Re: Drimia [Urginea] maritima

Hi Pamela,
I'm sure that Urginea must grow wild along the Costa Blanca - in fact I would imagine it is quite abundant in places. However, I think that you have the same problem that I have here in the Algarve - the range of plants especially true Med plants available in the garden centres is very very limited. It can be so frustrating.
Urginea is abundant near me in rocky dry grassland. Most of the bulbs are protruding from the soil many of them perhaps a half or more above ground. I wonder if this is important when growing them in the garden? 

Brian O.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Pamela Steele" <pamela.steele@re-taste.com> 
To: "Medit-Plants" <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>; <sean@gimcw.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2007 9:08 AM
Subject: RE: Drimia [Urginea] maritima
Wonderful plants! We are actually driving up to Bulb'Argence in France in 2 weeks to get these among other things as its impossible to find them here on 
the Costa Blanca.

Pamela
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
[o*@ucdavis.edu]On Behalf Of Sean A. O'Hara
Sent: 15 September 2007 02:31
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Drimia [Urginea] maritima


Hi folks -

I could not resist showing off my flowering Sea Onion bulbs - they were
recently dug out of a place they could not stay, and they're happily
blooming
away 'sans soil' waiting to be replanted!  I steadied one of them in an
empty
pot :
http://gimcw.org/temp/Drimia.maritima_sans_soil.jpg
Many of you know this as Urginea - apparently the botanists have been busy
again and moved it into Drimia. I've recently put up a page on the web site 
for this plant:
http://gimcw.org/plants/Drimia.maritima.cfm
My plants came from a fellow down in San Jose who'd been growing them for 40 years. They gradually became so numerous that he tired of them and somehow 
tracked down our Branch of the Mediterranean Garden Society (he knew then
under the name of 'Mediterranean Onions') and offered them to anyone
interested. A number of our members descended on him and 'cleaned him out', 
much to his delight.
They are offered in the CA trade, and they are quite common in their native lands (often growing in vacant lots, etc.). I really enjoy the 'miraculous' 
appearance of the flower spike from an otherwise dormant bulb (like
Amaryllis
belladonna), and their impressive size (the bulb pictured is as large as a
child's head).

But then my taste run a little towards the weird   ;-)

Seán A. O'Hara
sean(at)gimcw.org
www.hortulusaptus.com
(ask about mediterranean climate gardening forum)
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index