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Topics - Uli

#1
Dear All,
We have had sufficient response in order to start the bulk order for Europe of the Book Amaryllidaceae of Southern Africa. As we need a definite number to calculate postage and to finally place the order, this is an announcement that the ordering time window will close on March 31st at midnight Central European Time.
The large hard cover book costs half price (45US$) plus shared postage from South Africa plus individual postage from Germany to you. Please come back to me if you have questions.
Thank you for your interest.
#2
General Discussion / Book bulk order for Europe
March 18, 2024, 02:11:29 PM
This is another, different announcement from the one you might have read a few days ago, concerning the USA

As many of you might have heard, the publisher of the Book Amaryllidaceae of Southern Africa by Graham Duncan and Barbara Jeppe is closing. There are books available at half price which are being sold by the South African Bulb Company. The Pacific Bulb Society has negotiated a bulk order for this book at half price. Postage of the bulk to Europe will be divided between those who order and postage to each individual will be added. The PBS does not gain any profit out of this, it is a service at cost for the membership but non-members are also welcome to order..
However, as this book is not new, we would like to asses interest in a bulk order to Europe before we proceed. The book is about 3kg heavy so that the postage will be expensive even if shared. The book is very good, though.
Please come back to me (Uli, my email is  johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de) if you are interested. We need a minimum number of orders to make it worthwhile and we would ask you to state a binding interest before we order. We do not expect a pre-payment as this would mean to start a second payment procedure for the postage. You would receive a payment slip together with the book, same as we do for the BX.

If you live outside the EU it might be worthwhile checking with the South African Bulb company directly as postage outside the EU might eat up the good price. There will be a bulk order in the USA, but postage from the US to other countries is expensive, too.
UK members should contact the Southern African Bulb Group https://www.sabg.tk/  who will also do a bulk order.

We cannot exactly state the final price because the postage of the bulk order depends on the number of books ordered and on the individual postage to you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me in case of questions
Uli  (and Martin)
#3
Bulb and Seed Exchanges / Book bulk order for Europe
March 18, 2024, 02:10:28 PM
This is another, different announcement from the one you might have read a few days ago, concerning the USA

As many of you might have heard, the publisher of the Book Amaryllidaceae of Southern Africa by Graham Duncan and Barbara Jeppe is closing. There are books available at half price which are being sold by the South African Bulb Company. The Pacific Bulb Society has negotiated a bulk order for this book at half price. Postage of the bulk to Europe will be divided between those who order and postage to each individual will be added. The PBS does not gain any profit out of this, it is a service at cost for the membership but non-members are also welcome to order..
However, as this book is not new, we would like to asses interest in a bulk order to Europe before we proceed. The book is about 3kg heavy so that the postage will be expensive even if shared. The book is very good, though.
Please come back to me (Uli, my email is  johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de) if you are interested. We need a minimum number of orders to make it worthwhile and we would ask you to state a binding interest before we order. We do not expect a pre-payment as this would mean to start a second payment procedure for the postage. You would receive a payment slip together with the book, same as we do for the BX.

If you live outside the EU it might be worthwhile checking with the South African Bulb company directly as postage outside the EU might eat up the good price. There will be a bulk order in the USA, but postage from the US to other countries is expensive, too.
UK members should contact the Southern African Bulb Group https://www.sabg.tk/  who will also do a bulk order.

We cannot exactly state the final price because the postage of the bulk order depends on the number of books ordered and on the individual postage to you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me in case of questions
Uli  (and Martin)
#4
Mystery Bulbs / Unknown Tulip
March 18, 2024, 07:47:26 AM
During a trip to central Portugal, I came across this field of tulips. My attention was raised because I saw people with bunches of cut flowers and when I saw the place it looked like red poppies at first glance. Unfortunately a lot of the plants were trampled on, the whole site looked like cultivated land. Most of the flowers were spent but I managed to photograph a fairly good one. They were about 60 to 70 cm tall and the leaves looked like garden tulips. I thought of Tulipa sprengeri but it does not have a blotch. Flora-on which covers practically every plant in Portugal only lists T. sylvestris as native. An old hybrid gone wild?
Thank you for your help 
#5
General Discussion / Oxalis field guide
March 02, 2024, 04:12:56 PM
This very interesting contribution appeared in the email list, see a copy below.

