looking for a production guide of sorts - Massonia in hydroton!

[petershaw]

Hi All,

There is a great wiki article on growing bulbs but its very general and I found out that my Ferraria like to be deep from someone on this forum.

I know there is not likely a book like Holland Bulb Forcers Guide I used back in the day but any suggestions would be great.

I came across the The Southern African Bulb Group today and browsed through a half dozen news letters. Picked up a few great tips, like Babiana also like to be deep, though the ones in my garden seem to migrate to the surface..

Anyway, I found this great picture of Massonia longipes growing in hydroton. I have years of experience in the substrate world and love the stuff. My home aquaponic system uses this material. Its an ebb and flood system that fills up every 20-30 minutes then drains quickly. 
I planted my two Boophone disticha bulbs in hydroton this winter and they doubled in size. 
(I also overwinter my hybrid Glads in them and they gust finished blooming.

[CG100]

The problem with any detailed cultivation guide for any plants is that they are almost always just the experience of one person in one location.
In the case of SA bulbs, probably a majority of people growing them outside of SA are growing them in climates that are totally unsuited for growing them outdoors, in the soil, for instance.

At the very least, every grower is different - for instance, on average, I over-water everything, so I have always used composts for dry climate plants that are very largely (but not entirely) mineral, but I would never consider trying to grow anything in any single aggregate, such as hydroton (it looks very like many different expanded clay media sold in the UK under numerous names).
More than that, very moisture sensitive plants are grown in clay pots here as even after heavy watering, they dry out fast. Not everythig likes that though - as a generalisation, Ferarria here, my greenhouse, my climate, my cultural regime, do better in plastic pots.

If you take a look at the very recent SABG newsletters you will find details of light levels too.