Bulb Log 2022

[Robert]

Hi Marc,

I am curious, do you have a specific interest in the Genus Aquilegia or do you just enjoy growing them in your garden?

[MarcR]

Hi Marc,

I am curious, do you have a specific interest in the Genus Aquilegia or do you just enjoy growing them in your garden?

Robert,

I have a specific interest in the family Ranunculaceae. I grow 17 species of Aquilegia, but I do not intentionally grow garden hybrids. Occasionally I get natural hybrids. Unless they are especially attractive, I treat them as weeds.

[Ian Y]

Ian, Robert, and Yann,

With all the talk of drought and extreme heat, I realize how fortunate I am to be in western Oregon! This year we had one of the wettest Springs on record; and so far we have had only 3 days above 90F [32.2 C]. Using drip irigation, I am watering twice a day. Gardenias, Alstroemerias, and Cupheas, which are water intensive, are thriving. Some of my Aquilegias and Lupines are still flowering sporadically.

We are all fortunate to some degree, no pun intended, Marc our top temperature was around 26C way hotter than we are used to up here while in the south it was 10 degrees or more hotter and for longer and some have had no rain. The effects of climate changes means some regions will be wetter but for three years in a row we have had prolonged dry springs ans summers.

[Robert]

Hi Marc,

Thank you for the information. The columbines in our garden cross with each other prolifically. Occasionally there will be a keeper, but most get weeded out.



Above is a chart of the average annual temperature at our Placerville property. Currently 2022 temperatures are running 2.23 F above average. If this holds through the autumn into the early winter this will make 2022 the second warmest year on record. If you do the math the rate of temperature increase is accelerating. This is an alarming trend.



This chart plots the number of days each year where the daily high temperatures reach 90 F or more. Currently we are at 64 days for 2022. We are on track to reach 90 or more days. This summer has been relatively cool compared to last year.

Here in California, warming temperatures and persistent drought have made gardening challenging. However, xenobiotics in the air, such as smoke from the persistent wildfires and other forms of air pollution, are causing the greatest harm to the plants in our garden. Declining water quality is another major issue. Many plant species such as Ericaceae species are sensitive to the increasing levels of xenobiotics, both organic and inorganic, and rising salinity in the irrigation water. I look at the challenges as an opportunity to innovate and develop new adaptable plant varieties and gardening techniques to cultivate resilience to our changing gardening environment.

[MarcR]

Robert,

I try to keep my Aquilegia species widely separated homogeneous clumps.
Bees and other pollinators are definitely not co-operative in this endeavor.

[Robert]

Hi Marc,

In the future, I look forward to learning more about the Ranunculaceae species you grow. I grow a number in our Sacramento garden, however I admit that I am not a collector - I just like an attractive garden with a few interesting plants mixed in with the more common species. The well grown rarities are like finding a treasure in the garden.

[Ian Y]

The scene changes in the Bulb Log with signs of autumn, indicator plants, resurrection plants are all featured.


https://www.srgc.net/documents/bulb%20logs/220824101034BULB%20LOG%203422.pdf

[Yann]

Ian while re-reading old logs it reminded me you use bone meal. Which dosage per liter of compost is the best working for you?

[Ian Y]

Ian while re-reading old logs it reminded me you use bone meal. Which dosage per liter of compost is the best working for you?

Yann, I don't measure it very accurately I put a total of four buckets of loam and grit into the mixer then add about a coffee cup of bone meal.
Hope this helps.k

[Ian Y]

Autumn Crocus, autumn fruits and the fascinating world of seeds are all topics - to read all click the link below to the Bulb Log.


https://www.srgc.net/documents/bulb%20logs/220831102340BULB%20LOG%203522.pdf

[Ian Y]

We welcome the heavy rain as does Cyclamen hederifolium as the first storm also hits the bulb houses.
Just click on the link to read all.


https://www.srgc.net/documents/bulb%20logs/220907100614BULB%20LOG%203622.pdf

[MarcR]

Hi Marc,

In the future, I look forward to learning more about the Ranunculaceae species you grow. I grow a number in our Sacramento garden, however I admit that I am not a collector - I just like an attractive garden with a few interesting plants mixed in with the more common species. The well grown rarities are like finding a treasure in the garden.

Robert,

Here is a list of genra and species in Ranunculaceae that I grow. it is, I think, quite extensive. With rare exceptions [especially in Hepatica] I tend to avoid garden hybrids.

