On 22 Aug 2010, at 12:42, Jim McKenney wrote:
> Jane and Mary Sue have both reported indifferent results with Lycoris in
> their climates. Mary Sue in particular has noted that in her dry summers
> bulbs seem to fade away.
From what I've read (a weasel phrase if ever there were one!), Lycoris are
mostly native to southern China: a warm, wet climate. Think "summer monsoon"
territory. Somewhere I've seen (weasel phrase alert, again!) a picture of
Lycoris something-or-other happily flowering in a drainage ditch in China - in
a rather shady spot, iirc (if I recall correctly).
Lycoris are thus NOT Mediterranean bulbs, though they have summer dormancy.
They need summer water, quite possibly the more the better.
It's quite possible they like rich living: someone in an experimental frame of
mind might want to see what happens if they are top dressed with manure from
time to time.
Only Lycoris squamigera appears to tolerate summer drought.
So the solution to Jim's difficulties in the hot, humid summer climate of the
WDC area is to leave the frame open in summer and turn the hose on the lycoris
from time to time.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"Outside of dogs, books are man's best friend;
inside dogs, it's too dark to read."
-----Groucho Marx