Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: johnw on January 21, 2010, 04:15:29 AM
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I'm excited to have just received seeds of Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo'. I don't know much about its background other than it was named after a very distinguished forumist. Can anyone comment on its hardiness compared to 'Rolf Fiedler' and 'Wisley Blue'. The former doesn't appear to be terribly hardy here and rarely flowers outdoors, it is well behaved in pots. 'Wisley Blue' however seems much more winter hardy and flowers well. Is this the experience of forumists?
Christopher Lloyd somewhere mentions that 'Rolf Fiedler' was tender at Great Dixter so I am somewhat surprised that it even lasts a few years here.
johnw
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Hi John,
Ipheion uniflorum "Alberto Castillo" and its offspring by seed are very vigorous in our climate but we rarely go below -7oC.
"Rolf Fiedler" is now considered to be a separate species, I. peregrinans, which may account for the difference in hardiness.
cheers
fermi
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John, I have no good experiences with 'Rolf Fiedler',
they nearly disappeared in my open garden and does better in a pot now.
All the other Ipheion cultivars, including 'Alberto Castillo' do well here and
survived even the long and hard winter (-24°C) outside in my open garden.
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Alberto is hardy in NY and NJ...and it's beautiful. Pity you didn't get bulbs so you could enjoy it sooner...
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Dear all:
Yes, my namesake Ipheion is very hardy.
I would very much encourage people not to propagate it from seed as inferior kinds are already around from random crossing between 'Alberto Castillo' and the old smaller kinds. Since it is so prolific in well sized offsets, why to spoil the exisitng stock with halfbreed inferior plants?
'Rolf Fiedler' which is a native of a small area, and highly endangered, is not peregrinans, a species that has never been found so far. Bulbs, foliage, flowering time, and habit of 'Rolf Fiedler' and peregrinans do not match. 'Rolf Fiedler' is a lot less hardy than uniflorum and thrive under warmish conditions. 'Rolf Fiedler' is worth propagating from seed because of its rarity and by the possibility of obtaining lovely variants.
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Thank-you all. I have my fingers crossed that these seedlings will come reasonably true.
johnw
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Dear all:
Yes, my namesake Ipheion is very hardy.
I would very much encourage people not to propagate it from seed as inferior kinds are already around from random crossing between 'Alberto Castillo' and the old smaller kinds. Since it is so prolific in well sized offsets, why to spoil the exisitng stock with halfbreed inferior plants?
'Rolf Fiedler' which is a native of a small area, and highly endangered, is not peregrinans, a species that has never been found so far. Bulbs, foliage, flowering time, and habit of 'Rolf Fiedler' and peregrinans do not match. 'Rolf Fiedler' is a lot less hardy than uniflorum and thrive under warmish conditions. 'Rolf Fiedler' is worth propagating from seed because of its rarity and by the possibility of obtaining lovely variants.
Alberto - Unfortunately your namesake is not available in Canada. The seedlings I will have to assess and test for hardiness but they will always be ex AC and hope at least that they are selfed. Maybe one day the true one will make its way to nurseries here, it certainly is a great beauty.
johnw
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Hi John:
That is surprising. How about BC Botanic Gardens? It could be easy for them to import and quarantine it.
My comment refers to the fact that pictures of the common 'Album' are shown in websites and catalogues from a number of countries, and none were the original plant, which is typically stocky and large flowered. The flower has tepals that are broad and not tapering as in 'Album', 'Froyle Mill', or 'Wisley Blue'.
In all cases use gritty soils for Ipheion uniflorum, and for 'Rolf Fiedler'. Incidentally the current accepted name is Tristagma uniflorum as you all know well.
Best
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Hi John:
That is surprising. How about BC Botanic Gardens? It could be easy for them to import and quarantine it.
My comment refers to the fact that pictures of the common 'Album' are shown in websites and catalogues from a number of countries, and none were the original plant, which is typically stocky and large flowered. The flower has tepals that are broad and not tapering as in 'Album', 'Froyle Mill', or 'Wisley Blue'.
In all cases use gritty soils for Ipheion uniflorum, and for 'Rolf Fiedler'. Incidentally the current accepted name is Tristagma uniflorum as you all know well.
Best
A double thanks Alberto as a kind Canadian forumist has just offered to send me a true 'Alberto Castillo' in the spring.
By the way, I don't think Agriculture Canada has a quarantine programme for ornamentals, at least not that I am aware of.
johnw
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That is great news. It will make a small clump in one year.
In the wild it grows on hills and the buried portion of the neck measures 10-15 cm.
