Dear All,

On this list we have often reported when the Amaryllis belladonna
start to
bloom in California. Perhaps it is a rite like the Lycoris
blooming in
other parts of the United States and the Crinum blooming for all
of you who
love Crinum. I've had a lot of bulbs bloom for me this summer and
if I have
time I'll write about some of them in another post, but the
blooming of
Amaryllis belladonna for those of us who haven't had rain since
May and
where the garden is a bit tired is a real thrill. We've speculated
what
makes them bloom before. I think the consensus was that they
needed a lot
of sunshine and occasional summer water to do well. At least the
hybrids
seem to need more water. This year I have Amaryllis belladonna
blooming
already in abundance and some plants I have had for years that
have never
bloomed are sending up spikes. Since many of my others don't bloom
until
much later I could have blooms for a long time. So why I ask is
this
happening. We did have late rain, but my garden has been very dry
this
summer. But we had an unusually warm summer with less fog so
perhaps it was
the extra heat or extra sun. Unfortunately since I'm attending the
IBSA
symposium I may miss some of this amazing display. How about the
rest of
you who grow this plant?

One of the ones that is going to bloom I must have had for maybe
12 to 15
years without a bloom. It was originally in a container but never
bloomed
so I divided them and planted them out. This one eventually got
shaded by a
tree, but every year the leaves came back. It's still shaded by
that tree,
but this year it is going to bloom.

Mary Sue
We're back to drippy fog the last few days after all that sunshine.

Mary Sue Ittner
California's North Coast
Wet mild winters with occasional frost
Dry mild summers

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