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Tigridia Pavonia-Mexican Shellflower
By CISCOE MORRIS
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Plant a beastly beautiful plant.
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is the place to look for spectacular, rare and unusual plants. One of the best, tiger flower (Tigridia pavonia), is waiting for you at Van Veen's Bulbs in the plant market. The exotic, red or yellow, 4-inch wide flowers consist of a central cup crisscrossed with boldly colored tiger-stripes, surrounded by three large, dark colored petals, and three shorter, highly colorful ones. Each exquisite flower lasts only one day, but the plants produce a succession of brightly colored replacements over a long period during summer. These Iris relatives are bulbous perennials and, considering they come from Mexico, are surprisingly hardy. Plant the bulbs as soon as possible (except during freezing weather) 4 inches deep in full-sun and well-drained soil. Mulch deeply to prevent the bulbs from freezing. I guarantee you'll meet all your neighbors as they stroll by your garden and catch a glimpse of this wild tiger.
Yolanda Wilson is a 2004 graduate of the WSU Master Gardener Program and is also proprietor of Vanveenbulbs.com, a flower bulb company selling on the internet and at garden shows and farmers markets. She's always happy to speak to gardening groups about flower bulbs. You can find her each Saturday at the Beaverton Farmers Market (where she's been selling bulbs for 14 years) or e-mail her at info@vanveenbulbs.com.
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