Problem with Haemanthus albiflos
J.E. Shields (Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:23:50 PDT)

Alan,

I agree with Jacob. I'll send some bulbs of Haemanthus albiflos to the PBS
BX once the weather cools down a bit here in Indiana, so go ahead and throw
away that pot of albiflos right away.

Jim Shields
in hot and humid Westfield, Indiana, USA, where the morning low temperature
was around 72°F (22 C) and the high is forecast to be 95°F (35 C) this
afternoon.

At 01:33 AM 7/5/2010 -0700, you wrote:

Dear Alan,

Virus is a tricky topic not least because most of us enthusiasts do not have
access to getting our plants tested by a lab that is set up to detect
viruses in geophyte plants. I am not a trained pathologist but I have seen
many monocots show false signs of virus due to adverse weather, fungal and
bacterial infections, mealybug damage and nutrient deficiencies.
Unfortunately the pattern on your plant's leaves has that classic virused
look and I would say that it is indeed infected.

Nhu Nguyen and I have added as much information as we have been able to find
on viruses that affect bulbs and geophytes to the wiki page. Please see:
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…

My sincere condolences. Destroying a beloved plant that is infected is
never easy on the heart.

Jacob Knecht
Berkeley, California

*************************************************
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