Not much blooming as we approach Christmas
J.E. Shields (Sun, 22 Dec 2002 12:49:41 PST)

Hi all,

The greenhouses are not very colorful just now. Lachenalia viridiflora has
been blooming and now L. bulbifera is in full bloom. There were a few
bright yellow flowers recently on Cypella peruviana. A hanging basket full
of Gladiolus carmineus has three scapes topped with vivid pink flowers,
showing the white blaze surrounded by a deep rose eye on each of the three
lower tepals. These came as cormlets from the IBS BX some time ago.

Haemanthus deformis bloomed and still looks very very white. The flowers
are however wilting. I tried pollinating one plant by the other, just to
see what happens.

An occasional blue bloom still shows up on the pot of Moraea
polystachya. A small pot of Romulea bulbocodium seedlings, planted in Feb.
2001, have bloomed a couple of times this month; but I never can catch them
with their yellow flower open.

We are waiting for the clivia seeds to ripen and for some clivia blooms to
start pushing out from the heart of the plants. Nothing so far!

Regards,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana

*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. +1-317-896-3925
Member of INTERNATIONAL CLIVIA CO-OP