Bill; In checking our records, the only spring-foliage species that flowered well this year and was not divided the year prior was L. sprengeri. L.. chinensis, L. longituba, L. x squamigera, L. x incarnata all flowered well this year when divided, but not at all on undivided clumps. As for shade, we typically see much better flowering on spring-leaved species when grown in shade, as Jim alluded to in his post. Add to that list, any fall flowered species, whose foliage burns badly in winter sun. Tony Avent Proprietor tony@plantdelights.com Juniper Level Botanic Garden<http://www.juniperlevelbotanicgarden.org/> and Plant Delights Nursery<http://www.plantdelights.com/> Ph 919.772.4794/fx 919.772.4752 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA USDA Zone 7b/Winter 0-5 F/Summer 95-105F "Preserving, Studying, Propagating, and Sharing the World's Flora" [cid:///image001.png@01D6A3CC.7D0F9F40] Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery is THE Source for unique, rare and native perennial plants. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. From: pbs <pbs-bounces@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> On Behalf Of William Hoffmann via pbs Sent: Friday, October 16, 2020 9:26 AM To: pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net Cc: William Hoffmann <wahoffma@ncsu.edu> Subject: Re: [pbs] Planting depth for Lycoris Tony mentioned our discussion about spring temperatures. My thoughts on the importance of a long,cool spring for spring-foliage Lycoris comes partly from speculation and partly from my experience with L. sanguinea. In trying to get the sanguinea to bloom, I tried piling snow and ice on top of the soil all winter one year, whenever either was available. I kept buckets partially filled with water to have a ready supply of ice whenever night temperatures were cold enough. I thought this should have generated plenty of chilling, but it did no good. But then, in 2019, after what to me seemed to be an unusually long spring for us, my L. sanguinea bloomed for the first time. Though this year also seems like a long,cool spring, and did not get any flowering. So, really just some anecdotal evidence. My speculation is that a short spring limits carbon gain of spring-foliage species, similar to the way that cold damage limits carbon gain of fall-foliage species, which everyone seems to agree impairs flowering. It seems well documented that warm temperatures can accelerate leaf senescence in spring ephemerals, and it seems true for Lycoris. So a quick transition from winter to summer might not give enough time for the plant to accumulate enough carbohydrate for reliable flowering. Perhaps partial shade can have a similar effect as a long spring. Tony, when we spoke, you seemed to know which Lycoris bloom best in partial shade. I am curious if these tend to be the spring-foliage species. Curiously I too transplanted some L. squamigera this spring and a few them bloomed. My established clumps did not. Bill >This brings up another puzzling lycoris issue. Everything I?ve ever read has repeated that Lycoris x squamigera flowers only after a very cold, long winter, which is why it flowers reliably in cold climates, but not >in warmer regions...Bill suggested that our long, cool spring in 2020 caused the buds to break, despite the mild winter temperatures. Others have long linked rainfall with lycoris flowering, which is certainly the >case with zephyranthes. Sounds like a great grad student project. -- William A. Hoffmann Professor Department of Plant & Microbial Biology North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, 27695-7612 _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net<mailto:pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net><mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net%3e> ________________________________ _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
