Blue Dicks

Year-round

Blue Dicks is an easy, low-water native corm for the Los Angeles coast that greens up with the winter rains, blooms in spring, and then rests dry underground all summer.

• Give it full sun and fast-draining soil, and keep it on low water
• Do not water it in summer, the corm rests dry and summer water rots it
• Plant it in groups among plants that stay interesting in summer so the bare gaps do not show
• Leave the dormant corms alone, do not dig, till, or overplant the spot once the leaves die back
• It is a nectar source for bees and butterflies in spring

Fall

Fall after the first rains is the prime time to plant new corms so they root over the cool wet winter.

• Plant corms in October or November, a few inches deep in full sun and fast-draining soil
• Set them in groups for a fuller spring show
• Give one gentle watering after planting if the rains have not started, then let nature take over
• Do not overwater, the corms just need the soil to stay lightly moist from the rains
• Skip fertilizer, they do not need it

Winter

Winter is the growing season on the LA coast, so the green leaves come up with the rains and mostly take care of themselves.

• Expect fresh grassy leaves to appear as the winter rains arrive
• Let the rain do the watering, only add water in a rare dry stretch
• Pull any weeds crowding the new shoots by hand so you do not disturb the corm
• Do not fertilize or mulch heavily over the crowns
• Watch for the flower stalks to start forming toward late winter

Spring

Spring is bloom time, so enjoy the flowers and hold back on extra water since the winter rains have usually done the job.

• Let it flower April through June, this is its show
• Water only if the winter and spring rains were unusually light, otherwise leave it dry
• Do not fertilize, these natives bloom fine in lean soil
• Leave the flower stalks up if you want it to self-sow more corms
• Enjoy the bees and butterflies that come for the spring nectar

Summer

After the spring flowers fade the leaves yellow and die back, and the corm goes fully dormant, so the main summer job is to leave it dry and undisturbed.

• Do not water it, summer water is the number one way to rot the corm
• Let the foliage brown and die back on its own, that is normal, not a sick plant
• Do not dig, till, or plant on top of the resting corms
• Mark the spot so you remember it is there while it is invisible
• Lean on the neighboring plants to carry the summer look

So the bare summer patch reads as intentional and not as a dead or neglected spot that could draw a violation letter, tuck Blue Dicks in among plants that stay green and full through summer rather than out along a front edge on its own.