Nerine sarniensis hybrids
Mary Sue Ittner (Tue, 30 Aug 2005 09:45:11 PDT)

Dear All,

A number of years ago some of us donated money to a rescue effort for a
collection of Nerine hybrids. A man had died and his collection had been
abandoned and the plants were not in very good shape. Those of us who gave
money received bulbs in exchange. I shared some of mine with Diana Chapman
who grew hers much more successfully than I did. I've had blooms on most,
but not all of the ones I kept, and not very often. It has been hit or miss
as I experimented to find out what they needed in my environment. Last
year's results were dismal. But I think with everyone's help and
suggestions at last I have figured out what I need to do to get them to
bloom. As more and more spikes appear I'm going to have more blooms this
year than ever before. So thank you all who contributed with advice.

It appears that I need to keep them in my greenhouse in summer where I
water the dormant bulbs every couple of weeks. They need the moisture and
the extra heat that coastal northern California does not have. They also
need some protection from my excessive wet winters so winter greenhouse
seems helpful too. Anyone have any suggestions for getting Brunsvigia to
bloom? I know there are some species that will not bloom until they have
been growing for years. Brunsvigia josephinae I may not live long enough to
see in flower. But I grow a few of the dwarf ones that were supposed to
bloom much more quickly and haven't.

Mary Sue