I would be interested in a potential joint order of the new field guide to Oxalis and sent an email to Stellenbosch University asking when it would be published.

Here is the contribution 

Message: 11
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2024 19:00:44 -0800
From: Comcast <jerlynne@comcast.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: [pbs] Oxalis Book-Leanne Dreyer
Message-ID: <27B68EC7-8350-4048-BB05-48CDCDBE3796@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset=utf-8

Apparently Professor Dreyer is writing a field guide for oxalis.

https://www0.sun.ac.za/researchforimpact/2023/08/29/oxalis-a-genus-in-a-hurry/

Hopefully the link to the article works.

I don?t know if this is something where there might be a group book order sponsored by the PBS.

Jeron
#6
Dear members living in the EU,
The EU Seed and Bulb Exchange is now open for donations. As usual we will do two rounds, the first one is mainly for seed which is less prone to cold damage in the mail. But depending on where you live and depending how urgently some bulbs must be planted...., you can also send bulbs. The second round will be distributed about 4 weeks after the first one. That is for the more fragile items.  Donations can be sent to Martin from now on until further notice. You will be updated through the same channels. All EU members should receive a personal email, if not, please come back to Uli.

Please send only clean, healthy and pest free material, labelled with the scientific name and your name so that each item can be  assigned to the donor.

To reduce Martin's  workload, we would appreciate if you could pre-pack your seed donation. Bulbs do not need to be pre-packed and should come in one single bag for each species. For seed 5 portions of the same seed which are enough to produce a reasonable potful of seedlings, with very rare seed a portion can go down to 3-5 seeds. As usual, this is entirely voluntary and free seed envelopes can be requested from Martin. If the seed is plentiful, you can add an extra, larger portion for Martin to pack in case of more than 5 people ordering it.
As a donor you will get a bonus which covers the cost of postage. This bonus can be used for your own orders or for membership payments.
The full instructions for the EU Seed and Bulb Exchange of the Pacific Bulb Society can be found on the website under Bulb Exchanges. The most important points to participate: You must have a postal address in one of the EU countries and you must be a fully paid member. You do not need to be a donor to be entitled to order from the exchanges
Please send you donations to:                Martin Bohnet
                                                            Ludwigstr. 1
                                                            73035 Goeppingen
                                                            Germany
                                                            <garak@code-garak.de>

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me (Uli) in case of questions: johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de     

You have been very generous in the past with your donations, thank you very much for this! We are looking forward to a new and rich exchange


Uli and Martin


#7
Bulb and Seed Exchanges / next EU Seed and Bulb Exchange
February 24, 2024, 03:29:12 PM
Dear members living in the EU,
Spring is on its way.... So please think of your fellow gardeners when you do your seasonal repotting and sowing.... the next seed and bulb exchange for all those items which need sowing and planting in spring will soon be announced. You will be informed about the details and dates shortly.
Please do not hesitate to come back to me if you have questions



Happy gardening,


Uli
#8
Bulb and Seed Exchanges / EU BX: donations now closed
October 09, 2023, 06:51:50 AM
Dear members living in the EU,
The time window for donations will be closed tomorrow night. If you still have something to donate for the current autumn exchange, please send it NOW. And send an email to Martin <garak@code-garak.de> so that he would know what is under way and include it into the list of donations.
The second round of the EU-BX will soon go online, you will be informed through the same channels.
If you are still impatiently staring at some seed capsules which do not want to ripen.... please don't forget that there will be another EU exchange next spring. Most likely, any seed which is not ripe by now is not for autumn sowing anyway.

As usual, do not hesitate to get in touch with Uli  <johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de> if you have questions.
Uli and Martin
#9
General Discussion / starting winter growing bulbs/seed
September 30, 2023, 04:53:45 PM
Dear All,
After the BX distribution has arrived, I received questions of members how to start seed or bulbs of winter growing bulbs, in particular Gladiolus species.
Here are copies of my replies for all of you.

What the dormant corms/bulbs do not like is the combination of hot weather and moist soil. Some do not mind but many may rot. The same applies if the winter growing plants get too wet and too cold at the same time. Again, some do not mind, some might even take a few degrees of frost (I have not tested that and do not have frost in my garden) but it is better to avoid this combination in winter.

What must be avoided by all means is drying out of plants in full growth. If that happens (it has happened to me....) the plants will not die, they are geophytes after all. But if a certain degree of drought occurs, it will trigger the beginning of a premature emergency dormancy regardless in which state of growth the plant is. This is an emergency mechanism which secures the survival of plants in nature as many come from very dry habitats with unreliable rains. Once dormancy is initiated this process cannot be reversed by watering. The resulting bulbs will be much smaller than normal and flowers or flower buds will be aborted.

There is one aspect to pay attention to: if you receive very small bulbili/cormlets (smaller than a rice grain) they may benefit from the following treatment to break their dormancy. These very small bulbili are a life insurance of many bulbs and corms and can have a prolonged dormancy which means they may not sprout after planting. This can be overcome by soaking the bulbili in a cup of water at room temperature and adding just one drop of liquid dish washing detergent. This wakes them up, soaking over night is enough, max 24h. After this treatment they must not dry again and need immediate planting, water once and then treat like adult corms.

Talking about frost: I have visited South Africa twice, once in their spring and once in their summer, the seasons are inverted in the Southern Hemisphere. I was surprised how cold the nights could get in spring and although I did not experience this myself I was told that in mid winter there is frequent morning frost in some areas. I am talking about the areas most winter growing bulbs come from and not the skiing resorts on Drakensberg where I have never been.  So depending on where the plants come from, they are used to be exposed to frost. BUT.... frost in a climate like South Africa, California, Chile or the Mediterranean is not comparable to frost in central or northern Europe. What is called an early morning frost in subtropical climates never penetrates into the soil and in general the frost only lasts a very few hours before and during sunrise.  Daytime temperatures are then well above freezing or even warm. This constellation happens on clear, bright and dry days, so the plants exposed to frost are generally dry and not wet. I am writing this to avoid misunderstandings about frost tolerance of some plants. My recommendation is go grow winter growers frost free.

Growing South African Gladioli in northern European winters needs the following conditions: a place as bright as ever possible, full winter sun is best. Protection from rain (and snow) and frost but not warm either. The corms can be started into growth now, obviously in pots. These pots can be placed outdoors in a bright position. Dormant corms should be watered once after planting and then observed for shoots. Only water again after the first shoots have appeared. Pots should not be too small. In very wet conditions protection from too much rain is needed until growth is in full swing. Growing Gladiolus need regular water and must not dry and can be exposed to rain. Once the temperatures drop and the weather deteriorates, the pots should be removed from the garden and best brought into a cold greenhouse which is kept just frost free. Now it is important to find the right balance between temperature and water.  The pots must never dry out, okay. But during overcast grey winter weather they must not be soaking wet either. If you use saucers never allow the pots to stand in water except for those species which require that (Zantedeschia, Onixotis for example) Air humidity is also important. A greenhouse must be ventilated in order to avoid mould forming and condensation on the plants.
If there is no greenhouse, a compromise might be a very bright windowsill in a cold room. Never place winter growing bulbs in a heated warm room with dry air. Indoor cultivation remains a compromise, light intensity is most likely too low and at the same time temperatures too high which leads to etiolated plants prone to aphids. If there are not too many pots it might be worth the effort to move them outdoors during mild sunny weather and bring them in again in bad weather.
Fertilizing will be discussed in a separate mail.
Happy growing!
Uli
#10
General Discussion / Plant labeling in hot climate
September 15, 2023, 02:19:03 PM
Dear All,

From a new member in Spain I got the following question due to illegible faded labels.....

QuoteOut of interest what do you use to label your plants?

Here is my reply:

For garden pens I stopped using the so called permanent markers altogether as none of them, whatever the brand was could withstand the southern sun. I find a soft grade classic lead pencil unbeatable, there are special garden pencils available, get one of these. The next problem will be brittle plastic. This year I am starting to put one label in the very bottom of the pot and another one sticking to the side as usual. It serves two purposes, the buried plastic will not become brittle and in case of loss or misplacement of the visible label there is a reference in the bottom of the pot.

Uli 
#11
Dear Members living in the EU
The EU Seed and Bulb Exchange will go online next weekend. There will again be some interesting and rare material on offer. It will be announced again through the same channels so you will not miss the ordering time window. This is just another reminder.
If you still have some items to be included in this first round, there is still time to send it to Martin. Otherwise there will be a second round in October and the donation period remains open until further notice.
Please send your donations to
Martin Bohnet
Ludwig str. 1
73035 Göppingen
Germany
And please send Martin an email or a private message through the Forum so that he will know about your donation. His email:  garak@code-garak.de
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to come back to me (Uli) johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de
 
Martin and Uli
#12
General Discussion / Oxalis ID question
September 03, 2023, 03:54:07 AM
Dear All,

Right now I am sorting my bulbs and try to update labels and lists.

