Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Amaryllidaceae => Topic started by: Calvin Becker on March 10, 2011, 03:07:44 PM
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Flowering for me this past week, Haemanthus coccineus
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Haemanthus Albiflos, very common, despite that it's a beautiful plant.
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Very good images, Santiago. It is not so common to see a well grown plant.
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Here we are, a 'semi-alba' form of Haemanthus pubescens:
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Thank you very much Alberto.
Amazing plants Luar!
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Here we are, a 'semi-alba' form of Haemanthus pubescens:
Oh my god!!!
What a beauty!!!
Could you pollinate the plant and make seeds?
Maybe you are interested to join my facebook-group "Haemanthus"?
Best wishes
Bernie
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Here we are, a 'semi-alba' form of Haemanthus pubescens:
Oh my god!!!
What a beauty!!!
Could you pollinate the plant and make seeds?
Maybe you are interested to join my facebook-group "Haemanthus"?
Best wishes
Bernie
couldn't agree more Bernie!
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..... Could you pollinate the plant and make seeds?
Maybe you are interested to join my facebook-group "Haemanthus"?
Hi Bernie and PeterT:
I have pollinated the flowers and let us see if there is any seed, thanks for your suggestion. I did not know there is a 'Haemanthus group' in Facebook and shall check it out. Is there a Crinum group somewhere on the internet?
Luar
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Luar your Haemanthus pubescens is a lovely species. Have not seen it before.
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.... Is there a Crinum group somewhere on the internet?
Luar
There is a crinum group on Yahoo Groups at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Crinum
Jim
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And the Haemanthus-group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_173688562651168&ap=1
(http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_173688562651168&ap=1)
;)
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Here some pictures i made the last weeks:
Haemanthus carneus
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Haemanthus nortieri
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Haemanthus unifoliatus "Komaggas"
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This week I repotted Haemanthus humilis hirsutus "silky form" (probably from Lebombo Mountains wrote my source), both are now starting to grow but only the plant on the left side will bloom in a few weeks
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and here some of my "children":
Haemanthus namaquensis sown last autumn
Haemanthus spec. Lüderitz sown 2008
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Haemanthus montanus
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Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie. As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...
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Great pictures. I knocked over a pot the other day in the greenhouse and the bulb fell out. I still can't believe that a bulb this size can produce huge leaves and such lovely flowers. I was glad to see the bulb was still healthy. I still worry about keeping the bulbs dry. Can't wait for our season to start.
Angie :)
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Congratulations Bernie,
Which species are you talking about Angie? they all have different growth cycles. My bulb of H montanus is not big enough to flower but it has just started to produce leaves.
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Hi Peter
I am new to Haemanthus but really like them. I would like to have a wee collection of them and already have quite a few and that's thanks to some of our friends here :D I just love having something growing in my greenhouse through the winter months. It helps pass our long winter. A couple have flowered but others I will have to be patient. I am just glad to have the leaves.
I thought I was going to get a flower from my H.Clarkei monocot but no only nice big leaves, but maybe this season I might be lucky.
Angie :)
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Haemanthus humilis
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Wow, I don't grow these plants so that great picture of the furry leaves emerging is teaching me as well as amazing me, Arnold, thanks. 8)
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One pot of Haemanthus humilis hirsutus in full bloom. I'm told there is also a pink form of this, but all mine seem to have white flowers.
Jim Shields
in Westfield, Indiana
USA
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One pot of Haemanthus humilis hirsutus in full bloom. I'm told there is also a pink form of this, but all mine seem to have white flowers.
Jim Shields
in Westfield, Indiana
USA
And what a sparkling white they are. :o
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One of my H. montanus in full bloom. One clear difference between this and hirsutus is the bracts of hirsutus are green and erect; these bracts are shriveled and sort of declinate.
Now I'm getting impatient for my pink humilis humilis to start blooming.
Note -- As far as I can recall, the growth habits of Haemanthus species are as follows:
Summer-growing and blooming Haemanthus: carneus, humilis humilis, humilis hirsutus, montanus.
Evergreen Haemanthus: albiflos, deformis, pauculifolius
All the rest are winter-growing and bloom mainly from late summer to late autumn.
Jim
in Westfield, Indiana
USA
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Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie. As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...
Hy Brian,
Half the ones You sent me have produced two leaves, half ony one. The interesting thing is that they produced it shortly after the first one. After that they stoped changing, not more producing new leaves, no more growing noticeably at least.
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This year one of my spec. Lüderitz will flower veryvery early, at least 6 weeks earlier than normal, maybe due to the cold weather we have now
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Great to see all your hard work coming to fruition Bernie. As a newbie can I ask what you would do with Haemanthus humilis ssp hirsutus seedlings? They are coming along nicely, haven't yet produced a second leaf...
Hy Brian,
Half the ones You sent me have produced two leaves, half ony one. The interesting thing is that they produced it shortly after the first one. After that they stoped changing, not more producing new leaves, no more growing noticeably at least.
Hello Santo, I wonder why, perhaps your weather is more to their liking when they were just starting into growth...someone on this forum will know I am sure. Glad to know they are doing well.
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It looks as if I'm only going to get a few seeds on my Haemanthus montanus, in spite of hand pollinating almost every day for a week or longer. All the half-dozen plants that have bloomed this season are from the same batch, so all may be siblings. I won't have any to share this year.
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Here is the bloom on one of my Haemanthus humilis humilis bulbs. A couple other bulbs are also starting to send up blooms, so maybe I'll get a few seeds this year. These are easy from seed (relatively easy anyway). I find humilis hirsutus difficult from seeds, and usually don't get many hirsutus seeds even if I have the blooms.
Jim
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Thanks Jim interesting to hear that you find it difficult from seed.
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I don't know why hirsutus seems hard to grow from seeds. HH. barkerae, coccineus and humilis humilis are quite easy to grow from seeds. There is a high mortality rate of seedlings of hirsutus, much higher than from the other three. H. crispus is hard to set seeds on, but once you get the seeds, they are pretty easy tog row to mature bulbs. H. montanus is so slow from seeds that I have still never seen a seed of montanus that I planted produce a flower.
Hybrids are easy to grow, including [humilis hirsutus x coccineus] as well as [barkerae x coccineus]. I think I have some [crispus x coccineus] too, but they are not mature yet.
Jim
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I have noticed with some of these amarillads that sometimes the seedling bulb seems to develop without a proper root, so that it fails with the first dry period. I was given four seeds of H humilis hirsustus a few months ago and one of them tried this trick recently. I'm hoping I saw it in time to keep it damp untill it grows some root...
I find this often happens with southern hemisphere seed at about the time they would naturally go dormant on a southern hemisphere growth cycle and just at the time I want them to keep growing in order to convert to northern hemisphere.
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When I grow Haemanthus from seed, I keep them in continuous growth for up to 30 to 36 months. To do this, I grow them under fluorescent lights inside my home. I try not to let the seed potting mix dry out in that entire time. Some seedlings do under these conditions sometimes yellow off all their leaves (the one or two that they have), but they immediately grow new ones. When I'm ready to put them onto their natural cycle (Northern Hemisphere, regardless of hemisphere of origin of the seeds) I move them from under the lights into the Haemanthus greenhouse at the start of their normal growth season. For winter-growing species, that is late summer or very early autumn. This helps to avoid seedling losses during the first few dormant times, by not having any dormant times. Once having gone into the greenhouse, they thereafter are on the normal seasonal cycles.
This routinely works for amarylloides polyanthus, barkerae, coccineus, crispus, humilis humilis, and has worked for single batches of lanceifolius and unifoliatus with high survival rates. (By the way, this approach also works quite well for growing many Hippeastrum species from seeds.) HH. albiflos and pauculifolius appear to grow from seeds under just about any conditions you care to try. I'm not so sure what the best method is for growing deformis seedlings; it looks so far as if the continuous growth approach might be working for deformis.
It just occurred to me that I have had the same problems with carneus that I have with humilis hirsutus: refusal to stay in continuous growth, high mortality rates in the first two years.
This also failed me, in a way, for nortieri. I had a batch of seedlings (from seed from Rachel Saunders) that was 30 months old. When the entire batch was allowed to go dormant the following summer, every single seedling died. I apparently should have tried to keep them growing, or at least moist and not too warm, for one more summer. The nortieri seedlings were quite healthy as long as I kept them under the lights. That truly did upset me.
Jim
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I have some H deformis seedlings which are two years old, they are in the corner of a windowsill shaded by a blind and they have never gone dormant.
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I find this often happens with southern hemisphere seed at about the time they would naturally go dormant on a southern hemisphere growth cycle and just at the time I want them to keep growing in order to convert to northern hemisphere.
When I grow Haemanthus from seed, I keep them in continuous growth for up to 30 to 36 months.
Thanks for these hints, it seems highly reasonable that this is the critical time for them when trying to change hemisphere, I'll keep a sharp eye out.
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Today good news from me ;D
I'm really proud to report that here is flowering a self sown ( from year 2005 ) Haemanthus humilis is flowering for the first time !!!
...but this is ( until now ) the only plant from this batch ...we have to be patient !
Hans 8)
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Brilliant Hans, no wonder you are pleased with yourself. Self sown well done 8)
Hope you don't have to wait to long to see more in flower.
Angie :)
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Hello Hans,
sure humilis? Looks anyhow like carneus
:)
Maybe its one of the humilis-complex thats near carneus?
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Thank you Angie :)
Bernie :
my label says H.humilis ( seeds ex C.McMaster ) ...I will ask Cameron !
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Bernie :
I have just received a answer from Cameron :
"Its certainly not H carneus which has included stamens. It is clearly humilis and looks to me like the form from the Central Karoo."
I'm glad for this confirmations !
Hans
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Hi Hans,
that was the fact i thought about carneus: i cant see the stamens...maybe i must look closer to the photo
;)
Have a good night
Bernie
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;) ;) ;)
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Very beautifull Hans, - a lovely colour!
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here now special for Bernie :
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works for me too Hans ;)
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::) ::) .... ;D
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I cant see the stamens!
But what are the little yellow things?
;) ;) ;)
::)
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....gold dust :o Bernie ...gold dust ;D
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Ohhhhh gold dust!
8)
I have good news:
-Haemanthus humilis "Glen Craig" will flower the first time for me (a dwarf form)
-both humilis hirsutus "Siky Leaf" will also flower
-one spec. Lüderitz is open, the second plant will flower in one week and the third start growing and will flower in some weeks
-all my x clarkei will flower, one is short before opening the flower
-in some weeks i can harvest my first carneus-seeds
:D
Have a nice sunday
Regards
Bernie
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Bernie, do you and others think that interspecific hybrids of Haemanthus, like x-clarkii, show hybrid vigor? Do they reach bloom size from seed in less time than the straight species do? I can't seem to make up my own mind about this.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
i dont know, my first hybrids i have sown 2 years ago (hirsutus x coccineus, i have sown the same cross last year).
This is to short to say anything but till now i dont see that my hybrids grow faster.
After how many years flowerd your hirsutus x coccineus the first time?
