A Nerine Experience
ConroeJoe@aol.com (Mon, 27 Sep 2004 15:19:04 PDT)

Hi,

About 18 months ago I traded some daylilies for some bulbs of Nerine
sarniensis from a South African expatriate. She sent me the bulbs in late spring and
I planted them in sparse soil, watered them a bit, and they put out leaves.
There were 4 big bulbs (duck egg-sized) and some smaller ones.

Then, in July, with the onset of really sticky weather, I dried down the pot
and brought the bulbs indoors till October. They sat quiet and I was sure
they were dead even though they were firm. In October, with the return of cooler
nights and days, I put the pot outside in a sunny spot. I watered it about
every 2 weeks if it didn't rain, and fertilized it twice over winter with fish
emulsion (1/2 strength as recommended for house plants).

This year I brought the pot in to dry in mid-June. The leaves of the big
bulbs were dying back and nights were warm. It was a rainy month and I didn't
want problems for my precious Nerine sarniensis. The pot has sat indoors all
summer, in semi-dark corner of the laundry room-in air conditioned comfort. The
odd thing is that the leaves on the small bulbs (1 inch or so diameter) did
not die back-no water since mid-June. They have stayed green and have tried to
grow a bit-even in the dim light.

On October 1 I'll put the pot back out and hope it performs as before. Last
January the big bulbs produced splendid flowers-pink or pink-lavender. The
plant tolerated frosts to 25 F, but I did protect it from frost when it was in
flower. I figured the blossoms would be the first things to get nipped. Each
flower stalk lasted 2-3 weeks-maybe Nerine flowers are long lived or maybe it
was the cool nights (near 30-35 F) that helped the flowers last so long.

So, are all Nerines so well behaved if you can protect them from the rot of
Houston summers?

Cordially,

Conroe Joe (89 F today, lows near 60 F, no rain for 2-3 weeks)