Lycoris report - 2
James Waddick (Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:44:40 PDT)

Things are a little different for me here.

Dear Kelly,
As (relatively) close as you are to me, I am surprised that
your bloom sequence is quite so different.

The fall foliage types do not do very well here as we are
cold enough to cause lots of winter damage, L. radiata is among the
most reliable for me, but it won't bloom until late Sept or early Oct.

Lycoris in pots, with the L. shaanxiensis
from Chen Yi coming up first as usual. It's spider lily bloom is the
whitest bloom I've seen so far on Lycoris, and, no, I don't think it is
really L. shaanxiensis, as it does not match the scientific
descriptions.

I don't know if Chen Yi has ever sent a correctly ID ed
Lycoris. The true shaanxiensis has has white flowers, but it is not
especially spidery and the stamens do NOT protrude from the corolla.
The ones I have seen from her have long protruding stamens and
spidery ruffled petals. She also sells things like "pink' aurea (no
such thing) etc.

Right now L. caldwellii has become the star of the garden. I
counted one big clump with almost 50 flower stalks coming up. Should
be show this weekend.

One thing I failed to mention in earlier posts is that
Lycoris make surprisingly good cut flowers. Cut stems at their base,
then cut to fit the vase. They will last much longer indoors, than
out. The only problem is that the base of the stems split and then
curls up. In China they are sold as cut flowers.

And they still keep coming.

Best Jim W.
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +