Cold Climate Gardening

The first time Colchicum ‘Lilac Wonder’ bloomed for me, I wondered if perhaps I didn’t plant it deep enough, it flopped so. I think I even made a note to dig it up when dormant and reset it deeper. It’s just as well I didn’t, because, as Bowles describes, “‘Lilac Wonder’ has a very long and slender perianth-tube and the flowers generally fall over on their second day, but open widely while lying on the ground, and last for several days if slugs and caterpillars fail to discover them.” If I ever do dig it up, it would be to divide the offsets and plants some where they could swoon over the edge of a rock wall instead of getting overlooked in the greenery.

No one seems to know the parentage of this hybrid, but the white line running down the length of each segment is typical of C. byzantinum as well. And no one is quite sure of C. byzantinum’s parentage, either. Some think it is a species, and some a hybrid.

I definitely recommend this one. It flowers generously and the color is neither washed out nor strident. The starry form is a refreshing change from the almost ubiquitous goblet shape. Though some would regard the floppiness as a fault, I see it more as a design challenge. Go ahead, take the challenge!

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