PlantFiles: Lewisia, Cliff Maids, Siskiyou Lewisia, Siskiyou Bitterroot
Lewisia cotyledon

I obtained 2 of these plants early summer of 2003. I reside in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Hot, dry summers and moderate winters. I am not a rock-garden gardener but someone suggested these would look good in one of our front beds with sedum and grasses.

Despite the very cold snap and lots of snow this past winter, they have survived - no problem - and since we had a warm April, they have now been blooming profusely for a good month. Everyone stops and asks what they are!! They are great, and so pretty against the pink oyama rock in that dry bed.

I tried growing these from seeds for years and never so much as saw a seedling. I bought one in a 4" pot from a local grower, sank the pot in VERY rich vegetable garden soil, mulched it with pine needles and forgot it completely. The following spring I was rewarded with INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL little flowers that really knocked my socks off. I promptly ordered about a dozen plants from nurseries in Washington State and potted the little seedlings up in regular soil that had been amended with a good dose of sand, and planted them all in clay dish gardens with gravel mulch. I put the plants in a 60-degree minimum greenhouse for the winter, in full sun, and have lost only one plant. I only water them when the leaves (which are quite succulent) start to wither; then I water them sparingly. They seem quite happy, and I expect flowers in very early spring.

Two years ago I spread an inch deep of white gravel mulch over pretty rich soil in an old tire, and planted a Lewisia. It didn't flower last year, and the bottom leaves of the rosette tended to rot out in wet weather.

I had to destroy the tire garden abruptly this May, so I scooped the Lewisia into a deep plastic pot, keeping the gravel mulch, and it promptly flowered all over the place. I think I may have given it some Peters 20-20-20 fertilizer when I salvaged it, and having it in a pot on a stone step gave it a drier, breezier climate.

It has also set some tiny, shiny black seed - only one or two out of all the flowers.

Lost two last year to crown rot. These plants must have superior drainage and seem happiest in poor soil that is nearly all sand or light gravel. Gorgeous performers in the right planting conditions but if left sitting in moisture for prolonged periods will rot away. I have tried them again this year and lined the planting hole with coarse sand and placed more of the sand around the crown to a depth of about 2 inches in a sloped, well drained bed. So far (early June, zone 3), so good!