Lewisia seedling success

[Paul T]

The pics I have already shown were from seed from David N as well.  Our Lewisia seed dealer if would seem.    The later ones did not though, and they did indeed include seed from the yellow tweedyi.  Interesting that they seed true.

Now, if I have had cotyledon thriving in the covered shadehouse (by covered I mean plastic covered, open at the end but I can control watering, lots of heat and sun, not really that shady) for the last 18 months can I assume that the conditions will suit the tweedyi?  I am well aware that I need to divide them all out into individual pots and have so far done so to the older cotyledons but haven't done the plants in the pics as yet.  I have noticed that one of them is going very yellow at the moment, so I assume it is going into summer dormancy then?  Should I be watering over summer, and if so is it just to keep them  from completely drying out?  Obviously those that are evergreen will need to be watered over summer, but I am unsure about the deciduous ones.  I have cotyledons coming into bud at the moment as well.

Thanks very much for the lesson in what does what, Lesley.  Very valuable information to me as I am still very much learning on the Lewisia front.  Any further advice will be gratefully anticipated. 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Paul !
In my experience, both L. cotyledon and tweedyi don't like to be in the sun the whole day.  I find that here (where the sun is far more clement than it is in Aus), they thrive best on East- or West oriented slopes, away from the midday sun.  Out in the garden I never water them... but then again, out here they often suffer more from too much Summer rain than the opposite.
In my big pots (who are outside in Summer, but in the rain shade of a wall), I water sparingly - when dry, just once a week, and only at the rim of the pot.
I don't think any plant turning yellow is a good sign Paul  going dormant is (here) never that obvious... the leaves just seem to loose some vigour and become less firm in dry and warm periods - they regain their normal state if kept watered.
Under normal conditions cotyledon and tweedyi rosettes tend to have only the oldest leaves (at the bottom) turn yellow and brown, before they wither and dry up.

I never water the deciduous Lewi's when dormant during Summer.
Not until they need to get out of dormancy anyway, which is early Autumn for L. rediviva, when they get one or two waterings and after that, they are kept dry again for Winter.

Hope this helps !

[Paul T]

Thanks Luc.  The yellowing of the leaves I took as a sign that was a bit too hot, so I have moved it into more shade and lower down in the shelves where it is cooler.  I'll see what happens with it.  The cotyledons are doing well for me so far in the position they're in, coming into flower quite rapidly now on some of the seedlings.  They're in the same spot that their seed pot was in last year through summer, so I am figuring that individually potted they are going to be even happier.  They aren't in full sun, in that it is shade cloth woven into plastic, but it isn't heavy shadecloth, just quite light.  I will experiment with the various species and hope they do OK.  Thanks for the advice.

Now your little younger ones I have pics to post when I get them prepared.  I've had a few cotyledons and columbiana seed germinate from yours so far, but I think it was around July when I got them from you, so they may not have had enough winter to get many of them started this spring.  There's been a couple in a couple of pots of cotyledon, but no "mass germination" (if you know what I mean).  As these are younger I have kept them a bit more shaded than the older ones, as I did in spring for those last year, then moved them out into more light as I noticed them starting to etiolate at one point.  Once they got to the place I have them now they stopped etiolating, so I'm working on the assumption that for the cotyledon at least that is the right spot.  The deciduous species of course are going to be a whole 'nother learning curve!! 

Thanks again.

[Michael J Campbell]

Paul,here is my tuppence worth.

Do, not water any Lewisias when the temp goes over 25c, that spells disaster, they close down when it gets too hot and will rot if you water them then.
All Lewisias like some shade from the midday sun.

They can all take full sun from September until March here,  Northern hemisphere.(adjust accordingly for your area)

Rediviva can take full sun until they die back, then shade and keep dry until October when you can  report.Water after potting on and then leave until growth starts in spring when they need lots of water.

 Brachycalyx and Nevadensis same as Rediviva.

Rediviva,brachycalyx,and Nevadensis seed should be sown in October.

Cotyledon seed should sown in the spring and kept growing and potted on when required all summer,and always shaded,you should have flowers late summer.
Pygmaea and all that group,the same as cotyledon.
Tweedii should  be sown late winter and kept growing and shaded all summer and potted on without disturbing the roots, this one is unforgiving if you water it when the temperature in high.

[Paul T]

Michael,

Far more valuable than a tuppence!  Far more!!  Thank you kindly for the info.  Here at least the cotyledons last year were fine with watering all summer, and in the covered shadehouse the temps would get to 40 in summer on regular occasions, in fact probably 45'C or more on a hot day (bear in mind a hot day for us is approaching 40'C anyway).  I didn't know not to water them when hot and I didn't lose a single one.  I wonder if growing them from seed in my conditions has changed the temp requirements a bit?  We here at the moment in only latish spring are already forecast 33'C today and tomorrow, so no watering above 25'C would mean that they didn't get water for 6 months or more (literally).  I have buds forming now on cotyledons, with the first flowers just starting to open on one of them.  A friend of mine at our latest Horticultural Society spring show had a cotyledon in full flower on the show bench, and that was 3 weeks ago.  Obviously they behave a little differently here, so I'll have to experiment a bit.  At least I have plenty of cotyledon seedlings so losing a few while experimenting won't hurt.

