Dear Dave: I should mention an experiment I did some years ago to see if I could induce more reliable flowering in Lycoris. I had many pots of mature L. radiata. I treated one group with ripening bananas (whole and very ripe), one group with smoke water, one group with smoke and had a control group. All of the treated pots had many more flower spikes than the control group. I think (I don't have my notes) that the smoke water was the best, but the banana group most certainly responded well also. I should add as far as Lycoris is concerned, though, that when I moved from the very hot interior of California to the coastal region all pots were loaded in a van in temperatures of 108F (probably more inside the van). When they were unloaded on the coast, the temperature was about 55F (this is normal summer temperature here). The drop in temperature induced just about every bulb to bloom. It was quite amazing. Diana Telos Rare Bulbs ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Fenwick" <crocosmia@blueyonder.co.uk> To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 3:28 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Bananas! > >>>>>I was very interested in David's post, too, but for a different reason. > I > thought that all of us who need to pre-chill were supposed to make sure that > our bulbs never shared a fridge with fruit. Ripening fruit gives off > ethylene, > which, I thought, would stunt or kill the flower developing in the bulb. > Now I > read that ethylene is helpful? > > Hi Jennifer, > Yes I realise this too as I was thinking of treating my Amaryllis (as in > belladonnas) to see if this had any effect on their blooming. I too found > that storing bulbs in a fridge with ripening fruit wasn't a very good idea. > > However, that said, commercial cut flower practise on the Isles of Scilly, > UK, Narcissus leaves are burnt each year post flowering, this was > scientifically found to induce early flowering on an annual basis. It was > found to be ethylene from the burning that induces this early flowering. > Therefore it's probably ethylene after buring in the wild that promotes > flowering. > > I had a friend try bananas on his Brunsvigias last year, the plants had not > produced leaves for four year, yet after a couple of weeks of treatment > leaves were produced. > > I think the answer is to experiment on less expensive bulbs, and make > comparrisons with untreated ones; or try the method as a last resort. Some > South African bulbs can sleep for quite a long period, at the moment I'm > waiting for a large species of Albuca to shoot surface, it has been dormant > for two years, although the bulbs are fine. It would probably be a very good > candidate for banana treatment. > > Best Wishes, > Dave > > Websites: > http://www.theafricangarden.com/ > http://www.crocosmiaheritage.com/ > > Address: > David Fenwick > NCCPG National Collection of Crocosmia with Chasmanthe and Tulbaghia > The African Garden > 96 Wasdale Gardens > Estover > Plymouth > Devon > England > PL6 8TW > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <jennifer.hildebrand@att.net> > To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> > Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 9:22 PM > Subject: Re: [pbs] Bananas! > > > > Hi all, > > > > I was very interested in David's post, too, but for a different reason. I > > thought that all of us who need to pre-chill were supposed to make sure > that > > our bulbs never shared a fridge with fruit. Ripening fruit gives off > ethylene, > > which, I thought, would stunt or kill the flower developing in the bulb. > Now I > > read that ethylene is helpful? > > > > I would appreciate elucidation! > > Jennifer > > _______________________________________________ > > pbs mailing list > > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com/). > Version: 6.0.484 / Virus Database: 282 - Release Date: 27/05/03 > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php