Dichelostemma volubile
| Dichelostemma volubile | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 12' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Dichelostemma volubile (common name: snake lily)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a free-draining compost in a cold frame[1]. Sow stored seed in spring in a cold frame[2]. Seedlings are prone to damping off and so should be kept well ventilated[2]. Germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[2]. If the seed is sown thinly enough, it can be grown on for its first year without transplanting and then the dormant bulbs can be planted 2/3 to a pot. Otherwise prick out the seedlings when large enough to handle, planting them 2/3 to a pot. Grow on the plants in a greenhouse for at least two years before planting out in late spring after the last expected frosts.
Division in autumn of offsets that have reached flowering size[3]. Dig up the clumps of bulbs and replant the larger ones into their permanent positions. It is best to pot up the smaller ones and grow them on for a year in a cold frame before planting them out.
Cultivation: Prefers a rich sandy loam and a well-drained soil[3]. Succeeds in most soils and situations so long as the ground is well-drained[4]. Likes plenty of moisture whilst in growth, followed by a warm dry period in late summer to autumn[1].
Plants are not very hardy and may require protection in severe winters[3]. This can be provided by applying a good organic mulch such as dry bracken in late autumn and removing it in the spring. Alternatively, you can cover the ground with a cloche or similar device. Plants are susceptible to rot in wet winters.
Plants are often found growing with Rhus toxicodendron in the wild[5].
A very ornamental plant, it can flower in 2 years from seed.
Range: South-western N. America.
Habitat: Clay or granite, bushy or open slopes below 750 metres in California, where it clambers over shrubs[6].
Edibility: Corm - raw or cooked[7][8][9].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Brodiaea volubilis. (Moriere.)Baker. D. californicum. Stropholirion californicum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.