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Babianas do very well in the Azores. I had bought a pack of bulbs years ago, so I don't know which ones these are. They have been allowed to mix, drop seed, and grow.

One of the first Moraea bulbs I got was Moraea ochroleuca. They settle into the ground very well.

There is also the white version of Scilla peruviana.

Homeria flaccida

It's Hippeastrum time and leading the way is Hippeastrum papilio.

Quote from: Diane Whitehead on March 02, 2024, 09:58:50 AMWylie,

You could just exchange pollen - a lot easier than exchanging a bulb.

Normally, that would be a good idea, but my Paramongaia w. blooms in October, earlier than a lot of the others people have. The foliage is starting to die back and I can see how many there are, but I think I have 3 offsets. Donating just 1 bulb to the regular exchange wouldn't be fair to anyone.

I have been wondering how I could arrange an exchange for a certain bulb I have that just produced offsets. It requires a different bulb that it not closely related to to produce seeds, so it would be an exchange with someone that has the same. A place where we could do that would be helpful, especially when there is only 1 bulb we are willing to part with. 

Here is a nice way to start the month, Ferraria crispa.

First Ferraria divaricata and Dietes grandiflora starting to bloom again.

Mine is doing fine with temperatures between 10°C to 18°C, which is the normal for the Azores. The first year it bloomed, it was about this time, and then it moved to October. I give it no water during late spring/summer, which means I bring it inside, and then put it out mid-August. Mine originally came from Great Britain, and at the time I had to choose either a winter or a summer growing bulb and chose the winter as the Azores is great for the winter growers. I keep hoping that one year it will divide.

Quote from: Martin Bohnet on November 09, 2023, 07:54:49 PMabsolutely possible - I've never had seeds on the wide crosses like xAmarine and xAmacrinum. To be fair I don't have any other related amaryllids in flower when the Amacrinum is.

I have some bulbs growing that were a result of crossing xAmarine with Amaryllis belladonna. If it would stop raining, I want to try a xAmarine with Nerine sarniensis since both are in flower.

It started growing last month as the temperatures started to drop, around 23°C. The flower spike comes up really fast, then the foliage will start to go dormant in January. It doesn't really get below 10°C or above 27° in the summer in the Azores. After it goes dormant, I take the pot inside so the pot doesn't bake in the sun and everything dries out for the summer. The first couple of years there were no flowers, but it finally bloomed.

I bought the bulb on eBay.co.uk before Brexit happened. It was very small - about the size of a large garbanzo bean. It took 3 years for the first flower. Last year I tried the microwaved pollen method to get a seed, but it failed.

This came up really fast and opened today. Of course it is Paramongaia weberbaueri.

The first of the Nerine bulbs I have from Exbury is opening. It is 'Kalahari Dusk'. I have about 20 flower spikes on various cultivars, but this is the first to open.

I was surprised to see some Crinums blooming again. They had flowered in May, and probably due to the increasing summer rain the Azores has been getting, they are now reblooming.

The first of the xAmarines is blooming. This is supposed to have been developed by the Dutch firm van Tubergen and named after their nursery at Zwanenburg House, so it is xAmarine tubergenii 'Zwanenburg'.