The old Mead hybrids with a lot of H. vittatum in their background are supposedly very hardy. Plant Delights had some for sale last year. They're now sold out, but I suspect that a lot of what is labeled H. vittatum in the trade are actually these hybrids. I put the Mead hybrid and H. xjohnsonii in the ground last year, so it's too soon to say how well they will do in my garden (Zone 7, North Carolina)--if they don't survive, I will really regret not keeping an offset of the Mead hybrid in a pot. The red Rhodophiala bifida does fine in my garden and is sort of like a miniature Hippeastrum. Foliage is still green after -9.5 C this winter, and the bulbs have survived -15 C for short periods. Nick On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 12:21 AM, 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. The large Hippeastrum hybrids also did well. This doesn't surprise > me since the ground rarely froze during the winter, and when it did, I > doubt that frost penetrated deeper than an inch. Augusta receives rain > year round, so I don't think H. x johnsonii and other Hippeastrum hybrids > require a dry dormancy -- a dry dormancy may actually be harmful. I've > seen H. x johnsonii bulbs and seed offered on Ebay; the bulbs seemed > overpriced to me. > In zone 7 Oregon, it would be an interesting experiment to plant some > inexpensive Hippeastrum hybrids deeply (say, in a 10 inch hole) and see how > they survive. > > Eugene Zielinski > Prescott Valley, AZ > USA >