Sue, I am in the Chicago area and grow my papilio in a greenhouse in the winter which is usually when they bloom, unprovoked here. :-) My experience is that bulbs usually take at least 3 - 4 years to mature enough to bloom. From there they can be quite prolific, with 1 - 2 scapes each year. Mine get no special fertilizer beyond the weekly fertilizer I give the rest of the greenhouse plants. Ignore them and they seem to bloom. Night temps are in the 60’s and days in the 70’s. Bob Hoel 630-240-0219 (cell) Better on a bike than in a box! > On Jun 18, 2016, at 8:47 PM, pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org wrote: > > From: Sue Mandeville <pearlsperson@gmail.com <mailto:pearlsperson@gmail.com>> > To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org <mailto:pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Subject: [pbs] How to get Hippeastrum papillo to bloom? > Message-ID: > <CAM1v6OQ9toiDMWuXAGN7N4rbdKk3tDip7Lz-68XSqJ1wYzouSw@mail.gmail.com <mailto:CAM1v6OQ9toiDMWuXAGN7N4rbdKk3tDip7Lz-68XSqJ1wYzouSw@mail.gmail.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > Hi All, > > > I?m Sue Mandeville from Eugene, Oregon, new to the PBS. Zone 7-8, wet > winters, dry summers. I joined because I wanted to find out how to get my > Hippeastrum papillo to bloom. Had it for years. Told it didn?t need a > dormant period, then read it needed two short dormant periods. Read it > liked to be pot bound, so when dormant I put it in a smaller pot. Read it > was epiphytic. Has 5 big bulbs. It?s starting to go dormant again. I?m > thinking I gave it too much nitrogen fertilizer, fertilizer suggestions and > timing would be welcome. I?m also thinking of putting it in an orchid type > pot with bark chips and peat?does this sound OK? Other than no blooms, it?s > a very healthy plant. Thanks, Sue _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/