Blooming now

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Wed, 19 Jul 2006 07:01:07 PDT
Hi,

Dennis' recent enthusiasm over his Manfreda was matched by my joy that 
Calochortus weedii is blooming again for me. It was three years after I 
purchased it before it bloomed for the first time in July 2003 and when I 
dumped the pot there was only one bulb left and it looked very sickly so 
when it didn't bloom in 2004 or 2005 I was sure I had lost it. I had 
repotted it in a large pot with a couple other Calochortus that were not 
blooming and have kept it sheltered from our heavy rainfall. One of the 
bulbs in that pot had buds on it now after all the other Calochortus have 
gone dormant and I've been watching it wondering which one it was going to 
be. It's just so gorgeous. I've added a current picture to the wiki:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

I always thought Chlorogalum  pomeridianum was pollinated by moths as it is 
a white and night blooming, but when we have admired its lovely fairy 
blooms when it has opened early evening lately it has been covered with 
bees. No wonder it sets so much seed. I love these plants, but have been 
careless with its seeding about so now I have a few more than I may be 
happy with although it is quite charming when all those beautiful delicate 
flowers finally open.

Last night as we had all the windows and doors open in our house trying to 
cool it down when the temperatures got cooler (we don't have air 
conditioning) we could detect a lovely fragrance coming from the garden. My 
husband wondered if it could be the  Lilium now in bloom I grew from seeds 
Sir Peter Smithers gave me. I got the flashlight out and took a tour 
through the garden and instead decided it was the late blooming Gladiolus 
tristis that has dark markings on the petals. Not only is this plant not 
fragrant during the day, but the flowers aren't open very wide then either. 
To look at it you think it needs water. But when night comes the flowers 
open and it becomes very fragrant.

Mary Sue 


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