Hi All: The tops of the Amaryllis are a couple of inches below the soil. The Hippeastrums in this bed are interplanted with a number of woody taxa that help with keeping the soils from being too wet during the growing season after the bulbs have flowered and gone dormant. The typical freeze line is 18" in this climate so the proximity of the heat from the basement wall is the modifying factor I think. Those planted further than 8" from the basement wall have not returned. This discussion has increased my interest in trying some of the species/hybrids with better hardiness reputations! Many thanks, Boyce Tankersley On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 2:21 PM, James Waddick <jwaddick@kc.rr.com> wrote: > Dear PBS, > > Althought I do grow H. x johnsonii out doors, Rhodophiala by > comparison IS NOT hardy for me. > > We generally have wettish winters - snow and cold rains. Soil is > moisture retentive clay based. > > Best Jim W. > > > On Feb 23, 2016, at 11:21 PM, Eugene Zielinski <eez55@earthlink.net> > wrote: > > I'm glad Jim Waddick mentioned Hippeastrum x johnsonii as one of the > hardiest garden amaryllises. Scott Ogden (Garden Bulbs for the South) > lists this as an old (ca. 1810) hybrid of H reginae and H. vittatum. Thad > Howard (Bulbs for Warm Climates) said he was "amazed to find H. vittatum > growing in sandy woodlands (in Brazil) at a depth of 6-8 inches." > I used to live in Augusta, Georgia, and H. x johnsonii grew very well > there. > > > Eugene Zielinski > Prescott Valley, AZ > USA > > > > > James Waddick > 8871 NW Brostrom Rd > Kansas City, MO 64152-2711 > USA > Phone 816-746-1949 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >