Hippeastrum Bulb Giveaway
Brian Sakamoto (10a, CA, USA)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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Brian Sakamoto (10a, CA, USA)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Hippeastrum bulb flower induction
Comments (4)Hi kinghaven & all, the mulch on top of the pot was only to protect the bulbs from heat as they are growing in full sun, while bulbs were not planted deep in mix hence being exposed. In this climate the temperatures only go below 0oC for a few weeks of the year and are ideal for growing these plants, hence rot is rarely a problem. If you find rot a problem what time of year does it occur? and is temperature a cause? possibly using a fungicide powder may help prevent rot. I feel a quality potting mix and good drainage is important though not over watering the bulbs helps, ie let the potting mix dry before watering, particularly if the bulbs are being used indoors for decoration. Hope this helps.... allan...See Morehippeastrum bulbs in the closet
Comments (3)The best would be a dry basement but the closet should be all right if it's well-aerated. What are you going to do with them now, where will they be chilled?...See MoreGrub eating hippeastrum bulbs from the inside
Comments (8)Thanks for the responses! I looked up "Hover fly" and the bulk of the literature refers to an insect that is too small to describe what I saw, but the "Narcissus fly" is described in some literature as hovering, so you are probably referring to the same insect. That looks to be my answer. Narcissus fly: the size is right (the grubs were large, over a centimeter long and the adults are the size of bumble-bees), the life cycle is right (the literature I saw says they remain in the larval stage over winter and pupate in the spring), the numbers are right (it says the females lay 2-3 eggs per plant before skipping to the next one), the behavior is right (they hollow out the bulbs from the inside), and there are a LOT of daffodils in the garden to attract pregnant females and expose the hippeastrums. Well, dangit. It's easy enough to protect amaryllis from narcissus flies if I ever put them out again: I can use some more neem oil or make closer inspections. But now I'm worried that we won't see many narcissus next spring. This year a lot of rain allowed the daffodils to retain their green leaves through July, so I was looking forward to a big show next year where they maintained their size and multiplied. But this summer when I was digging through the garden planting perennials, I came across a few daffodil bulbs that looked dead/rotted, and hoped it was just an anomaly and those individuals had gotten waterlogged for some reason during the rain. I hope the whole crop hasn't been destroyed by the flies. Thank you both for your answers. I didn't think I'd get an explanation so quickly!...See More'Mature' Hippeastrum Bulbs/Plants
Comments (6)In my experience, small plants are identical, smaller versions of the large ones, except they don't bloom or produce offsets. However, a growing/expanding young bulb will grow faster than the "neck" and have a skinnier neck (and therefore skinnier leaves) compared to the size of the bulb. If they either go through stress and stop growing, or reach the size where they direct their energy towards blooms and offsets rather than continued growth, you stop noticing that. (Occasionally, a small bulb will produce an offset while small, probably due to a genetic nuance. You probably don't see that often in commercially-grown varieties but I've found it in a couple individuals I grew from seed.) Leaves get stiffer and stronger when they're getting full light, floppier in lower light - of course. But also, the more intense direct light of winter produces sturdier leaves than the summer light. Still, that varies more by variety than it does by anything else. Some varieties bred for bloom rather than leaf quality just don't have nice leaves. "Apple blossom" has difficult, floppy leaves. Some of the really enormous red ones have really strong leaves. Also, a lot of the hippeastrums I've grown from seed seem to have even stronger leaves than their parents. The ones I've grown from seed also tend to have smaller blooms which they produce more readily....See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agoSteve Gerber
4 years agoBrian Sakamoto (10a, CA, USA)
4 years agoberkeleysgr8
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoBrian Sakamoto (10a, CA, USA)
4 years agoberkeleysgr8
4 years agoSuzanne Zone 10b
4 years agoberkeleysgr8
4 years agooneal woodard
3 years agoJohn Cadet
2 years agooneal woodard
2 years agooneal woodard
2 years ago
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