Lapageria rosea

Nhu Nguyen xerantheum@gmail.com
Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:21:39 PDT
Jim,

This species has thickened roots but no other type of storage. The slightly
thickened roots it barely qualifies it as a geophyte so we did not include
it on the wiki, even though it is a fantastically beautiful species with
many wonderful cultivars. It is most active in the fall, winter and spring
and puts up beautiful waxy, bell shaped flowers in the fall.

This is a wonderful species and I can't say enough about it. Here are some
photos to whet everyone's appetite:
http://flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/…
http://flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/…
http://flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/…
http://flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/…

You probably already know that it grows best in climates with moist and cool
summers and cold, moist, but not freezing winters. This presents a challenge
to people in most places in the world, especially in the eastern US. I don't
know of any Mid-westerners who is growing this species, although I once had
some interesting email conversations with some people growing this in the
Carolinas/Georgia and even in northern Florida. The verdict was that it's
extremely difficult. The hot, baking wet summers will immediately cause
rotting of the roots, unless you trench the medium with fungicide every
couple of months. I also believe the recommendation was that the medium had
to also be extremely porous. In any climate, the root-stem zone should never
be covered by the soil. The roots will push themselves up eventually but if
the conditions aren't right they will rot before you can even say Lapageria.

Nhu
Berkeley, CA
Nerine bowdenii, Nerine sarniensis, and Stenomesson percei are in bloom

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xerantheum/

On Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 9:38 PM, James Waddick <jwaddick@kc.rr.com> wrote:

> Dear Friends,
>        So a few Qs for more knowledgeable PBSers:
>        Does Lapageria rosea have a bulb (tuber or enlarged root)?
>        Has anyone outside of Greater San Francisco especially the mid-west
> had success with this species
>


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