What promotes blooming?

totototo@telus.net totototo@telus.net
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:15:47 PDT
On 14 Oct 07, at 10:09, Jane McGary wrote:

> ...I know that I will never get Nerine or Crinum to flower here...

O ye of little faith!

Nerine & Crinum both do well here, and your climate probably isn't 
that different from Victoria's. Based on what I saw in flower on a 
trip to SF in late Feb 2002, I'd say the Portland spring is a good 
month ahead of ours, so you can't be *that* much different, can you?

I have my crinums planted close to the house in the belief that heat 
loss through the foundation will mitigate the effects of hard 
freezes. Such crinums as I have do well enough, though I wouldn't 
call them stellar performers.

Nerine bowdenii doesn't do well for me, but I'm pretty sure the 
problem is the high winter water table -- I live in an old swamp and 
during wet winter weather, there's standing water. Nonetheless, a few 
of them throw up a few flower stalks. Again, not a stellar 
performance, but better than nothing.

[The swamp totally dries out in summer.]

Nerine crispa planted amongst some no-name crinums pops up every once 
in a while: it seems to be sensitive to hard freezes and after we 
have one, there's no floral sign of it for a few years -- though 
there may be foliage I don't notice.

In other sites around town, Nerine bowdenii grows like gangbusters. 
The best stand I know of is in the shade of Garry oaks (Quercus 
garryana) on the side of a small (400') mountain: front garden beds 
carpeted with the things, a few in the neighbors' as well, obviously 
handalongs.

It's true that Victoria is a maritime city with the saltchuck on 
three sides, so perhaps your humidity theory is operative, but still, 
I wouldn't give up hope.



-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate

on beautiful Vancouver Island


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