Amaryllis belladonna and lycoris squamigera

James Waddick jwaddick@kc.rr.com
Fri, 08 Sep 2017 08:46:45 PDT
Dear Mike and all,

		Both bulbs can grow in moderate amounts of light- Full sun can be as few as 4 or 6 hours a day and same with full shade. But Amaryllis is essentiall a plant for sun and Lycoris are plants for shade.
	
	We could easily start a while new topic on what it means for bulbs to ‘BAKE”.  Bulbs that experience long warm to hot/dry periods experience soils that dry deeply.  Bulbs lilke Lycoris that do not grow where they bake experience some soil moisture all growing season and dormancy.  I suspect this may corelate with bulbs that keep roots during dormancy and those that have roots that dry up and are replaced with new growth. 

	Lycoris definitely grow in damp positions. I have seen them growing along the banks of small streams and places that are nearly swampy. They are not plants of open sunny or dry areas although some species seem to be more tolerant of these conditions.


GROWING SEASON - another thorny question. 	Here in central North America, the traditional growing season is follwoing and before winter, the ‘dormant seasson’.  In my growing season from about April to Oct we have regular summer rains and dry period in between. 

	The Mecditerranean ‘Growing Season’ is quite different and I have too little experience to comment, but it is qute different from mine.

	I assume bulbs can adapt to the specifics of their growing conditions, but  only within limits. 	These growing llimits seem sufficiently tight enough that Amaryllis and Lycoris will not grow side by side in the same location. Mostly.

			Best		Jim W. 





On Sep 7, 2017, at 6:24 PM, Michael Mace <michaelcmace@gmail.com> wrote:

A couple of thoughts about Jim's notes on A. belladonna:


> Grow in full sun

Depends on how much sun you have, but they definitely prefer a lot of light.
Here in sunny California they are OK in part sun. But they're not the sort
of things you'd usually grow in the deep shade of a large tree.


> Bulbs BAKE prior to bloom

Meaning their natural climate is dry most of the summer, although their part
of South Africa does get a bit of occasional rain and fog in summer. I think
some of our Aussie friends have reported that they actually bloom a bit
better when they get a thunderstorm or two in summer, and here in California
they definitely thrive better on the cool coast than they do far inland
where there's no summer fog.

When grown in pots (large pots only), they need light summer moisture so the
roots don't dry out.


> Bulbs dry during the annual growing season

Depends on what you mean by "growing season." They are dry in the blooming
season, but they need rainfall when in leaf, winter-spring.


Hope that helps.

Mike
San Jose, CA

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Dr. James Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd
Kansas City, MO 64152-2711
USA
Phone     816-746-1949





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