Haemanthus growth cycles?
Matthew Gale (Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:39:19 PDT)

Hi,
I guess this is a strange topic, since most of us try very hard to simulate
the conditions our bulbs experience in the wild, but has anyone successfully
encouraged winter-growing Haemanthus to grow during the summer in the
northern hemisphere? I guess there would be very little point for those of
you living in California, but what about the people who live in less
sun-kissed climates?

I often think about how much easier it would be if my winter growing
Haemanthus would just grow in the summer when the light would be better.
I've never tried to get them to grow in the summer instead, primarily
because I'm not sure about what triggers dormancy and growth in Haemanthus.
I used to think it was drought followed by moisture, but I now keep the base
of the pots damp during dormancy in order to keep the roots in good
condition and have, occasionally, had accidents with watering during
dormancy which don't seem to cause the plants to spring into growth. Is
temperature the trigger, or a combination of both?

Has anyone got any thoughts on this?

Matthew
UK