APRIL 27, 2006 THE CALIFORNIA GARDEN Alluring but elusive charms

Rare and exquisite, calochortus has a reputation for being fussy. Coaxing the wildly varied shapes and colors to life may be a challenge, but the blooms reward the effort with dazzle.

By Lili Singer Despite such obvious charms, the The rest are short plants with droop- Special to The Times bulbs have a reputation for being ing, three-sectioned seedpods. Globe hard to find and difficult to grow. The lilies and fairy lanterns have round, first problem is eased by the swelling nodding flowers; the petals overlap Calochortus may spend most of its interest in California native plants, to form a hollow sphere. Star tulips life hidden underground, but when including bulbs such as calochortus. grow low and have cupped blossoms. it finally emerges to stretch in the This fall nurseries, public gardens Cat’s ears and pussy ears are the most spring sun, it is nothing short of and mailorder firms plan to offer an compact and have flowers lined with dazzling. Willowy stems rise to chal- enticing array of calochortus bulbs, tiny hairs. ice-shaped blooms in lavender, deep which aren’t true bulbs but rather un- red or perhaps yellow with flecks of derground stem bases called corms. Most types, particularly the tall mari- mahogany. Daintier varieties pop posas, need full sun. Others, includ- up like minuscule tulips, their little As for problem No. 2, Anderson of- ing globe lilies and fairy lanterns, cupped flowers encrusted with wispy fers: “Where they grow in nature will prefer light shade. Good drainage is hairs. suggest where to put them.” crucial for them all, but the real key to success is water — more precisely, Sure, daffodils and irises are lovely. All 60 species hail from western the lack of it in summer. Water dor- But in the world of bulbs, calochortus North America, and most are native mant bulbs in the hot months and is that rare, exquisite choice. to California . The plant belongs to they will rot. the lily family, though some botanists “Even the name is euphonious and place it in its own family, Calochor- Of course, every rule has excep- so beautiful,” says ecologist Ileene taceae. It’s fairly easy to distinguish tions. Anderson. “Cal-oh-COR-tuhs” trills the various types. The tallest ones, off her tongue. The flower’s common called tall mariposas, bear large, up- “Summer rest is not mandatory for names are equally enchanting: mari- right, chalice-shaped flowers. Their pink star tulip [ C. uniflorus] ,” says posa lily, globe tulip, fairy lantern. seedpods are long and slender. horticulturist M. Nevin Smith, author of the calochortus section in the book “Wild Lilies, Irises and Grasses.” disappear for years then return, rein- lectors. vigorated, for a jaw-dropping floral Menifee gardener Sheldon Lisker display. Anderson, a Los Angeles ecologist has found that C. luteus ‘Golden with the Tucson-based Center for Orb,’ a yellow mariposa lily cultivar Lisker’s patch of rose fairy lantern, Biological Diversity, has had the from the Netherlands , accepts oc- C. amoenus , is enjoying last month’s “dubious opportunity” to salvage casional summer water without turn- rain. “There must be 15 in bloom at calochortus bulbs from development ing to mush. Since 1994, Lisker has once,” he says. “They’re breathtak- sites. She has tried transplanting the planted 12 calochortus species and ing. And with just a leaf or two to get bulbs to similar environs, but results cultivars on his 10 acres in the low the motor going, the stems come up have been abysmal. rolling hills of southwest Riverside through the shrubs, then branch out County . and flower. So unusual.” As wild calochortus populations decline, however, new species are To improve drainage, Lisker amends “Calochortus” is derived from the still being discovered. C. tiburonen- his clayey soil with decomposed Greek for “beautiful grass,” referring sis was found on a Marin County granite from his hillside. (Where to the plant’s sparse foliage — on a hillside, just yards from civilization. drainage is hideous, berms and good year, no more than a few thin Smith describes it as “a little mouse- raised beds are alternatives.) blades. The flowers are more impres- eared type,” found on a headland sive, with colors that run the gamut: popular for hiking. He never feeds the plants, but he white, pink, orange, purple, brown. does mulch the soil surface with This year, the catalog for Telos Rare leaves from his garden. He waters As if splendid colors weren’t enough, Bulbs in Ferndale, Calif., lists one most plantings only if winter rains the inside of each “flower bowl” is type of unnamed cat’s ears — deep are scarce. embellished with blotches, lines and purple with hairy petals — found hairs — designs ostensibly meant to recently by Telos owner Diana Chap- “I also plant deeper than recom- attract pollinators. The best way to man in an undisclosed Northern mended — at least 6 inches down,” identify calochortus is to examine the California location. Lisker says. “The bulbs need protec- center of each flower bowl. tion from summer heat, even in the “It may be a new species,” she says. shade of a tree.” “Calochortus have special glands “The seeds are different.” — pads at the base of the petals Deep burial also guards the bulbs — that make crystalline sugary How fortunate for calochortus that from birds and rodents, especially stuff, not quite like nectar,” says some gardeners like “different” gophers and voles. Paul Wilson, associate professor of — and appreciate a challenge. No biology at Cal State Northridge. The doubt, many bulbs will be planted Come springtime, the results can be gland varies in size and shape among in dry gardens this fall, will flower spectacular. species, and the substance it creates generously in spring and will sleep attracts beetles, little bees and other many summers in ground where they “Once the bulbs ‘take,’ they come insects. feel most at home. back,” Lisker says. “But they may not come up every year. Last year, The plants were cultivated by native after the rains, they all came up.” tribes for food and dubbed mariposa (“butterfly”) by the Spanish for their Interrupted flowering is not unusual, animated splendor, but Smith writes horticulturist Smith says. Wild calo- that almost half of the Golden State’s chortus, after all, is a rain- and fire- native species are “rare, endangered, follower, well-suited to the whims threatened or in decline.” Major of nature. Some years, a bulb may stressors include developers and leaf out but not flower, or it may indiscriminate bulb and flower col-