New wiki photos; Worsleya bloom
Lee Poulsen (Thu, 16 Sep 2004 11:15:43 PDT)
I uploaded several photos to the wiki, including a big surprise for
me--the first blooming of my Worsleya procera (syn. W. rayneri), aka
the Blue Amaryllis. The bulb isn't as big as the ones I've seen
blooming in pictures on the Internet or among the Worsleya email list,
but it still managed to make two flowers. Interestingly, the lilac-blue
color on mine was very washed out the first day they opened, but had
intensified by the next day. Does anyone know of any others blooming in
recent years in the northern hemisphere? (Other than the source of mine
in eastern Mexico.) I keep it in an unheated plastic pseudo-greenhouse
that keeps things very humid here in dry southern California, and it
seems to like it there.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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One late summer/early autumn surprise bloomer I failed to mention in a
previous email is of course Rhodophiala bifida, the triploid (?) clone
from Texas known as Oxblood Lily. This year, mine exploded into bloom.
It's a clone from some originally growing wild in Texas that Old House
Gardens offers.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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I also have what looks like a pink flowered version of R. bifida, but
the it came labelled as R. pratense. Is this a different species, and
if so, in what ways? It bloomed at the same time and in the same
fashion (from bare soil) as the regular R. bifida.
(Also at http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…)
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A really gorgeous Lycoris hybrid bloomed for the first time. It was
given the English name of 'Flaming Dragon', but it has the Japanese
name 'Satsumahiryu'. [My guess without knowing what the characters are
is that this comes from the Japanese words Satsuma-fire-dragon, where
Satsuma is an old province of Japan that now makes up half of the
Kagoshima prefecture which is the southernmost prefecture of Kyushu
which is the southernmost of the 4 main islands of Japan. This is the
same Satsuma as the seedless satsuma mandarin oranges. Maybe this
indicates that it likes warmer subtropical climates?] The photos don't
show well the contrasting white throats.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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I got a bulb of Lilium sulphureum that bloomed, although it wasn't as
yellow as I expected it would be. It was a very large flower compared
to most of the Lilies that bloom for me. I will see if it comes back
for me.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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Two different Mexican Hymenocallis bloomed for me. My H. sonorensis had
a number of scapes this year and my H. eucharidifolia bloomed for the
first time and both the flowers and the plant are just beautiful.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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As mentioned in a previous email, Calostemma purpureum always surprises
me when it comes into bloom. It seems to do very well in this climate.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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There are some really gorgeous Cypella (coelestis, hauthalii ssp.
opalina) and now for me, C. peruviana. Even the buds right before they
bloom are wonderful. (Which I'll try to get a more in-focus pic of.)
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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For those of you who have warm summers, Curcuma alismatifolia are easy
to grow and pretty. I believe it is in the Ginger family, and are
sometimes called Thai or Siamese tulips.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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I need to learn how to use the features of my digital camera better.
The area I have the most problems with is in getting close-up photos of
flowers to be in focus. Often I can't tell until after I downloaded the
photos after the flower has wilted away. Anyway, I uploaded a couple of
photos of Polianthes ×brundrantii which is a hybrid of P. howardii and
P. tuberosa (the tuberose). However, I detected no scent at all, which
is a little disappointing. I don't know why the entire view of the
flower spike isn't all in focus. However, the close-up of some of the
blooms was okay.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
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That's it.
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena area, California, USDA Zone 9-10