I've just ordered some hardy Amaryllis bulbs which are reputed to be hardy to zone 7b if mulched well, but that does not necessarily mean they do well here. Is/has anyone grown these, and if so, how did they do

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/plants1/ ... 878/1.html

I have no idea but looking at it, is it a plant that does better in arid conditions? Just judging by the photo, it could be photo shopped, but it's bulb is just sitting in stones, or am I just being incredibly naive?

seen these in the garden centres iam sre you can just sit the roots in water teh bulb in the open!! not sure if they were hardy ones!!!

It would be fantasic Dave if they can be grown outdoors. My wife had one (non hardy version) as a Christmas present and it has grown to about 30 inches (76cm) in 1 month, has 6 flower heads plus a new flowering stem pushing up. I tried a hardy hibiscus last year that was a total failure.

John

Please forgive the pedantry that follows.

T&M are offering hybrids of 'the florist’s amaryllis'. Botanically this is Hippeastrum, a genus of about 90 species from The New World many of which are not yet in widespread circulation.

Amaryllis is a monotypic genus [A.belladonna] from South Africa. It is reliably hardy in the South West at least, flowering in the autumn.

The large flowered florists forms [Hippeastrum] are not hardy below about -3, and need a bit of care to make sure they are not in active growth through the winter [started from dry bulbs in the autumn they would be soft and green and dead if frosted in the winter].

Recent attention has passed to the 'other' Hippeastrum species, both for a more 'interesting' look to the flower, and possible hardiness since several of the species are from altitudes where frost is common.

St Joseph's lily [H. reginae x H.vittata] for example is proving a hardy spring flowering bulb in the USA, though bred in the UK [Preston] in about 1800!

I haven't grown it, but would suspect it needs more summer heat than Cornwall can give it.

The 'new' Hippeastrum hybrids are an exciting bunch, and not yet fully trialled. The T&M picture looks like the Sonatini range, which have been well reviewed, but not around long enough to know their long term garden potential.

If you wanted them in separate colours, try Hayloft plants

Sorry if I've ranted. Why do T&M have to bugger up formal plant names?

Chad.

Crinum Powellii is a outdoor type, if it is in warm south facing border. protect shoots from late frosts, they are in wilko's £1.98 for 1.

they always have some lovely specimens on show at the floating flower market in amsterdam.

those guys know how to grow bulbs!

cheers

lee

I've this common one outside so it should be interesting if the bulbs were deep enough to remain frost free this winter. If it does sprout again I'll have to keep an eye on late frosts ... thanks for the tip real_ale

I used to grow a few Hippeastrums permanently outside here and they did extremely well until hit by a major vine weevil invasion about 4 years ago This was the best performer - a hybrid that Angelo Porcelli reckoned was 'Candy Floss'. I know he asked the PBS about its identity, but I never saw a response:



At its best it carried 8 stems of 25cms wide flowers - for the life of me I can't locate the pics on this hard drive, so this earlier one will have to do.



This was a hybrid raised by Maurice Larcombe and given to me as a 1 year seedling. It was planted out the same summer and did this 3 years later. It flowered for a couple of years before being eaten inside out!

NB watch out for slugs, which chew the leaves and weevil grubs, which do far worse!

Dave,

They are inspiring. What time of year did they flower, and were they 'dormant' [leafless] for the winter?

Chad.

DaveP I certainly hope mine do as well as yours, although you are in a milder winter area.

Thanks for the heads up on vine weevil, as I have those unfortunately My Bizzy lizzies fall out of the pouches in Sep/Oct as the roots securing them have been eaten complately away. I notice T & M are selling a nematode for Vine weevil. Sounds like an interesting new topic in the making.

Chad, flowering was usually in June/early July and the leaves were present throughot the year. It's a common misconception that Hippeastrums must have a fully dormant period. They flower perfectly well if kept growing throughout the year. The trick is to make sure they are well fertilised and exposed to as much sun as possible. They naturally lose a few leaves during winter, which aren't replaced as quickly as they would be in summer.

Dave, we had a couple of -5s this winter and for the first time in the 27 years I've lived down here, days when temps failed to rise above freezing. I'm not sure if they would have survived. I tried an 'Apple Blossom' during warmer winter periods and it deteriorated badly, which is odd, because Maurice's hybrid has that as one of its parents and it did very well here. I went mad with Provado after losing the Hippys and have not seen many weevils since.

I forgot to mention, there's a remarkably hardy Hippeastrum appropriately named 'Toughy' that you might like to play with. It has purplish flushed leaves and very fetching, moderate sized, crimson flowers in June here, but possibly later in colder regions. Bob Baker at CGF has it so there's one source and if it weren't for the fact that it must be as slug prone as the most delicate Hosta, I would recommend it unreservedly. Mine came from Dave Fenwick and flowered well, but was attacked so regularly I passed it on.

I love that all red one...I might have to do some investigation here myself....

There is a Hippeastrum called 'Toughie' which is supposed to be fairly hardy,it's currently available from www.cgf.net

I can grow Amaryllis belladonna here,but never get any flowers,but they need a distinct dry season to obtain good flower.


Crinum are not Amaryllis/Hippeastrum,but a seperate species,altough they are an amaryllid,but so is a daffodil & snowdrop.'Powellii' is the most commonly available,but unless you have plenty of room for an untidy plant with leaves upto 4' long,don't grow it.Crinum moorei,one of the parents of 'Powellii',is a much more refined,tidy plant & in my opinion,a much better flower.





metalhammer.

Hippeastrum 'Toughie' is available from www.cgf.net Bob Brown(owner),says it regularly gets frosted in his tunnels.PGP had it a couple of years back & I'm sure Nick Macer said it was hardy.



To Stephen Prudence,Hippeastrums are not dry climate plants,the originate from wet-ish tropical areas.In Florida they are grown in fields,there they regularly cut off the foliage to simulate different seasons.I used to grow loads of them,I had about 200 at one time,a lot of these were ones I had produced by my own hybridising,some had actually flowered,then in 1987 my heater in my greenhouse popped it's fuse one night & it dropped to -9c/16f one night,end of 9 years of work.Lost the lot,all turned to mush.





metalhammer.