---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Anita Roselle <anitaroselle@gmail.com> Date: Sat, Mar 4, 2017 at 6:01 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Rhodophiala seed To: pbs@lists.ibibb.org Hello Uli, thank you for all your welcome and the information. I did germinated them in a tall pot and they are like chives, I hope not as aggressive, chives seed all over my garden. I had started them in my greenhouse but put them out in my cold frame as I did not want them to grow too much too soon, it seems that was probably the right thing to do if they are winter growers and will go dormant in the heat of the greenhouse. We have had a very strange winter temperature wise. It has been in the upper 60's and now 3 days below freezing at night. My cold frame is good so they did not get below freezing in there. I will leave them in the pots as you suggest. Want to learn how folks over winter tender bulbs in pots, I don't know if they need to be in a sand plunge or just in a cold frame ect. I have 3 pots of Lillium martagon seedlings this will be their second spring, one of the seedlings did not want to go dormant at all but its leaf is now shriveled, hope its ok, the rest went dormant. I think maybe I should leave them another year. The same for 3 pots of Cyclamen seedlings, they are so cute I don't want to loose them. Any suggestions with them would be greatly appreciated. You have ID my mystery bulb, it is Hippeastrum x Johnsonii, I have found pictures and that is it. I did not think it was a Rhodophiala but was grasping at straws. I have not seen any others any where around here, I will have to find a good sunny spot with good drainage when I get some of the Hippeastrum x Johnsonii, all I have to do is find a nursery that has them, will try Brent & Becky's first seems like one they would have. I am in the North Carolina mountains south west of Asheville. We are definitely 7A-6B zone depending on how high up a mountain or down in a hollow you are. I can't grow a lot of things that a mile away do beautifully. Warm air rises so folks up hill can bloom Calla Lilies but I can't keep them alive. I have learned a lot about air movement, temperature and microclimates since I have lived here. By for now, Anita R. On Fri, Mar 3, 2017 at 7:13 PM, Lakedees via pbs <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> wrote: > A little trick I have found is starting Rhodophiala seeds in spring and > keep water > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Johannes Ulrich Urban <johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de> > To: Pacifib Bulb Society messages <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Sent: Fri, Mar 3, 2017 6:48 pm > Subject: [pbs] Rhodophiala seed > > Hello Anita, > > Welcome to our society. You will find a lot of information, good seeds > and bulbs and maybe even friends. I have been a member for a very long > time and still find it very worth it. > > We have probably ordered the same Rhodophiala seed from one of the last > BX, my seedlings look exactly like the ones you describe. This is how > Rhodophiala seedlings look like, just one thin grass or chive like leaf. > Rhodophiala is a winter growing bulb and will go dormant in summer. They > flower in autumn before the leaves appear, the foliage will last through > winter and needs frost free conditions and dormancy is induced by warm > temperatures and lack of rain. It is good you mention that your > background is a perennial plant propagator. Perennial plants need > potting on even in a seedling stage to develop uniformly but bulb > seedlings do not at all like that. Gesneriads are an exception and > benefit from frequent potting on. What I do with these bulb seedlings: > leave them in their original pot for at least one season, better two or > even three seasons without repotting. Sometimes a first year old > seedling will not go fully dormant like a mature bulb of the same > species so in this case keep watering gently during "dormancy" If these > seedlings go dormant their bulbs may be very tiny, mostly on the very > bottom of the pot, and, if the pot would be in a sand plunge even under > the pot in the sand. So don't plunge them. And use relatively deep pots. > Bulbs may be so tiny that they can be missed when repotting. Most bulbs > like to grow crowded, so not to worry about a densely populated pot. If > you use plastic pots which I recommend because their moisture behaviour > is much more stable than small clay pots you can feel growing bulbs > bulding the pot. That would be a moment to repot. I repot my bulbs at > the end of the dormant period so they can immediately start into growth. > For seedlings it is best to try to keep them going as long as possible > during their first season. Which means to avoid the stimulus for > dormancy: too much heat, too bright sun and lack of water. Good light > and even moisture without excess is the best recipe, Seedlings do > benefit from careful low dose fertilizing. > > Are you sure about your hardiness zone? You describe a Hippeastrum in > the neighbour's garden not a Rhodophiala. Hippeastrum are summer growing > , spring flowering and winter dormant but not very frost hardy. If you > have regular frost in your area, Rhodophiala is not the plant to grow in > the open garden because the leaves would freeze during their growing > period. Rhodophiala is perfect for mediterranean climate gardens. > > If you look or ask around in your neighbourhood, there might be more of > those Hippeastrum you liked. In some parts of the world they are very > popular garden bulbs. There is also an old hybrid called Hippeastrum X > Johnsonii which is very nice and which is widely grown in some parts of > the US. > > bye for today > > > Uli > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >