PBS Forum

Below are some photos of the plants i put in this BX. I redid a lily bed and thinned out the multiples about 2 weeks ago before the cold snap. With the demise of the local regional lily societies. I have no other outlet to share excess.

Sinningia tubiflora one bulb from PDN turned into 1000s in a few years left in the ground.
Sinningia warmingii in ground year round in zone 6b sunny position in raised bed of well drained loam, makes a single huge "bulb" over time.
RG tet OT Sunset from Bob's rescue
Nutcracker 4n on right. Crosses with 3n Asiatic lilies.
The bed i dug and re did. Photo is mostly OTs and ATs before the aurelians bloom.

Several of the yellow aurelians were single bulbs found when mixing the soil so they are unknown and were separated by location. I cited yellow because most lilies were yellow in this bed but they could be whites with orange

Massonia sp? ex Gouritz River Brodge west of Vlees Bay. This is a large Massonia, leaves the size of your hand

Massonia roggeveldensis. This one keeps a leaf all summer

Massonia pseudoechinata-Nieuwatjiesfontein

Massonia inaequalis Elandsbaai

Last Milla magnifica last week, 10 Nov

Polyxena pygmaea

Daubenya stylosa

Polyxena pygmaea Alba
An older plant from Roy Herald and more recent seedlings

All the rainlilies are safely inside for the winter

I live in Southern Kentucky Zone 6b and grow most of my rain lilies in long narrow fish boxes using waste potting soil. Each box has a separate cultivar or species. I typically put them outside on gravel in spring and apart from removing the odd volunteer and placing it in the correct box a d collecting seeds, i do nothing to them all summer. 

 They are still outside now in early November. So far we have not has a killing frost, though several were predicted a month back. At that time i covered them with frost blankets ( floating row cover) held down with rocks.  

A killing frost is slated for next weekend and i may have to move these into the attached unheated garage. They are currently well hydrated from recent rains.

Before i take them inside i spray the boxes, top and bottoms with Talstar or Safari (whichever i am using at the time) to prevent mealies or other nasties from invading the garage.

In the past, i have placed the long narrow fish boxes full of rainlilies on the concrete garage floor under tables where the only light they receive is ambient or reflected light from T-5 lights on nearby shelves. I do not water them all winter, but they keep growing green leaves until about late winter when the soil is completely dry.  The thermometers on the shelves under the lights indicates the garage gets down to about 48-55F (8-10C) at night and can get to 80F (27C) under the lights in the day. I presume the cold concrete floor is colder. 

To keep the garage cool the garage doors which face west, are kept opened most days when it is above freezing and sunny (which is most of the time in winter). 

Photo of the rain lilies now outside. 

I also use lights and grow most of my bulbs in a garage when it is cold. The rain lilies go on the floor under a flow table (used for big pots) stacked on bulb crates with no lights over them, only light they get falls from nearby lights on wire shelves. So they don't need much light in winter when they are still in leaf. 

I hope your circuits can handle all the lights.  

Michael you might want to keep the rainlilies somewhat hydrated for most of the winter and let them dry off in later winter to early spring. Consider the weather patterns where these grow in nature. My rain lilies seem to keep lots of leaves all winter. Losing them in spring early summer and making new leaves in mid to later summer 

They are in 6" x 9" tall long tom plastic pots. The mix is pine bark fines and pumice about 50:50 give or take. 

I grow my E auratiaca in 100% pumice in taller clay pots For past 9 yrs. they typically bloom in spring bit not this year. 

Size, color, name they came under, comparison to Odgens book, petal orientation etc