Regards
Bernie
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My [hirsutus x coccineus] seedlings started to bloom in 5 years -- that is, the fastest to bloom of the batch bloomed in 5 years. The same applies to my crosses of [coccineus x barkerae] and [barkerae x coccineus] -- the first to bloom did so in 5 years. Most in these batches first bloomed in the 6th year.
I have had species take an eternity to bloom, 10 to 12 years at worst; but those were all started before I had accumulated a lot of experience growing Haemanthus from seed, so it could be my own ineptitude that made them slow. My fastest to bloom for species were a couple in the batch of lanceifolius that bloomed (last year) in 6 years. That's why I wonder what others are finding. I'm not sure of my own results at this point.
Jim
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Here is flowering my Haemanthus X clarkei :D
...never so early before .....
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Hans, that's a very nice bloom.
I have an x-clarkei that I got from Mike Salmon years ago. It doesn't bloom most years, and the umbel is a very washed-out pink, almost ivory. It can, however, make huge leaves when I pamper it enough.
Jim
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Thank you Jim :D
My plant comes also orginal from Mike Salmon ....I have killed a plant in last year by to much sun :'(
But K.Vickery sent me a replacement :D
Hans
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Terry Hatch told me that his x-clarkei were extremely varied in flower colors and mostly very attractive. I'm thinking I should make the cross myself!
Jim
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Good luck Jim !
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Jim,
They are quite beautiful, you seem to have a touch with Haemanthus, I say you do it!!!!!! ;D
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Hans very nice indeed 8) I think you must speak nicely to your plants .They seem to perform really well for you. I can't wait till mine start growing.
Angie :)
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Thank you Angie :D
what makes your H.X clarkei ?
this plant here has startet with a flower without a drop of water !
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I do not know if to have wrong, but since they are relatives, I have thought to insert also Scadoxus membranaceus
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Hi Hans
How can the bulb start flowering without water, is there a lot of moisture in the greenhouse. Hans my bulb grew a good bit, do these bulbs get really large. My bulb H.x clarkei monocot is it the same as the one in your picture. I would be delighted if it was that colour.
Angie :)
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now Haemanthus coccineus is full open :D
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Only one word WOW.
Angie :)
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::) ::) ::)
I have made nothing special ;D
Thank you Angie :)
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Superb Hans, how long do we have to wait from seed?
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::) ::) ::)
I have made nothing special ;D
Thank you Angie :)
Maybe not to you Hans but to some of us folks it's not so easy to get them to flower ;D
Angie :)
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Superb Hans, how long do we have to wait from seed?
Brian ,
I do have some seedlings ..but none of them flowers ...I think they must 6 -7 years old
Hans
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I think 6 to 7 years from seed to first flowering is about right in general. The fastest I've seen from seed to flower is 5 years for a few of my hybrids.
By transplanting seedlings within the first 3 years, I've extended that time to 10-12 years! Don't mess with Haemanthus seedlings once they have been planted for at least 3 years, or longer.
It seems to help to keep Haemanthus seedlings in continuous growth for at least the first 24 - 30 months. I use fluorescent lights for this, in my basement.
Jim
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Thanks for that advice Jim, much appreciated.
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First sign of a bloom this season: a bulb of Haemanthus pubescens pubescens, which bloomed last year for the first time. I had it flagged for repotting and was repotting it when I noticed the hint of a bud showing down in the neck of the bulb. An interesting thing about pubescens is that the bulb is yellow. A bulb of coccineus is shown for comparison. I think photos of the bare bulbs would be very useful in resolving cases of uncertain identities. I think I'll start collecting them.
Jim
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Jim do you feed your seedlings and if so do you keep feeding all year.
Angie :)
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First sign of a bloom this season: a bulb of Haemanthus pubescens pubescens, which bloomed last year for the first time. I had it flagged for repotting and was repotting it when I noticed the hint of a bud showing down in the neck of the bulb. An interesting thing about pubescens is that the bulb is yellow. A bulb of coccineus is shown for comparison. I think photos of the bare bulbs would be very useful in resolving cases of uncertain identities. I think I'll start collecting them.
Jim
That seems like a very good idea which could lead to a useful resource, Jim.
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Jim do you feed your seedlings and if so do you keep feeding all year.
Angie :)
Angie, I feed virtually every time I water the Haemanthus. I use a weak solution of Peters 20-10-20, aiming for about 100 ppm nitrogen in the water. I fear I sometimes get closer to 200 ppm. To compensate for that I occasionally water thoroughly with plain tap water -- actually well water loaded with lime, and they do need calcium. If I stop watering the seedlings on continuous growth culture, they will try to go dormant; so I try to discourage that. Eventually they will tell you, "Enough is enough!" and go dormant anyway. Then you have to let them do it.
I should apologize if I tend to pontificate. However, I'll soon be old enough, in a few more years, to do it unapologetically.
Jim
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It is usefull advice Jim, -dont apologise. I, and many others I'm sure, are very glad to benifit from your experiance and advice.
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Jim I find all this information really beneficial. It's great to hear what members do. And for folks like me that don't have much experience it's great to get all this information and to be able to look up old post to retrieve the information that I forget.
So please remember that any information you can pass on to us beginners is so welcome.
Angie :)
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Jim I find all this information really beneficial. It's great to hear what members do. And for folks like me that don't have much experience it's great to get all this information and to be able to look up old post to retrieve the information that I forget.
So please remember that any information you can pass on to us beginners is so welcome.
Angie :)
Hear. hear. Many thanks Jim.
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Jim,
I appreciate all your advice and information as well :) Keep it coming!!!!!
