Miscellaneous spring bulbs

[McDonough]

Stephen, it would seem that some frits excel in your climate, I've seen your wonderful combo of acmopetala and camschatcensis before, but never have I seen a finer clump of F. pallidiflora!  I had a single-stemmed  plant flower for a couple years then it disappeared.  Don't know the ID of your unknown one, but it is handsome.

I should have lots more frits in the garden in the coming years, I actively scratch seed into garden beds and the seedlings come up thickly.  Here's a small patch of 2-year seedlings... since not labeled, it is most likely F. crassifolia ssp. kurdica, which invariably sets fat seed pods.

[Tony Willis]

Some arum species which might be of interest,
Arum rupicola  which is one of the 'flag' group widespread across Turkey
Arum balansanum a rare species from NW turkey
Arum sp from the same area and may be a larger version
Arum conophalloides var virescens  another of the 'flag' group from SW Turkey and adjacent Iran and a side view to show the exterior colouring

Tony, cool aroids... do they smell bad?  I like how your cold frame glass pane has to be open otherwise these puppies wouldn't fit!  I love Arisaema, but haven't yet succeeded with other aroid sorts.... tried a few Arums and Biarums from Mike Salmon seed years ago, but nothing successful developed with these.

Mark they absolutely stink particularly the non flag ones. I have disposed of most of my collection on the basis that they make large plants and take up too much room only flowering for about three days in the year. They are a weed in the garden, self seeding and should not be let loose. Most of my dracunculus in the frame are dead killed by the cold. but a clump in the garden is fine. They will be much deeper in the soil and so will have avoided freezing hard.

[stephenb]

Stephen, it would seem that some frits excel in your climate, I've seen your wonderful combo of acmopetala and camschatcensis before, but never have I seen a finer clump of F. pallidiflora!  I had a single-stemmed  plant flower for a couple years then it disappeared.  Don't know the ID of your unknown one, but it is handsome.

Thanks! It had never occurred to me that this was a particularly fine clump  Incidentally, it's never received any fertiliser!  I remember once seeing a picture of a whole field of this species in flower in Roger Phillips' book Herbs - it is cultivated in NE China for the bulbs which are also used medicinally (this is also mentioned in Flora of China).

[IMYoung]

2. F. pallidiflora (almost weedy - have tried to remove it a couple of times in one place and it still comes back!)
3-4. An unknown, planted as F. cirrhosa - any ideas?

While I am a devotee of the red Frits. from America, recurva, gentneri etc, (they are exquisite creatures!) I have to admire Stephen's fine patch of F. pallidiflora  

Your unknown is indeed not cirrhosa, Stephen, more like F. messanensis.

Maggi

[stephenb]

Thanks, Maggi! Will look that one up...

[Todd Boland]

I am planning on ordering a F. camschatcensis this fall.  Pallidiflora only bloomed once.  Imperialis is long lived here but only blooms every 3-4 years.  I've managed to keep persica as well but again, irregular blooming (no blooms this year).  Uva-vulpis and michailovski are essentially annuals.

Muscari azureum is currently in bloom.

[Gustafson]

Hi old friends, Jacksonville Oregon is only 3 miles from here and the type local for Fritillaria gentneri (rare and endangered).  As David pointed out it grows together with F. recurva and also F. affinis through out the town and woods near by.  To encourage people to protect the plants on their property the town celebrates with 'Fritillaria Days'. The children are encouraged to look for the plants in the woods on the extensive trail systems and on private properties as well.  With a huge population of deer throughout the town people are learning to protect the plants.  Now people that don't know many other plants all know and love their Frits.  I saw the first one in bloom in the cemetery this year about a week before David and Wendy came.  I'm happy they got to see them all over town.

[McDonough]

Todd, great shot of M. azureum! 

And Phyllis (Gustafson), welcome to the NARGS Forum, very happy to have you aboard.

[Lori S.]

Imperialis is long lived here but only blooms every 3-4 years.  I've managed to keep persica as well but again, irregular blooming (no blooms this year). 

Well, at least F. imperialis blooms again eventually for you - for me, they live forever but quit blooming after the first couple of years!  I think the original, soft-ball-sized bulb breaks down and the many replacements somehow never get to blooming size.
What is the coldest zone for F. persica? I have yet to find them hardy here, but maybe I need to try again.

Nothing special or rare here, but it's a delight to see flowers after the winter!

[cohan]

Good stuff, Lori--you're getting some nice expanse to the spring bloom, which to me is the most important of the year--for probably obvious reasons...lol

[Lori S.]

A couple more...
Scilla mischtshenkoana; not as good a display yet as formerly (but at least the house sparrows have not yet eaten off the flowers, as happened last year.  )


Chionodoxa starting to bloom:


Eranthis hyemalis; I show these puny things only to ask if they get more than 1/2" tall for anyone else in this area/zone?!?

[Booker]

Welcome to this wonderful forum Phyllis ... I hoped we might meet again at the Nottingham Conference?  Greetings from a very sunny and windy Lancashire, U.K.

[Todd Boland]

Lori, it seems we are pretty much the same in regards to what's blooming in our gardens.  After the winter we have boith experienced, we can fully appreciate the 'common' stuff!

[WimB]

Flowering here now; the very good smelling  Sauromatum venosum

[Hoy]

Imperialis is long lived here but only blooms every 3-4 years.  I've managed to keep persica as well but again, irregular blooming (no blooms this year). 

Well, at least F. imperialis blooms again eventually for you - for me, they live forever but quit blooming after the first couple of years!  I think the original, soft-ball-sized bulb breaks down and the many replacements somehow never get to blooming size.
What is the coldest zone for F. persica? I have yet to find them hardy here, but maybe I need to try again.

Nothing special or rare here, but it's a delight to see flowers after the winter!

Imperalis blooms every spring at my summerhouse, but those I have at home do not. I think the soil is to sandy and lean and that the bulbs are planted to shallow.
I have had persica outside but they die in pots and survive in the soil. This last winter was cold and we had penetrating freezing in the soil but the bulbs survived. However, no flowers.