More Nerine coming
Paul Tyerman (Tue, 05 Aug 2003 16:28:07 PDT)

Jim,

N. krigei needs a winter cold period in order to bloom the following
season. Try storing them in the fridge for a month or so in mid-winter.

I had thought that some of them might need hot summer temperatures to bring
on bloom, but now I'm not so sure about that. We are seeing more bloom
this summer than usual in the Nerine, and it has been very mild overall,
only a couple of days reached 90 F (32 C). We have also had plenty of rain
here, which may be encouraging the summer growers.

We get down to -8'C at least in winter (most years) and up to maybe 40'C in
summer, so the hot and cold shouldn't be a problem <grin>, unless it
doesn't like that cold? It may also be jsut plain maturity so I am hoping
we might get some flowers this year as I repotted last season.

I have one N. gracilis in flower, and several pots of N. rehmannii starting
to bloom. I should get a picture of at least the rehmannii to post to the
Bulbs_Images list.

I am not on the Bulbs-Images so could you either send it to me privately or
else put it on your webpage? Thanks in advance.

In my climate, hybrids of N. sarniensis are difficult, even in pots. I am
not sure how one should get them through a Midwestern summer in condition
to bloom in the Fall. Mine rarely do bloom, and a couple die each year.

I don't know exactly what the hybrids I grow are based on. I have maybe 20
dfferent named varieties in colours ranging from whites through to dark
reds and pinks. A couple even have a blue-mauve line on the outer tips of
the petal which has me wondering whether they have Lycoris crossed into
them or not as I cannot think of a Nerine species that includes blue? I
sort of thought that Lycoris and Nerine were not THAT compatible though? I
imagine Jim Waddick would know for sure though if he happens to be reading
this? Otherwise, where does blue occur in Nerines?

I am not familiar with 'Pink Triumph' so can't comment on its growing
conditions <grin>. My hybrids have such names as 'Afterglow', 'Ancilla',
'Bagdad', 'Coconut Ice', 'Cuckfield', 'Jill', 'Kenilworth', 'Killi',
'Knight Templar', 'Lady E. Keane', 'Lucinda', 'Old Rose' and 'Optomist' and
I know that some of these are Austrlaian hybridised and others are UK
hybridised at least. Not sure where they all came from though.

Cheers.

Paul Tyerman
Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9
mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au

Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus,
Cyrtanthus, Oxalis, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about
anything else that doesn't move!!!!!