The late Ed Zinkowski was a talented and serious hybridizer of Nerines as well as many other bulbous plants. He volunteered as a docent for over a decade at the Huntington Botanic Gardens. He passed away in 1995, leaving no heirs and several greenhouses full of bulbs, including a large collection of Nerine hybrids. Steve Vinisky organized a rescue of many of the bulbs, which were distributed to several members of the International Bulb Society. Unfortunately, Mr. Zinkowski's breeding records were lost, so we don't know the parentage of most of these bulbs, although they clearly involve Nerine sarniensis. The names are those given on the tags in the pots.
Nerine '81-7' has a nice full flower head and is colored rosy-red. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine '81-10 × 82-11' photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine '82-7 × Vestal' photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine '82-9' doesn't have a very large flower head, but the flowers have a bright red central rib with an almost bluish tone to either side (it makes the flowers look translucent in the photo). Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine Bet? Hud? tag was missing some of the letters of the name. Flowers are a striking bright red. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Blanchfleur' Photo by Arnold Trachtenberg.
Nerine 'Bushfire' It's sometimes difficult to describe the exact colors of these hybrids. Bushfire is an example. It's a combination of salmon, pink, mauve, and something else, but I don't know what to call it. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Cleopatra' Scarlet with purple/mauve edges on the petals, and intense "diamond dust" sparkles that are not fully captured by this photo. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Diane × ES4-80' Deep pink. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'E67-209' Salmon-pink with a light center and dark midrib. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Eve' photos from Mary Sue Ittner. In 2014 for the first time one of the bulbs that flowered was white.
Nerine 'G-36' Bright scarlet; this one looks a lot like the species. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'G-56' This one is scarlet as well. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine G64-129 × 90-6 is another one with great variation in the flowers of different bulbs. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Girondolo' × 91-28 This is a curious one. When it opens, the flowers are pure, solid, blood red. But in some years, as temperatures drop the flowers change to the colors seen in the second photo: deep purple-mauve with a red midrib. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-49' The flowers are a barely-faded shade of scarlet. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-58' Pink with a darker midrib. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-61' The midribs are bright red, with a strange dark mauvey-purple color on either side. What looks like lint on the flower is actually the famous Nerine "diamond dust" sparkles. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-76' This one is bright magenta-pink. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-92' Looks like a smaller version of 'Bushfire.' Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'H-95' This one is a very nice creamy pink. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Hybrid Pink × Aristocrat' photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Kenilworth' is a very reliable bloomer. The color is pinky-salmon. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Jenny Wren' photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Lady Cyn Cyr' × 'Gaby Delys' is a deep rosy pink, not as red as this photo appears. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Lady Havelock Allen × Berryrose' is another nice red. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Mandarin' has a nice large flower head. It's a little more magenta-colored than this photo appears. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Meditation × Joan Tonkin' flowers vary in brightness, partly depending on the light. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Mrs Moore × Carmenita' Photographed by Arnold Trachtenberg.
Nerine 'Pearl Blush × H40' has pink ruffled petals with a darker stripe. Photos from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine pudica × 91-29 is light pink. The description of the cross also demonstrates that at least some of the Zinkowski Nerines were not pure N. sarniensis. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Red Lava ×Firecracker' was planted in the ground even though the advice was to grow them all in pots. This advice proved to be correct as it rarely flowers. Others grown in a greenhouse which get more summer heat and occasional water have flowered more successfully. Leaves still appear however and one year there was a very pretty flower. Photo from Mary Sue Ittner.
Nerine 'Salmon Supreme' Photo by Arnold Trachtenberg.
Nerine 'S-4' is pale pink with a darker pink midrib, and some ruffles. Photo by Michael Mace.
Nerine 'Wombe' × 'Carmenita' has light pink small ruffled flowers that are darker pink in bud and on the back. It flowers regularly. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.
