one or other of 
these species of Eranthis as doing very well naturalized in a big 
woodland planting in Ohio. I suspect it was E. hyemalis, but 
unfortunately I've recently sold off my copies of her books, so I 
can't look it up for you.

-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate

on beautiful Vancouver Island


More information about the pbs mailing list