TOW N.H.Do in Dec - Garden
J.E. Shields (Tue, 02 Dec 2003 07:49:53 PST)

Dear all,

I might elaborate a bit on Boyce's comments for the non-hardy bulbs, here
in the Frozen North.

The Clivia are getting good sunshine, with only 30 to 50% shade. They don't
need as much shading here in winter as they do in summer. We have stopped
watering the mature Clivia as well as almost all the Hippeastrum. We have
also lowered the temperature settings in the greenhouses to about 50 F for
heat and 70 F for the exhaust fans. We stopped feeding in September.

The Nerine bowdenii are blooming now, at least one of the clones is (from
Rob Potterton). The Nereine undulata are also blooming now, but NN.
platypetala and gracilis have finished for the season. All except the
platypetala are now quite dry. The platypetala sit in a tray with water
almost all year round.

The Lachenalia need to have been repotted at least a month or two ago, and
now they need cool temperatures, bright sunlight, and regular watering and
feeding. The same goes for your Ipheion in pots. They both need feeding too!

Jim Shields
in cold central Indiana (USA)

At 08:58 AM 12/2/2003 -0600, Boyce wrote:

.....
Here in the continental cold upper Midwest of North America a quick check
of the hardy bulbs in containers shows they have rooted in nicely and the
Ipheion and Muscari's are already shooting up growth.
.........
The non-hardy bulbs were brought indoors in late September in order to
miss the first freeze. Most of them are in active growth and I should
start watching for spider mites, etc. pretty soon. They get a periodic
watering with Peters 20-20-20 and I'll topdress with Osmocote later in the
winter. The Hippeastrums, Clivia, Dioon and Plumeria are still
experiencing water reduction ... great companion plants for a single
container in that they require simular watering regimes during the
winter..........
Best wishes,

Boyce Tankersley
btankers@chicagobotanic.org

*************************************************
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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