What's blooming: tender bulbs
J.E. Shields (Wed, 27 Aug 2003 10:26:46 PDT)

Hi all,

Right now, we have lots of pots of Nerine rehmannii blooming and setting
seed. I just saw a small butterfly, Everes comyntas, the Eastern Tailed
Blue, visiting the flowers of one pot of N. rehmannii. N. rehmannii blooms
well in a 5.5 inch square by 5.5 inches deep plastic pot in a sandy or
gritty mix. I'm collecting and planting the seed as it ripens. I want tor
try crowding these bulbs together more closely.

There is one flower scape in one pot of N. masoniorum. We get very little
bloom from this species here. The flowers are a bright pink, larger than
N. rehmannii but smaller than most other Nerines. That includes Nerine
filamentosa, which is starting to push up scapes in every pot of it we
have. N. filamentosa is quite reliable at blooming in late summer. They
are fairly crowded in 6-inch round plastic azalea pots, growing in gritty
mix. They set a few seeds, which I have also been planting.

Strumaria tenella orientalis is another white-flowered amaryllid, but it is
even tinier than N. rehmannii. It also seems to bloom quite reliably every
year at this time. Several grow and bloom together in a 5.5 inch square by
5.5 inches deep plastic pot in a sandy or gritty mix. It sets seed readily
and blooms from seed in just a couple of years. It propagates better from
seed than from offsets, so I always plant the seeds when they ripen.

Nerine rehmannii, N. filamentosa, and Strumaria tenella are tender but very
easy to grow. Put the pots out in full sun in late Spring (May in central
Indiana) and water when they get dry. Feed occasionally with a dilute
solution of a soluble fertilizer. Dry off and store before first frost in
a dry, frost-free location over winter. They are deciduous and summer-growing.

There are a few pictures in my web sites
at http://shieldsgardens.com/amaryllids/… and
at http://shieldsgardens.com/Bulbs/…

I would hate to be without my small nerines in late summer. They come at a
time every year when my love of gardening starts to wilt in the heat and
bugs of late August.

Regards,
Jim Shields

*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA
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