Calochortus to Ixia – Small Rare Bulbs in Pots

Calochortus uniflorus, the last of the calochortus to bloom, is also the tallest in my collection, at 14 inches. These bulbs were planted in pots in September.

The extraordinary teal color of the South African native, Ixia viridiflora, is very difficult to capture on a camera. I tried a couple of different settings, and locations, but still, the faint teal color washes out. Still, these are amazing Ixia’s, and a bulb which had been on my wish list for at least ten years. I am so happy to have a pot in bloom, and to see them waving in the wind.

The troughs continue to bloom with alpine plants, on the walk that leads to the greenhouse. Every year I try to add another trough to this walk.

I love Pleione orchids, and although very hard to find in North America, as least the named varieties, I still keep a few, like this one Pleione ‘Irazu Mallard’. They bloom before the foliage, and I grow them in a loose orchid mix augmented with fresh sphagnum and beech leaves.

Rhododendron fragrans

Even as the more common Rhododendrons peak out of doors, there are a few tropical or tender forms which I need to keep on the protection of the hot house, such as this rather weak specimen of Rhododendron fragrans, which I ‘rescued’ from a friend. I have a new form of this species from Borneo, which has denser growth, but I have to admit that this old form is much more fragrant, but less floriferous. Usually it blooms in January, when one can truly appreciate a nice, scented tropical, but even in May, it holds its own.

Pandorea jasminoides, a vine which is growing in the greenhouse ( from Logee’s), I almost missed it in bloom, since the flowers are so high in the greenhouse, but joe pointed it out from the deck, and then I could see the flowers and the vine, where it has now wrapped itself around the supports that hold the furnace. This will need to be cut back, unfortunately, but I will wait until after flowering.