Nerines Blooming
J.E. Shields (Thu, 04 Nov 2004 16:32:12 PST)

Hi all,

Besides the Nerine bowdenii "Koen's Hardy" that are flowering in the
greenhouse, the usual commercial clones of N. bowdenii are also
flowering. The blooms on Koen's Hardy look just like those on the other
bowdenii (from, e.g., Potterton). It's just that we have seen that the
Koen's Hardy can survive outdoors in the ground here. However, Ben
Zonneveld did find that Koen's Hardy has about 2 pg less DNA per nucleus
than typical bowdenii. According to Ben, Koen's Hardy has 34.6 pg DNA per
nucleus.

A hybrid that Kelly Irwin sent me a year or two ago is also flowering. N.
'Nikita' looks just like any bowdenii, except that the flowers are a
beautiful pale pink! I intend to try pollinating 'Nikita' with Koen's Hardy.

I tried pollinating N. 'Dame Alice Godman' with Koen's Hardy, but I don't
think any of them took. There is still a chance.....

I'm pollinating Koen's Hardy with the robust N. krigei (the one that came
labeled "bowdenii wellsii"). N. krigei is of interest because it flowers
in July and August, so it's hybrids with bowdenii should be bigger in
flower and earlier than October and November to bloom. It also is one of
the Nerine species which require chilling to induce bloom the following
summer. The "robust" krigei has exactly the same DNA content per nucleus,
according to Ben Zonneveld's measurements, as typical N. krigei.

I'm also going to try pollinating Koen's Hardy with N. platypetala. This
species flowers well in cultivation, just needing to stand in a pan of
water in the summer. It is a marsh or bog plant in habitat, and tolerates
wet feet, I think crossing bowdenii with platypetala should both move the
flowering season to earlier than November, and increase the tolerance for
wet growing conditions.

I have finally received what should be genuine N. bowdenii wellsii. Once
these plants acclimatize and flower, I will have a whole new set of crosses
to try. I can't wait!

Those of you in mild climates may not appreciate the severe disadvantage
here of bulbs that try to flower in November. We have normally had several
killing frosts by now. Increasing the hardiness of bowdenii here would be
useless if we cannot also move the blooming season up to September or October.

If you like nerines, try to get bulbs of N. 'Nikita'. Sorry, I only have
the two that Kelly gave me, and they are NOT for sale! The fact that both
the bulbs are blooming speaks highly of the culture they received before I
got them.

Regards,
Jim Shields
in wet central Indiana

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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
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Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA