September 2025 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Anemone pavonina in the garden and in a pot.
Raised from seed from SRGC Seedex with several descendants in a west facing bulb bed,

Now the tulips are infiltrating the anemone bed!
This was identified as Tulipa fergana group by one of the Tulip Experts on the Forum,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Tulipa agenensis ssp sharonensis hasn't multiplied as well as the others.
We grew this from seed sent from Israel by Forumist Miriam, back in the day before phytos!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Tulipa agenensis ssp sharonensis hasn't multiplied as well as the others.
We grew this from seed sent from Israel by Forumist Miriam, back in the day before phytos!
cheers
fermi

Those were the days!

Now the tulips are infiltrating the anemone bed!
This was identified as Tulipa fergana group by one of the Tulip Experts on the Forum,
cheers
fermi

Those T. fergana are doing really well!

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

Tulipa clusiana types do well in our summertime, hot, dry garden. 'Peppermint Stick' does especially well. Tulipa agenensis spp. sharonsis looks good. Is finding low winter chill tulips an issue in your climate?

[fermi de Sousa]

Those were the days!
 Those T. fergana are doing really well!

Yes, Maggi!
The tulips look even better with a bit of sun!
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Fermi,

Tulipa clusiana types do well in our summertime, hot, dry garden. 'Peppermint Stick' does especially well. Tulipa agenensis spp. sharonsis looks good. Is finding low winter chill tulips an issue in your climate?

Hi Robert,
at present our winter temperatures drop low enough that most tulips are fine.
Our big problem is that imported bulbs are treated with chemicals which seems to shorten their life! The commercial bulb operations here import most of their bulbs from overseas and they are treated with chemicals such as Methyl bromide. We've been finding that perfectly good looking bulbs produce a crop of flowers but the bulbs don't persist. Virtually buying annuals!
cheers
fermi

[Jeffnz]

Methyl bromide remains in use here for fumigation, main use is for export logs, also imported second hand vehicles.
While there are alternative fumigants we still use the chemical, it is used at ports and there has been debate for decades about safety especially for residential communities close to port areas where the chemical is used. I have used the chemical during my days as a research chemist, highly reactive and a dangerous chemical if not used under controlled conditions.
Not sure of the impact of use for bulb fumigation but I have had a off shore delivery of seeds impounded due to a larvae being found upon inspection at the border and I paid for fumigation, which was MB. Not a single seed germinated  and I was convinced that this was due to the fumigation procedure.
The sooner use of the chemical is banned as it is in many countries the better, but here and in AU its use continues.
 

[Robert]

Fermi,

Thanks for the information and the heads-up concerning imported bulbs.

In our part of Interior Northern California, lack of winter chilling hours can be an issue with some ornamental species as well as fruit trees. We grow Citrus, both Mexican and Guatemalan Avocados grow in our neighborhood. It is common to see Bougainvillea blooming in our neighborhood. It pretty mild here during the winter.

So far, I have observed that many Tulipa species and hybrids grow well in our garden. Some perform better after the winter has been "cold" (longer flowering stems, the new growth emerges strongly in the spring). A few have not done well and have died off. Some of my early hybrids have grown and performed well for many years, even after a mild winter. There is still a great deal for me to explore with the Genus Tulipa, however I do make slow and steady progress.

Thank you for the "heads-up" concerning the use of Methyl bromide on imported bulbs. I am not sure on the current status of Methyl bromide and its use on nursery stock is here in the U.S.A. However, back in the 1970's and 1980's I purchased both fruit trees and seeds treated with Methyl bromide. They all were dead on arrival. In the 1970's Methyl bromide was used to sterilize soil. It killed everything in the soil.

Recently, I purchased some bulbs at a local nursery. Some were imported, some were domestically produced. I will see how they grow, or don't grow, during the coming season. If I note any unusual results, I will let you know.

I do grow many of our bulbs from seed. Acquiring quality, true to type, genetically diverse seed that works in our growing system is becoming increasingly problematic. For us there is definitely a need to think creatively outside the box. Sharing pollen has worked in the past and may still be a viable partial solution. Now that I am well beyond retirement age, good contacts through the university system have dried up. I like challenges, so I just seek creative solutions. As long as I stick to my 5 and 10 year plans, my plant growing project continue to progress.

Hi Jeff,

Your comments, from a chemist, are interesting. When I was in my 20's I worked at a fruit trees nursery. I was head of propagation - seeds, rootstocks, budding and grafting, etc. Methyl bromide was used at the time. Somehow, I had enough sense to stay well away from the fields where fumigation was taking place. The growing fields were down the road a good distance. Good days just to be off work and stay home. Methyl bromide is nasty stuff.

[Jeffnz]

Hi Robert
Came across the following;
Methyl bromide fumigation is a process using the chemical methyl bromide (bromomethane) to control and kill quarantine pests on goods, primarily for international export and import. While effective as a biosecurity tool against invasive pests, methyl bromide is a toxic, flammable, ozone-depleting substance that has been subject to strict regulations under the Montreal Protocol. Modern fumigations in New Zealand now require advanced recapture technology to recover the gas and reduce emissions, with 99% required by 2035, and mandate community notification and record-keeping. 

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Jeff and Robert,
we can only hope MB gets banned soon but who knows what will replace it?!
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Some more tulips:
1&2) Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia'
3 & 4) Tulipa stapfii
5) Tulipa Little Beauty
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Tulipa 'White Emperor'
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

This is Serapias neglecta, Tonkins https://www.tonkinsbulbs.com.au/ who supplied it could not rule out that it's a hybrid - I'm just happy to have another serapias because it seems to be the only orchid genus I've had any success with,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Jeff,

I have a funny, but true, MB story to tell sometime in the future.

Hi Fermi,

I have been enjoying the Narcissus and Tulipa photographs. Thanks for sharing.

Here is one for you. Do you grow Acis tingitana? It is a fantastic January blooming species in our garden. See photograph below.

Today is a work day up at our El Dorado County farm. It is harvest season and cover crops need to be planted. Our Tells Peak trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains is next week. I am looking forward to this.

[Jeffnz]

Bring it on.
Cheers
Jeff