Gethyllis cold tolerance

Michael Mace michaelcmace@gmail.com
Fri, 23 Jan 2015 04:14:12 PST
Hi, Fernando.

I haven't grown many Gethyllis species, but the ones I've got are hardy in
the frosts of northern California (about -7C). Your climate is a bit milder
than mine, so I think you'll be safe unless there is an unuaually hard
freeze. In that case, moving the pot next to your house or putting a simple
cover over it should be enough to protect it. Obviously, you don't want the
pot to freeze solid, and if you are worried about frost damage don't put the
pot where the first sunlight of morning will hit the leaves and stress them
when they are close to freezing.

I've found that most of the South African Amaryllids grown in pots are a lot
happier if I give them a little bit of water in the summer when they appear
to be dormant. Their roots are perennial and don't appreciate totally drying
out. Although South Africa has a Mediterranean climate, much of it gets more
summer rain than California does. In a place like the UK, bulbs in pots will
experience some summer humidity because the climate is relatively wet, so
they may not need special attention in summer. But in my part of California
the summer is usually completely without rain and the air is not humid, so
pots can become extremely dry.

The need for a bit of summer water is especially true of the big genera such
as Amaryllis, Brunsvigia, etc. I'm not sure how true it is for Gethyllis,
but mine in pots get a bit of water once a week in summer and seem to be
very happy.

I hope some other growers will comment on Gethyllis and summer water.

Good luck!

Mike
San Jose, CA





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