Hello friend!

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Rodney got me hooked on Alophia drummondii a long time ago.  But sadly it is not cold hardy here, and so I've only managed to bloom it a couple of times in the last decade or so.  Well now I've tried a new trick (following Rod's advice) that has worked quite well!  I overwintered them in pots in my basement where the temperature stays cool but never freezing.  The bulbs stayed dormant and I watered them sparingly for about 5 months.  Then when the weather warmed in spring I brought them upstairs & out of hibernation.

They were slow to break dormancy, taking weeks to show any signs of life.  But yesterday I was greeted with the first bloom of the season... and I was elated!  The blooms are ephemeral.  I have the pot on my front porch so I saw it first thing in the morning on my way to work.  I spent some time with it saying hello to my old friend.  :-)  By the time I got home it had already withered away.  With so many wildflowers, and therefore native insects, in my garden I'm sure somebody pollinated the Alophia.  I'll keep the seeds for myself this year rather than donating to SIGNA.  Now that I have an easy technique for Alophia I'm more encouraged and I want more.

You know what's strange?  I can grow Tigridias against my house, which are from a more southerly climate, but seemingly not Alophia.  Hmmmm.....

Dennis in Cincinnati  (where Iris ensata has finally stopped blooming.... and Iris tridentata should be starting up any day now (I hope!))