Lycoris squamigera & Amaryllis belladonna

Brad King brad@alpinepfl.com
Mon, 04 Aug 2014 05:01:24 PDT
Leo, Thanks for your response. 
My original thought was to continue to grow the pot outside until about the
middle of Oct and then bring it into cold storage for the winter. It appears
that if it blooms it will be much later than I originally thought. It's the
4th of Aug and no sign of anything yet. I will probably bring it in a little
earlier and continue to grow it indoors throughout the winter and see what
happens.
Also, thanks for pointing me to Jim Waddick's article on Lycoris sp. Jim,
this is a great reference article. I will definitely be looking to source
some bulbs. 
Thanks, Brad.



-----Original Message-----
From: pbs [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Leo A. Martin
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2014 3:58 PM
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [pbs] Lycoris squamigera & Amaryllis belladonna

Brad wrote
> ...Ontario, Canada. Zone 5b..... I planted four Amaryllis belladonna 
> bulbs in a large pot in May..... The intent is to bring the pot into 
> my cold storage once fall comes. By cold, it will average +/- 40 F and 
> may slip to 32 F a couple of times. (This has worked well for me with 
> Oxalis sp.) I am anxiously waiting for something (anything) to emerge 
> from this pot. Am I on the right track?

Do you mean you are going to grow them in cold storage under supplemental
lighting? Or are you going to try and store them cool all winter and grow
them in the spring? This plant is an obligate winter-grower that goes
dormant with hot and dry weather, blooms in late summer, makes leaves in the
fall as temperatures cool down, is in leaf throughout its expected cool,
mild and rainy (not snowy) winter, and goes dormant again when it gets hot
in the spring. It will not be dormant in cold storage - it will try and
grow, no matter what you do. It considers 40F to be an ideal growing
temperature. It is dormant during hot and dry weather. It is from a
Mediterranean climate, and people in Continental climates don't seem to be
able to grow it at all, with the exception perhaps of Jim Waddick.

> ...I had never considered Lycoris sp. for planting directly in the 
> garden. Has anyone ever planted these in the garden in Zone 5 or 6?

L. squamigera is supposed to be the hardiest and it is supposed to grow to
zone 5a. It is from a typical Continental climate with moderate humid rainy
summers and cold winters.

Of note, Jim Waddick has produced a document available on our Wiki that
covers cold-hardiness of various Lycoris species. It sounds as though Brad
should try some.

http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/….
pdf

Leo Martin
Phoenix Arizona USA







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