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Howdy All,
This topic is a wonderful resource. Some brilliant photos of species, and some good discussions on diagnostic features. Thanks so much for showins us all these wonderful species that many of us haven't seen (I just adore some of the good pink forms you're all showing!!) and quite likely never will. ;D
Thanks heaps everyone. 8)
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There have been no signs so far of bloom on any of the winter-growing Hemanthus species I have. However, this morning's low of about 62°F/17C is the coolest temperature here since late June. Maybe this will release some bloom!
Jim
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I'll stick a Scadoxus in here as well. They are almost kissing cousins, after all! This is Scadoxus membranaceus.
Jim
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Bulbs of Haemanthus species: Haemanthus barkerae. This is the form with narrow, almost linear leaves. Note the abundant offsets and the narrow neck. No visible basal plate to speak of. These particular bulbs first bloomed in 2003.
Cf. http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6891.msg210685#msg210685 for bulbs of pubescens and coccineus.
Jim
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They remind me of Narcissus bulbs
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They are all in the Amaryllis Family!
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Coccineus vs. Arenicolus
I've no picture of it, but I just repotted my Haemanthus pubescens arenicolus, and observed the following: 1) The mother bulb showed a slight downward extension of the basal plate, while none of the basal plate is visible in coccineus; 2) the neck of the bulb is not as wide relative to the height of the bulb as in coccineus; 3) the roots are significantly fatter than in coccineus.
Also, the scale pattern seems different in arenicolus from coccineus; the bulb seems less wide relative to height than coccineus; the exposed portions of the upper part of the bulb have a purple tint, not seen in coccineus which only rarely shows any color and then just a trace of red at the neck. And finally, this bulb, about 10 years old, had an offset. None of my coccineus, some of them 14 years old, has ever produced an offset.
I don't really see how arenicolus belongs as a subspecies of pubescens. If anything, it looks more like it should be a subspecies of coccineus. In bloom and leaf, this plant looks very much like coccineus, having barely more hair on the leaves than coccineus. Until DNA bar-code is available for Haemanthus, I think that identifying arenicolus is going to be heavily dependent on geographical origins. Or on examining the bulb, basal plate, and roots.
Jim
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Bulb of lanceifolius: This is a young bulb, but bloomed last season. As I was repotting it, I photographed it at the same time. Note the roots are mostly still undisturbed in the old potting mix for minimal-stress repotting.
Jim
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Jim, I've been repotting many of my Hippeastrum this way and they seem to be without bother! I think this is a great method and especially for young Amaryllids!
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Hi Jim,
how old is the bulb?
I bought lanceifolius sown 2006 from Terry Smale, hope i soon have flowering plants.
Kind regards
Bernie
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These lanceifolius were planted as seeds in 2004. Two of them bloomed for the first time in 2010, at 6 years of age.
Jim
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Bulb of Haemanthus crispus. This is a "dwarf" Haemanthus, but has a medium size bulb. This mature, bloom-size bulb is over 10 years old. It is about 1.5 inches in diameter, almost circular in cross-section, and about 2.25 inches high (base of plate to tip of neck). The tunics are quite thin and pale in color.
Jim
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In the lath house, Haemanthus albiflos is in bud, ready to open. In the greenhouse, H. namaquensis is pushing its bud upward, while just the tip of a bud is visible in the neck of one H. pubenscens pubescens and another in one pot of H. barkerae.
Jim
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Jim after I read your post I checked on mine and I have a flower coming will take a picture later. What I did notice is my leaves are a bit what I would call bleached. Now it can't be the sun as we haven't had any, well only a little ::) any idea ?
Angie :)
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Jim after I read your post I checked on mine and I have a flower coming will take a picture later. What I did notice is my leaves are a bit what I would call bleached. Now it can't be the sun as we haven't had any, well only a little ::) any idea ?
Angie :)
Angie, I think mine are starved for nitrogen. The leaves are pale green between the long veins. They have gotten a lot of overhead irrigation during our dry spell, with only one light feeding. Yours might be hungry as well.
Jim
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Only one flower on mine, but I am just happy that it is flowering for me again :D I think I will start feeding now that I have started to water, maybe that will green up the leaves.
Angie :)
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Good morning,
here are some photos of the last 2 weeks
Haemanthus namaquensis
Haemanthus namaquensis 2
Haemanthus unifoliatus
Haemanthus humilis ssp. humilis "Glen Craig"
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Congratulation Bernie ! ;D
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Looks fantastic
Roland
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...but sorry for the size of some pictures
8)
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What a show, thanks for sharing.
Angie :)
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Bernie
There is a fantastic simple free resizing program
See: Tiny Pic (http://www.efpage.de/eTinypic.html)
Roland
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Super plants, thanks for showing us Bernie.
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...but sorry for the size of some pictures
8)
Don't worry too much Bernie....here the detail is so nice it is worth the scrolling to see ;)
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Really nice Bernie!
Even though I live in South Africa I struggle to find material of the scarcer species. Where do all you Haemanthus enthusiasts acquire your material?
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Calvin, a lot of my stuff came as seed from Rachel Saunders near Cape Town.
Jim
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Thanks Jim, I must make a habit of checking her website regularly then.
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Calvin, send her an email and ask to be put on her Amaryllid Seed List!
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Will do!
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Cameron McMaster and Dawie Human also supply some Haemanthus Calvin. Also they turn up in cactus and succulent nurseries.
Hope you are well
Peter
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Haemanthus barkerae
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I have a nice multiheaded plant of Haemanthus coccineus in flower at the moment. Anyone else live within easy postal distance who would like to exchange pollen?
Have posted this in the seed wanted section too, thought it might get noticed better here...
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Welcome to the Forum, Ali Baba ..... your arrival has already been noted ....
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6453.msg213677#msg213677 ;D ;D
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I have a nice multiheaded plant of Haemanthus coccineus in flower at the moment. Anyone else live within easy postal distance who would like to exchange pollen?
Have posted this in the seed wanted section too, thought it might get noticed better here...
Welcome to the Forum. Where is "here?" I should have several coccineus in bloom in another month.
Jim
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Haemanthus albiflos in flower at the moment
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Welcome to the Forum. Where is "here?" I should have several coccineus in bloom in another month.
Jim
Thanks, "here" is Derby UK. I fear another month will be too late for me as the older blooms are fading and the two youngest heads will be over in a week or so I guess...
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Welcome to the Forum. Where is "here?" I should have several coccineus in bloom in another month.
Jim
Thanks, "here" is Derby UK. I fear another month will be too late for me as the older blooms are fading and the two youngest heads will be over in a week or so I guess...
Maybe next year.
Bernie recently did a fine job of collecting pollen of namaquensis and sending it to me from Germany. I'll see in a few weeks whether it worked on my plant of namaquensis. But pollen collection, proper drying, and shipping are perfectly feasible for Haemanthus. I have not done a careful test to see how long such pollen remains viable when stored in a freezer. Bernie's namaquensis pollen is however in the freezer as I write.
Unfortunately, I don't have any stored pollen of coccineus that is younger than a couple of years, and hence very unlikely to still be viable -- if it has not already been cleaned out of the freezer.
Jim
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We have had two seasonably cool, or even unseasonably cool nights now, and in the greenhouse there are colorful tips of noses of new blooms showing in the necks of many of my Haemanthus [barkerae x coccineus] and [coccineus x barkerae] bulbs. Those crosses were made in 2005, and most of them bloomed last year for the first time. I attribute that relatively quick seed-to-bloom progression to hybrid vigor. They are mostly significantly larger than barkerae, with orange to red-orange inflorescences. There are also numerous pink noses showing in the necks of the barkerae bulbs, but only one lone coccineus is so far showing any color.
Jim
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Ah well, I guess our seasons are out of kilter. We had some cool days here in August and the blooms came up like rockets once watered.
I have dried and sent pollen of Hechtia to Thailand to make bromeliad hybrids, which worked very well, but like you I havent tested the long term viability of frozen pollen. I have kept donated pollen in the frezzer for a few weeks to make Dyckia hybrids, which worked fine.
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In my experience Pollen can stay viable for some years. I haven't made a record of fertility, but it seems to work well, at least I can tell for some species and for two years for sure. It need to be kept dry at the refrigerator. And you need to have it in some recipe that you can let warm without opening when you want to use it. If not humidity will boil down in it. I have been using Sprekelia, Hippeastrum, Hemerocallis, Iris, and in little amounts many more, stored that way.
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I and other people have tested the long term viability of dried frozen pollen of a few groups. Hemerocallis is good for at least 3 years in the freezer in my experience; some folks say it lasts much longer than that. Clivia is said to be good for up to 9 years in the freezer. Crinum is good for at least 2 years in my experience. Hippeastrum and Hymenocallis seem to barely last one year in the freezer. I have not tested the long term viability of dried frozen Haemanthus pollen, but I think we should try doing that. These are the groups that I have worked most with.
Jim
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I pollinated albiflos with dried one year old namaquensis-pollen from the freezer an i have nice berries not
:)
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Here some pictures of the last 2 weeks (Haemanthus-Groupmembers know them already):
Haeamanthus albiflos 'Tidburys Toll' x coccineus 10 months after sowing
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The same as last year: namaquensis makes only some berries (and the second plant not only one)
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Haemanthus coccineus with nice spotted stems (this type was descriped as H. tigrinus)
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Ripe berries of spec. Lüderitz (in a berry are 1-3 seeds)
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Seeds of spec Lüderitz (this year they are not as red as last year)
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Haemanthus coccineus with some spots on the spathe valves
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It seems that pollination of unifoliatus with namaquensis was successful :-)
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2 different coccineus:
-left side a plant with narrow leaves (Dee think its crispus x coccineus)
-left side a coccineus with thick spathe valves and broad leaves later
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Unripe berries of my small, brilliant red coccineus
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I first thought you were showing us jewelry. The last picture is great!
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I first thought you were showing us jewelry. The last picture is great!
Lina they are like jewels to some of us ;D well I would prefer to have them rather than any jewellery ;)
Angie :)
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Haemanthus coccineus with nice spotted stems (this type was described as H. tigrinus)
This one is very attractive indeed, wonderful marking on the stems.
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My [barkerae x coccineus] and [coccineus x barkerae] are all starting to come into bloom together.
Jim
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Here is my reference pot of normal barkerae, the flowers having progressed nicely (#368.A); they started out with the bracts almost white. H. barkerae is apparently a very variable species. The #2219.D started out a much darker rose pink. Finally, here is one close to barkerae, #936.C, as it progresses more towards full bloom.
Jim
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These Haemanthus are fabulous. All mine died last winter - albifos, hirsutus, montanus, coccineus :(
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Frost , Water ???
Part of my collection died last winter
heater broke down one night :o
Roland
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Brillant collection 8). Mine are all still with me. I suppose its getting them to flower that is the hard bit now.
Angie :)
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My lone bulb of Haemanthus dasyphyllus is getting ready to bloom. I have already found in past years that it is self-sterile, so I will need pollen from another bulb of dasyphyllus to get seeds. Can anyone help me? I can eventually offer pollen and seeds of other species of Haemanthus in exchange.
Jim
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Here is the progression of one Haemanthus coccineus (#256.A, ex Richtersveld) from first bud to open bloom. Note that it is offering us a second scape as well; the second is emerging in a normal red-orange color.
Jim
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So envious :D
Angie :)
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That is so pretty Jim ;D
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Haemanthus coccineus x albiflos
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Like your Haemanthus coccineus x 8)
Angie :)
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wonderfull sucession of pictures Jim, and that cross is amazing Arnold! I might even try to replicate it
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Here is Haemanthus pubescens pubescens. Note the bracts longer than the flowers. These do not look much like my scape of pubescens arenicolus. The square pot is 5.5 inches on a side, to give things some scale.
Jim
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I am getting excited, cant wait to see the flower open, also my H.Albiflos has given me more flowers :D.
H. Clarkei monocot
H. Albiflos
Angie :)
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I am getting excited, cant wait to see the flower open, also my H.Albiflos has given me more flowers :D.
H. Clarkei monocot
H. Albiflos
Angie :)
Angie, you are right to be excited. I think no two bulbs of x-clarkei have flowers that look the same! Show us pictures when it is fully open.
Jim
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Jim I should have waited till the flower was open but I was so pleased to see that it was going to flower for me, will post a picture when it opens fully.
Angie :)
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I am getting excited, cant wait to see the flower open, also my H.Albiflos has given me more flowers :D.
H. Clarkei monocot
H. Albiflos
Angie :)
Angie WOW you certainly have the touch,they are lovely.
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Follow-up on my Haemanthus coccineus ex Richtersveld. It has produced a second s cape, this one entirely normal for the species.
Jim
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Oh can't wait to get home tomorrow to see if my flower has opened. Having a great time at the discussion weekend .
Angie :)
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Flowering today
Haemanthus Clarkei monocot.
Angie :)
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This is very nice. Are the colors burgundy?
Jim
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strong looking bulb Angie, congratulations
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Well done Angie, they obviously like you as much as you like them ;)
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very nice Angie, one of my favourite bulbs these are...
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Thanks everyone. I really am pleased to see the flower.
Jim it's not as dark as burgundy. l have seen very pale flowers on some but this is a nice colour. But saying this I would be happy with any colour of flower. Just to get it to flower as far north as I am it good enough for me.
I still really like the flowers of my H. Albiflos, off course they are white, my favourite. My niece said it would make a nice powder brush ;D
Angie :)
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Angie, you have a very nice flower there. I have one Haemanthus x-clarkei that blooms about once every 10 years, and then has a small, washed-out bloom that might best be called "off white."
Do you grow it with supplemental lighting in winter?
Jim
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Jim I did look into lighting and did get a light from a member that had given up his greenhouse. I haven't used it as yet I wanted to see how my plants grew in the winter. This year we have had so many grey days in summer that it's a wonder that anything has grown and when we change the clocks it's dark at 4.30pm, poor plants.
Never mind I suppose there is a good side. I never have to worry about my plants getting scorched
I like growing these plants as it's always nice to go to my greenhouse in a horrible dark cold day and there is something nice to look at. A lot of these plants were given by forum friends and they all mean so much to me. My plants are like friends, precious :D
Angie :)
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I thought, being on the east, Aberdeen had fairly good light Angie? apart forom the long nights in winter of course!
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You make an interesting point, Peter..... in another life, I have curated art exhibitions and written about the pure light of the north east for its effect on artists and their work, but I'm afraid that while the quality of light here is delightful, it is not particularly strong from the point of view of growing plants, especially under cover, be it glass or a polytunnel. :-X
We struggle constantly with our bulbs under glass becoming etiolated. :'(
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I thought, being on the east, Aberdeen had fairly good light Angie? apart forom the long nights in winter of course!
:o :o :o
Sunlight in Aberdeen. Being on the coast we get the harr, mist, drizzle and wind no make the last one gales. It's tuff having a garden in Aberdeen but isn't it the challenge that keeps us gardeners going ::)
Angie :)
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Here are some more Haemanthus while they last. First, a group of Haemanthus coccineus ex Gifberg. These differ from other coccineus in having leaves that are somewhat narrower and longer than other coccineus. Next, a single coccineus ex Bainskloof. The Bainskloof plants seem to be pretty typical coccineus. Third, a series of three individuals of my cross Haemanthus [humilis hirsutus x coccineus], all of which I call 'Burgundy' since they all have the burgundy or maroon bracts.
Jim
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Jim what a show, you are so lucky. Like your labels with all the information.
Angie :)
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What a wonderful colour on your cross Jim, well done, a most fitting name :D
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Jim can you pm your address please so i can send the Cyrtanthus elatus seed to you when its ready .
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Haemanthus 'Burgundy' closer to full bloom.
Jim
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The 'Burgundy' plants, being sterile, are still in bloom and rather fresh-looking. ;D
My seedlings of the purported cross Haemanthus [coccineus x crispus] have put up leaves. They were planted in 2008, so this is their 4th set of leaves. Until now, there was no visible difference between these "hybrids" and regular coccineus seedlings. This year, the leaves are starting to show the undulate structure typical of the pollen parent, crispus. Thus, I'm happy to confirm another Haemanthus hybrid.
The third successful hybrid I've made was [barkerae x coccineus] and the reciprocal. These plants are fertile, and I'm working on the F2 generation of this pairing.
Jim
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I've just been enjoying your Nerine pix, Jim... and now I see your haemanthus babies are looking good.
