Haemanthus growth cycles?

Haemanthus growth cycles?
Matthew Gale (Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:51:04 PDT)

Thanks, Lauw. I have some seedlings which were germinated during UK spring,
and are growing during our spring/summer, so I guess there's a possibility
that they will continue this cycle. I wonder whether the process you
mentioned works well with Amaryllids which retain their roots during
dormancy?

I remember reading mails which discussed strategies for getting
winter-growing southern hemisphere plants to grow in the northern
hemisphere's winter, but what happens if you don't do this? I would be
really interested to know if anyone has had any success with such plants,
particularly people who experience really cold, wet (non-Mediterranean)
winters.

Matthew

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bulbargence" <dejager@bulbargence.com>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 7:11 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Haemanthus growth cycles?

Mathew,
In Holland they are very good at that. The bulbs are planted in the
spring,
lifted the end of the summer and put in warm storage (to simulate the
summer
dormancy) These bulbs are offered for sale in the spring. The species
concerned are Moraeas, Tritonia, Sparaxis, but I suppose that this
procedure
may also apply to Haemanthus coccineus. For this experiment you better buy
bulbs grown in th southern hemisphere.
Bonne chance
Lauw de Jager
BULB'ARGENCE
Mas d'Argence
30300 FOURQUES, France

tel 33(0)466 016 519 ou 33(0)877 733 970 fax (0)466 011 245
Code Skype telephone: dejagerlauw

http://www.bulbargence.com/ mailto: dejager@bulbargence.com

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

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