[pbs] ?Rhodophiala bifida
Lee Poulsen
wpoulsen at pacbell.net
Fri Sep 7 19:03:38 EDT 2007
I don't know what the year round climate is in Argentina where they are
native to. But I grew up about 5 miles away from the wild fields where
Scott Ogden, author of Garden Bulbs for the
South and who now lives in the same area as well, says that the
triploid version first appeared from bulbs imported from Argentina and
abandoned back in the 1800s. I wish I knew the specific area where this
is because it would be quite the sight to see them all in full bloom.
Also, the city of Austin, Texas has almost but not quite overtaken that
whole area with developments.
Anyway, Austin gets about 32 inches of rain per year mostly spread out
throughout the year. There is a peak in May and another peak in
October, but no month averages less than about 2 inches. In practice
however, there can be a month or two or more with no rain followed by
periods of lots of rain, randomly through the year. It's relentlessly
hot (mid-90s F.) and fairly humid (50-70%) all summer long. Winters are
very similar to those in California, except for the occasional arctic
blast that can drop the nighttime temperatures into the teens
Fahrenheit for a night or three. This can happen once a winter or so.
(Which is why oranges and avocados can't be grown all over Texas like
they can in California. Unless you can find those obscure extremely
cold-resistant varieties...).
So I don't think Robert is wrong in watering his pot all year long,
even when dormant.
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a
On Sep 7, 2007, at 12:08 PM, robertwerra at pacific.net wrote:
> To all, Rightly or wrongly, I water my pot of Rhodophiala all year
> long. Bob Werra
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