Amaryllis belladonna blooming
totototo@telus.net (Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:54:07 PDT)
On 15 Aug 06, at 14:40, rdjenkins wrote:
I've had them for years as well and have never had any blooms in 7b. I
took a potful indoors for the winter last year and may do so again
this year, hoping that growing them through the winter in the warm
indoors will help form buds or at least extend their season to produce
a larger bulb. I guess the trick though, is getting them to send
those buds on out.
Winter them in a frost-free environment, not a *warm* one. With as
much light as you can manage. A.b. is reliable here, and our winters
hover around 42F (5-6 C); this may give you a clue to overwintering
them for good results.
Do the roots signal the bulb to initiate bloom?
My own guess is that the bulbs respond to the cooling of the soil as
the days start to shorten. From June 21 to now is 7-8 weeks (taking
"now" as approximate), and the sun has gotten lower in the sky and
the days significantly shorter. You might not think this would really
affect soil temperatures, but walk barefooted on a beach here in mid-
July and you'll scorch your tootsies. Do it in August, and there's
just not the same heat in the sand.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island