Lycoris passeth, Cochicum cometh, the seasons march along
J.E. Shields (Sat, 28 Aug 2004 17:21:48 PDT)

Hi All,

The Lycoris are now all nearly over with here. I hate to see them go, as
this means summer is about to end. However, there is consolation at
hand: the first Colchicum are starting to bloom in my lawn, C.
byzantinum. It is usually the first one up in autumn, and this year is
typical. Usually, the next one to appear will be Colchicum cilicium
"Purpureum".

In the dappled shade of the lath house, Haemanthus albiflos selections
continue to flower. Another sign that autumn is not for away!

In the greenhouse, two dormant bulbs of Haemanthus barkerae are showing
pink scapes. This will be the third season that these have tried to
flower. The first year, they tried to bloom while bone-dry in the dark
basement storage room -- I didn't see them until long after the scapes had
withered and dried. Last year I knew enough to have them in the greenhouse
at bloom time, and I got to see flowers. I did not succeed in setting any
seeds on them, unfortunately.

Pots of Hymenocallis acutifolia are in flower too -- another sign that
summer will soon be over. They have large flat staminal cups and are truly
handsome flowers. Hymenocallis cf. expansa is also in bloom. It has the
tiniest staminal cups I can recall seeing on a Hymenocallis! H. expansa is
a large plant in the Caribaea alliance. The flowers on my plant are
definitely not green, nor even greenish, but the tips of the tepals are
slightly yellow in color. H. expansa is from the Caribbean islands, while
H. acutifolia comes from riverine environments in southern Mexico.

I'm trying to set seeds on both these flowers, by self-pollinating
them. The seed (if any) will go to the Hymenocallis Species Conservation
interest group (Hymenocallis SIG). The Hymenocallis SIG is an informal
group I have organized to facilitate communication and exchange of plant
materials among hobbyists and professionals interested in the conservation
and preservation of Hymenocallis species.

Strictly out of season, in another shade house the plant of Clivia 'Jean
Delphine' donated by Dave Conway to the NACS fund-raising auction to be
held this autumn (ca. October), is also in flower. The auction will raise
money to help fund the International Clivia Conference 2005 being organized
by Harold Koopowitz. See the North American Clivia Society web site for
details as they develop, both about the auction -- coming soon! -- and
about the March 2005 conference. Find it
at: http://www.northamericancliviasociety.org/ 'Jean Delphine' has a
bronze-red-orange flower with a deep olive green throat, to die for! Dave
is low on stock of 'Jean Delphine' and NACS is very grateful to Dave for
his donation.

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