The long- lasting flowers on your sterlile Burgundians are a bonus.
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Jim how long before you expect to see a flower.
Angie :)
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I've never seen fruits of Haemanthus pubescens pubescens before, but I have two plants of this variety with berries now. These berries are huge -- perhaps even larger than the berry of Haemanthus montanus: up to 1 inch/25 mm long. Each of these berries contains a mere one to three seeds. The smallish ellipsoidal seeds are approximately 9 mm long by 6 mm wide.
Unlike montanus, where there is only one seed per fruit and the fruit is very thin-skinned with the seeds completely filling the skin, the fruits of pubescens pubescens are mostly air inside.
Jim
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Jim how long before you expect to see a flower.
Angie :)
Angie,
Haemanthus hybrids tend to be a little more vigorous than the species, at least in my greenhouse, so I expect to see a bloom in late summer 2013 with a bit of luck. Both parents are bright red, so we'll have to see what the flowers may look like.
Jim
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Haemanthus hybrids tend to be a little more vigorous than the species, at least in my greenhouse, so I expect to see a bloom in late summer 2013 with a bit of luck. Both parents are bright red, so we'll have to see what the flowers may look like.
Jim
Will be exciting times for you when they flower. Love those fruits on your Haemanthus pubescens.
Angie :)
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Today are flowering some late Haemanthus for me :D
Here some pics :
Haemanthus albiflos "Dwarf" ( seedlings from from seeds ex Afr.Bulbs ) from a nice friend ....I find this plants not so small ::)
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Here are some pics from a strange plant:
I have received this plant from a gardening friend ( no bulb plant collector ) ...it has only one single leaf on the begin when I get it ...but my idea was it could be a Haemanthus and I was right .
Now this plant has recovered and make a lot of offsets and flowers regular ...I was always shure it is a H.albiflos or a form of H.albiflos ....
In this days start also with flowering my H.pauculifolius ...and I have now the idea that that this strange plant could also be H. pauculifoliuss or a intermediate between H. albiflos and H.pauculifolius ...
What are thinking other Haemanthus growers ?
Here are some pics :
Haemanthus spec.
Haemanthus spec. flower
Haemanthus comparison
Haemanthus pauculifolius
Thank you in advance for any comments
Hans
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I have a plant like this Hans, I bought it from Bob Brown as H paucifolius, It has longer stems than My clump of mature albiflos, flowers now when albiflos has finished, the leaves are longer and narrower. It is evergreen and is growing its new leaves now. Each leaf lasts up to 2 years so it normally has 4 leaves per bulb. The albifloss has six. I have several other forms of albifloss but they are not mature plants yet.
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My guess is a hybrid between albiflos and pauculifolius because:
1) the umbel is narrower than most albiflos, like pauculifolius
2) the leaves show some hairiness, but both these species can show this
3) more leaves than normal for pauculifolius (normal is 1 to 2: one new and one old) while normal for albiflos is 2 to 4 leaves (2 new and 2 old)
4) the leaf color in the photos looks more like pauculifolius (light green) than albiflos leaf color (medium to dark green), at least to me
Lots of offsets is normal for both albiflos and pauculifolius.
The longer peduncles and leaves could be hybrid vigor, which I see in my barkerae x coccineus hybrids. Someone should make the albiflos x pauculifolius cross in the greenhouse, to confirm this guess.
Jim
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Thank you Peter and Jim for your minds !
The problem is that I have no knowledge about the provenace of this plant ....
I got it in year 2004 from my friend ...and he got it several years before from a other contact - so I have no idea from where this plant come...
To your idea Jim about a hybrid ...maybe overlapp populations from albiflos with pauculifolius ?
I do not believe that anybody has produced hybrids in cultivation - also H.pauculifolius is not so long in cultivation ...( descripetet since 1993 )
I have also since several years a plant from Afr. Bulbs ( bought as small bulb ) - this clone is a bad grower - always more dead than live ...a strange thing
Hans
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I have not heard of any hybrids made intentionally in cultivation that involved pauculifolius. The species was discovered in 1993 or before, and appeared fairly quickly in cultivation after that. I got mine as seeds from Silverhill Seeds in 1999. There has been enough time for hybrids of pauculifolius to have happened in cultivation.
Known Haemanthus hybrids include the well-known x-clarkii, which is [albiflos x coccineus]. I have made [humilis hirsutus x coccineus], [barkerae x coccineus] and [coccineus x barkerae], as well as [coccineus x crispus]. I have one seedling that looks as if it might be [barkerae x namaquensis], but that would be strictly accidental.
In truth, the only way to be absolutely certain of a possible hybrid's parentage is to have its DNA looked at as well as that of its parents. Ben Zonneveld may have done that for some Haemanthus as well as for many other genera.
Jim
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Jim ,
thank you for your informations .
I have a idea : I could self pollinate this plant and look if it set seeds ...if it set no seeds so it really could be a hybrid - what you think ?
Hans
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Hans,
Some hybrids are sterile, for instance [humilis hirsutus x coccineus] and my only plant of x-clarkii; others are quite fertile, like my plants of [barkerae x coccineus] and the reciprocal. Some Haemanthus are somewhat self-sterile, like namaquensis, but albiflos seems quite self-fertile.
If it is sterile, your plant is most probably a hybrid. It is certainly a good idea and worth trying!
Jim
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Jim ,
If I remember me correct so I believe I had never seeds on this plant ...I will test it !
Hans
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My plant which I believe is the same, would not self last year.
