Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: Robert on March 26, 2018, 02:38:00 PM
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Calochortus monophyllus.
The first Calochortus species for this season.
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Cute, little furry animal!
;D
cheers
fermi
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Cute, little furry animal!
;D
cheers
fermi
Fermi,
Yes they are quite small and also one of the easier species to cultivate and flower consistently. Many years ago I forgot about a seed pan full of them and they were accidentally left under irrigation all summer. I discovered them when they were all blooming nicely the next spring. I do not recommend this method of cultivation. ;D
The species is fairly common in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and they are sometimes seen growing with Calochortus albus. I keep hearing reports that the two species will hybridize with each other, but I have never seen any evidence of this. I may attempt an artificial hybrid, as C. albus should ??? bloom for us too, this spring.
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Calochortus albus v. rubellus
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I'm in Ukiah, Mendocino County of California, searching for calochortus.
I have been curious about the bulbiferous species mentioned in the book by Mary
Gerritsen and Ron Parsons. I have never seen even a photo of a bulbil, so started to
search the leaf axils of Calochortus vestae, which is supposed to be strongly bulbiferous. The leaves
were very narrow, and I couldn't see anything in the axils.
Then I found a sturdy plant that had six flower buds. A stem plus bud emerged from each
leaf axil. Hmm. I put my reading glasses on, and noticed a tiny white bump on a stem
down near the axil. Could that be it? The photos are below.
I wonder what happens next. Does the bump continue to expand? Does it fall off and
roll away after the flowers have died? Does the whole lot die down and produce a nice
clump next year?
I'm not going to spend three days driving down in the heat of summer to find out. (It
is forecast to be 34C in two days, and summer would be worse).
Can someone explain it all for me?
Diane
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Calochortus albus
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I'm in Ukiah, Mendocino County of California, searching for calochortus.
I have been curious about the bulbiferous species mentioned in the book by Mary
Gerritsen and Ron Parsons. I have never seen even a photo of a bulbil, so started to
search the leaf axils of Calochortus vestae, which is supposed to be strongly bulbiferous. The leaves
were very narrow, and I couldn't see anything in the axils.
Then I found a sturdy plant that had six flower buds. A stem plus bud emerged from each
leaf axil. Hmm. I put my reading glasses on, and noticed a tiny white bump on a stem
down near the axil. Could that be it? The photos are below.
I wonder what happens next. Does the bump continue to expand? Does it fall off and
roll away after the flowers have died? Does the whole lot die down and produce a nice
clump next year?
I'm not going to spend three days driving down in the heat of summer to find out. (It
is forecast to be 34C in two days, and summer would be worse).
Can someone explain it all for me?
Diane
Diane,
Seems like you have things right. :)
Maybe this line drawing from jepsons eflora will help out.
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16771 (http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16771)
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Thanks Robert.
Line drawings are to be preferred to pretty photographs, though the best, and hardest
to find, are complete drawings of every part of a plant - roots, leaves, flowers, from the
seedling to the seed.
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Calochortus uniflorus, almost went unnoticed, the Salvia has outgrown its space!
cheers
fermi
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I planted Calochortus uniflorus in the garden years ago, where it gets eaten by slugs, dug under by moles, tromped on by dogs, and flopped on by neighboring plants. Yet every year it manages to put out those charming pink flowers. It's a survivor!
...Claire
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Calochortus splendens grown from NARGS 2006 Seedex; first flowered in 2010
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
Thanks for posting the Calochortus photographs.
I have a nice batch of Calochortus splendens bulbs I planted out a few weeks ago. They were grown from seed from my own collections. The bulbs looked large enough to bloom when I planted them out, so I am hoping for the best this spring. I have several accession of Calochortus splendens from that year from several sites.
Anyway, the photographs are nice. 8) Thank you again for sharing them.
If all goes well ??? ::) , I will have many Calochortus photographs to post this spring from our Sacramento garden. :)
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Hi Robert,
thanks - I look forward to seeing your pics soon!
Here are a couple more in our garden now:
1 & 2) Calochortus suberbus;
3) Calochortus luteus
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi
The Calochortus look great! 8)
The range of Calochortus superbus and luteus often overlap. The two species will freely hybridize with each other. A tremendous range of hybrids can be seen in the wild.
