What do I do? I am pretty well versed in plant culture, but wanted some info on how to grow this and what to expect. Its my first Hippe.
I just got Hippeastrum reticulatum at a plant show. Arrgh!
No help with a species Hippe? Aw, come on!
Here's a pic, should I raise the bulb, or is it a seedling?
For what it's worth (I'm no where near an expert), I understand they like being a bit pot bound and the bulb kept half exposed. . Kept well fed they develop a good sized bulb then after dormancy produce the best flowers.
I got some H. papilio bulbs last year, did all the right things, and they've grown into large healthy plants and much larger bulbs. Problem is they've just gone through winter, grown even more, but refuse to go dormant. One I even put in a refrigerator over night and back out in the garden during the day for a couple of weeks. Still no dormancy. So put it in a cool room with reasonable light for about a month. But it's still growing healthily. And when I originally bought the bulbs they were already flowering size. I guess it's not only a question of pot size, fertiliser, etc. There's also the question of climate.
This is Hippeastrum Reticulatum Var. Striatifolium, keep in a shady place, no direct sun, let them dry just a bit between watering to avoid rot. They do like to be a bit pot bound but do expect to pot them up in the future and eventually could be in a gallon or larger pot. They like well WELL drained medium and a 1/4 of the recommended amount of fertilizer every week or so is what I do.
I never force my Hippeastrum to dormancy, Papilio and Reticulatum are both evergreen, neither need to lose leaves to be in a dormant state or to flower. Putting them in the fridge could be a bad idea as it can turn both of these South American bulbs to mush. I would suggest keeping them almost bone dry for a few months in the summer as these are both Autumn blooming.
The leaves look mature or so, I can't really tell how old this is without seeing the bulb. These are typically smaller plants.
JUST REMEMBER, NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT, these are understory plants in forests with leaf mold and organic matter in the soil.
I wouldn't expect to bloom this plant for a year or more!
Josh
Just the info I was looking for thank you very much. I am going to keep in a pot, and it seems to want to be watered Sept through to June with dry June through August? Does that sound like what you do?
Yes, I do keep my drier in those months. You want to be able to sift through the potting mixture and have a clean finger when you take it out. During these months I would say to put it in an inch of water every once in a while just to keep the roots firm and give them a bit of a drink but you shouldn't really water them from the top. This is a bit more natural to water from the bottom during this time. Make sure you let the mix absorb the water!
You can always private message me if you have any other questions :) Hippeastrum are my absolute favorites! This plant you have I can tell is pure species and that is incredibly rare, you're very luck :)
Josh
A little unclear information goes a long way. I was told sometime back that H. papilio needed temperatures down to 50F to 55F (10C to 13C) to go dormant. But those sorts of temperatures are virtually impossible here anytime of year, day or night. Except in a refrigerator. That's why I came up with the idea to try the refrigerator during winter to get the plants down that low. But day time I had them back out in the light, where it was over 32C (90F) anyway. Apart from losing a couple of the older leaves the plant just kept going. I'd almost given up on them and was planning to send them to my sister who lives in a colder climate. But maybe I'll try to let them go just a bit drier.
I originally bought 3 large bulbs (flowering size) which are now even bigger, and with a half dozen 'pups'. I wouldn't mind getting at least 1 or 2 flowers out of them.
I think if you kept them nice and dry for a few months and start to water again you've got a good chance of blooming them! That's what a lot of us do in the bulb world, now it's not 100% guaranteed to work every time, they have to want to bloom too but if they're larger than they were and they were blooming size I'd say you've got good chances!
I always thought the fridge idea would be great too until I learned the hard way :( It's too cold for them in there and it's really dry! It's a good thought tho, I understand where you got it!
On my H. reticulatum var. 'striatifolium' I have been watering with DynaGro Bloom when the soil gets dry. I moved the volunteer I found in a pot of Freesia laxa to semi-hydro conditions with Hydroton as the medium and it is doing well, at least as well as the one in soil.
The one I bought has a pair of leaves in one direction, and a single leaf in the opposite direction. I suspect it is an offshoot bulb, as the 4" pot is a bit distorted, or could it be one big bulb in a 4 inch pot?
I am tempted to explore and divide if necessary. Is this the time to do it?
AnalogDog: Do you still have your H. reticulatum var. 'striatifolium'? I just got one on Ebay and looked it up on this thread. How is it growing for you? Any advice? Josh gave a lot of great info but he's not on DG any more. Boo hoo!
Growers prime bulbs,including Papilio,to bloom sooner by holding them at about 55 degrees Fah for a few weeks. Refridgerators non freezing spaces run from just above freezing to about 40 degrees Fah. If one sets them at 55 degrees the food would spoil quickly.Also, any bulb touching the refridgerator walls would likely rot.A specialized 55 degree cooler is necessary.Most tropical Hippeastrum will definately turn to mush at temperatures between 55 and 32 fah.The closer to freezing, the more likely.
Sometimes my Papilio lose their leaves when going dormant in the summertime,sometimes not. They don't produce new leaves at that time.
There are other forums on hippeastrum. Josh is on some of them,as are many other avid growers.
What forums have info on hippeastrum besides this one? Bulbs?
The forums rules do not allow directions to competing sites. Using several different search engines and terms like Hippeastrum,Amaryllis,Amaryllids and Flowering bulbs,adding forum, will give enough information.
Del
I was talking about the forums on Dave's Garden, not other sites.
At the upper right hand side of this page is a place to search the forums.I have seen about as much Hippeastrum info on the bulbs forum as on here.You can occasionally see references to Hippeastrum on most of the forums.