Ken: Do you have photos of your Boophane x Amaryllis cross? I'm working with another breeder on Amaryllids (mostly S. African). Would be happy to share our notes with you. Joe Joseph SealsConsultantArroyo Grande, CaliforniaCell: 805-823-5696 New book: "Central Coast Gardening Essentials"more info at: http://www.centralcoastkitchenandgarden.com / --- On Tue, 5/1/12, Ken <kjblack@pacbell.net> wrote: From: Ken <kjblack@pacbell.net> Subject: Re: [pbs] Whats blooming now - week of April 30th, 2012 To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 8:38 AM 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