Firecracker Flowers

Dichelostemma ida-maia, the Firecracker Flower, are bulbs native to Northern California. If you are lucky, you might encounter them in flower this month along mountain roads.

These we grew from seeds, and it has been a ten year wait to see them flower (we had a problem with rodents deciding the bulbs were very tasty, which has proven to be a harder problem to solve than we expected - planting them inside wire mesh spheres has helped). They have been worth the wait! This is the last species of Dichelostemma to flower for us this season (it starts with D. capitata in February). They are a lovely way to wrap up Spring.

You can find these online as full-grown bulbs for sale, if you want them without the wait.