Sprekelia howardii. Was: Sprekelia
J.E. Shields (Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:26:53 PST)
Hi Luc and all,
As you might suppose from the authorship of that paper, Dave Lehmiller is
the expert on Sprekelia howardii. Dave is a member of the IBS Members
group on Yahoo. My bulbs came from a very small batch of seeds that Dave
gave me several years ago. Last summer, a few of Dave's seeds were
distributed by the IBS SX through the IBS Members list.
We hope to have more seeds of this species next season. I have one lone
bulb that blooms (out of several bulbs I have growing). I hope to at least
trade pollen with Dough Westfall next summer.
The plant appears to need a perfectly dry winter rest -- it is no
Mediterranean plant. It also resents being disturbed, according to Dr.
Lehmiller. We grow it in pots and try not to repot it unless absolutely
necessary. I grow it in a 5-inch (ca. 12.5 cm) square pot about 5 to 6
inches deep, in a very gritty mix, one bulb to a pot. The pots sit
outdoors in full sun from mid-May until mid-September, where they get such
rain as may fall here (average 3 inches per month). In dry periods, I may
water them occasionally. I fertilize perhaps once a summer, using a
completely soluble balanced (20-10-20) plant food with micronutrients. In
winter they sit on a table in the cool greenhouse, where temperatures can
drop into the mid-30s (°F), so let's say down to about +02°C at the
lowest. They are never watered while inside the greenhouse.
As I mentioned, one bulb of my small group has bloomed twice, one flower
per year. One other bulb produced one offset, which I have already
committed to someone else. I am seriously interested in producing seeds of
this species and distributing them, either through PBS and this group or
through the International Bulb Society's IBS Members group, or through
both. Maybe next summer.....
Best wishes,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana (USA)
At 05:14 PM 2/16/2008 -0500, you wrote:
Hi all, Among the species I wish to test in a near future is Sprekelia
formosissima, but my question rather concerns Sprekelia howardii. I have
seen on the Pbs website, that Doug Westfall cultivate this rare one in
California. I was wondering if Doug is a member of the list as well and if
he can give us some advice about its cultivation. Anyonelse has experience
with this plant ? Were can I purchase bulbs of it ? Moeover what are the
current taxonomic status of Sprekelia glauca and S. clintae (synonyms ?).
Is the species in cultivation somewhere ? Thanks in advance again for your
help, PS. I am also looking for a copy (or photocopy) of the following
paper - Lehmiller  D. J. 1999. A New Species of Sprekelia
(Amaryllidaceae). Herbertia, 54, pp. 228-231.........
*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA