pbs Digest, Vol 19, Issue 15

pbs Digest, Vol 19, Issue 15
Nathan Lange (Fri, 14 Sep 2018 18:05:30 PDT)

Hi Jonathan,

My plants are not an experiment. I have no controls. Ice might work
but peonies are closer to the surface than Lycoris bulbs. I'm not
thrilled about the prospect of carrying ice outside every day for at
least 6 to 8 weeks. Growing them in pots seems easier if you want to
manipulate their environment. I picked a location to set the pots in
the winter that is away from all nearby objects, completely exposed
to the winter night sky, but is also shaded from the low winter sun
by the shadow of a distant tall object (trees) because I didn't want
to move the pots around every day. So far, less than 50% of my L. x
squamigera bulbs have flowered during any given year. Since flowering
percentage is a measure of vernalization, this might indicate I'm
right on the edge. On the other hand, all of my plants emerge at the
same time which indicates that they are, at least, partially
vernalized. However, when I lived in the Midwest, the percentage of
L. x squamigera bulbs that flowered was always well below 100% for
all populations I ever observed growing in the ground. Undoubtedly,
other factors such as bulb size influence flowering percentage. High
temps during early spring can reduce bulb size.

Tony's information indicates there are better spring-emerging species
and hybrids to try on the West Coast than L. x squamigera.

As for growing them in pots, they survived our record breaking 50+
inches of rain during the 2016/17 winter.

Bulb fly is also a problem with L. radiata, a close relative of L. sanguinea.

Best regards,
Nathan

At 03:38 PM 9/14/2018, you wrote:

Re: Fwd: PBS website contact:///Lycoris/ (Tony Avent)

Can some of you who have trouble with vernalizing lycoris (e.g Lycoris
sanguinea and any others that don't readily bloom for your 'too warm' local
conditions) conduct an experiment for me? How about putting ice chips on
top of the site where the lycoris bulbs are planted. It's supposed to work
for peonies, and is a commodity readily available. It may be worth the
effort, and the information you could provide would be of value to others.

Jonathan Knisely
New Haven, CT USDA 6a
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Tony,

Thank you for the excellent information. Besides watering issues, the
primary problem with growing the spring-emerging species at lower
elevations in Northern California is the lack of cold vernalizing
winter temperatures. For example, with our minimum low temps only in
the mid 20's F, in order to achieve flowering, I grow L. x squamigera
in exposed pots that aren't exposed to winter sunlight. How do you
rate the spring-emerging species with regard to their need for
vernalization relative to L. x squamigera? L. chinensis and L.
sprengeri probably need less cooling?

Best regards,
Nathan

At 01:47 PM 9/12/2018, you wrote:

Hi Jane;

Hopefully this will help.

Based on the extensive body of DNA research, and confirmed in our
field trials, there are only 7 lycoris species, with 1 still tbd...a
far cry from the 13-20 often cited.

Two of the lycoris species have foliage that emerges in fall, and
five have foliage that emerges in late winter/early spring. Because
all lycoris are winter-growing, the foliage emergence times
determines their ability to withstand winter cold. Areas with
extremely cold temperatures in early fall that remains so all winter
may actually delay foliage emergence, making the plant more winter
hardy than in conditions with fluctuating winter temperatures.

Those species with fall-emerging leaves are generally winter-hardy
to Zone 7....some clones slightly more, some slightly less.
Fall foliage (zone 7)
Lycoris aurea
Lycoris radiata

Those species with spring-emerging leaves are generally winter-hardy
to Zone 5, possibly colder
Spring Foliage (Zone 5)
Lycoris chinensis
Lycoris longituba
Lycoris sanguinea
Lycoris shaanxiensis (virtually everything in commerce is x
straminea) with fall foliage
Lycoris sprengeri

Tbd
Lycoris guangxiensis

All other lycoris are hybrids. Hybrids of two spring-leaf species
retains the Zone 5 hardiness, but crosses of a spring-leaf and a
fall-leaf species, always produces offspring with fall foliage, so
the hardiness of these always reverts to Zone 7. In theory, crosses
with two spring species and one fall species could delay leaf
emergence enough to increase winter hardiness.

Lycoris Hybrids
Many of these names are long established, most originally published
as species, which DNA has shown to be hybrids. Other names are
unpublished and only used by us as working names for the hybrids we grow.

Fall x Fall (Zone 7)
Two species hybrids
x albiflora (syn: L. elsiae) - aurea (fall) x radiata (fall)

Spring x Spring (Zone 5)
Two species hybrids
x caldwellii - chinensis (spring) x longituba (spring)
x chejuensis - chinensis (spring) x sanguinea (spring)
x flavescens - chinensis (spring) x sanguinea (spring)
x incarnata (same as x squamigera)
x sprenguinea (unpublished) - sprengeri (spring) x sanguinea (spring)
x sprengensis (unpublished) - sprengeri (spring) x chinensis (spring)
x squamigera (same as elegans, incarnata) - - longituba (spring) x
sprengeri (spring)

Fall x Spring (Zone 7)
Two species hybrids
x chinaurea (unpublished)- aurea (fall) x chinensis (spring)
x cinnabarina - aurea (fall) x sanguinea (spring)
x rosea (same as jacksoniana) - radiata (fall) x sprengeri (spring)
x sprengurea - aurea (fall x sprengeri (spring)
x straminea (syn: houdyshelii) - radiata (fall) x chinensis (spring)
x rubroaurantiaca - undetermined by DNA

Three species hybrids (2 spring x 1 fall)
x longitosea (unpublished) - longituba (spring) x sprengeri (spring)
x radiata (fall)
x roseguinea (unpublished) - radiata (fall) x sprengeri (spring) x
sanguinea (spring)
x rosensis (unpublished) - radiata (fall) x sprengeri (spring) x
chinensis (spring)

Three species hybrids (2 fall x 1 spring)
x radichinaurea (unpublished) - radiata (fall) x aurea (fall) x
chinensis (spring)
x rosaurea (unpublished) - radiata (fall) x aurea (fall) x sprengeri

(spring)

Tony Avent
Proprietor

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