Sprekelia howardii. Was: Sprekelia

J.E. Shields jshields@indy.net
Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:26:53 PST
Hi Luc and all,

As you might suppose from the authorship of that paper, Dave Lehmiller is 
the expert on Sprekelia howardii.  Dave is a member of the IBS Members 
group on Yahoo.  My bulbs came from a very small batch of seeds that Dave 
gave me several years ago.  Last summer, a few of Dave's seeds were 
distributed by the IBS SX through the IBS Members list.

We hope to have more seeds of this species next season.  I have one lone 
bulb that blooms (out of several bulbs I have growing).  I hope to at least 
trade pollen with Dough Westfall next summer.

The plant appears to need a perfectly dry winter rest -- it is no 
Mediterranean plant.  It also resents being disturbed, according to Dr. 
Lehmiller.  We grow it in pots and try not to repot it unless absolutely 
necessary.  I grow it in a 5-inch (ca. 12.5 cm) square pot about 5 to 6 
inches deep, in a very gritty mix, one bulb to a pot.  The pots sit 
outdoors in full sun from mid-May until mid-September, where they get such 
rain as may fall here (average 3 inches per month).  In dry periods, I may 
water them occasionally.  I fertilize perhaps once a summer, using a 
completely soluble balanced (20-10-20) plant food with micronutrients.  In 
winter they sit on a table in the cool greenhouse, where temperatures can 
drop into the mid-30s (°F), so let's say down to about +02°C at the 
lowest.  They are never watered while inside the greenhouse.

As I mentioned, one bulb of my small group has bloomed twice, one flower 
per year.  One other bulb produced one offset, which I have already 
committed to someone else.  I am seriously interested in producing seeds of 
this species and distributing them, either through PBS and this group or 
through the International Bulb Society's IBS Members group, or through 
both.  Maybe next summer.....

Best wishes,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana (USA)


At 05:14 PM 2/16/2008 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi all, Among the species I wish to test in a near future is Sprekelia 
>formosissima, but my question rather concerns Sprekelia howardii. I have 
>seen on the Pbs website, that Doug Westfall cultivate this rare one in 
>California. I was wondering if Doug is a member of the list as well and if 
>he can give us some advice about its cultivation. Anyonelse has experience 
>with this plant ? Were can I purchase bulbs of it ? Moeover what are the 
>current taxonomic status of Sprekelia glauca and S. clintae (synonyms ?). 
>Is the species in cultivation somewhere ? Thanks in advance again for your 
>help, PS. I am also looking for a copy (or photocopy) of the following 
>paper - Lehmiller  D. J. 1999. A New Species of Sprekelia 
>(Amaryllidaceae). Herbertia, 54, pp. 228-231.........

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA



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