I now live in Seattle but do not have the space for a Romneya. I used to grow it in my garden in the hills just north of Salinas, CA. It received water twice a week in the height of summer. Bloomed regularly and thrived. On Tue, Jan 1, 2019, 4:35 PM Louise Smith <greenstems.smith@gmail.com wrote: > Regarding the Romonea question. Isn't it possible that your plant is > playing catch-up after a tough first year. Romneya grows fine in Seattle in > full sun. It doesn't need watering after establishment but can't survive in > a well watered garden bed. Once established they thrive and prosper and > procreate. San jose should have perfect growing conditions. I have learned > the hard way that many plants be kept in pots until well rooted and planted > out in the fall. Don't give up. > > Louise > Seattle > > On Sun, Dec 30, 2018 at 10:39 PM Kipp McMichael <kimcmich@hotmail.com> > wrote: > > > Greetings, > > > > I have R. coulteri growing in my yard in Berkeley where it has not > > gotten any irrigation since the first 3 years of the clump's life. > > > > I think Mike is correct - the plants must establish a deep root system > > for the plant to grow and survive summer. I have observed the plant > growing > > in the multiple California natural areas where it cannot get summer > > irrigation - so it can survive both drought and high summer temperatures. > > > > The plant I saw in the wild were small and sparse (5-10 stems < 3ft) > > compared to the leviathan the plant becomes when well-watered. For me, > that > > was stems 10 feet tall with 100 stems. My front yard does not experience > > frost so the plant does not experience any winter-setback as it does in > > places with hard freezes. > > > > -|<ipp > > ________________________________ > > From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> on behalf of > Michael > > Mace <michaelcmace@gmail.com> > > Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2018 11:26 AM > > To: pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > Subject: Re: [pbs] Romneya > > > > Leo wrote: > > > > >> As followup, the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) I wrote about in > the > > fall died within days of being in the 110+ F / 43+C weather, even kept in > > the shade and not allowed to go dry. I don't think the Sunset book is > > accurate when it says it thrives in All Zones. > > > > For what it's worth, I live in the proper climate for Romneya and > struggle > > to get it to grow. I think it's very sensitive to soil and watering > times. > > > > I planted it in my heavy clay soil and treated like a California native > (no > > water in summer). It died within a year. > > > > So I planted it in an amended mound with good drainage, and pampered it > > with > > some supplemental water in summer. It died within a year. > > > > Finally in desperation I planted it on a slope in unamended clay soil, > next > > to a native buckwheat that I planted at the same time. Both plants were > > given very occasional water in the first summer (maybe once a month). The > > buckwheat thrived, and the Romneya struggled through the first year. > Since > > then it's been about three years and I haven't given either of them > > supplemental water at all. The buckwheat is very happy, and the Romneya > is > > still alive. It puts up a couple of shoots a year that get about a foot > > (.3m) tall. No flowers yet. I figure if I leave it alone maybe it'll > > eventually establish itself and take off (I've had other plants do that). > > > > So, it can tolerate dryness all summer when in the ground. But getting it > > to > > thrive, rather than just survive, can be tricky. > > > > I suspect those freeway margins with huge masses of Romneya (some of > which > > are near my house) are gravelly soil where the plants can establish more > > easily. > > > > Mike > > San Jose, CA > > (Zone 9, min temp 20F / -7C) > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > > > > https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com//… > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…