My Nerine sarniensis bulbs are in bloom right now in the front garden, bravely displaying their pink flowers in the cold breeze and occasional downpours. I’ve always grown them in the ground, where they bloom reliably and multiply year after year. The soil is a mix of decayed granite and good old Willamette Valley clay. I don’t fertilize or water them. Sometimes just having the right conditions along with a healthy serving of benign neglect leads to success. Charles Charles Powne iyou@me.com https://map.what3words.com/extend.storm.palace USDA zone 8b > On Nov 16, 2022, at 4:00 AM, pbs-request@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net wrote: > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:41:41 -0800 > From: Andrew <andrew@avonia.com <mailto:andrew@avonia.com>> > To: Society Pacific Bulb <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net <mailto:pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>> > Subject: Re: [pbs] Nerine sarniensis > Message-ID: <04B80CF6-AEB2-41FE-889B-F0F0C89AAB7F@avonia.com <mailto:04B80CF6-AEB2-41FE-889B-F0F0C89AAB7F@avonia.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Mary Sue and Arnold, > > I also have species from the Zinkowski collection. That?s going back twenty odd years as Mary Sue knows well! I was told not to plant them out and not to plant them in pots larger than four inches and rarely to fertilizer them and that, mostly of potassium. The pots were to be outdoor all year here but in shade when they are dormant with water once a month during that time. This climate, of course, is much drier than where Mary Sue lives and warmer all year. So, Arnold, you will have to read between the lines. > > A couple of years ago I gave a number to a friend in Vista, about twenty five miles north of here. The climate is similar to mine but with hotter daytime temperatures in summer and more rain in winter (although still very dry). I told him to plant them outdoors as I know what he can do with almost all of the large South African amaryllids. Naturally they thrived, blooming within a year and thereafter. Now he wants more! They are all planted in full sun in light sandy loam. So, I am going to consign mine to the ground after they go dormant and wish I had not kept them in pots. The nerines themselves are wonderful, tidy, free flowering bulbs. However several species of Lachenalia have gone wild in the nerine pots and must be pulled out each year. They have limited the nerines blooming as their bulbs will swamp a pot within a year. > > If you are in a dry mediterranean climate Arnold, I would recommend planting them out. Otherwise leave them in pots. A light, fast draining mix is what they would need. Use of pumice or diatomaceous rocks (about 1 cm across) to which you add a small proportion of loam (no more than 10%). I avoid using perlite as it blows about if it gets free. You might grow them under glass where the care and patience of the Rothschild?s in so doing may well be required in England with its cloudy, cool weather, although that may no longer apply. Mary Sue?s simpler treatment under glass works well in her cool climate and might work for you if your summers are not too hot. If they are hotter, place the pots outdoors in shade with some water every few weeks. Pots just dry out. Bring them indoors in September > > Andrew > San Diego > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…