L humboldtii

Kenneth Hixson khixson@nu-world.com
Wed, 23 Jun 2004 13:28:06 PDT
John wrote:
>I am curious to know Kenneth's recommendations for L. humboldtii, 

>I have not attempted
>to 'push' this one!) I see that McRae says that it is (of the West Coast
>dryland spp) 'probably the least fastidious and easiest to manage' but notes
>that it wants to be very dry through late summer and autumn. Any comments on
>this?

	For one reason or another, I've never grown mature bulbs of this
species.  I have grown and lost seedlings, probably because they were
kept too dry after they died down.  Many people have commented that
bulb seedlings attempt to grow both earlier and later than the parent
bulbs, and do not stand drying out as small plants.  The problem is
when to stop trying to keep the seedlings growing, and start treating
them like adults.  Growing them in pots is one answer.  Growing lilies 
in pots is a problem in a climate where freezing weather can make mush 
of the bulbs, so I tend to avoid growing very many seedlings in pots.
The seedlings I currently have going are growing in an area which will
get water all summer, so we'll have to wait and see.  I haven't looked
recently, but I believe they are already dormant for the summer.
	If your seedlings are starting to flower at four years old, you
are probably doing about as well as can be expected.
	Sorry I'm not more help.
Ken


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