LEWISIA. Western U.S. and Canada. These are beautiful though sometimes temperamental native succulents for rock garden and pot culture. They produce crowns of spatula shaped to cylindrical leaves and carry umbrella-like flower clusters above the foliage in spring and early summer (also sometimes in fall, in coastal climates). The several to many-petalled blossoms range in color from white through pink, yellow and salmon shades to reddish purple. Sun or light shade near the coast, light shade inland, perfectly drained soil dressed with gravel around the crowns of older plants, and watering only when dry. Hardy to 0^oF. or below.

columbiana ssp. rupicola. A Northwestern native making tight, low clumps with narrow, dark green leaves, about 2" long. The flowers are small, borne many to each airy spray, and colored rose-purple. One of the easier of the lewisias to grow.

cotyledon. This highly variable species is one of the great treasures encountered in the natural rock gardens of the mountains of northern California. It forms flat rosettes of roughly strap shaped leaves 2-6" long. The flowers are held well above the rosette, many to a spray, and can measure individually 1" or more across. The typical form has smooth-edged leaves and candy-striped blossoms, each petal showing a pink to red central band on a lighter background. The variety howellii is distinguished by toothed and wavy-edged leaves and exceptionally large, broad-petalled blossoms colored white to deep rose pink.

'Dark Cloud' and 'Pink Cloud'. Our own floriferous seedling strains, the result of backcrossing one of the reddest 'Sunset Strain' selections with a large pink cotyledon howellii. Like 'Sunset Strain', they bloom at nearly any time of year in a coastal climate. Most plants have 6-10" stems, each bearing many large blossoms. Those of 'Dark Cloud' are purplish red, while those of 'Pink Cloud' are bright pink.

'Sunset Strain'. By now this should probably be described as "strains", since several hybridizers, including ourselves, have followed their own particular tangents, producing some interesting variations. The leaves generally resemble those of L. cotyledon, the dominant parent, but they can be broad or narrow, smooth or wavy-edged, shiny or dull in surface. The flowers have a dazzling array of shades, from apricot to rose and even maraschino cherry red. I have had a fine time making specific clonal selections and launching new color strains from time to time. Received from Allen Robinson, Don Mann and Jack Drake in England.