[pbs] Growing Nothoscordum from Seed
Antennaria at aol.com
Antennaria at aol.com
Sun Dec 10 16:02:52 EST 2006
I've grown Nothoscordum species over the last 15 years, and find that N.
montevidense does indeed flower in the fall AND in the spring. It's a great
little plant. I overwinter my potted Nothos on a windowsill at home and the
office, then in spring I put them outside for the summer, exposed to the weather.
They do flower in the spring, go dormant for the summer, then re-emerge in
Autumn with flower buds pushing through the soil. Indoors they grow more lax, but
they are in bloom right now, along with N. minarum and N. ostenii
The other yellow species (dialystemon, hirtellum, and felipponei) all sprout
at about the same time in the fall, but flower in the winter here.
I've sown my own seed from N. montevidense, at room temperature, and never
had a problem getting good germination within a couple weeks. To get seed on
the plants kept indoors, with the absence of pollinators, if I remember, I hand
pollinate the flowers and sometimes seed is set. I have spread these plants
around among members of the local rock garden chapter, and they have become a
mainstay favorite.
Mark McDonough
in Massachusetts, just below the New Hampshire border
USDA Zone 5
antennaria at aol.com
http://www.plantbuzz.com
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