New Member, Introduction
ConroeJoe@aol.com (Thu, 15 Jan 2004 06:14:00 PST)

Hi,

Thanks to all the wonderful members who have taken time to correspond with me
before I was "official." I do enjoy plants and learning about them, but find
I'm a haphazard gardener. I can kill off entire trays of seedlings by
forgetting their water, or placing them in too-hot sun.

I don't grow too many bulbs, but am trying to fix that. Some on this list
have been kind enough to send seeds (thanks Robb). I think I enjoy seed
propagation as much as any other part of the hobby, maybe more. Here in greater
Houston, TX area I find that many plants will grow outside, but many more insist
on pot culture--they get stored dry and dormant in their off season. The
problem here is wetness more than cold, so I store them in the laundry room rather
than the garage with its swings of humidity.

I have been pleasantly surprised to find that methods I use to grow cacti and
succulents work fine for some bulbs. I mix up soils with 80%
pumice/sand/perlite or sometimes even 90%. I leave agaves and cacti outside all year in
pots, never providing extra water, they thrive if they have excellent drainage.
I'm just beginning to try such an approach for xeric bulbs (Dave at the African
Garden has provided some advice).

I'm a plant pathologist by training, a botanist in my "first" career and now
I work on various mammalian genomes in the biotech industry. My hobbies
include "stalking" and growing native USA plants and plants from Mexico. I have 2
Chihuahuas (silly animals, but affectionate), and my companion wishes nothing
to do with plants. My most serious bulb pest (in terms of theoretically
possible damage) is the armadillo. They can root up parking lot-sized patches
overnight, or tip over very large pots.

My special project this year has been to locate and characterize native Texas
populations of Hymenocallis (mostly liriosme). I've yet to locate H.
galvestonensis. Jim Shields has offered to help preserve Hymenocallis germplasm, so
many of the populations of this variable plant are being lost to development.
Alan Merow has indicated a willingness to undertake karyotyping and DNA
studies.

Cordially,

Joe Shaw
Conroe TX, zone 9