Wow, those are gorgeous. I love them too. I see you grow them in clay pots. How often do you water them in the summer? Do you put those under your eaves in the winter. I grow them in a rockery that has good drainage. I tried them in my flower beds but they always rotted during the winter. Thanks for sharing. Karen

Yes: Pots are a good place for them as they do tend to rot in the open. When I was at the Chase garden near Orting, WA some years ago I saw a bunch of them growing against the base of the house, under the overhang - the were even reseeding there.

I've grown them in the open for 12 years now. In well-drained soil and with crushed gravel or lava tucked under the basal leaves, they can do well for several years.

The tendency of some to form offsets that take away energy from the blooming is more of a problem for me than rain. The offsets can be handy for starting new plants. You should remove any forming offsets in the fall or early spring to maintain bloom energy of the original plant.

This plant is 12 years old, inside the drip line of a cedar-like shrub. People think it's fake! It's about a foot across. You can see the underlaying gravel in this picture.

Wow, that is impressive! I have tried them under trees with less success than the pots. Gravel helps a lot, in fact it may be essential. I water them quite a bit while blooming, otherwise not much.
Yes they seed quite easily - I grow them from seed too.
I guess they grow in mountains, in the drier interior areas of where -Oregon? It would be something to see them growing in the wild.

I love Lewisias too and enjoyed looking at all of the pics. Planting within the drip line is a great idea. Planting them on an angle and surrounding the base of the plant with a few rocks to keep the winter rain away can also help. Of course you still require excellent drainage. Mine happen to be growing in gravel and also get a rain cover in the winter, which is probably overkill but they happen to be growing with other plants that need more protection.

One west-side garden once had a Lewisia tweedyi live for years under a mugo pine. Trouble was you had to lift the front of the pine up to see it. Pulling the dead leaves off to keep the neck open has been suggested for these L. cotyledon forms. The parent species is native to the Siskiyou-Klamath region, where it is said to be characteristic of cliff faces at fairly high altitudes. I believe I have seen one or two photos of specimens demonstrating this behavior.

A few years back a couple friends and I did some poking around in the Tumwater Canyon Botanical Area (in central WA) and vicinity at lewisia flowering time. One of us disappeared down the side of a ravine to come back with photos of a huge Tweedy's lewisia hanging out the cliff face, like a planted hanging basket. It had dozens of flowers.

Look at these beauties. Lewisia cotyledon white form, one-year-old seedlings, grown in 5" deep bands.

Here are some Lewisia tweedyi, one-year-old seedlings. They will last for years if planted in a rock wall in sandy or gritty soil, with morning sun and afternoon shade, and not much water in summer.

Wow Linda, I really like that one in my third pic.

I need to get my Lewisia collection going again. Right now I just have a couple species. My uncle has an impressive collection including an unusual rose-flowered form of L. tweedyi that is blooming now and some really nice yellow ones. I will have to get some pics. He is in Sequim, where Lewisias seem to do better without any special care/drainage than in much of the Northwest.

Sequim is in a rain shadow, all the better for Lewisias. As mentioned by bboy, I have pulled a lot of dead or mucky basal leaves off over the years. If the plant becomes too elevated, just bury it deeper. The only time I give them summer water is if the leaves shrivel. The faded bloom stalks break off easily and removing them can often induce a second bloom cycle.

These are all great photos, thanks for showing them. I am partial to the mostly solid colors that are depicted above. I have pure yellow and orange also, but they fade rapidly in the sun--best to keep them in a shadier location.

This one is due for breaking up this fall. The blooming offsets are a good sign that when used as cuttings, they will bloom well also.



This is a new Lewisia strip; the first time I have made a dedicated spot instead of just sticking them in here and there. It is very narrow and the veneer of larger gravels will keep rain and sprinkling from washing away the gritty soil. Covering them in the wet season is a good idea and I will try various covers this winter.

That "Lewisia strip" is a great idea and will only get showier with time. IÂve actually never seen a white flowering Lewisia before. I would like to expand my collection too one of these days and try a few more species.

Ian, that would be great to see pics of your uncleÂs collection in Sequim some time. I'm a bit envious of the climate there given that I like succulents so much. I'm in a rain shadow too, but I think we get a lot more rain than Sequim.

