Bulbs and other wildflowers - Northern California 2014

[Robert]

The wind died down today and I was able to get some better photos of our first spring bulbs and annuals from the local serpentine barren.

The Platystemon and Lasthenia are both California native annuals. Their blooming season is just getting started. If we get a bit more rain the whole serpentine area will be gold and cream with their blossoms. In a good season they can bloom for several months. Also, I enjoy growing annuals in our garden, not the garden center type, but these and other California native annuals. It is very different.

You can see from the last photo that the Lewisia rediviva are budded and have maybe a week or so before the start blooming.

All this is the first wave, in a good season there will be Delphiniums, Mimulus, Clarkia, and others.

[Robert]

The Dichelostemma are the first to bloom in our area. They can be very weedy in the garden - beautiful in the wild.

The only other bulb that grows in this serpentine area is Calochortus superbus. It flowers much later when almost everything else is drying up for the season. There can be considerable variation in the flower color of this species and it will hybridize with other Calochortus species in the area. This population is very stable.

The Erythroniums will be blooming soon. I'm hoping to check on them very soon.

[Robert]

It gets busy on the farm - so I don't always have time to get off the place.  Some photos from past seasons.

It is Erythronium season at the lower elevations. The photograph was taken several years ago in the Rubicon River Canyon. The mountainside has millions. It is a site to see. 

Fritillaria recurva blooms a few weeks later. This photograph was taken in the Feather River canyon. I hope to have more on this - there are many beautiful plants in this area.

Springtime in the California Foothills. Near our farm.

Sunset on Table Mountain - Northern Sacramento Valley. One of our best spring wildflower sites. 

[Yann]

Dreams of California....nice pictures

[Robert]

Dreams of California....nice pictures

Yann,

Thanks for the compliment.

Maybe I'm dreaming too. I hope to get to Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley's twin sister, this spring. Awesome scenery and beautiful wildflowers - also, burned over by the Rim fire last summer/fall. I'm dreamin' that the damage is not too bad.

[Robert]

I finally checked on our low elevation population of Erythronium multiscapoideum. The timing is good as they have just started to bloom and the site is only 10 minutes away from the farm.

The habitat is extremely hot and dry during the summer. Very different from their habitat farther up the mountain.

At this low elevation the Erythroniums grow mostly in the shade of the chaparral shrubbery - Arctostaphylos viscida (Whiteleaf Manzanita), Adenostoma fasciculatum (Chamise) are the most common.

This time of year the Redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) look nice.

[Maggi Young]

Robert, if you are only ten minutes away from Erythroniums in nature, don't be surprised if you wake up one day and there's a skinny Scotsman on your doorstep - it'll be Ian Young!

[Robert]

Robert, if you are only ten minutes away from Erythroniums in nature, don't be surprised if you wake up one day and there's a skinny Scotsman on your doorstep - it'll be Ian Young!

Oh my! 

Thanks for the heads up. When do we send him home?  There is a lot to see here!

It looks like more rain for us this coming week, but maybe rain is something you may not want to here about.

And talking about folks that just show up - We received some good tips on were to find more of our local native Trilliums......  somebody showing up out of the blue.

[Robert]

Today was our last sunny day before another series of storms hit and more much needed rain. It was a good day to check on the local Erythroniums. I brought my GPS today - 365m elevation. I know of only one colony that grow at a lower elevation. Most grow at a higher elevation and in a very different habitat. Enjoy! 

And yes these are wild E. multiscapoideum - a 10 minute drive from our farm. and I drive slow!

I will have more notes on them in a day or two.

[Robert]

A few more notes on E. multiscapoideum before I move on.

In our area, most of the Erythronium bulbs grow very shallow - generally 3-5 cm deep. This is consistent in all the locations I am familiar with. I often find them growing on rocks or boulders with moss and sometimes very little soil. In the Deer Valley / Pine Hill area they grow in a gritty clay / gabbro based soil. Most of the plants grow in the shade of prominent chaparral plants and / or resprouting Interior Live Oak (Quercus wislizeni).

At this site I noticed rodent activity. The rodents do not seem to bother the bulbs. This is also true in our ornamental garden.

Most of he colonies in this area seem quite old. In some locations where the chaparral has been partly removed some time ago they are still growing, now with the aromatic Salvia sonimensis, a sun loving native perennial.

The bulbs bake all summer. There is little or no rainfall from the first of June to mid-October. Temperatures of 38-40c are common during the summer. In our ornamental garden they seem to do better without summer irrigation, however they will grow and bloom with irrigation if the soil drains well.

The last photo is of Pine Hill home to a few endemic plants. It is one of the few location where Calochortus luteus grows and is safe from development. Calochortus superbus also grows on Pine Hill and there are nice natural hybrids of the two species. I've been long winded and it is time to move on. 

[Robert]

It has been a good rainy week here in Northern California. Between the wet weather and the demands of livelihood I haven't had a chance to check on some of the places I've been wanting to visit. Nevertheless, I did get down the road to check on the serpentine barrens. The rains that started in February have brought things along well.

The Goldfields (Lasthenia californica), Cream Cups (Platystemon californicus) and California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are blooming well. This will last more or less as long as the spring rains persist.

It is difficult for me to photograph but there are thousands of Dichelostemma in bloom too. So many that it is difficult not to be stepping on them.

When checking on the Lewisia rediviva, they will be blooming any day now, I found one deep colored Dichelostemma. This is not very unusual but nice none the less.

The rains have even brought the Mimulus guttatus on. Generally they grow 15cm or more, this season they are blooming at 15-20mm.

[Maggi Young]

Robert, you bring a whole new meaning to Californian Gold Fields! 

Between the wet weather and the demands of livelihood

- I  love that phrase - you and your family are as keen as the rest of us, I guess, to  have a roof over your heads and be able to eat!

[Robert]

"Between the weather and the demands of livelihood..."

 - I  love that phrase - you and your family are as keen as the rest of us, I guess, to  have a roof over your heads and be able to eat!

Like John Muir I've always been prone to wandering in the mountains and then there is the passion for plants and the garden. In my mind it would be pleasant to have these things as livelihood.  Fortunately, I've enjoyed my activities on this planet and have done my best to bring good. 

[David Nicholson]

Robert, I very much enjoy looking at your pictures and reading your notes.

[Robert]

Robert, I very much enjoy looking at your pictures and reading your notes.

David,

Thank you for the good words!  I enjoy getting away from the farm and the work load. Visiting our native plants sharpens my skills, and it is even better when others can enjoy and/or benefit from this too. Your comments are appreciated!