Calochortus season
“The butterfly said to the sun, They can’t stop talking about my transformation. I can only do it once in my lifetime. If only they know they can do it at any time and in countless ways.”
The mariposas, cats ears, (fairy lanterns don’t count for this post) whatever you call them, they have to rank amongst the most beautiful of flower bulbs. They fill a great late spring/early summer bloom period and they are notably drought tolerant, to the point of perhaps almost being hydrophobic. Check out the gallery of a smattering of the species we grow and admire in nature.
A few tips on the cultivation of Calochortus, they want good drainage, don’t put them in a heavy mix, I have written at length about my standard bulb mix, and you can go back and peruse the old illahe rare bulbs blog for more on that. They want a summer dry dormancy for sure. I find that they are quick and easy from seed, the germination requirements are pretty basic, with the more southern growing species (think Southern California) needing very little chilling requirements, and often germinate as soon as they are sown, no matter the time of year. The more northern species appreciate a good cold chilling period. A 2” pot for starting 10-20 seeds can then be moved up as soon as they are dried down, I like to keep seedling bulbs growing as long as possible and I think this is a pretty key trick to success with a lot of bulbs and geophytes, get em as big as possible that first year. Fertilize the juveniles with a dilute kelp/fish based fertilizer once a week for robust plants. Mature plants can get a Cal/Mag balanced fertilizer on a pretty regular basis.
I have written more about change over the years, see illahe rare bulbs blog I do love that quote because it’s a reminder that change is always possible, hopefully for the better. It’s pretty easy to get lost in desperation these days with the constant threats of war, fascism, poverty, drought, extinction and general acrimony coming at us in all directions. Maybe a cultural shift will get us toward a better human condition, I’m at least hoping that change can come and for the better.