It really makes me wonder how our hotter climate will be for them.  The covered shadehouse at least lets me totally control watering, even if it is a lot hotter than they would be otherwise.  This is going to be a fascinating learning experience.  Thank you again so much for your detailed info.... it gives me a great base to work from.  I have few enough seedlings of everything other than cotyledon that I will be adhering carefully to advice for them this year.  Thanks.

[Michael J Campbell]

Paul, here is a method I used to protect the neck of the plant, especially the species which are more vulnerable. I pot the seedlings into a mixture of coarse grit and sand in a 6cm pot. When the roots start to show through the bottom I then double pot them ( put the pot into another pot without removing the plant from it) into a 1ltr pot in a very gritty compost, about 60% grit and sand. leave top of the the 6cm pot about 2cm above the compost and only  water the outer pot. that way water never gets at the neck of the plant. When planting put in a raised bed I just plant the 6cm pot into the bed without without removing it,then cover it with some small stones. This has worked well for me.

[Maggi Young]

Great tips, Michael! 

[Lesley Cox]

You couldn't get better advice Paul than from Michael and Luc. I agree with all they've said, even for hotter SH conditions. The best plants my mother ever grew of L. cotyledon, were covered most of the year with a layer of chickweed which kept them cool and a little damp. She pulled it aside each spring, potted a few of the brilliant forms and took them to the local show. Then replanted them afterwards. And the best plants I've seen in NZ of L. tweedyi were grown in tall field tiles, in the shade of a quince tree. They were flourishing.

Luc is right too about the dying down seedlings not yellowing. Here is a pic of seedlings of L. rediviva, Ratko seed. They are going limp and collapsing, beginning to shrivel but there's no sign of yellowing. I'll pot these as soon as they show some new growth in late summer.

[Michael J Campbell]

Paul, I am only able to speak of my conditions, you would have a lot less humidity there than we have here, so any water would evaporate very quickly with you high temperatures. If you can keep the neck of the plant dry and water them from the bottom you may well get away with more water at the higher temperatures. It definitely does not work here though. If you think they are getting too dessicated cover them with wet newspapers at night instead of watering them. That should freshen them up until you get cooler weather. In their native habitat the best plants are always growing in a sheltered site,shaded from the sun for most if not all of the day.
 
Why don't you grow some of my hybrids? they are almost waterproof and grow outside here all winter  

[Lesley Cox]

I noticed on the TV weather forecast last night that SE Australia is already having temps in the 30s and summer hasn't started yet.

[Maggi Young]

Paul was telling me that 33 degrees was forcast for h his area today and tomorrow, Lesley.... it's a wonder he can grow half the stuff  he has in that garden of his in those temperatures!

[Lesley Cox]

I do agree Maggi. It's that combo of quite cold (down to -8) in winter and the hot, hot summer that makes it so different. I read somewhere that plant growth stops altogether once the temp raches 24C or it may have been 26. Above that, the leaves and roots start to cook, literally.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

In some things!!  If it happened for all plants they we would never have anything flower here during summer.  Summer growing plants must stay active in hotter weather, unless something else causes flowering without them being "active".  I know I read the same thing about 24'C recently, but I think that was in relation to a particular type of plant (which for the life of me I can't remember).

Michael,

Are your hybrids available here in Aus?  I have rarely ever seen Lewisias here, which is why I have started growing them from seed after I caught the Lewisia bug.  I recall some of your pics and the range of colours is amazing!!

Maggi,

33'C is warm for now, and we shouldn't really be having long spells of it at this time of year.  All this week is looking terrible from that point of view, just in time for our last spring Horticultural Society Show this weekend!    It will wreck a lot of flowers, and push so many of the roses well over their best.  The heat now doesn't bode well for our summer this year.

[Lesley Cox]

I think it was temperate plants Paul.

[Lori S.]

So, how many seasons would it take, normally, for L. nevadensis to go from seed to bloom?    

I lost the original L. nevadensis 'Rosea' I had in a trough after a few years, but it was clear the next spring that it had seeded itself.  However, I've still not seen flowers in, I dunno, maybe 3 years?  That seems to be getting on a bit, isn't it?  The attached photo is from last summer; the lewisia seedlings are to the left of the pulsatilla.

EDIT: Oops, disregard the species name on the photo.  (I've just gone back and corrected it in my photo records.)