I am aware of an unusual population of C. suberbus with flushed lavender flowers. They are certainly not hybrids. I have seedlings coming along from this population. I am hoping that they breed true from seed. Unfortunately, the usual white flowering forms grow in the same area. Anyway, it will be fun to see how they turn out.
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Hi Rober,
actually that Calochortus luteus came up in a mix of Calochortus luteus x C. superbus which came originally as C. nuttallii!
There are still others yet to flower but I don't seem to get all of the species flowering each year,
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
If I follow you correctly, the original seed package was labeled Calochortus nuttallii. The plants that sprouted turned out to be a mix of C. luteus and C. superbus (perhaps hybrids). ???
Anyway they look great. 8) I enjoy all of the Mariposa type Calochortus. Have you been able to cultivate Calochortus nuttallii successfully?
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Hi Robert,
yes, you've got it right - the seed came labelled as Calochortus nuttallii but when they flowered they were a mix of C.luteus and hybrids between it and (presumably) C. superbus.
I got seed of it from Alplains last year but so far only a single seedling,
cheers
fermi
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This year the Calochortus that I got as C.clavatus, but is more likely to be a hybrid or plain Calocchortus luteus, is flowering well.
But why do these two flowers look different to each other? Just an age difference - one opened a day before the other?
cheers
fermi
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I took a chance and re-ordered Calochortus clavatus ssp clavatus from Hillview's last catalogue and the first bloom looks distinctly different to the ones above so I think it might be true! 8)
cheers
fermi
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Calochortus clavatus ssp recurvifolius from SRGC Seedex 2010.
Actually this does look a lot like the pic I posted above of the one I received under this name but I was told last year that it was more likely to be C. luteus!
Oh dear, if it is then the seed I donated to this year's Seedex is actually Calochortus clavatus ssp recurvifolius!
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
I have only a short time to have a look this a.m.
There looks like there is Calochortus clavatus in the last posting. Remember the Mariposa type Calochortus species can often easily hybridize with each other.
When I have more time, I will take a closer look. Hybrids can be extremely difficult to sort out, especially from photographs. Maybe the person that donated the seed can be contacted. They will know much more about the status of the donated seeds.
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Hi Fermi,
The last Calochortus does look like a Calochortus clavatus. I just can not tell from the photograph if the hairs are club shaped. :-\ Unless the donor specified that the flowers were control pollinated, well... it could be a hybrid.
Regardless of their true identity, they are all very beautiful. I would enjoy having them in my garden.
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Hi Robert,
the hairs do not appear club-shaped in this close up.
I guess it was hybridised in a home garden, but as you say, still worth growing
cheers
fermi
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I have been growing a number of bulbs from seed over recent years and noticed recently that 2 2nd year pots with new shoots at the pot edge are Calochortus. Does this mean they are "runners". None of my others have side edge shoots.
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Hi Brian,
Based on my experience with Calochortus, the shoots at the edge of the pot may or may not be "runners". It is extremely unlikely that the "runners" are from Calochortus bulbs. Personally, I would put the chances at 0%, however I do not claim to know everything. If the plants do turn out to be Calochortus with "runners", i.e. rhizomes, please photograph the plants. My guess is that the "runners" are plants from some other genus or are from bulblets that are formed in the leave axils of some Calochortus species.
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I wonder if the seeds may have been washed to the side of the pots with watering and are so giving the appearance of having "run" to the side of the pot? Not the case if you noticed the seedlings "correctly" aligned in the pot in their first year, of course. Not unknown for "heavy" watering or rain to wash seeds aside though.
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Checked the obvious way and knocked the soil off the top of one of the pots. Some of the bulbs are no longer upright and apparently reluctant to grow up regardless until they hit the sides. Several growths are snaking in all directions. I must have left them like it when I checked the dormant bulbs last summer.
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Hi Brian,
It sounds like all is well. :)
I guess it is just the method in which the bulbs are coping with the situation. 8)
Maybe you will get flower this season? or maybe they are still too young?
I would still like to see photographs of the plants when they are in bloom if this is at all possible. For me, it is always pleasant to visit another garden through photographs. For the most part, our native Calochortus species are easy to cultivate, however I learn a great deal from those that grow them in more challenging environments.