Bulb Log 11 2009

[Maggi Young]

As the Bulb Despot enjoys himself in America.... happily pursuing Erythroniums up hill and down dale, I have been charged with loading this week's Log. No 11 is online now and  Fritillaria season is underway with this one... ....http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2009Mar181237400776BULB_LOG__11c.pdf



Here are some photos of Ian getting out to see some plant life near Portland last week, taken by Ed Alverson.



 At Fort Vancouver, showing Ian next to a native Oregon white oak tree that may have been a sapling at the time when David Douglas was walking the ground of Fort Vancouver....many moons ago!


This is at the Camassia Preserve, Ian is taking photos of the view of Mt. Hood



  Ian gets up close and personal with his very first American Erythronium..... this is also at Camassia, and is the very moment of Ian's first sighting of a USA Erythronium growing in the wild.
 only leaves, but who cares.... look at that happy little face!!

[Lesley Cox]

The BD is obviously having a wonderful time.

I'm interested to see the note about F. alburyana as mine is the pure pink form and while I haven't lost it (from seed in 2001 I think) it has dwindled from 3 bulbs to just one, this last replacing the larger, flowering bulb I had last year. The remaining one has grown a lot over the season and I think should be flowering size this year. I hope it doesn't then pack up on me. No seed of course though I've hand-pollinated each of the 3 times it's flowered. Also interested to see that Ian's came from Harold Esselmont who had the original collection. I did too, just 6 ricegrain size bulblets in 1966 but they were quite shrivelled when they arrived with me and didn't survive that and the need to turn their growth season around.

[Maggi Young]

Ian prepared this Log No. 11 before he went to America  .... look at the picture of Frit. chitralensis in the Log, that pic was taken on the 3rd March...... see how small the shoots are of F. sewerzowii nearby...
then  in the first 2  pic see how  they are  looking  ten days later 




and see how the F. sewerzowii is shooting up , taken just yesterday.....

[Maggi Young]

Here is the pic from the log for direct comparison...

[annew]

Crumbs!

[Lesley Cox]

If these are crumbs Anne, I'd be very happy if they fell off the table into my lap

[Ragged Robin]

I can't get enough of your Bulb logs!  You feel as if you're right there being shown around observing thee detail... then on the 4th of March log I realised that I was transported there in the shape of my ragged namesake!  Quite apart from the really interesting info about bulb growing I love the real-life photos; here I found new and old friends and next time I lift a pot I will definitely 'shoogle' it - what a onomatopoetic delight!