On 11/16/2021 10:04 AM, Vlad Hempel via pbs wrote: > Hello Gordon, > > I am so happy to read this email from you, as it means I am not completly > crazy, to do such experiments mysef with Hippeastrum. > > I have a very similar experience, however I will say this: most hybrids > will substain temps hovering over the freezing point, some will survive > temps even down to -12 C. Of course, in certain conditions. > > In this case, I find the most important is the humidity, especially in > soil. If one experiments with Hippeadtrum in zone 9a and bellow, best is in > completly dry soil! This either means in a an unheated greenhouse or to a > house wall, where it does not rain at all! Snow in this case would be > beneficial, but with the climate change we all experience recently, the > permanent snow cover has become a long distant dream. > > So I suggest got for it, try various things, learn. And most > important,fFollow your intuition! > > Most hardy for me have proven to be H. papilio, H. aulicum, xAcramanii, > Exotic Star, most Rascals, La Paz, Evergreen and you will laugh, Chico too. > All survived short temps down to -12 C, here in Berlin. And not just one > winter. Yes, they were completly dry and not exposed to winds or any rain. > Most bloomed in 2nd half of May, when it warms up here. > > Good luck, > Vlad > > > > On Tue 16. Nov 2021 at 18:48 Gordon Hogenson via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > >> I grow Lilium species and have no difficulty finding cultural requirements >> for almost all species that I have come across. Not so with Hippeastrum, >> although some great resources exist, such as the Bulb Maven blog and the >> PBS Wiki. >> >> Well, the Hippeastrum in Bolivia book is inspiring and has prompted me to >> add some new species to my collection. My Hippeastrum growing is mostly >> limited to indoor spaces, but I do have some limited greenhouse-like spaces >> that is usually not heated. I'm in zone 7b in Washington State. >> >> I've always been interested in pushing the limits of hardiness, but with >> rare and expensive bulbs, I hesitate to do any experiment that would risk >> the loss of the bulb. However, information available says that, for >> example, H. papilio is hardy down to -7C (from a scientific study). >> >> The Hippeastrum in Bolivia book includes a table that indicates which >> species are present at the highest altitudes, which would be an indication >> of their hardiness. H. cybister is said to grow at over 3000 m and the list >> of Bolivian species growing at over 2000 m contains 18 species. One can >> look up the climate in La Paz, Bolivia and find that average lows are just >> below freezing, so clearly H. cybister from these areas must be quite >> hardy. >> >> It is clear that the genes exist for hardiness in Hippeastrum. Hippeastrum >> hardiness was discussed previously on the list, and many people had success >> growing hybrids outdoors in marginal zones, as long as the bulbs were >> planted near heated buildings. Others tried deep burial and deep mulches to >> protect bulbs in winter. >> >> I have tried the so-called "hardy amaryllis" that are sometimes available, >> hybrids such as the Rascal series of Sonatini types sold by Breck's and >> others. Names include Red Rascal, Pink Rascal, Balentino, etc. Also, >> Hippeastrum x johnsonii (St. Joseph's lily) is fairly hardy outdoors in the >> South and has persisted for many decades as a heirloom pass-along plant in >> zone 8 and maybe into zone 7? I found that most of these bulbs did >> overwinter outdoors for me in my climate. However, performance in the cold >> temperature was not great. Emergence in spring was very late and slow in >> the cold soils. Foliage also suffered in the cold spring rains. The >> emerging foliage also suffered from the depredations of slugs and snails. >> >> But even so, I did get blooms and was able to collect seeds outdoors from a >> cross involving red hardy amaryllis and Hippeastrum x johnsonii and have >> raised those seeds almost to blooming size, although because of the >> difficulties the plants faced outdoors, I am only growing them in the house >> now. >> >> However, I think that some of the "hardy amaryllis" Sonatini types are not >> thriving indoors, and actually need more of a cold period to do well. >> Hippeastrum x johnsonii has bloomed indoors for me, but not consistently. I >> suspect it needs the cold period to flower best. My next step is to move >> the "hardy amaryllis" to a mostly unheated greenhouse and see what >> happens. I suspect that this would also be a good environment for H. >> cybister and other higher-altitude species. The space is not completely >> unheated. I have a thermostatically controlled heat source, an electric >> heater plugged into a "thermo outlet" of the type available in hardware >> stores and designed for heaters to prevent pipes freezing. It comes on only >> around freezing temperatures. I use this space to overwinter Liliums as >> well whose hardiness is in question. The advantage of this space for >> Hippeastrums like cybister is that they could be kept dry, consistent with >> the dry winter of their Andean home. >> >> I eventually hope to set up a passive solar greenhouse, another mostly >> unheated structure with lots of thermal mass and insulation. Maybe an ideal >> environment for further experiments with pushing the limits of Hippeastrum >> hardiness. With patience and persistence, it should be possible to breed >> hybrid strains adapted to such conditions. >> _______________________________________________ >> pbs mailing list >> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net >> http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… >> Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> >> > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Hello Gordon and Vlad Here in Falls city, OR [Zone 8b] we get abundant rain and some occasional snow. I grow 2 of the species you mentioned with a piece of clear plastic oriented East to west at a 30degree angle with the high side facing East and open on all sides. My soil is sandy mountain loam with a lot of organic material and some gravel; so I have excellent drainage without losing fertility. I have not seen temperatures below 15F in the 18 years I have been here. Happy growing, Marc > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>