Dear Mary Sue et al:
Organic matter for bulbs must be of vegetal
origin (say decomposed leafmould) and never of animal origin (like manure)
as plant debris decomposition is slow and would not produce a raise in
temperature (necessary for harmful fungi and bacteria proliferation). In
other words it is a "cold " decomposition.
The dose for sulphate of potash mentioned
(5 ml/5 litres) is not clear as it is a salt, a solid, measured in grams,
ounces, etc. If you say 5 ml you mean the solid has been dissolved in a
liquid (normally water). We need to know how much solid sulphate of
potassium was diluted in water in those 5 ml for the information to be of
any relevance.
Leaf tips burn indicate root scorching by
high doses or improper fertilizer application.
Potassium beneficial effects are normally
not very apparent when it is been used on the plants. But the NEXT season of
growth the plants are a lot more robust, bigger and healthier. It is
effective to speed maturation (those plants never reaching flowering size!)
and increases the plants' resistance to frost. The bulbs and corms fed with
potassium do not grow bigger tho. It is not the size but the quality of the
stored materials what is noticeable.
Bob Werra is a most serious grower of
Calochorti and Moraeas, it would be of interest to know of his fertilizing
results.
The most successful grower of Hipeastrums
ever, the great Len Doran, used a fertiwatering regime on his plants and
many of them had leaves 1 metre long and his seedlings would flower in their
second year. His findings were generously shared in a back issue of Plant
Life (1976?). They were the result of scientific research. The doses were so
minute that they were the equivalent of the plants being grown in a
naturally very rich soil
Regards
Alberto
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