Ferraria crispa Corms

Peter Taggart petersirises@gmail.com
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:40:11 PDT
Hello Matt,
I don't know a lot about Ferraria in particular but I would pot the corms
deeper and would put an additional layer of 6mm or 10mm gravel on top.
This results in fewer bigger corms and bulbs.
I pot some tulips at the bottom of pots 30 cm deep, fill with compost to
half way up and the top 15 cms is gravel.
If you pot at the very bottom of a pot,  you must remember to avoid a
suspended water table by ensuring that there is a capillary action from the
drainage holes of the pot.
Peter (UK)

On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 5:03 AM, Matt Mattus <mmattus@charter.net> wrote:

>
> I was going to post an image of some never-bloomed corms that I have in a
> 'mystery' pot of corms raised from seed that I bought from Silverhill Seed
> planted 2006. I say 'mystery' since the label says Ferraria crispa, but I
> was doubting the accuracy, since the foliage looks nothing like any of the
> foilage in many Ferraria photos. I have never grown this genus before.
>
> After looking at the PBS Wiki, I think that these are indeed Ferraria
> crispa, but I have a problem. I had been potting up the cormlets every
> year,
> and now I have many, far too many. They are not very large, the largest is
> about the size of a US quarter coin, and the rest, smaller. They have been
> dividing in copious amounts.
>
> Should I repot all of the corms deeper? Right now, they are falling out of
> the pot, pushing themselves out over the rim, and they are so tight inside
> the pot that I may have to crack it. I have them in a 10 inch clay pot,
> with
> a fast draining soil mix which is mostly lean, and about 80% perlite. The
> foliage is magnificent, but no flowers yet.
>
> Should I isolate the larger corms and plant those alone? What sort of soil
> mixture should I use? It would be nice to see one of these many corms
> bloom!
>
> Of course, these may even not be Ferraria, but I am going to trust my metal
> label.
>
> Matt Mattus
> Worcester, MA
> Zone 5b
>
>
>


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