Lycoris season 1

James Waddick jwaddick@kc.rr.com
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:08:27 PDT
Dear Friends,
	As I mentioned earlier, Lycoris season has begun here in 
Kansas City. I was driving around a day ago and was surprised to see 
a few L. squamigera in bloom. This is nearly the ONLY Lycoris you see 
in my area.  My plants have not put on a sign of a flower stalk yet. 
Hold that thought.

	Since L. sanguineum is the usual first to bloom I really 
wondered. I came home and ripped away the veil of weeds around my L. 
sanguineum bulb spot and found two stalks with 3 or 4 spent flowers. 
I had totally missed them.  This is quite early.

	Since then, more stalks have appeared. 2 different L. 
chinensis x longituba are in bloom today. One with very pale petals 
and strong yellow mid-stripe, the other a more uniform primrose 
yellow; both with the longituba form.

	I often pick up a few more bulbs of L. squamigera when the 
opportunity arrives. 2 years ago I got some left over from a local 
flower club plant sale. These have started to bloom - 3 plants but 
even these are early.  These early blooming squamigera are a few feet 
from a bed of over 100 bulbs none of which show a hint of a flower 
stalk yet.

	It is long thought that L. squamigera is a natural hybrid, 
triploid and sterile. I agree, but might this natural hybrid  have 
occurred multiple times and places resulting in various very similar 
clones separated mainly by bloom season?  The early plants mentioned 
above were growing in a slightly protected part of the city, but my 
newly blooming plants are too close to older non-blooming plants to 
make me wonder.

	I have multiple patches of L. squamigera around my 1 acre 
garden. They usually bloom within a few days of each other, but these 
new ones are clearly jumping the schedule.


	I can't help but wonder.		Any thoughts?		Jim W.

-- 
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph.    816-746-1949
Zone 5 Record low -23F
	Summer 100F +


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