Lachenalia sargeantii

Colin Davis codavis@ucdavis.edu
Fri, 06 Sep 2013 00:16:41 PDT
To all PBS Lachenaliacs - I have just sent a good amount of offsets of
Lachenalia sargeantii to Dell for an upcoming BX. As I will be backpacking
in France and Spain for the next couple of months I will not be able to
answer any potential questions about this species, and since it behaves
markedly different than other members of the genus I thought I would
comment.

L. sargeantii produces copious amounts of offsets annually, far more than
any other I have grown (counted nearly 50 off one mature bulb this year). I
have posted a picture of this on the PBS site.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

Also, these offsets can remain stubbornly dormant for however long they see
fit (some come up the first year planted, others take years off). As I
understand in the wild this species can remain dormant for many years on
end, emerging only when fire clears surrounding vegetation and allows this
species to flower. I have tried to induce flowering with smoke treatment as
well as burning matter on the soil surface, all to no avail. Nevertheless,
I have plans for more extensive trials including in-ground treatments, so I
hope to crack the code with this species, which is far tougher than the
related L. montana. Another interesting bit about this species is that it
grows on much longer than the other Lachenalia, well into the heat of
summer if given water. I usually get tired of seeing it so force dormancy
by withholding water. Curiously though, my plants come up reliably every
year, in contrast to their wild brethren. Its the offsets they produce
which are finicky about breaking dormancy in fall. They also naturally pull
themselves a bit deeper than other Lachenalia (about 6cm), which is an
important aspect to pay attention to for all geophytes, especially when
repotting.

They also require weekly sacrificial lambs, but other than that, they
require the same treatment as other Lachenalia. The offsets are a mix from
8 different seed raised parents (judiciously monitored for and protected
from Virus), for those who are conservationally-minded like myself. Best of
luck with them!

Colin



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