Dietes

Jamie Jamievande@freenet.de
Thu, 20 Oct 2005 00:52:29 PDT
Mary Sue,

thanks for the info.  This has been a very informative thread for me, as
Dietes and company have always been a fascination, but I've never really
done more than play with them (of course, this is how it always begins!)  Of
course, we are all being a bit patient, as they are certainly borderline
geophyte subjects, but their general culture translates well to other Summer
rainfall South Africans (I would think).

You probably hit the nail on the head with "choosing difficult seed
subjects".  A weakness of many of us (hmmm, what does this mean?)  That
said, I am often surprised how Amaryllids, even old seed, just spring out of
the ground for me.  I may well have just the right conditions, or I show
them just the correct amount of neglect, that they feel themselves at home.
Pity most are soooo slow to mature.  Let's face it, there is little more
exciting than a flat of healthy seadlings literally growing before our very
eyes.  Funny how one can just impolitely stare in wonderment as tiny leaves
appear from the bulb axis, gently flushed with anthocyanins.  Yes, bulb
people are special.

On the true geophyte side, my Bomarea hirtella are only now starting to
bloom.  We had an extremely cold and cloudy Summer in Cologne and they never
put on much growth.  This late in the season, I expect no seed, but who
knows.  Next Spring I plan to try some seedlings in the garden and hope to
establish them before Winter.  In theory, with their deeper roots, they
should over-winter in my garden.

Ciao,

Jamie V.
Cologne


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Sue Ittner" <msittner@mcn.org>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:32 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Dietes



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