I have a problem identifying an Oxalis. The label says O. luteola MV 96013. I checked the Michael Vassar accession list on the Wiki and such a number does not exist. His numbers stop with 7693. It is listed as MV 96013 in the bulb list of ELDA, that is where I got it from. My label says: golden yellow winter flowering.
I know that Michael Vassar sometimes added a capital ,B' to his field numbers, maybe someone has taken a capital B for the number 13? But even with this in mind I cannot find it. The first figure 9 does not exist in the MV field notes.

Can someone help?

Thank you very much 

Uli 

See my dormant Oxalis collection below...... smile....
#13

 EU Seed and Bulb Autumn Exchange 2023 now open for donations
 
Dear Members of the Pacific Bulb Society living in the EU,
Please read this information carefully and entirely.
The donation time window is now open for seed and bulbs for autumn sowing and planting. Martin has discussed the timing with me, this year we start earlier than usual. The weather in central Europe has been swinging between extremes resulting in some bulbs having already started into growth which is earlier than in previous years. Even here in Portugal we had a very late rain which moistened the compost in the pots of dormant bulbs. Some do not care but some have also already broken dormancy. It may be wise not to send bulbs which are clearly growing.
Please send your donations to
Martin Bohnet
Ludwigstr. 1
73035 Göppingen
Germany
Please send only healthy material cleaned of soil and debris. Please label each packet with the name of the plant and your own name, so that all donations can be traced to their donors.
If you are willing to do so, we would appreciate 5 portions of pre-packed seed, if you have much more or if you know the seed is very popular, you can add a larger amount in a separate envelope. This is no obligation but will reduce Martin's workload considerably. A seed portion should contain enough seed for a good potful of seedlings, in very rare seed a minimum of 3 seeds.
Free of charge seed envelopes can be requested at Martin's  <garak@code-garak.de>
Please do not pre-pack bulbs.
Every paid member with a postal address in the EU is entitled to order, you do not need to be a donor, but of course, this kind of exchange depends on the generosity of the growers. Please consider a donation of surplus material.  Every donor gets a refund for the postage in form of a bonus with a minimum of 5 US$.
The precise ordering information will follow once ordering has opened.
As we start this exchange early, the donation time window will remain open for longer, closure will be announced through the same channels in due course. There will be most likely a second round this autumn, and then another Exchange in spring for summer growing bulbs.
And.... Last but not least: Please send Martin an email  <garak@code-garak.de>  or a PM through the forum to announce your donation. This is important because there may be delays in postal services from some countries.
Please do not hesitate to contact me (Uli) in case of questions <johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de>
 
Martin and Uli
#14
General Discussion / Notes of Bob Werra
August 19, 2023, 01:38:03 AM
Dear Mary Sue, Dear Mike, Dear All,


Thank you very much for sharing your memories of Bob Werra who must have been a remarkable person. I have never met him but there is a lot shining through your words which does not need to be outspoken.

After reading Mary Sue's and your contribution in the email list I thought that it might be a good idea to save Bob's notes for the future, for example in the Wiki. You describe his notes like a condensed lifetime experience of a meticulous grower and good observer.

I do not know how the practical side of preserving these notes would look like, though.

Several years ago I found myself in a similar situation when the plant collection of John Lavranos was distributed after his death. John was a plantsman of the old school, generous, extremely knowledgeable and a language genius. I received about 80 pots of dormant bulbs, but unfortunately most of them without labels. I am still in the process of identification of some, there is a responsibility to preserve and care for this legacy. John's field notes are available but without labels I cannot really use them. 
I try to distribute as much as I can, his collection contains some real gems.

