Whats blooming now - week of April 30th, 2012

Ken kjblack@pacbell.net
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



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