Elongated bulbs

[Len Rhind]

Hi Ian,
The photos of the elongated bulbs that are pulling themselves deeper into the pots are really interesting. I have read many times that they will do this, but no one has ever said what makes them do it. I would be interested to read your opinion on what mechanism is at work here to make a very simple living structure somehow 'aware' that it needs to be at a certain depth and what benefit it would gain from being there. Also, do you think that bulbs in your collection would be acting differently than wild ones?
A lot to ask, I know, but I am curious.
Cheers,
Len.

[Susan Band]

I have noticed this year a lot of the Erythroniums in the open ground have been trying to pull themselves down more this year. As I replant most of my sales bulbs every year they are nearer the surface than normal garden bulbs would be. If you can remember back to when they were flowering in April it was really hot ,dry and windy (very hard remembering that now) as a result  the foliage suffered and couldn't feed they bulbs properly. The Erythroniums are smaller and longer this year than normal with some such as Erythronium revolutum really suffering. We are so used to a cool wet spring here Erythroniums are not usually a problem, now I can see why they are difficult to grow in hotter climates. One tip to get larger bulbs is to remove the flowers when they are past, you wont get them seeding about but it might make the difference in being able to keep the bulbs long term if you live somewhere hot.

[Maggi Young]

Hello, Len,
 Ian will reply in this week's Bulb Log!