Lewisia-2012

I don't smoke, thank you and you can name that plant whatever you want - it is as nice as any plant can be! I have always wanted to grow more Lewisias but my climate wont allow that I am afraid - not outdoors anyway  :(

A very lovely shade of lavender near the tips, David.  Congrats!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
--------William Shakespear

Lewisia tweedyi growing in a north-facing retaining wall:

The soil around the roots is sandy loam, but it is surrounded by heavy clay loam.

Edit:  my best Lewisia tweedyi this year:

Lewisia leana, grown from a plant from Jane McGary:

Grown in a cool greenhouse, in fairly gritty mix.

Gene wrote:

Lewisia tweedyi growing in a north-facing retaining wall:

The soil around the roots is sandy loam, but it is surrounded by heavy clay loam.

They seem to do well in a north facing wall! I am planning a new bed and are looking for plants to sit at the north facing side. How do they take wet winters?

The winters here are very wet and between 0 - 10C most of the time.  If the roots are surrounded by coarse, sandy soil, they seem to be happy.

They look very happy in your wall Gene. I've never tried them ouside but I don't think they would like my wet climate. I like you L. leana too, it's a plant I've tried a couple of times and have lost it each time. Not an easy plant to source in the UK.

Couple of pictures below of my Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea'

I never would have thought that Lewisia tweedyi (like David I shall always know it by this name) could grow outside in our climate. However, after listening to Peter Korn describing it growing on his sand beds in Sweden with high rainfall it does seem more possible. I think the success comes from the very large scale of the beds, and coarse gravel topdressing, giving really perfect drainage. But I've never known any record of growing it in the UK in a vertical wall like Gene does - wonderful sight.

My reading of the material suggests that Cistanthe tweedyi is the synonym for L. tweedyi not the other way round, so Lewisia it is and so it remains until they get DNA testing of course.
The only one which survives outside here is Lewisia columbiana and that even managed to survive being hauled out by a blackbird a couple of seasons ago. Not in flower yet, but the rosette looks ok.

The smallest of my small Lewisia collection and looking lost in a 3" pot-Lewisia pygmaea

A passable pic of one of mine, with a little variation from yours, David.  I still have it because it persists by seeding itself, but L. pygmaea is not high on my desirable list.  The species is just not that interesting to me.