Haemanthus Deformis

[Norimizu Ameya]

I would like to know about Haemanthus deformis. Temperature management for the upcoming season (winter), suitable soil, and preferred amount of water. I would like to hear the opinions of those who cultivate them. Please excuse my poor English from Japan. thank you.

[Robin Jangle]

Here's a very informative article by Graham Duncan - the specialist geophyte horticulturist at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

http://pza.sanbi.org/haemanthus-deformis

My own dealings with H. deformis have been easy. It performed very well outdoors (USDA 7 Mediterranean) in light shade in a well-drained organic-rich soil. I found that it didn't need deep containers like most other Amaryllidaceae - it grew better in 30cm x 30cm x 15cm seed trays - 1 bulb per tray.

[CG100]

As ever with descriptions of horticultural cultivation techniques, much depends on who writes them, where.

In the UK, outside of industrial raw materials, few if anyone will know for sure what is meant by silica or river sand. Shade in RSA will likely be equivalent to full sun on a reasonably sunny day in summer in the UK (RSA asa whole recieves 2-4 times the insolation of most of the UK).
Kraal manure anyone?
I have never seen or heard of a 30 x 30 x 15cm seed tray, and I suspect that the use of 30cm pots is a rare thing in the UK for anything but trully huge tender plants, such as clumps of Crinum, unless used for displaying summer bedding.
Hardy is frequently used to refer to very many plants in RSA, but reading between the lines, it seems mostly to mean that the plant will take temperatures down to a few degrees above freezing; in the UK, it means that the plant will take at least several degrees of frost (given enough time, essentially all but the very SW of the UK will get temperatures down below -5C; last year here in the Midlands we saw -7C for the first time in over 10 years).
Hardiness is also very strongly influenced by moisture content of the growing medium for many plants - bone dry and the plant may take several degrees of frost, "standing in water" and the plant will be close to death well above freezing.

Pot material also makes a huge difference, not least to watering regime.
I am an incurable over-waterer, so anything that is very water-sensitive (and I include almost no cacti in that, having had a huge collection previously) is potted in clay pots as they dry very quickly. I also, always water plants individually, even when there are hundreds upon hundreds of pots.
In cases where I am particularly cautious, I also pot plants using lots of large stones, filtering the roots and then the compost between them - that way only maybe 50% of the volume of the pot can hold any water at all and the plant sits in an "appropriately large" pot that, if nothing else, is resistant to being knocked or falling over.

What works for me might well not work for someone growing the very same plants half a mile away, and vice versa.

[Robin Jangle]

Silica sand = filter sand (used in pool filters)

River sand = sharp sand

No-one, except Andrew Hankie of the Witwatersrand Botanical Garden uses kraal manure - which is dried and decomposed manure from the corral where cattle are kept at night.

I think our large plastic seed trays are commonly referred to as "pans" in the Northern Hemisphere.

Haemanthus deformis grows in forests often on rocky slopes with limited root run which is why I recommend wide shallow containers.

They grow in the same light levels as Clivia miniata - so if you can grow those in the full sun without burning then by all means grow H. deformis in the same space.

Basic culture info: 
water well during growing season - once a week at least if foliage looks dull then water; 

much less when not in active growth - maybe every 10 -14 days;

Well-drained organic-rich soil

Large shallow container - the leaves are big and more than one in at least a 25cm diameter pot will result in crinkled squashed foliage.

A shaded position - it will grow in very deep shade - I've had it thrive under a growing bench with naturalised Streptocarpus formosus.

[Norimizu Ameya]

Thank you very much for the post!!!
Again, please understand that my English is not good.

I was confused.
When I searched online, I found that some people say that Haemanthus prefers bright light, while others say that they prefer shade. It is also said that it prefers dry conditions. There is also a theory that it lives in damp rocky areas and prefers humidity.

So I found this forum.
I decided to ask people who actually own one about their experiences.
Of course, we understand that there is no one right answer and that there are many possibilities depending on the caring environment and caring method. At the same time, real-life success stories are encouraging and informative. thank you.

Since we are heading into winter, I placed the pot indoors in a place where there are people. I'm careful about ventilation. The temperature is over 20 degrees. Is it too warm?

Currently, I am sifting soil for succulents and mixing it with pumice and rice husk charcoal.And I got lost.
Need to keep the soil moist while maintaining drainage? Or is it better to let it dry faster?

Even in the case of Deformis,is it better to wait until the inside of the pot is completely dry before watering?Are the roots too dry? Sorry for the elementary question.

Also, is medium-sized pumice stone too hard and not good for root growth?
I was reading everyone's posts and thought it might be better to use fine sand instead of pumice.
I'm starting to think that it might be better to use bark compost or leaf mold, which is more nutritious than rice husk charcoal.

The shape and material of the pot was also helpful.

I think I need to understand more about how it grows in nature. thank you.
Please continue to share your opinions.

[CG100]

Silica sand = filter sand (used in pool filters)

Not in the UK, but then pools are like hens' teeth here anyway.

River sand = sharp sand

Not in the UK. In fact, if anything, the opposite - water-washed (tumbled) sand - is soft sand here (rounded grains).

No-one, except Andrew Hankie of the Witwatersrand Botanical Garden uses kraal manure

It gets quoted all over SA horticultural literature. (I knew what it was).

I think our large plastic seed trays are commonly referred to as "pans" in the Northern Hemisphere.

Not in the UK.

Haemanthus deformis grows in forests often on rocky slopes with limited root run which is why I recommend wide shallow containers.

15cm deep potting containers would be considered deep in the UK unless they were otherwise very large, not shallow. Shallow pots/trays in the UK? Maybe 5-7cm.

As I said, this sort of thing does not travel.
I have gardened in three different areas just within the UK and "sharp sand" meant 3 very different aggregates in those places.

Since we are heading into winter, I placed the pot indoors in a place where there are people. I'm careful about ventilation. The temperature is over 20 degrees. Is it too warm?

At that temperature, you may experience problems with the plant drying excessively.

Also, is medium-sized pumice stone too hard and not good for root growth?
I was reading everyone's posts and thought it might be better to use fine sand instead of pumice.
I'm starting to think that it might be better to use bark compost or leaf mold, which is more nutritious than rice husk charcoal.

Pumice is the equivalent to perlite in the UK, although pumice is available here too. Both aid drainage and aeration of the compost.
Fine sand generally does neither.

You really need to find what works for the plants that you grow under your conditions and care.

One tip for judging how damp compost is - for small pots (to ~10cm), use a wooden cocktail stick pushed well down into the pot. For larger pots use half of a wooden kebab skewer inserted deeply into pots. Remove the stick, touch to your lis and you will know how damp the compost easy.
Personally, while any plant is in growth, I try to never let it dry completely, no matter waht it is or any book says.

Before anyone questions touching the stick to your lips..... there are essentially no legal chemicals available to the amateur horticulturalist within the EU/UK that persist in soil/compost for more than a few hours, and anything that is used is used at vanishingly low concentrations when translated to dampness of a stick.

[janemcgary]

Pumice is not an equivalent to perlite. I don't know what the UK-available pumice is like, though. I live in Oregon, where pumice is quarried and available in various forms. I use a great deal of gray-white, medium-diameter, ground pumice in my potting and seed-sowing soil mixes, and I always buy it unwashed with the fines present, because this adds nutrients. Roots will grow into a piece of pumice, but not into a piece of perlite. Pumice is somewhat heavy (though not as solid as, say, basalt), especially when wet; it absorbs and slowly releases moisture, unlike perlite. It does not migrate to the top of a pot as perlite would. Its pH is near-neutral. We also have a harder, dark red kind of pumice that is used as mulch, and some growers say its fines are a wonderful soil amendment.

[CG100]

Pumice is not an equivalent to perlite.

I am afraid that it is, at least here in the UK.
Perlite is expanded rock, very light-weight, white. In a compost it functions exactly the same as pumice. The only difference may be trace elements, but that will vary from quarry to quarry anyway.

For whatever reason, the only place that I have seen pumice used in the UK is in orchid compost, and that has finer pores than perlite, or at least what I have seen here has, so nothing but root hairs are going to penetrate it. When un-potting plants here from dry compost - SA bulbs during their rest periods for instance - in very many cases the roots are smothered in perlite, and very little else, so at least root hairs are penetrating it.

As for absorbing and holding moisture - damp perlite here can weigh a very great deal, and no water will run from it.

The other expanded ceramic/aggregate/rock that is popular to some extent here is some types of cat litter, of all things. I have no cat so have never bought, or used, any.

As ever, again, these things never travel.

I have used perlite for a little short of 40 years and it does not migrate to the top of my pots, so that is probably down to compost mix. Trapped within a high mineral content compost, I don't see how it could "float to the surface".

[Robin Jangle]

@CG100: pumice and perlite are very different. They have a similar origin but are not the same. Perlite floats to the top of media, has micro-pores and will compact. Pumice is what the old-fashioned foot scourers were made of. It has very large pores that roots can penetrate andis most similarto scoria. Apparently inthe UK these things are very different but then again as you say "These things don't travel well"

Back to the original question.

Here's a link showing deformis in habitat:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/168623755

I have chosen that observation because I know that general location quite well - when I was a conscript in the South African military in 91 I had to patrol that area

The habitat is formally known as Scarp Forest. It is a tall (15-25m), species-rich and structurally, multilayered forest with well-developed canopy and understorey tree layers but for the most part a poorly developed herb layer.

The geology is mostly sandstone and soil are shallow, leached and nutrient poor.

The bulk of the rainfall is from October to March but there is still precipitation during the winter months. The average rainfall in summer is around 120mm per month whereas in winter it is around 30mm per month.

The daily maximum temperature throughout the year is about 27°C and the daily minimum temperature during summer is around 20°C but in winter it is around 12°C.

I recommend a growing medium of two parts sand (in Japan there is an aquarium supply company by the name of ADA - Aqua Design Ammano - they sell what they call cosmetic sand that is river sand from the Amazon) half part leaf mould or fine compost and half part Coco peat. Once the bulb is planted top the growing medium with a layer of pure sand to stop the organic matter from floating to the top. Use plastic or glazed ceramic containers to prevent the roots from drying out. It grows mostly in rocky habitats and the roots are protected from drying out.

[Robin Jangle]

I forgot to add that in general I add a one third part dried and crushed red clay (I find that old red clay building bricks that are disintegrating work very well) and half a part vermiculite to the mix. This then becomes my standard mix for all my plants. All measurements are by volume.

It's very important to place a layer of pure sand over the top of the growing medium when potted up. Not only does this prevent the organic matter and vermiculite from floating to the top but also creates a barrier that prevents the medium from drying out too quickly.

[Norimizu Ameya]

Thank you everyone for your valuable opinions.

When is the season when Deformis leaves grow the most?
I hear it's spring or early summer. I heard that it doesn't grow much in winter. Really?

After thinking about it, I decided that it would be better to take it outside and expose it to the natural breeze until the temperature drops to 5 degrees. What do you all think about my idea?

[Robin Jangle]

It grows a new set of leaves during growing season. It keeps those through winter and in spring a new set will grow whilst the old leaves wither.

The temperature in natural habitat doesn't drop below 10°C. Subjecting it to a few cold days won't harm it but it serves no purpose - it does not need a definite cold shock to force dormancy and stimulate flowering.

Just treat it generously as one would H. albiflos or any temperate evergreen Amaryllidaceae and it will reward you.

[Norimizu Ameya]

Mr. Robin,Thank you for answering the beginner's questions.
I was very worried because it seemed to have stopped growing. Since the room temperature was high, I mistakenly thought that it had dried out and gone dormant. But I understand that leaves will grow in spring. Probably around March. Wait for spring.
In what month do the old leaves of Deformis start to wither? Does this happen at the exact same time as new leaves grow?

[Norimizu Ameya]

The habitat is formally known as Scarp Forest. It is a tall (15-25m), species-rich and structurally, multilayered forest with well-developed canopy and understorey tree layers but for the most part a poorly developed herb layer.

The geology is mostly sandstone and soil are shallow, leached and nutrient poor.

The bulk of the rainfall is from October to March but there is still precipitation during the winter months. The average rainfall in summer is around 120mm per month whereas in winter it is around 30mm per month.

The daily maximum temperature throughout the year is about 27°C and the daily minimum temperature during summer is around 20°C but in winter it is around 12°C.

And...
I really appreciated the specific information about their habitat.
I am in Japan. The annual precipitation is about four times higher than in South Africa.
It is of great interest to me to imagine their habitat through the plants in front of me.
I will use it in my cultivation. Thank you very much.

[Robin Jangle]

You are welcome .

As the new leaves grow from the centre they will cover the old leaves. The old leaves will wither away almost unseen.

A good rule of thumb is to pay attention to the colour of the leaves - if they look dull and are flaccid then the plant needs water. The leaves should always be firm, bright and shiny.