Lycoris season 1
Tony Avent (Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:21:55 PDT)

Jim:

Lycoris x haywardii has been in flower for just over a week, followed by our
earliest clone of L. sprengeri today. L. longituba has a 6" spike, as does
L. longituba x chinensis. No sign of activity on either L. sanguinea or L.
x squamigera yet.

Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony@plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdelights.com/
phone 919 772-4794
fax 919 772-4752
"I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three
times" - Avent

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]
On Behalf Of James Waddick
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:08 PM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: [pbs] Lycoris season 1

Dear Friends,
As I mentioned earlier, Lycoris season has begun here in Kansas
City. I was driving around a day ago and was surprised to see a few L.
squamigera in bloom. This is nearly the ONLY Lycoris you see in my area. My
plants have not put on a sign of a flower stalk yet.
Hold that thought.

Since L. sanguineum is the usual first to bloom I really wondered. I
came home and ripped away the veil of weeds around my L.
sanguineum bulb spot and found two stalks with 3 or 4 spent flowers.
I had totally missed them. This is quite early.

Since then, more stalks have appeared. 2 different L.
chinensis x longituba are in bloom today. One with very pale petals and
strong yellow mid-stripe, the other a more uniform primrose yellow; both
with the longituba form.

I often pick up a few more bulbs of L. squamigera when the
opportunity arrives. 2 years ago I got some left over from a local flower
club plant sale. These have started to bloom - 3 plants but even these are
early. These early blooming squamigera are a few feet from a bed of over
100 bulbs none of which show a hint of a flower stalk yet.

It is long thought that L. squamigera is a natural hybrid, triploid
and sterile. I agree, but might this natural hybrid have occurred multiple
times and places resulting in various very similar clones separated mainly
by bloom season? The early plants mentioned above were growing in a
slightly protected part of the city, but my newly blooming plants are too
close to older non-blooming plants to make me wonder.

I have multiple patches of L. squamigera around my 1 acre garden.
They usually bloom within a few days of each other, but these new ones are
clearly jumping the schedule.

I can't help but wonder. Any thoughts? 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 +