MeetingsQuestions?PublicationsSeeds BooksGardensSlides & VideosLinksSite Map

December 2004 Telesonix jamesii November 2004 Ranunculus eschscholtzii October 2004 Crocus speciosus September 2004 Arenaria 'Wallowas' August 2004 Scilla autumnalis July 2004 Leontopodium souliei June 2004 Penstemon pinifolius May 2004 Draba rigida v. bryoides April 2004 Vitaliana primuliflora March 2004 Clematis hirsutissima February 2004 Lewisia pygmaea January 2004 Hymenoxis grandiflora Archive 2003 Archive 2002 Archive 2001 Archive 2000 Archive 1999 Archive 1998 Archive 1997

Plant of the Month February 2004 Lewisia pygmaea by Iza Goroff Lewisia pygmaea is a member of the Portulaceae, the family named after Portulaca, the moss rose. Other genera in the family containing suitable rock garden plants include Calindrina, Calyptridium, Claytonia, Montia, and Talinum. All Lewisia species and hybrids are suitable for the rock garden. Lewisia pygmaea has the widest range of any Lewisia species, extending from Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico through the Pacific Coast Range, the Rocky Mountains, and other mountain ranges into British Columbia, Alberta, and disjunct localized populations in Alaska. The species is somewhat variable in both flower color and flower shape. Some botanists have argued its variability is due to that it originally arose from hybridizing between Lewisia glandulosa and L. nevadensis, two very southern species, and since has stabilized as a true species, extending far beyond the limited range of its predecessors. Lewisia pygmaea grows at high elevations in rocky soils with some humus content. Lewisia pygmaea, true to its name, is a small plant with a rosette of channeled narrow dark green leaves from 3/64" to 1/6" (1 - 4 mm) wide and 1" to 3 1/2" (2.5 - 9 cm) long. It rarely exceeds 4" (10 cm) in height in flower, usually half that. Although its small size makes it an ideal trough plant, it has enough presence for the small rock garden. Its flowers, 2 or 3 to a peduncle, range from 1/2" to over 3/4" (1.5 - 2 cm) in diameter; their colors vary from white through pink to magenta, sometimes with darker veining. It has a root the shape and size of a short carrot. At low elevations it flowers in late spring. Lewisia pygmaea is an easy plant to grow if one is mindful of its natural habitat. Most rock garden soils are suitable for its cultivation, as long as they drain quickly. Lewisia pygmaea is best in half sun or in a cooler exposure. It can go dormant late in the year when moisture is absent. Lewisia pygmaea is usually propagated by seed. All Lewisias germinate well at low temperatures (~40F or 5C). If a plant produces a second rosette from the same rootstock, that rosette with its caudex and a bit of the rootstock may root in moist sand.