Hi, everybody. I've been lurking here for a long time. I don't have enough time to write as much as I'd like, but I do read the list. I wanted to let you know that I just posted some new Nerine photos to the Wiki. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… I was one of the people who received bulbs from the Nerine collection of the late Jack Zinkowski some years ago. I finally got around to posting pictures of some of them this week. I think the most interesting hybrid is the one labeled H-61. It's a weird, red/mauve/purple striped affair. http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… This year I had by far the best blooms ever from the Nerines. My secret? I watered them once a week, all summer long. I know that's heresy, and I'm not recommending that anyone else do it, but in my conditions I think the extra water is needed. I am growing them in 8-inch (20 cm) plastic pots on a south-facing slope. The soil mix is a very lean 50% sand and 50% peat. I haven't changed the soil in five years (because I'm told Nerines hate disturbance), so I'm sure there's less than 50% peat by now. Where I live, typical summer temperatures get into the 90s F, humidity is quite low, and it doesn't rain a drop from April to October. I think that in past years, the bulbs and their roots were getting completely dried out in summer, which stressed them too much to bloom. I tried watering the pots once every month or two in summer, and that produced some more blooms. But still I was getting flowers from maybe one pot in seven. This summer I thought about those bulbs growing up at Mr. Zinkowski's place, in greenhouses up in misty rainy Oregon where I doubt they would ever completely dry out. So I swallowed hard and set the drip irrigation system to water weekly throughout the summer. The result: flowers in about one pot out of three. I'll let you know in a couple of years if the bulbs have all rotted away. But so far, so good. Mike San Jose, CA (zone 9, min temp 20F)
