From: "ton wijnen" <ton1.wijnen at planet.nl>
> I have a question.
> I have a big bulb of this magnificient plant.
> To get flowers in Hippeastrums you must play with watering and temp.
> How can I get a flower in Worsleya rayneri? ( Hippeastrum procerum), also
> with playing with temp or watering? Or something else.
> Perhaps I do not do anything special to get a flower, who tells me the secret.
>
> Thank you very much
>
> warmest regards
>
> Ton Wijnen
> Holland
>
>
Here's what I think. Others may have different experiences, but what
follows seems to me to be a good part of what is needed.
1. They must be grown in a perfectly draining medium. For example, lava
rock ("scoria"), large sized pumice, orchid bark (that has to be changed
every year or two), or some mixture of these. Some Australians use a
by-product of coal-burning power plants that seems to be a perfect medium.
2. During the summer, water daily to every other day at the least. Keep
the whole plant warm to hot in the day ( >30°C ), even the roots. But at
night the temperature must go below 20°C, even 15°C is good. Keep it in
humid conditions and sun.
3. During the winter keep it very dry, the equivalent of approx. 2 to 3
cm of water per month. It can withstand temperatures down to approx. 0°C
but it is better to keep it between 5° and 20°C. If it is too wet during
the winter it will die.
4. Feed it fertilizer. Different people have different ideas of what is
best. No organic fertilizers such as manure, etc.
There are probably a bunch of minor hints that various people have.
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a