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Oct 18, 2012 10:44 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Julia
Shepherdstown WV (Zone 6b)
Clematis I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Daylilies Hummingbirder Irises Region: New York
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
I haven't found too much information on this bulb. If anyone has some information from your personal experience growing them, I'd appreciate reading about them. Most of what I've seen is from sellers versus actual gardeners who have grown this.
Hardiness, increase rate, does the foliage die back after blooming, do and don'ts when growing these.

Many thanks for any information you can provide.
Julia
Shepherdstown WV
Zone 6b
Avatar for bbrookrd
Oct 18, 2012 6:15 PM CST
Name: Patti
Nantucket or Vt
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
I have had moderate success with them. They come as a big spidery looking bulb and if they arrive dry or brittle, they didn't work for me. Take care in planting them. I planted them in several spots and the ones that were successful and have returned have been in a bed that gets full sun on the east side of our home in sandy soil that drains quickly. They didn't come back in a bed that didn't have as good of drainage. I have tried a couple of cultivars. Orange Marmalade and Cleopatra have both bloomed and returned. Fingers crossed for next year. Shot one taken on June 7 2012, shot 2 taken on May 28, 2012. Patti
Thumb of 2012-10-19/bbrookrd/4090eb
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Oct 19, 2012 6:20 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Julia
Shepherdstown WV (Zone 6b)
Clematis I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Daylilies Hummingbirder Irises Region: New York
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
Thank you Patti for the info and the tip about the bulb/roots. From your post it would seem the oranges are more reliable to return.
Were the ones you ordered dutch bulb import or the US variety? I just read something on Brent and Becky's which made me ask the
question.
Julia
Shepherdstown WV
Zone 6b
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Oct 20, 2012 10:09 PM CST
Name: Dianne
Sacramento, CA, zone 9b
Bulbs Region: California Cut Flowers Peonies Plant and/or Seed Trader Vegetable Grower
I bought a bag from Costco last year - I think there was 6 roots. I gave 3 away, and planted 3. I did not have any luck - none grew. If the rest of you have success with it, then I'll try again since I do really like the plant. I don't mind planting things twice, but I give up after that. I
Avatar for bbrookrd
Oct 21, 2012 4:02 PM CST
Name: Patti
Nantucket or Vt
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
soilsandup , Unless the rootstock is fresh which I kind of doubt the ones from Costco are, I doubt that they would make it, but maybe you would have some luck.

JuliaNY here is where I got the ones I had the best luck with so far.
sale 3 EREMURUS RUITER HYB CLEOPATRA 1x3 (3) for $5.25 Van Engelen
sale 5 Eremurus 'Orange Marmelade' $20.00 sale (5) for 10.00 large flowered and tall; dark orange and real 'traffic stopper'! 4'-5'. Brent and Becky
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Oct 21, 2012 7:09 PM CST
Name: Brian
Ontario Canada (Zone 5b)
I've had a few for a number of years now and they return year after year if given the conditions they require. I have one in a raised cactus bed that has grown like crazy and 5 in the front and another in a mound at the side of my yard. They need to be plump and healthy looking for the best success, shrivelled dry roots won't grow in my experiences with them. They need at least 6 hours of sun and fast draining soil especially in the winter is a must. Don't plant them too deep either, the top of the central disc needs to be at or just below the surface of the soil. Give their roots some space to radiate out from the center. The foliage does die back after blooming and I remove the seed pods and cut the stem back a bit so they don't waste energy or stick out like a sore thumb as they die back. The first picture is from a couple years ago of the plant in the cactus bed and the next picture is of the cactus bed when I first built and planted it. Good luck!

Thumb of 2012-10-22/bearsearch/a5d896

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Oct 21, 2012 7:42 PM CST
Name: Caroline Scott
Calgary (Zone 4a)
Bulbs Winter Sowing Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Peonies Lilies Charter ATP Member
Region: Canadian Enjoys or suffers cold winters Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
Soak the roots in dilute soluble fertilizer overnight.
They do better with good drainage.
I had one come back three years,but it did not flower this past season.
I have a white one which gave flowers this past season. (The first summer).
Do not plant too deep---the crown should be only 2 or 3 inches below soil surface.
They do not like winter wet, so plant on a slope or where you know the water does not sit.

The dried up roots will not grow.
Find nice plump clusters which have a visible, cream, growth at the crown.

I am pushing the zones on this plant in zone 3.
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Oct 22, 2012 12:38 AM CST
Name: Dianne
Sacramento, CA, zone 9b
Bulbs Region: California Cut Flowers Peonies Plant and/or Seed Trader Vegetable Grower
I kind of remembered that the Costco roots looked ok and had a good growing point on it. But, since I don't have a point of reference for it since I have never seen any other ones before, they may not be as fresh. I will try again with a different source. Glad they do well for you, Caroline and Brian.
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Oct 22, 2012 10:11 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Julia
Shepherdstown WV (Zone 6b)
Clematis I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Daylilies Hummingbirder Irises Region: New York
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
All the comments are appreciated and seems like success is limited in growing these.
I did check out Brent and Becky's and also Van Engelen as suggested to see what they had and pricing.
Julia
Shepherdstown WV
Zone 6b
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Nov 6, 2012 8:56 PM CST
Name: Susan B
East Tennessee (Zone 6b)
Charter ATP Member
If I remember right the best time to buy them is in the fall, you'll get plump bulbs that way. The ones left over until spring tend to be dry.
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Nov 7, 2012 5:04 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Julia
Shepherdstown WV (Zone 6b)
Clematis I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Daylilies Hummingbirder Irises Region: New York
Seed Starter Vegetable Grower
I would definitely like to get some but had to stop all planting and since I couldn't count on the sellers to ship right away, I backed off. But I found all the information helpful for next year. I just love how they have the long spikes of flowers.
Julia
Shepherdstown WV
Zone 6b
Avatar for growitall
Nov 9, 2012 8:51 PM CST
Name: Lori
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Plant Identifier
CarolineScott said:Soak the roots in dilute soluble fertilizer overnight.
They do better with good drainage.
I had one come back three years,but it did not flower this past season.
I have a white one which gave flowers this past season. (The first summer).
Do not plant too deep---the crown should be only 2 or 3 inches below soil surface.
They do not like winter wet, so plant on a slope or where you know the water does not sit.

