Spring Bulbs - Pictures and Discussion - Part VIII

Dracunculus season. It smells like roadkill season...

The fly and beetle activity was incredible down inside of the spathe-pouch and I could not capture but the coming and going... Note the very large fly that has just landed.

The flower on this virused Drac was most interesting, but I am going to do it in tomorrow. i did have an opportunity to dissect teh flower to see how that sucker functions- the ostensible spadix is but a smelly, slimy facade that has no reproductive parts. Both male and female parts are tucked into the hidden portion of the spadix where it is enclosed. (pistils below stamen)
Anyhow, wnjoy it at a non-smellable distance. It was open for two and a half days.
Kenton

Some late tulips.

The last of the red tulips-petals hanging on for great color.

These guys are still going here.

Kenton - yes please! I'd love some oxalis rhizomes - are they zone 7? I'll try to find
them a nice toasty spot here.

Boojum - you missed that torrential rain & flooding? What a storm! Whew!

Tam

My spring bulbs final show. The large bell-wort is just starting behind my last daffodil to bloom. The mystery pinkish daffodil which I thought might be shalome is still in bloom. Remarkably the tulips, save one, all survived our rather severe storms last week and are still holding their own. The crabs bloomed just as the storms started so they took a beating. Patti

Patti- is that Tulipa 'Banja Luca?'

Tammy- you've got it! I think drainage and mulch will keep them alive.

Tammy,
We got rain for 7 straight days but no flooding on the western end of Massachusetts. I planted everything I could in the rain so I didn't have to water. It was a mudfest with me digging in the rain.

Kenton - I can do drainage! and mulch too. THANKS.
Tam

kenton, I again don't know if it is Banja Luca as I didn't list it in my notes. Here is a close up taken on May 5. Only one left as of today, but those fringed pinksthat you liked are still standing tall even with our recent storms. Are you a studio BFA student? Patti

Nail on the head, Patti. Wood Sculpture, I think. And 'Banja Luca' indeed. I miss mine already.

Kenton, thanks for the id. Do you want to try a couple more? The daffodil (two blossom on same stem) appeared this week in a clump of King Alfred that had long since gone by. And whats up with this unknown tulip that is sending up new guys ( the little ones have a bit of pale yellow which fades in the big guy to white) The white short iris is known to me as a Japanese roof iris, and I know the pale bluish white is a orris root iris Florentina. I am batting 1 for 4, not too good. Patti

Guess what I found today. Remember the pic of Chionodoxa seed pods I posted last month? Yep, the very same ones.
I was working in that perennial bed today and there they were, ripe. I did not hesitate to get the camera.
Kinda pretty, aren't they?
Andy P

Yeah - like little black pearls!

I feel I should mother them.....

About an hour after I took that pic we had a quick shower. I went out to look.
The seeds from the central pod were dislodged and the other pods had popped open.
I find Nature very interesting.
Andy P

My chionodoxa pods popped open this week, too!

I can't believe I still have some daffodils, especially after all the rain and wind we've had, but 'Pipit' is still going strong!

Me, too. What is that one kbaumle?

I know it's late, boojum.........LOL. It says in my post that it's 'Pipit.' ;-)

What one is yours?

Brilliant, Andy. They are better looking than my Scilla pods and seeds.

I'm afraid, Patti, that I'm not much help with your last four flowers! have you a different (side) picture of the last tulip?

Had an Arum italicum open today. They are disproportionately large for the leaves. The big monster Drac should be open tomorrow.

Narc yet? The Iris are about finished here. How sad, eh? LA Lilies are next, I think. A friend of mine has freesias blooming in her garden. She didn't know what they were when she planted them last fall. I'm jazzed and now planning on ordering some for fall planting!

Kenton

I guess I forgot to read! Bell Song here.

Do freesias grow in z5?

Freesia's are not hardy in z5. You can force them though. They need cool & strong sun.
They sure do smell nice!
Tam

I have a yellow freesia flowering now in my greenhouse, they just manage to scrape through the winter and produce some flowers but it never seems to kill them. I don't treat them very well, they do seem to need to grow to maturity after splitting. I left a pot dryish over the summer a few years ago and when I tipped it out they had multiplied while I ignored them. They say planted too deep and they don't flower, too shallow and they split into more bulbs. I tried the deeper thing with some and they did worse than the shallow ones, perhaps maturing...the shallow ones are only in an ordinary seed tray. Time to plant some in a dry spot outside maybe.

I planted some freesia about three months ago, inside. All I have is floppy ugly foliage. I have them outside now. I'll never do freesia again!

kbaumle, I got some pink from Easy to Grow Bulbs and turned out to be red. Wrong color for this particular bed. They IMMEDIATELY sent me pink ones, which are just showing some green now.

The red ones were pretty dissapointing, but maybe they are like many daylilies--they suffer from "first ugly bloom" syndrome. I guess I will ck how well the pink ones do. Not too impressed so far if I get a repeat performance, I won't plant any more next year.

My Mon Amour glads are so beautiful! Last year they suffered from "FUB syndrome", but this year they are awsome. While this is a tall variety, they aren't flipping over like last year. I associate glads with funerals, but this tricolor pastel pink/white/yellow SHOUTS spring and are very cheerful in a vase.

KB, those Daffs are lovely, nice color combination.

How do you think those Chionodoxa seed get dispersed? Rain, wind, birds?
How about ants.
We had a storm after I snapped that pic yesterday, actually 2 storms. Out of curiosity I checked on them today. Much to my surprise I saw a couple ants taking the pods inner flesh/fiber away. One piece still had a seed stuck to it and was also carried away. I ran for the camera this time, lol.
I had to search for the little critter but eventually found it and quickly snapped this. You can see the seed clinging to the tan flesh.
I lost track of it almost a yard away from the seed pod.
Andy P

Gem of a shot Andy! Nature in the raw.

Thanks Wallaby, I just started a thread with a 5 pic series in Photos.
I couldn't help myself, it all fits together so well.
Andy P

vossner, those glads are delicious!

Andy, wow! That's so cool. Nature at work...

OK, This might be the last pic posted on this 'Spring' thread.
Can anyone identify this little guy.
About 1 1/4 inch wide, dense grass like leaves, flowering now (after all other Spring bulbs).
It is a bulb that came in with some very old Hydrangeas, 20 years ago.
Andy P

could that be a rain lily - zephyranthes? That's what it looks like to me. There are quite a few different varities.

Andy,
Star of Bethlehem.
http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/starofbethlehem.html

Look out they spread! Here they are in my lily bed.

Boojum, I think that's it.
All parts poisonous, ehhh? It's in my veggie garden. (Well contained)

I was thinking of putting it under some Sweetgum trees with the Periwinkle that's already there.

Andy P

Nice combo!

I can't believe kbaumle still has daffs (as of last week, anyway!) Mine are done and I am sad about it.

And Andy, your ornithalolum nutans are so attractive underneath the lilies--I wonder how invasive they can be--I have read some horror stories, but maybe they are worth it for a E-Z to grow ground cover in a confined space?

I have my allium in full bloom this spring and it's been a lot of fun figuring out combinations for them---here's an allium and hardy geranium duet blooming this morning.

And my eremurus 'Spring Valley' are coming along nicely (I am so excited about these!).

and my love affair with allium continues...these 'globemasters' and multibulbosums are later bloomers and would be good combinations with the Eremurus (but I didn't plant them in the same border! silly me!)...

Those Eremurus are new to me! Be sure to post another pic when they are in full bloom.
Alliums are always nice.

Looks like this thread might have a bit more after all....

Andy P