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Jim , Peter :
I have sent yesterday evening my pics of this strange plant to a nice person in South Africa to ask what he thinks - just I have received his answer :
"Your plant is quite clearly a typical Haemanthus albiflos. H. pauculifolius always has only one leaf and the flower shape differs quite substantially from albiflos."
So it seems this is only a strange form of H.albiflos !
Hans
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I have been trying to work out the distinctions between four 'species' of Haemanthus.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/Haemanthus/294867883866568/?notif_t=group_activity
Haemanthus coccineus and Haemanthus tigrinius which has been incorparated into H coccineus.
Also Haemanthus sanguineus and Haemanthus incarnatus. H incarnatus has been incorparated into H sanguineus.
there was a discussion here a few years ago http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2743.msg64936#msg64936
I am confused about the distinctions between H coccineus and H sanguineus to start with, aparently the peduncle of sanguineus has a solid colour (usually reddish) and coccineus is (usually?) spotted .
I did find this link for a description of H incarnatus.
http://plants.jstor.org/flora/floc015552
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Peter :
Here is what I have just found on PBS :
"Haemanthus sanguineus has a wide distribution and is found in seasonally moist habitats on mountains and coastal flats, mainly in winter rainfall areas. It has two leaves pressed to the ground that are dry at flowering and red to pink flowers on a somewhat compressed compact umbel. Although the flowers resemble Haemanthus coccineus, the leaves are tough and leathery, rounder in shape with a distinct reddish margin and always flat on the ground. There are no markings on the underside of the leaves. This plant flowers late summer to fall (January to April). It is in leaf from April until November."
Hans
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Peter :
Here is what I have just found on PBS :
"Haemanthus sanguineus has a wide distribution and is found in seasonally moist habitats on mountains and coastal flats, mainly in winter rainfall areas. It has two leaves pressed to the ground that are dry at flowering and red to pink flowers on a somewhat compressed compact umbel. Although the flowers resemble Haemanthus coccineus, the leaves are tough and leathery, rounder in shape with a distinct reddish margin and always flat on the ground. There are no markings on the underside of the leaves. This plant flowers late summer to fall (January to April). It is in leaf from April until November."
Hans
Remember that the information on PBS was written by human beings, just like us. From Snijman's book (1984) I get the following:
coccineus sanguineus
Leaf banded or spotted on underside plain on underside
plain edge, but sometimes red edge cartilaginous edge, red or not
upper surface smooth upper surface rough, dark green
leaf shape variable leaf shape variable
Peduncle spotted or banded, smooth plain, solid red or pink color, maybe grooved
Note 1: I have observed that in cultivation under low light, leaves of some Haemanthus species tend to stand more upright than in the books.
Note 2: Many of my coccineus seem not to want to make spots on their leaves this year.
Note 3: Apparently, in the wild, hybrids occur between coccineus and sanguineus, just to make things even more confusing.
Note 4: I have found coccineus very easy to grow and sanguineus almost impossible to grow from seed, in the same greenhouse on the same bench.
It is clearly difficult to distinguish between sanguineus and coccineus. They apparently hybridize in the wild, so some specimens will not have a simple A-or-B identity. Both species are variable and fairly wide-ranging in the Cape provinces, which a century and more ago led to a profusion of botanical names for both of them. Dee Snijman has sorted these out as well as can be done until extensive DNA comparisons are financially feasible. All a DNA phylogeny would take is plenty of money and a graduate student or three. In the meantime, they will continue to present interesting challenges. I think it's time I tried to grow sanguineus again.
Jim
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since some days is my Haemanthus deformis flowering ...but with those bad weather it was not possibly to make pics earlier ...just between two rainshowers :(
Hans
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My current deformis are still just young seedlings, too small to bloom. The blooms on the albiflos are all faded or a couple are just fading, but there are scapes shooting on the pauculifolius. I'll have blooms there very soon.
I posted the first part of an article I'm working on, on Haemanthus, which I hope to submit to one of the plant publications. For the current draft of Part I, introduction to the genus Haemanthus, see my blog at:
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Blogs/Garden/index.html
I'm a bit too wordy to post it here. The whole article runs about 4500 words so far. I'm still working on part II, the species. I'd appreciate suggestions, comments, and criticism.
Jim
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I posted the first part of an article I'm working on, on Haemanthus, which I hope to submit to one of the plant publications. For the current draft of Part I, introduction to the genus Haemanthus, see my blog at:
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Blogs/Garden/index.html
I'm a bit too wordy to post it here. The whole article runs about 4500 words so far. I'm still working on part II, the species. I'd appreciate suggestions, comments, and criticism.
Jim
Jim, many thanks for including us in this loop... :)
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Hans your Haemanthus deformis is lovely, glad you got a break in the weather to take a picture :D
Jim , I have only had a quick look but tonight I have some good reading . I think by the look I will be as green as I can ever be. All those wonderful plants.
Angie :)
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...
I posted the first part of an article I'm working on, on Haemanthus, which I hope to submit to one of the plant publications. For the current draft of Part I, introduction to the genus Haemanthus, see my blog at:
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Blogs/Garden/index.html
...
Parts II, The Species, and III, Hybrids, have now been posted to the blog, same address. Feedback would be most welcome.
Jim
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...
I posted the first part of an article I'm working on, on Haemanthus, which I hope to submit to one of the plant publications. For the current draft of Part I, introduction to the genus Haemanthus, see my blog at:
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Blogs/Garden/index.html
...
Parts II, The Species, and III, Hybrids, have now been posted to the blog, same address. Feedback would be most welcome.
I've posted part IV, Care & Culture of Haemanthus, to my blog, at the same address:
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/Blogs/Garden/index.html
Feedback would be appreciated.
Jim