Best regards
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By the way, I don't think Agriculture Canada has a quarantine programme for ornamentals, at least not that I am aware of.
johnw
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I should explain more fully. We can import plants from most, but not all counties, of the USA. In all cases a phytosanitary certificate is required. Plants can have soil (exceptional) or soiless mixes but from some counties and states a near lethal drench may be necessary. Some restricted genera require a permit, some require CITES certicification. Some US counties and zones are prohibited from shipping due to the likes of SODS, nematodes and potatoes diseases etc. Small fruit and fruit trees are very problematic and mostly banned from importation to many of our provinces especially BC.
We can import from other countries but in all cases a permit must be obtained for each nursery and that nursery must first be cleared by our Agriculture Dept. No soil or soiless mixes are allowed so complete barerooting is mandatory. (Have you ever tried to bareroot a rhododendron? We did it in Scotland but it took hours.) A phyto for a long list of pest & diseases again must accompany the plants.
What we do not have are a government greenhouses where plants can be quarantined under strict scrutiny for a year or more - as in Australia or New Zealand - before the recipient can receive the plants. They probably exist for important new agricultural crop plants.
The costs are very high to import from countries other than the USA, aside from the tremendous amount of work for nurserymen over yonder.
johnw
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Your conditions for importing are beginning to sound much like ours John. Soon no-one will be able to import anything from anywhere and we can all live in our isolated little boxes seeing nothing new that the world has to offer. I'm listening to Mendlessohn's Octet at the moment. Just as well he and his like were around so long ago or we wouldn't be allowed all that music either probably >:(
Incidentally, while we do have facilities for quarantining (all private now, and at a considerable price) you might imagine how someone who doesn't know a Dionysia from a doormat might cope with caring for said Dionysia, in Auckland's heat and humidity, in a closed facility, for a period of 12 months. ???
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The seeds have been sown. Now I wonder if Ipheion Alberto Castillo seeds need straification. Or will it germinate immediately in moderate warmth under lights?
I noticed in an old Bulb Log that the BD says he collected seed of AC but never had it sprout and then had self-sown seedlings under his clump.
johnw
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I've had the seed germinate freely when I sowed it fresh from my own bulbs, but after AC's comments about it in another thread somewhere, I tossed them out at 1 yr old.
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The AC seed did germinate in the pot later, but since it was happy to sow in the garden we just leave it at that. We keep some pots in the greenhouse to keep the stock pure.
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Something odd is that these bulbs receive year round rainfall. The seed is shed in late spring and remains in the ground where it receives rainfall and dew every night during the whole summer dormancy period. When nights become cooler in autumn, every seed germinates in an impressive "lawn". It is normal that people store seed from this part of the world in paper packets until sowing time, like we do with Mexican, Cape, Mediterranean, etc. species, but this way many embryos die off. This problem is very serious with South American tigridioids. Of course in cool/cold climates the embryos take longer to die.
What to do then? The best procedure is to sow upon receipt and place the pot with seed in some shady corner where they receive a good soaking every fortnight or so, broadly speaking. In any case, the seed must nor dessicate.
Ipheion uniflorum and others' do not require stratification. The seed respond readily to cool nights as said above. Germination takes place in autumn.
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Thanks yet again Alberto. To the cold room they shall go, about 5-7c at this time of year and prayers that they haven't dried too much since harvesting.
johnw
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Hi all,
In Lyon ( FRANCE ) where I live despite the cold winter we've exprerienced Ipheion uniflorum have self seeded and my containers are now full of young seedlings. I'll let them grow and see what comes of it. But seeds collected later will be under the name Ipheion ssp.
Here are 2 pics of what I think are Ipheion "charlotte Bishop" ( pinkish flowers ) and Ipheion "Froyle mill". Ipheion " Alberto Castillo" is well distinguishable in that it develops a tough clump with very broad leaves.
J-P
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Just an update on the Alberto Castillo seedlings which were sown early last year. Two seeds sprouted almost immediately and have grown very fast under 24hours/day fluorescents at about 8-10c. They went dormant for just a couple of weeks and put up nine leaves approxiametely 12.5 cm long, very stout too. In the last few weeks two more seedlings have sprouted in the same pot. The older ones are now as big as the ones sent to me by a kind forumist. It will be interesting to compare them but they will be kept well apart. Sorry you threw out that pot Lesley!
johnw
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Heh, a flower buds has appeared on one of the seedlings! :D
johnw - +3c and rain after 1cm of snow.
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Keep us posted on the result of your seedlings John. I've had some seedlings that came from AC and they've ranged from white to very pale blue, but all very large like AC itself. They are carefully in a separate pot so that there is no contamination of the AC itself. 8)
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Oh well, I can sow heaps more from this last flowering. Which reminds me that I'll send this week Davey, if you're here now, of the Polyxena.
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Cheers Lesley ;D ;D