Bye for now 

Uli 
#15
General Discussion / Growing Scilla madeirensis
June 26, 2023, 10:48:13 AM
Dear All,

Reading the growing instructions for Scilla madeirensis (in the email list)I feel somewhat alarmed because this does not at all reflect my experience with this bulb. It must be very adaptable.....
Scilla madeirensis comes from the island of Madeira and grows at medium elevations. Madeira has a Mediterranean Climate but of a soft version being surrounded by warm Atlantic water year round (it sits in the Gulf Stream, I did snorkeling in pleasantly warm water in November) As the island has high mountains it always receives condensation from its cloud cap. But that is higher up than the Scilla grows. However, the medium and high elevations never go as dry as they would in a typical Mediterranean summer.
I agree with Jane that the word baking may be appropriate in the thing the English call ,,summer" but certainly not in warmer or Mediterranean Climates. My bulbs receive summer water (not much but they do) and are exposed to the winter rain in half shaded areas. They do not tolerate any frost. Madeira is lush and green except in the lower south facing slopes. And Scilla madeirensis grows in these lush places. It is poorly setting seed and threatened in its native habitat but grows in many gardens in Madeira. There is a closely related species, Scilla latifolia which comes from the Canary Islands (The Madeiran and the Canary Archipelago are considered as a botanical entity called Macaronesia). Scilla latifolia comes from a slightly drier habitat, is easier to grow and sets abundant seed, maybe the two got mixed up at some stage. But Scilla latifolia does not like ,,baking" either.

Uli 
#16
General Discussion / Albuca clanwilliamigloria
May 03, 2023, 02:29:32 PM
Hi all,

I have the faintest memory of a previous thread about Albuca clanwilliamae-gloria being self infertile. So imagine my surprise when I looked up in the greenhouse today saw my lone flowering individual had set fruit! We?ll see if the seed are good later this year, but I just had to share. Very exciting!

Best,
Cody Coyotee
Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA


Hello Cody,

This is very interesting! In general the seed set in Albuca is good if there is seed at all.
The only thing I wonder about is: are you sure that your plant is the real clanwilliamigloria? I am asking because there is a different species circulating under the wrong name of Albuca clanwilliamigloria. I have sown seed of the false one and even at the seedling stage they look different but they have not flowered yet.
The other question would be if there were other Albuca in flower at the same time so your seed could be of hybrid origin.

I hope that you don't mind that I put this thread on the forum where you can post pictures.

Bye for now 

Uli 
#17
Dear members living in the EU,

Please give Martin a shout( garak@code-garak.de ) if you have a donation for the second round of the EU spring Exchange. There have been some but not very many donations so far so that the final round for this spring could be started if nothing else is to be expected. If you have something to donate we will wait for it but it would be very kind to let Martin know. We will close the donation time window in a few days, this will be announced through the same channels.
Please do not hesitate to contact Uli (johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de) if you have any questions.

Uli and Martin 
#18
So difficult to capture the colors of this plant. The flowers only open in direct sun but for the pictures I had to bring the pot to a shady position. Then the slender shoots sway in the slightest of breeze. I tried different backgrounds to bring the colors as naturally as possible. It's fairly okay but the original still looks better. The plant is about 85cm tall, measured from the rim of the pot.
Here it is, one of the glorious South African spring bulbs. Surprisingly easy and fast from seed.

#19
General Discussion / EU Seed and Bulb Exchange
March 18, 2023, 01:52:52 AM
Dear members living in the EU,

In the meantime we have received quite a few items for the spring exchange.  The first round for mainly seed is scheduled for the weekend of March 24, 25 and 26. Exact timing will be posted. There is Clivia seed which should not be stored very much longer.
So, if you have items to donate for this first round, please send them as soon as possible to Martin and please let him know so that he can include your donation in the offering.
On the other hand there will be a second round for mainly bulbs in April which means that the donation time window remains open until further notice.
Please do not hesitate to contact Uli (johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de) if you have questions.


Martin Bohnet
Ludwigstr. 1
73035 Göppingen
Germany
 Martin's email:  <garak@code-garak.de>
Bye for now
Martin and Uli
#20
General Discussion / Sowing old seed
March 12, 2023, 06:08:50 AM
Dear All,

Here is a picture I would like to share with you. It shows sprouting seed of three Dahlia species and one hybrid. Not very exciting you might think but the seed was very old, stored in paper envelopes in a domestic refrigerator (not freezer) at typical fridge temperature.
The seed of Dahlia tenuicaulis in the bottom right pot dates from a trip to Mexico in 2006, the seed in the other 3 pots was picked in 2011 in my former garden. I am particularly pleased about this germination because I had lost all three Dahlias after my move to Portugal. With better knowledge of this climate I will give them another try. The blue granules are slug pellets, I do not want that to happen.......