Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Bulbs General => Topic started by: Arda Takan on July 09, 2012, 08:10:20 PM
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Hello everyone,
I received one little Scilla madeirensis bulb today. I know it is a non-hard plant but we are in the middle of summer so I am not sure about what I am going to do with it. I bought it because I didn't want to miss the opportunity. Please help.
best regards
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plant it in sandy soil, soak it, allow to dry and wait for Automn. plant it shallow.
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Ah it is an Autumn flowering bulb! I tought it was summer flowering my ignorance :D. So why am I soaking it and letting it dry? What is the point?
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It is shallow growing, and from a maritime climate, you need to 'wash' the soil round the bulb so that it is protected. Like when you plant a tree -so that there is not too much air around the roots.
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Does it have any roots Arda?
I repotted some young ones of mine yesterday and dampened them a bit to stop the roots drying too much, but I don't expect any growth until autumn. The larger bulb clumps are still drying from the spring, although a contact of mine puts his outside in summer so unless they are very well sheltered they will get some water and not be as dry as mine.
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No it doesn't. It seems pretty dormant.
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Hi Arda
If it has no roots I would certainly encourage it with a little moisture now. As you can see from this Kew link http://www.kew.org/news/kew-blogs/alpine-rock-garden/giant-madeiran-squill.htm (http://www.kew.org/news/kew-blogs/alpine-rock-garden/giant-madeiran-squill.htm) mature bulbs tend to sit on the surface, but if it is a 1 to 2 year old seedling bulb, say 1-2cm diameter, I would pot it with just the neck showing. It will push itself up as it grows.
Note the Kew article says flowering mid November. Actual flowering time may be different for you, and I have seen them in flower from late September, early October here.
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Also I must say we live in a terrastial climate I don't know which zone it is. So can I grow it indoors since it is not hardy and I cannot go to gardenhouse frequently.
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You probably feel sorry about the bulb because of my ignorance about maritime bulbs, :D
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Madeira seems to be ~13-20C in winter and 17-24 in summer, so if you can give it adequate light it would seem to be OK as a house plant in a cool room. Mine goes down to 7C often in winter, with much lower light levels, but does not seem to mind too much. I can't be more helpfull than that.
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needs very good light and good drainage, hates getting frozen. Maritime climates are moderated by the sea temperature and tend not to get so dry as inland
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Then it will do fine as a house plant I guess? But how will it activate its autumn hormones? Moisture will sure make and effect but how will I simulate decreasing temp.
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put it outside untill the frost, and give it a little water when the temperature drops. Mine are on a windowsill and can tell when Automn is here anyway.
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So no watering until autumn?
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I would water it once, when planting it, then again in Automn
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Thank you very much
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Little guy has awaken and started to grow.
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That's good - I hope there's a nice flower in the bulb, Arda .
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:D ;) 8)
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it is really small one I am not sure if it will bloom
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Arda,
We have one bulb - given to us by a gardener in the botanic gardens in Madeira. We were admiring the flowers, the gardener was working nearby, there was a bulb on the surface of the ground and he gave it to us. No communication, my Portuguese is not good enough to say more than a "thank you" but he saw we were delighted to see it and shared it with us.
We grow it in a sandy/gritty compost in a cold greenhouse. It does not want to get frozen overwinter. It is coming into growth just at this moment.
Re watering: in Madeira it is an outdoor plant and gets torrential rain all the time. Drainage is the important thing, I think, and winter protection here in our colder winters.
Paddy
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what happens if I keep it always inside so it will never feel winter?
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Try it and you will find out, ;) the best way to learn.
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Mine survived +0ºC last winter
and just start regrowing
Roland
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Mine has been on a windowsill for a year and has been dormant for a month.
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so its leaves started to wither and I decreased watering.
what would your further suggestions be?
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Keep it cool until the summer heat has past, and give a very little water
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It still didn't go full dormant and i think it is time to awaken already. I am very confused :S
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Now it looks like this
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I watered mine last week for the first time for some months and can see a flower bud emerging from one bulb, while other shoots show no sign of growth. When I started later in the season they flowered but produce no seed because of lack of insects and winter damp, starting earlier I now have seed from last year.
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Not sure how I was going to deal with this so I was pleased to stumble on this thread. I have now watered my dormant bulb and have fingers crossed.
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Mine are growing new leaves too.
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Mine will flower soon I hope for the first time
Roland
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mine never gone dormant so what to do? wait till it goes dormant or just keep watering?
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start cautious watering Arda. Dont let it get hot.
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Okay Peter,
It started to cool down here. I think I should keep it outside the house to trigger autumn thingy
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Hello all.
After almost 4 years it is still growing and doing OK indoors. But still no flower.
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I had seed from the Exchange this year. Maybe one of you knows who donated it. 2 seedlings appeared a couple of days ago. It sound as if it is a bit difficult to grow successfully. I would be grateful for brief instructions.
Erle in Anglesey
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If you look at Madeira weather charts you will see they would have rain, that is growing conditions, from end of September to end of April, but a mild winter. With harsher winters I find it better to get them into flower before the cold weather really arrives and let the late bees pollinate them or I get few if any seed, and then keep them frost free over winter. The seed pods stay green on the stem all winter for me, and blacken and dry in late spring, with the leaves gone by May/June.
http://www.madeira-web.com/PagesUK/weather-uk.html (http://www.madeira-web.com/PagesUK/weather-uk.html)
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Thank you Brian, it sounds as if you grow yours outdoors. I was planning to keep mine in a pot in a cold greenhouse as up here I can't control the rain!
Erle
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"Frost free" is under glass in winter. 6-7C min for me. I usually leave them in the greenhouse until I water in late summer then outside as they come into flower; if they cooperate and flower before any early frosts. Outside I don't have enough shelter in summer to keep the rain off, and my unheated greenhouse has insufficient space. A clump can be quite large, and they clump readily after a few years. Splitting a clump is a knife job; they don't cooperate much.
See this photo from Kew.
https://twitter.com/kewgardens/status/795161342881787904
These probably have a common root plate.
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My Scilla madeirensis live in the greenhouse October to May, then I put them out on the patio for the summer. I don't water them during the summer, but don't worry if they get rained on as they do not go completely dormant (the greenhouse is largely given over to Nerine sarniensis cultivars which live inside all year & are kept dry over the summer)
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Now it looks like this
(http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=9327.0;attach=411250;image)
Progress..
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Scilla madeirensis
Early flowering.
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Look what I found on Facebook - Arda Takan is at last getting a flower on his Scilla madeirensis !
[attachimg=1]
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Wow Maggi,
Just came here to post this.
Thanks!
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Scilla madeirensis freshly repotted and shooting up inside a week. And some seedlings.
The related Scilla latifolia emerges with red leaves
Second picture taken 18 October shows some in flower
Third and fourth photos are the first bloom from seed i started 2 March 2014
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At long last
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
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Lucky to get a couple of sees on this plant.
Scilla madeirensis
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I have grown this for many years starting from four seeds. I keep it in a frost free greenhouse where it doesn't get much light but flowers well most years. This year a friend and neighbour bought one in flower from the Great Dixter plant fair. It was from Cotswold Garden Flowers. I cross pollinated them and the resulting fruit set perfectly (see pic). Perviously even though there are four seedlings (presumably siblings) fruit set always aborted. It has also crossed with Scilla latifolia though whether there is an advantage in this cross is unlikely, perhaps in the inflorescence branching of S. latifolia?