[pbs] two Zephyranthes notes
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Wed Jul 9 19:36:34 EDT 2008
Well, the rain today has brought up one of the rain lilies, that old
favorite Zephyranthes grandiflora. Freshly opened flowers of this species
are very beautiful: the color is hard to describe, but rose pink with a warm
flush of something else comes close. And there is something very appealing
about the texture of the tepals of newly opened flowers. Both this color and
the texture remind me of some raspberry sherbets. Fully mature flowers are
handsome, but by then the color has shifted to a cold and rather hard pink.
Another Zephyranthes note: several years ago I planted bulbs of Zephyranthes
atamasco in the protected frame. One of them bloomed the following year, but
for the last two years there has been no sign of any of them above ground.
Its very dry there, and since this protected frame is devoted to summer
dormant bulbs, I dont water things there much if at all. Earlier this year
while working with some of the other plants in the frame I accidentally
poked a finger into the Zephyranthes site and discovered that the bulbs are
still there. They are about the size of a big lemon seed or a little bigger
and without roots to speak of. But they are sound and seemingly healthy. I
dug out as many as I could find; they are now soaking. Ill plant them in a
pot for the remainder of this growing season, and in the late autumn find a
permanent place for them in the ground where they can get plenty of
moisture.
Jim McKenney
jimmckenney at jimmckenney.com
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7, where Agapanthus 'Storm Cloud' is matching the weather today.
My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com
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