Tropical bulbs
Lee Poulsen (Fri, 16 May 2008 17:29:26 PDT)
Narad (Richard Eggenberger) wrote:
I would be most grateful
if I could receive bulbs of other species and hybrids that I can carry
to India when I return each year from late October to first March
during the best planting season. We would like to begin a hybridizing
program for the species for which I am especially fond as its
spiritual significance in the language of the flowers is "Prayer'. If
there are other bulbs that can adapt to this climate, 11 degrees north
of the equator, hot and humid, I would be most appreciative of your
suggestions. We do grow Crinum (only one or two varieties), Eurycles,
Eucharis, Polianthes, and one or two species of Amaryllis that can
withstand the intense heat of summer.
Have you looked at the amazing Zephyranthes hybrids Fadjar Marta of
Jakarta Indonesia has produced? I think the climate there is similar to
yours. Plant Delights Nursery <http://www.plantdelights.com/> carries a
number of them such as Bali Beauty, Batik, Copper Mine, Fantasy Island,
Jakarta Jewel, Krakatau, Lydia Luckman, Moulin Rouge, Paul Niemi, South
Pacific. There is also a website where many of his hybrids are pictured:
<http://geocities.com/fadjar_z/Fadjar/…>. Yucca Do Nursery
<http://www.yuccado.com/> also often carried a good selection of the
species. I think many of the things both of these nurseries (esp.
everything Yucca Do sells) carry would do just fine in your climate as
well. Buried Treasures Nursery in Florida
<http://www.buried-treasure.net/> carries all kinds of tropical bulbs.
There are some other nurseries as well that I can't think of right now.
There are a number of Hippeastrum from Brazil that might do well in you
climate. Check out Mauro Peixoto's website (he sells seeds of many of
the species on his website) <http://www.brazilplants.com/>. Also Greg
Pettit who has a nursery on the warm humid east coast of South Africa
might have a lot of suggestions too.
Other genera to look for might include:
Griffinia
Hymenocallis
Trimezia
Neomarica
Eucrosia
Many of the Ginger genera (Zingiber, Alpinia, Burbidgea, Cautleya,
Costus, Etlingera, Hedychium, Kaempferia)
Canna
Globba
Curcuma
Heliconia
a few Lilium
Gloriosa
--Lee Poulsen
Pasadena, California, USDA Zone 10a