Ferraria crispa

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Tue, 01 Apr 2003 17:28:22 PST
Dear All,

I grow several Ferrarias. I finally put Ferraria uncinata in the ground as 
in a bed it soon overwhelmed everything else. And my Ferraria crispa var. 
nortieri has been blooming for a long time. Of the ones I grow it is the 
one I like the best because it doesn't get so big and need staking and I 
like the blooms. I think the one Jennifer is growing pictured on the Wiki 
is really cute however and there are others that intrigue me.
For all the pictures look at the wiki page.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

A number of years ago I tried to see if I could get Ferraria to grow on a 
summer schedule after reading that a man in Seattle had managed to do that 
finding it happier without so much cold dark rainy weather when in growth. 
I wasn't able to get any seed to come up to see if I could get a crop 
growing on the wrong cycle. Some I withheld water for didn't choose to come 
up in summer either. They just waited for a time for their liking.

Bonaventure, the man in Seattle was able to convert these winter growers 
into summer growers so it can be done so perhaps you could just pretend you 
are in the southern hemisphere and start them in growth now and keep them 
well watered all summer and have them go dormant in the fall.
He felt it was not day length or temperature but water that triggered the 
growth. So he grew his in large pots in summer and piled them on the 
basement floor in winter. They aren't very hardy I have found. If you 
followed his advice in your climate you'd keep them growing the wrong 
season. I'd be interested in finding out if anyone else would have the same 
success so you'll have to keep us informed.

Mary Sue


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