Aconitum anthora
Aconitum bucovinense
Aconitum carmichaelii
Aconitum columbianum
Aconitum ferox
Aconitum henryi
Aconitum napellus
Aconitum plicatum
Actaea [Cimicifuga] elata
Actaea rubra,
Actaea simplex
Adonis aestivalis
Adonis flammea
Anemone berlandieri,
Anemone caroliniana
Anemonastrum canadense
Anemone coronaria
Anemone cylindrica
Anemone drummondii
Anemone hortensis
Anemone multifida
Anemone parviflora
Anemone tuberosa
Anemone virginiana
Anemonopsis macrophylla
Aquilegia alpina
Aquilegia atrata
Aquilegia barnebyi
Aquilegia brevistyla
Aquilegia buergeriana
Aquilegia canadensis
Aquilegia chrysantha
Aquilegia coerulea
Aquilegia ecalcarata
Aquilegia eximia
Aquilegia flabellata
Aquilegia fragrans
Aquilegia formosa
Aquilegia laramiensis
Aquilegia longissima
Aquilegia olympica
Aquilegia saximontana
Aquilegia sibirica
Aquilegia vulgaris
Aquilegia yabeana
Beesia calthifolia
Caltha palustris
Clematis cirrhosa
Consolida ajacis
Coptis occidentalis
Delphinium andersonii
Delphinium barbeyi
Delphinium californicum
Delphinium cardinale
Delphinium elatum
Delphinium grandiflorum
Delphinium gypsophilum
Delphinium leucophaeum
Delphinium nudicaule
Delphinium occidentale
Delphinium parishii
Delphinium parryi
Delphinium purpusii
Delphinium robustum
Delphinium scopulorum
Delphinium uliginosum
Enemion occidentale
Enemion hallii
Eranthis hyemalis
Glaucidium palmatum
Hepatica acutiloba
Hepatica americana
Hepatica japonica
Hepatica nobilis
Hepatica transsilvanica
Halerpestes cymbalaria
Helleborus niger
Hydrastis canadensis)
Isopyrum thalictroides
Knowltonia capensis
Krapfia weberbaueri

Laccopetalum giganteum
Myosurus apetalus
Myosurus cupulatus
Nigella arvensis
Nigella damascena
Nigella sativa
Paraquilegia microphylla
Pulsatilla alpina
Pulsatilla cernua
Pulsatilla grandis
Pulsatilla occidentalis
Ranunculus abortivus
Ranunculus aconitifolius
Ranunculus aestivalis
Ranunculus alismifolius
Ranunculus asiaticus
Ranunculus californicus
Ranunculus eschscholtzii
Ranunculus glaberrimus
Ranunculus gormanii
Ranunculus hydrocharoides
Ranunculus macranthus
Ranunculus pedatifidus
Ranunculus populago
Ranunculus septentrionalis,
Ranunculus uncinatus
Semiaquilegia adoxoides
Thalictrum alpinum
Thalictrum occidentale
Trollius altaicus
Trollius europaeus
Trollius laxus
Xanthorhiza simplicissima

[Robert]

Hi Marc

Yes, I would agree, the list of Ranunculaceae currently in your garden is extensive. From my perspective here in hot interior California, the list is also quite impressive. My understanding would be that these species grow well for you in your climatic/garden setting?

Years ago I grew Anemonopsis macrophylla, in my opinion a fine species well worth cultivation. Many species on your list I once grew but now no longer cultivate. With the current accelerating climatic changes taking place in our region, it is wise for me to drastically reevaluate the ornamental species I grow in our garden, and how to design resiliency into all aspects of our garden.
 
According to the latest forecast, we have one remaining day of extreme heat in our area. Thick, choking smoke and the associated xenobiotics from the Mosquito Fire is currently blanketing our area. Since the beginning of September, the average daily high temperature has been 107.88 F (42.16 C). The temperature peaked at 115.16 F (46.20 C) on 6 September. The vapor pressure deficit peaked at 60.775 g/m³ (converted to grams of water per meter³ for ease of understanding). A vapor pressure deficit at this level is something one would see on a hot afternoon in the Lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona in July! Yes, I have been there in July without AC. So many high temperature records have been broken in the past 10 days and by such large magnitudes it is almost hard to believe this is actually occurring. Climate scientists were forecasting that such events were still 20 to 30 years out – if one believes what the news media reports. Needless to say, for us a new gardening approach is needed. I will report on how our garden responded to the current heat wave and the effectiveness of our implemented cultural changes under a different thread in the near future. Now I need to go out into the thick, fog-like, choking smoke, and water plants before it reaches 100 F (37.78 C).

[Ian Y]

Seeking autumn flowers, autumn light, shoots of promise and flowering delights are a click away in this week's Bulb Log.


https://www.srgc.net/documents/bulb%20logs/220914105212BULB%20LOG%203722.pdf

[Ian Y]

This week's Bulb Log opens with a living sculpture moving on to autumn flowering Colchicum and Crocus.


https://www.srgc.net/documents/bulb%20logs/220921110753BULB%20LOG%203822.pdf