Erythronium 2019

[David Nicholson]

Flower heads from:-

Erythronium californicum



Erythronium 'Susannah'



Erythronium 'Joanna'

[Michael J Barrett]

Thanks to everyone,  but especially David, Herman, and Ian for the fabulous photos and info.
It is especially enjoyable for someone such as me,  in the Southern Hemisphere, where I about to plant some seed, mulch beds, and revisit my own flowers in anticipation of my next erythronium season.
Cheers
Michael

[David Nicholson]

Glad you enjoyed them Michael and I hope you have a good growing season.

[David Nicholson]

Erythronium seedlings from 2017 and 2018 sowings.

[stone]

nice

[Leena]

What are the most cold hardy species of Erythronium? The eastern ones most likely, but what about the American Erythronium? Is there some species which is hardier than others?

[Leena]

What has happened to my E.sibiricum? It came up last week, but no flower, only something looking like a seed pod??
The other bulb seems to have a flower coming up like it should.

[Herman Mylemans]

What has happened to my E.sibiricum? It came up last week, but no flower, only something looking like a seed pod??
The other bulb seems to have a flower coming up like it should.

Leena, your sibiricum has flowered underground! It happens more, they seems to need a quick change from cold to warm to get the flowers higher. 

[Yann]

David when i see your pots full of seedlings and Ian logs...well i say to myself i should sow a batch next autumn. Erythronium are so easy in the garden i must plant more and more of them.

[Ian Y]

What has happened to my E.sibiricum? It came up last week, but no flower, only something looking like a seed pod??
The other bulb seems to have a flower coming up like it should.

Leena, we have some that look exactly like this the petals have been eaten by something a slug, snail or possibly some kind of insects grub that lives underground and only comes out at night.
I know this because one of our white sibiricum had two flower stems one looked like yours while the other yet to open still had petals next day they were gone also.

[Diane Whitehead]

Cutworms, which are the larvae of large moths, are active in the spring.  They hide just under the soil surface during the day, and feed at night.

Some cut at ground level, but we also have a climbing cutworm, the caterpillar of the large yellow underwing moth. It becomes an orange or dark red pupa during early summer.

It is common in Europe.

[Leena]

Thank you Ian and Diane.

Leena, your sibiricum has flowered underground! It happens more, they seems to need a quick change from cold to warm to get the flowers higher.

This has been a strange spring, and especially nights have been very cold, days from 0-10C, and only a few days which you can call warm. I don't remember how it was last spring when these flowered normally.
It is also possible, that there are something eating the petals, but they must have eaten them in the ground because when this plant came up, the flower bud looked strange to begin with, and now when I think it didn't have petals even then like the other bulb does. There are different kinds of moths here, so it is quite possible that their larvae are somewhere in the ground and eat up whatever they come across  .

[David Nicholson]

The last of my Erythroniums to flower this season........ Erythronium 'Kinfauns Pink'

[Diane Whitehead]

Our oregonum are in full flower now, in the woods and along roadsides.

When I was young, we would never have seen any along the roads as they would have all been picked.  It was a spring ritual to go picking big bunches of what we called "Easter Lilies".  We were taught never to pick the leaves as that would prevent the plant from flowering next year.  No thought that we were preventing the formation of seeds, though.  Some people had bunches that needed both hands to hold.

My family picked only modest bunches.  We were interested in finding the plant with the most flowers on a stem.  I think our record was eight.

I don't know when it became unacceptable to pick wildflowers, or what triggered the change.

[Janis Ruksans]

This is the most beautiful form of E. howelii which I got from Art Guppy (USA).