Ipheion performance

[johnw]

I'm excited to have just received seeds of Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo'.  I don't know much about its background other than it was named after a very distinguished forumist.  Can anyone comment on its hardiness compared to 'Rolf Fiedler' and 'Wisley Blue'.  The former doesn't appear to be terribly hardy here and rarely flowers outdoors, it is well behaved in pots.  'Wisley Blue' however seems much more winter hardy and flowers well.  Is this the experience of forumists?

Christopher Lloyd somewhere mentions that 'Rolf Fiedler' was tender at Great Dixter so I am somewhat surprised that it even lasts a few years here.

johnw

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi John,
Ipheion uniflorum "Alberto Castillo" and its offspring by seed are very vigorous in our climate but we rarely go below -7^oC.
"Rolf Fiedler" is now considered to be a separate species, I. peregrinans, which may account for the difference in hardiness.
cheers
fermi

[Thomas Huber]

John, I have no good experiences with 'Rolf Fiedler',
they nearly disappeared in my open garden and does better in a pot now.

All the other Ipheion cultivars, including 'Alberto Castillo' do well here and
survived even the long and hard winter (-24°C) outside in my open garden.

[Carlo]

Alberto is hardy in NY and NJ...and it's beautiful. Pity you didn't get bulbs so you could enjoy it sooner...

[Ezeiza]

Dear all:

            Yes, my namesake Ipheion is very hardy.

            I would very much encourage people not to propagate it from seed as inferior kinds are already around from random crossing between 'Alberto Castillo' and the old smaller kinds. Since it is so prolific in well sized offsets, why to spoil the exisitng  stock with halfbreed inferior plants?

            'Rolf Fiedler' which is a native of a small area, and highly endangered, is not peregrinans, a species that has never been found so far. Bulbs, foliage, flowering time, and habit of 'Rolf Fiedler' and peregrinans do not match. 'Rolf Fiedler' is a lot less hardy than uniflorum and thrive under warmish conditions. 'Rolf Fiedler' is worth propagating from seed because of its rarity and by the possibility of obtaining lovely variants.



           

[johnw]

Thank-you all.  I have my fingers crossed that these seedlings will come reasonably true.

johnw 

[johnw]

Dear all:
            Yes, my namesake Ipheion is very hardy.

            I would very much encourage people not to propagate it from seed as inferior kinds are already around from random crossing between 'Alberto Castillo' and the old smaller kinds. Since it is so prolific in well sized offsets, why to spoil the exisitng  stock with halfbreed inferior plants?

            'Rolf Fiedler' which is a native of a small area, and highly endangered, is not peregrinans, a species that has never been found so far. Bulbs, foliage, flowering time, and habit of 'Rolf Fiedler' and peregrinans do not match. 'Rolf Fiedler' is a lot less hardy than uniflorum and thrive under warmish conditions. 'Rolf Fiedler' is worth propagating from seed because of its rarity and by the possibility of obtaining lovely variants.
        

Alberto - Unfortunately your namesake is not available in Canada.  The seedlings I will have to assess and test for hardiness but they will always be ex AC and hope at least that they are selfed.  Maybe one day the true one will make its way to nurseries here, it certainly is a great beauty.

johnw

[Ezeiza]

Hi John:

           That is surprising. How about BC Botanic Gardens? It could be easy for them to import and quarantine it.

            My comment refers to the fact that pictures of the common 'Album' are shown in websites and catalogues from a number of countries, and none were the original plant, which is typically stocky and large flowered. The flower has tepals that are broad and not tapering as in 'Album', 'Froyle Mill', or 'Wisley Blue'.

             In all cases use gritty soils for Ipheion uniflorum, and for 'Rolf Fiedler'. Incidentally the current accepted name is Tristagma uniflorum as you all know well.


Best

[johnw]

Hi John:

           That is surprising. How about BC Botanic Gardens? It could be easy for them to import and quarantine it.

            My comment refers to the fact that pictures of the common 'Album' are shown in websites and catalogues from a number of countries, and none were the original plant, which is typically stocky and large flowered. The flower has tepals that are broad and not tapering as in 'Album', 'Froyle Mill', or 'Wisley Blue'.

             In all cases use gritty soils for Ipheion uniflorum, and for 'Rolf Fiedler'. Incidentally the current accepted name is Tristagma uniflorum as you all know well.


Best

A double thanks Alberto as a kind Canadian forumist has just offered to send me a true 'Alberto Castillo' in the spring.

By the way, I don't think Agriculture Canada has a quarantine programme for ornamentals, at least not that I am aware of. 

johnw

[Ezeiza]

That is great news. It will make a small clump in one year.

In the wild it grows on hills and the buried portion of the neck measures 10-15 cm.


Best regards

[johnw]

By the way, I don't think Agriculture Canada has a quarantine programme for ornamentals, at least not that I am aware of. 
johnw
[/quote]

I  should explain more fully.  We can import plants from most, but not all counties, of the USA. In all cases a phytosanitary certificate is required. Plants can have soil (exceptional) or soiless mixes but from some counties and states a near lethal drench may be necessary.  Some restricted genera require a permit, some require CITES certicification.  Some US counties and zones are prohibited from shipping due to the likes of SODS, nematodes and potatoes diseases etc.  Small fruit and fruit trees are very problematic and mostly banned from importation to many of our provinces especially BC.

We can import from other countries but in all cases a permit must be obtained for each nursery and that nursery must first be cleared by our Agriculture Dept.  No soil or soiless mixes are allowed so complete barerooting is mandatory. (Have you ever tried to bareroot a rhododendron? We did it in Scotland but it took hours.)  A phyto for a long list of pest & diseases again must accompany the plants. 

What we do not have are a government greenhouses where plants can be quarantined under strict scrutiny for a year or more -  as in Australia or New Zealand - before the recipient can receive the plants.  They probably exist for important new agricultural crop plants.

The costs are very high to import from countries other than the USA, aside from the tremendous amount of work for nurserymen over yonder.

johnw 

[Lesley Cox]

Your conditions for importing are beginning to sound much like ours John. Soon no-one will be able to import anything from anywhere and we can all live in our isolated little boxes seeing nothing new that the world has to offer. I'm listening to Mendlessohn's Octet at the moment. Just as well he and his like were around so long ago or we wouldn't be allowed all that music either probably

Incidentally, while we do have facilities for quarantining (all private now, and at a considerable price) you might imagine how someone who doesn't know a Dionysia from a doormat might cope with caring for said Dionysia, in Auckland's heat and humidity, in a closed facility, for a period of 12 months.

[johnw]

The seeds have been sown.  Now I wonder if Ipheion Alberto Castillo seeds need straification.  Or will it germinate immediately in moderate warmth under lights?

I noticed in an old Bulb Log that the BD says he collected seed of AC but never had it sprout and then had self-sown seedlings under his clump.

johnw

[Lesley Cox]

I've had the seed germinate freely when I sowed it fresh from my own bulbs, but after AC's comments about it in another thread somewhere, I tossed them out at 1 yr old.

[Maggi Young]

The AC seed did germinate in the pot later, but since it was happy to sow in the garden we just leave it at that. We keep some pots in the greenhouse to keep the stock pure.