The dried up roots will not grow.
Find nice plump clusters which have a visible, cream, growth at the crown.

I am pushing the zones on this plant in zone 3.

I don't really think we're pushing the zone with growing Eremurus here, Caroline - I just think the zone info that's usually quoted is hooey! Big Grin
Rix and Phillips in the book "Bulbs" show some great photos of Eremurus in the wild... I suspect the harsh environments to which they are adapted give the secret (if there is one) to the conditions they need - cold is not a problem but they definitely need drainage, as you noted.

I agree with all you've said, other than that I've never bothered soaking the roots. (Also, I've never found roots for sale that were actually breaking dormancy. As long as the roots were clearly not dried out, I figured that was as good as it gets these days. The first ones I bought were potted, so no guesswork there! Unfortunately, it seems the supply of interesting potted perennials has kind of dried up around here since then.
I've had E. stenophyllus growing from a planting that predates 2004 - unfortunately, the area has become shaded and I do find it problematic to move these plants due to the rather brittle roots, so this old plant doesn't bloom any more, unfortunately.
As was mentioned, these plants go dormant after blooming - foliage even starts to die off during blooming - so don't be alarmed.

I kicked myself when I broke off the emerging shoot of E. himalaicus while weeding a couple of year's ago. I saw no sign of it that year but it did emerge the following year and bloomed nicely.

The packaged roots seem to be coming more commonly available around here so hopefully more people will grow them - I think our conditions (dry, good drainage) seem to suit them pretty well!
Last edited by growitall Nov 9, 2012 9:06 PM Icon for preview
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Nov 10, 2012 6:29 AM CST
Name: Caroline Scott
Calgary (Zone 4a)
Bulbs Winter Sowing Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Peonies Lilies Charter ATP Member
Region: Canadian Enjoys or suffers cold winters Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
Thanks for the encouraging comments.
I wonder about the zone info, and I think that often some plants are not rated for zone 3
because they have not been grown here.

Some years ago I had planted an Eremurus and by spring forgot that I had.
In the spring I found this odd looking plant and tore it out and placed it with the weed compost.
A few weeks later I found the same plant at the garden center---priced at $89.---
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Nov 12, 2012 1:40 AM CST
Name: Calin
Weston-super-mare UK (Zone 7b)
Bulbs Lilies Plant and/or Seed Trader
Back in 2009 I fell in love with these, and bought 2 roots I think.
Check what they looked like.
I had no idea dried roots = dead plant
It looked like ONE still had some life in them.

I remember I planted them, kinda shallow, I could still see the "little things" but the never showed any green.
I think I also made the mistake of frequent watering!!!

Here's what they looked like
http://entertainment.webshots....
http://entertainment.webshots....

Since then, I never bought roots but tried seeds... had very few seeds sprouting but I transplanted when really small and they died Sad
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Apr 4, 2015 6:57 AM CST
Surprisingly GREEN Pittsburgh (Zone 6a)
Rabbit Keeper Bee Lover Cat Lover Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Butterflies Hummingbirder
Dog Lover Birds Plant and/or Seed Trader Bulbs Echinacea Irises
I hope that by waking up this thread I can find someone with GOOD ADVICE for Mamajack over at Cubits.

She's hosted a co-op including eremurus, it will arrive to her just after breaking dormancy, and she need to WAIT a couple of weeks before shipping to someone who will be on vacation......

Somebody come over and discuss!!!
http://cubits.org/notfortheser...
SHOW ME YOUR CRITTERS! I have a critter page over at Cubits. http://cubits.org/crittergarde...
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Apr 22, 2015 12:18 AM CST
Name: Caroline Scott
Calgary (Zone 4a)
Bulbs Winter Sowing Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Peonies Lilies Charter ATP Member
Region: Canadian Enjoys or suffers cold winters Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
I have three coming up now, including the white one that flowered last year.
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Apr 22, 2015 7:13 AM CST
Surprisingly GREEN Pittsburgh (Zone 6a)
Rabbit Keeper Bee Lover Cat Lover Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Butterflies Hummingbirder
Dog Lover Birds Plant and/or Seed Trader Bulbs Echinacea Irises
I have my first 3 ever in the ground, but not showing yet.
SHOW ME YOUR CRITTERS! I have a critter page over at Cubits. http://cubits.org/crittergarde...
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Apr 22, 2015 7:41 AM CST
Name: Caroline Scott
Calgary (Zone 4a)
Bulbs Winter Sowing Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Peonies Lilies Charter ATP Member
Region: Canadian Enjoys or suffers cold winters Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
Mine are in a full sun position which is close to the house.
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Apr 22, 2015 7:57 AM CST
central Illinois
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Plant Identifier Garden Ideas: Level 2
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Photo Contest Winner: 2017
Way to go Caroline. I grew some years ago and must admit, they were amongst the most impressive plants I've ever grown; they were Cleopatra and the giant white one.
Nothing that's been done can ever be changed.
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Apr 22, 2015 2:08 PM CST
Name: Caroline Scott
Calgary (Zone 4a)
Bulbs Winter Sowing Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Peonies Lilies Charter ATP Member
Region: Canadian Enjoys or suffers cold winters Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
And the bees love the flowers.

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