Changing seasons

Robin Hansen hansennursery@coosnet.com
Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:27:18 PST
Some other signs of spring ---
Trillium kuryabayashii in full bloom, Erythronium 'Pagoda' in bud, blooming always well before E. tuolumnense, all the Ipheions of course - actually they're later than usual.  These are in an unheated, shaded poly house.

Scoliopus (hallii or bigelovii) is finished and the other is beginning to bloom.  Can anyone give me a simple way to tell them apart?  The one just finished has well-spotted leaves, the other doesn't seem to as much, but whenever I've been around them, clouds of flies depart.  Now if they would just set seed!

Cyclamen pseudibericum is beginning to bloom and repandum,et al.  I think I'll just call them "repandum complex" for now.  Do I hear cries of "Oh, horrors -can't she figure it out!"?

Well, no, my undisciplined mind seems to veer off into other things...

It has been alternately freezing and raining at night, but the English violets in my mother's lawn are blooming.  Her daffodils are in bud.  Mine aren't there yet.

Even one or two pots of little Scilla bifolia are beginning to flower, and the Synthyris from up on the Umpqua River in south central Oregon is in full bloom.

I can't repot fast enough now to be ready for spring plant sales and there's still lots of seed to sow.

We have turned the corner into the approach to spring - and oh, how welcome it is!

Robin Hansen
Hansen Nursery
Southwestern Oregon, USA

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: James Waddick 
  To: Pacific Bulb Society 
  Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2011 8:56 AM
  Subject: [pbs] Changing seasons


  Dear Bulb Friends,
  The seasons seems to roller coaster on as we go from a six 
  inches of snow just a few days ago to 70 F in days.  Not complaining 
  about today's 70 with 30 mph winds and overcast skies to follow in 48 
  hours with 17 F and possible freezing rain to snow.

  Bulbs are confused, but we are enjoying:

  Crocus sieberi 'Firefly'. The first bulbs popped in the 
  middle of a wide path where they were never planted. A few days later 
  they appeared in an adjoining bed where they were intended. Who can 
  blame the squirrels for decorating the path?

  And a day later Crocus ancyrensis ith their bright golden 
  yellow flower planted in a row -why did I do that ?. They are now 
  clumps, but the squirrels don't move these around.

  Narcissus 'Cedric Morris' is always the first miniature narc. 
  to bloom and always welcome. It must be covered by a bell jar/cover 
  or the rabbits will focus on these are devour flowers and foliage. No 
  other Narc get this treatment from our local pests. I think this is a 
  cv. of N. minor.

  Galanthus -our first bloom this year was a surprise. Some 
  galanthal detective consulting with guru John Grimshaw confirmed my 
  guess it was a cv of G. elwesii monostictus. The bulbs were received 
  years ago as a Narc. gift giving some truth to "all bulbs look alike 
  when dormant". These were given to me by a well known commercial 
  grower I won't embarrass with identity. The foliage is short wide and 
  very glaucous; the flower wide open and chubby with a single inner 
  mark (thus the name monostictus) as opposed to the usual 2 marks of 
  G. elwesii.

  Our second Snowdrop was our favorite and wonderfully vigorous 
  "Mighty Atom- Not".  We've grown and appreciated this for years. It 
  is by far the nicest Snowdrop we grow with abundant flower, ease of 
  grow and early bloom.  I've mentioned this before. It is apparently 
  close to the cv"Mighty Atom', but NOT that. It often blooms with the 
  old favorite 'S. Arnott', but it is not that either.

  Other Galanthus are showing sudden growth spurts with foliage 
  and white flower buds appearing across the shaded part of the garden.

  In other spots and not quite open are Winter Aconites 
  (Eranthis hyemalis), a welcome cheery spot of yellow. Adonis 
  amurensis popping up vigorously, but not yet showing color. Perhaps 
  today's warm temps will push it open.Sun would help, too.

  Showing a few spots of color, but not terribly close to bloom 
  are a few of the hundreds of Hellebore species and hybrids are 
  stirring.

  And Iris reticulata are showing spikes of foliage. Other 
  spikes just appearing including some Gladiolus and Crocosmia under a 
  light coat of dry leaves. Up earlier and showing healthy green 
  include a variety of Lycoris and Leucojum. I'm sure we'd find even 
  more points of green if we cleared the leaf mulch aside, but it 
  really is too early.

  Today I noticed some Dutch Hyacinths pushing their big 
  pointed domes of leaves above the soil.

  I won't list buds swelling and woody shrubs or non-bulbous 
  plants that are getting active. Suffice it to say that the signs of 
  spring are very heartening. I can accept the next few days of a 
  return to winter and hope none of these first arrivers are damaged by 
  coming wet weather.

  The season are changing. Finally some signs of a departure 
  from the grey lifeless landscape we's suffered through for months. 
  Welcome first arrivers.

  Best Jim W.
  -- 
  Dr. James W. Waddick
  8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
  Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
  USA
  Ph.    816-746-1949
  Zone 5 Record low -23F
  Summer 100F +

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