What's in bloom today.

Avanti from Royal Colors. Beautiful color, sort of a pink raspberry.

Barbados from Royal Colors. Showy red and white. Much prettier in person.

Berlin from Royal Colors. Bold Pink

Celebration from Royal Colors. Midsize orange with white star. Long bloom time.

Marilyn from Royal Colors. Big white double with green undertones.

Siberia from Royal Colors. Nice white with no pink defects. 3 scapes on this one.

Stardust from Royal Colors. Nice speckles.

Vegas from Amaryllis Bulb Company. Showy red and white, ages to dark pink.

Marilyn and Siberia together

What a beautiful collection of bulbs!

I have 1 bulb blooming that has been growing naturally in Florida. A friend rescued it and some others and brought it to me.

The bulb is a bit different from my modern hybrids. It's very similar to H. papilio.

Best I can tell is that it might be H. striatum.

It is H. striatum. Is it in a pot?

Yes, it's in a 5.25" diameter pot.

A former neighbor brought a small bag of bulbs to me this summer.

Most of the bulbs - including this one - are similar in style to H. papilio. The bloomer was the largest at 2.40” in diameter.

There were numerous small fat baby bulbs about the size of pearl onions. They are growing in a large "community" pot.

There were also a few bulbs that are more like our modern hybrids.

I know nothing about their prior growing conditions.

I rarely accept rescue bulbs now since I had such a disaster with HMV but the neighbor had been a good friend and made a special trip to bring the bulbs to me. They have been isolated away from the rest of my bulbs until mid-November. And I rarely see any HMV in the few remnants of my garden.

Does it make a difference that it is in a pot?

Of course it doesn't make a difference. However H. striatum naturalizes beautifully in Florida. Plant some of the bulblets outside and see how fast they produce a nice fat clump. In the ground, is where you really see the difference between it and a lot of the modern hybrids which are so fussy about their growing conditions.

How well do they handle cold?

I'm more towards the interior of Florida than you. I definitely get cold weather.

2 days ago the overnight temp was 36.

We also get hard freezes in our location.

They'll be fine. I keep a few bags of leaves in my back yard. If a hard frost is predicted, I put a layer of dry leaves over the beds, pulling the leaves aside as the day heats up. I also use sheets but wind is such a problem. There is nothing more frustrating that to come out in the morning to find the wind has blown the sheets off of the bed they were supposed to be covering. Leaves seem to do a better job of staying put. The cold will freeze the leaves but the bulbs will be fine. Palm Coast is as cold as Deltona in the winter. My Amaryllis do fine even after we've had extended nights with frost. To protect against the occasional cold, I plant the bulbs deeper than I do in a pot:the shoulder of the bulb is at the surface of the ground, and I do put on a little mulch. On the reverse side, planting too deep is a risk if the soil stays too wet during the winter, increasing the chance of rot. Its a good idea to make sure that irrigation isn't hitting the Amaryllis during the winter. I cap the sprinkler heads that water those areas during Standard Time. Raised beds are really great for Amaryllis, since they improve the drainage.

I'm twix and tween...

I found and destroy a bulb with HMV today. That resets the clock for being free of the virus...

I haven't fully analyzed the data but the bulbs that bloomed the prior spring (2012) that I was going to sell this last spring (2013) seemed to be the hardest hit. They’re all gone. Perhaps the vector is attracted to flowers.

My seedling and yearling trays are fine. Much of my breeding stock is OK. But the 1st year bloomers and the generic colors that were out in the open were pretty much wiped out.

I guess I’m going to be cautious a while longer...

Wow! It does sound like it has something to do with blooming. And you certainly can't risk planting anything outside if you're still fighting HMV.

Pink Rival from Royal Colors. A very pretty raspberry pink.

Double King from Royal Colors, a big bold orange-red double. Seems more red in the shade and more orange in bright light. The edges ruffle as the flower ages. Quite impressive.

Tinkerbell from Easy to Grow Bulbs A pretty trumpet shaped bloom. I really like this one. A dark pink picotee edge.

This message was edited Dec 22, 2013 4:56 PM

An arrangement for my Xmas table. Top to bottom, Tinkerbell, Avanti, Siberia and Marilyn, Pink Rival.

Do you buy new bulbs every year?

What do you do with bulbs from the prior year?

Another one of the species type bulbs is going to bloom. I spotted the tip of a scape today.

I buy the new ones from a few online nurseries, and plant them outside after the first bloom. I'm not trying to raise them for sale, so I don't try to control disease once they are outside. There were not a lot of new cultivars on the market this year, so I didn't buy as many as I've bought in the past. Just as well, since I ended up dealing with a broken wrist in Sept and am about to have major foot surgery, so the less garden chores I have to deal with, the better right now. Happy Holidays.

Do you ever sell the offsets? Eventually I'll want to restore my "breeding stock".

I think I lost all my Floris Hekkers and all their offsets too. They are one of my favorites and were good breeders. Unfortunately they seemed very susceptible to HMV.

I hope to do a complete inventory soon to determine what's left.

I have several red & white stripes that seem to have survived. Perhaps I can determine which varieties survived and might be resistant and which are very susceptible.

Last spring, I did see HMV in some of the bulbs in my oldest bed so I couldn't, in good faith, sell or trade any of mine.

I understand!

Moon Scene from Easy to Grow Bulbs. Midsize dark pink (red) and white with red picotee edge.

I have similar flower but without the picotee.

Do you have a clue what the variety might be - without the picotee? They are very common around here. Since I am near Oviedo I tend to think "Old Mead Stripes". Or a huge shipment to a Big Box store...

I think they have survived the HMV better than some of the others.

I looked through my photos and nothing jumps out at me as to an ID. I did notice that several cultivars have similar markings with a picotee edge (ex. Lipstick). I'm not familiar with Old Mead Stripes. That sounds like a southern pass along variety. Those old ones are hardier than the new hybrids. Its not a surprise that they seem to be less affected by HMV.

Theodore Luqueer Mead grew amaryllis commercially in the Oviedo area years ago. Wiki has an article on him. Mead Gardens in Orlando is named for him.

I’ve yet to find a photo or detailed description of the “Old Mead Stripes” or the ‘Mead-strain’ as wiki refers to it.

Mostly it’s just fun to think I might have a descendant of his work.

The H. striatum is just about done. It's down to the last 2 flowers on scape # 2.

However, I have a tip showing on another bulb from that group!

Saying Goodbye to this forum. My DG membership expires at the end of today, and I decided not to renew it. I'll see some of you at All Things Plants.

This message was edited Dec 31, 2013 3:28 PM