Growing from seed versus importing bulbs from another hemisphere

Robert Parks via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:42:14 PST
Ixia viridiflora makes very regular appearances in the BXs...once
established it produces copious offsets, and volunteers from seed very
easily (read: almost annoying)

I have three lines of I. viridiflora, all from seed, one of which bloomed
15 months after sowing.

Robert

On Fri, Dec 26, 2025 at 11:59 AM Leigh Blake via pbs <
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

> Hi Everyone!!
> My daughter gave me three Ixia viridiflora corms, potted and growing in the
> beginning of December when she visited from Seattle. ( I'm in Southern
> Oregon and grow primarily natives and alpines) .  I am sobbing...The
> largest,  which was in full growth when she brought it down, promptly lost
> its major sprout ( I brought all three planted corms into our home ) and
> the only survivor I immediately changed soil carefully and have replanted
> this incredible little ENDANGERED  South African native  with the hopes of
> saving this tiny corm. I can not yell loudly enough...but I totally agree
> with the above mentioned instructions on growing corms and bulbs from the
> Southern hemiphere. If you have a green house set up...fine..we do
> not...and I winter many of my more temperate plants insifde, even though we
> are now considered zone 8.
> Thank you for this information...I did order the Ixia viridiflora seed from
> the NARGS seed list...if they are available..  we shall see.
> Spring is coming...  Happy gardening to all of you!!!  My Narcissus
> bulbicodiums are sprouting...
>
>
> Leigh Blake, Trail Oregon
>
> On Fri, Dec 26, 2025 at 10:55 AM Robert Lauf via pbs <
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
>
> >  It's good to hear all sides of a complex issue like this, and fun to
> note
> > that no one on either side is "wrong".  Life is full of trade-offs.  I
> for
> > one, won't live long enough to want to start seeds that won't bloom for
> ten
> > years.  But I sure have fun starting seeds of faster growers and sending
> > the young bulbs to the BX.
> > No question jet lag is an issue, but a good vendor knows when is the best
> > time to ship summer vs winter growers.  For example, I got a huge bulb of
> > Brunsvigia grandiflora in a recent group order.  It is completely dry,
> > completely dormant, yet it has been putting down huge, fleshy roots the
> > entire time, and I expect it to pop into growth in the spring.
> > We've already hashed over the issue of shipping costs, and I would just
> > remind all that domestic shipping from typical mail-order nurseries isn't
> > much different, esp. for a small order.
> > PBS is blessed with many highly competent growers who are also good about
> > sharing their surplus.  So I would hope that all the cool things we
> > imported in the group orders will soon start showing up as seeds and
> > offsets in future exchanges, which serves our conservation mission and
> > also, of course, eliminates the jet lag issue.
> > Importing isn't for everyone (nothing is!), but it is a crucial leg of
> the
> > stool in the overall member ecosystem we're trying to maintain.  The high
> > level of interest and participation seems to bear this out.
> > Bob   Zone 7  gloomy but still warm
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