Kyle's questions are the sort of thing that we often get asked to
answer on questionnaires for societies to which we belong, and as
always, they're impossible to answer. "Favorite plants" change from
season to season and year to year. If you have thousands of species,
as many of us do, it's like being asked to name your favorite book
(unless you're one of those people who can automatically reply "the
Bible"). Even defining the worst plant one ever planted is hard
(though I'd probably nominate Pentaglottis sempervirens).
As for "rarest plant in your collection," few of us would like to
answer that one, because we would immediately get attacked by
preservationists who claim that we should never have acquired seed of
it in the first place -- no matter that almost all the seed of the
wild population is eaten by deer and rabbits before it can propagate
the species. Or by beetles -- see my other post on Lomatium.
And "last plant purchased"? Who among us ever bought one at a time?
If I could grow rosulate violets I would, but as Cohan mentioned, the
seed is difficult to germinate (I tried a lot of tricks when I had
quite a bit of it). And once you do get seedlings, they're likely to
elongate into forms rarely seen in their alpine habitat, and flower
miserably if at all. Cohan might have better luck with them, and also
Jane Hendrix, if they stayed safely tucked under all that snow until
warm days arrived. The species with which people have had the best
results is the widespread Viola cotyledon, but it's relatively loose
in form even in the wild. There are, however, a few annual species,
such as V. frigida, and I wonder if these would be easier to grow?
Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA
At 02:48 AM 1/11/2011, you wrote:
Turning to plants for a bit...
1) What is your favorite plant family? why?
2) What is your least favorite? Why?
3) Your favorite species?
4) Easiest species to grow....for you?
5) Most difficult species to grow....for you?
6) Rarest plant in your collection?
7) Most common plant in your Collection)
8) First plant you ever grew?
9) Last plant purchased?
10) The plant you would grow if you could?
Mr. Kyle Fletcher Baker, MCN
Maine Zone 5
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