It would be great to see the L.tweedyi on the cliff face if a digital pic was available. :-)

Thanks all for the wonderful pictures and info. I too love these lovely little flowers and am stil trying to find the best way to grow them. I bought one last year, put it into a pot with other succulents and the first thing that happened is the deer ate the flowers. But, later in the year I had a magnificent show that lasted really well. It is beginning to flower again, actually loaded with buds, but looks quite tatty -- leaves brownish and not lush. It is now in a pot by itself. Should I fertilize or something? Or just be patient? I've bought it a friend but had no idea they came in so many colours.

>It would be great to see the L. tweedyi on the cliff face if a digital pic was availableNot the same specimen but it is the same photographer, with contact information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Al Dodson Photography: NW Natives Thumbnails

What great photos, thank you! Now I am inspired to try some in a Lewisia strip under some firs.
Dotty, I give a bit of "high bloom" fertilizer in the spring but I am not sure if they really need it.
Yes, the deer ate one of mine too.

Thanks for the link. Besides the Lewisia, he has some great pics at his website.

Beautiful! Do they bloom this time of year only, or do they keep flowering throughout the summer?

Just one time, but they last for a long time. Mine have been blooming for almost a month, and are not over yet.

I want more of them.They are lovely.Thanks for posting.Very educational indeed.
I have only one ( sorry I don't know how to attach a pic here?)In any case the pics here are better than mine would be..
I had two but lost one.I have a good place slopped and good drainage and protected.Sounds like I can take the offsets and start a new one.Just need to get more as they are lovely.I did not know they come in so many colors.Is it too late now? or too eary to take the offsets? I see some on my lewisia right now...thanks

You can cut the offsets any time. If it is a hot day you need to be a little quicker and operate in the shade or indoors. Cut them as close to the main rootstem as possible. I wet the cut stem, dip in Roottone powder (follow instructions on label) and stick in a mixture of half soil, half grit like fine red lava. Keep them moist and in the shade for several weeks.

It may be 2 or 3 years before the offsets bloom and are ready for planting in the ground.

The main Lewisia bloom is May-June, but I have had some bloom in every month except Dec-Jan-Feb. As I stated above, removing the spent bloom stalks can encourage a second bloom cycle.

The Lewisias pictured above are the early bloomers; some species types bloom in the summer.

Thanks Larry: I shall be removing the spent bloom stalks soon.Mine are in blossom right now and never had flowers twice.Now I know.Thanks again.

I've just let mine go (I have dark pink, light pink, orange, and very light purple up on long stems that blow in the wind) and they love life up on a slight hill. They've developed side offsets--how would those propagate without human intervention? Since they're native, they must have a way to do it...I'd like to do as little cutting as possible...

They grow from seed quite easily. I usually let mine go to seed and save the seed. I didn't realize that they would rebloom if I deadheaded the spent flowers but I am going to try that this year.

I have a L. cotyledon in a pot here in San Francisco. It was a gift in 1978. For the first few years it did not bloom, but now it blooms every year, two or three stalks with a total of 30-50 flowers, something like apricot pink. I had it about 5 years before it bloomed around July 1, then it didn't bloom again for 4 or 5 years, after which it started blooming around Memorial Day. This year it bloomed in march due to our summer-like weather. I've had this same plant for approximately 36 years.
I once went to Shasta County to see them in the wild. Far off the paved roads, west and slightly north of Yreka at the end of a logging road, I found a natural rock outcropping with them growing everywhere. Many variations of coloring. This was on a 4th of July weekend.

that would be Siskiyou County, CA., not Shasta.

I was in the general area years ago, before I had an interest in Lewisias. Sounds like you had a good trip. Did you find the plants straightaway via a guidebook or something, or did you have to hunt around?

Question for any Lewisia experts still looking at this old thread: I have a plant that looks very much like the one in the fourth photo, with several healthy stems with flowers at the ends sticking out from the main plant. Is it possible to propagate using these stems? Could I simply cut one off, give it some root hormone and stick in in some vermiculite with a bag over it for humidity? If so, would I remove the flower first? Everything I have read talks about propagating from the rosette offsets or from seed.

Thank you, Logician.