TOW: Have you ever...?
James Waddick (Mon, 25 Aug 2003 07:46:05 PDT)

Dear All;
I have mentioned the reluctance of Lycoris to settle down and
have many times heard a similar story. I have told this one before
,but it is worth repeating:
Fall -planed 25 L. chinensis late in the season (none bloomed)
Spring 1 - only 3 appeared with foliage none bloomed
Spring 2 -22 appeared with foliage none bloomed
Spring 3- all 25 appeared with foliage and many bloomed, some
with multiple stalks.

The story usually goes "I bought bulbs from you 3( or 4 or
5) years ago and they didn't come up. I assumed they were dead. This
fall I looked out towards the garden and saw a patch of (insert color
here - yellow, white purple). When I investigated all the bulbs were
in full bloom and were gorgeous."

This year although the drought stress continues, many new
bulbs planted 1, 2 or 3 years ago are up and blooming (some for the
very first time) including some wonderful hybrids, one with royal
purple buds that open white rimmed in an undescribable pink-ish tone.
L. incarnata is proving itself another to add to the mainstay list of
'squamigera, longituba chinensis and sprengeri*'. I may even get a
bloom on L. rosea - very marginally hardy and rarely blooms, but the
heat and drought may have won this over. Same for xhaywardii which is
normally a shy bloomer here, but putting on a dazzling display with
its rich pink flower heads.
L. sprengeri are varying from intense blue to faded pink with
blue highlights, but all are lovely. One has lovely striped petals.
Many ( caldwellii, straminea, radiata etc.)are still not
showing signs yet.

Yes patience is needed for those bulbs shy to settle down.

Jim W.

* It continues to amaze me about the deficit in American gardens due
to the rarity of Lycoris longituba chinensis and sprengeri. All three
are equally trouble free, but, compared to L. squamigera which is
very common, these remain rare. I put a blame on the early English
(primarily) plant explorers who collected these, but found they did
not do well in English gardens so they never got a proper
distribution world wide as they surely deserve.
Similarly, now that many 'new' species and hybrids are
appearing in the US someone really needs to select a few (like some
good forms of L. chinensis, L longituba flavum, all blue L. sprengeri
and others) and propagate the heck out of it for commercial
distribution. They deserve to be in many more gardens. Tissue culture
anyone?

Best Jim W.

--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
E-fax 419-781-8594

Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +