Whats blooming now - week of April 30th, 2012
Ken (Tue, 01 May 2012 08:38:11 PDT)

Hi Sujit,

other than my Boophone disticha X Amaryllis belladonna crosses, the first of
which bloomed at 5 years, I have not bloomed Boophone from seed ... yet.  All my
early seed-grown B.disticha seedlings succumbed to mealy, and I now proactively
treat seedlings with imidacloprid and see no sign of mealy bug.  My own oldest
seed-grown plants are a little over 5 years now, and I am hopeful I will see
blooms this year.  I did purchase some small seedlings, which I suspect were not
more than 3 years old, some of which bloomed a year after I put them in the
ground, so perhaps 5 years is possible for the species as well.  My experience
is their growth is best (and I assume maturity soonest) if they can be planted
in the ground or a very large container where the roots can run.  I moved a 3.5
year old bulb a year after it had been in the ground, and discovered several of
its roots had exceeded 30 inches and one was over 3 feet long.  I've seen them
well displayed in relatively small pots at plant shows, but not in bloom.  I
suspect roots were cut to make them fit and that would likely have a negative
effect on subsequent growth and bloom.  I think a greenhouse may be necessary to
grow them to bloom size where Winter temps can drop well below freezing ... I am
sure there may be others on this list who can add their experiences.  I do not
think well grown B.disticha should take 15 years to bloom and suspect the range
to be from 5-10 years.

Ken
San Diego 

________________________________
From: Sujit Hart

Ken,
Did it take you 15 years for your first *Boophone disticha* to bloom from
seed? Does anyone konw if it can do well indooor?
Thanks,
Sujit

Houston, Texas