Nerines 2014

[johnw]

PeterT & ChrisB - I can hardly believe it!  Here my bowdeniis are very much in leaf and will be so for at least another month or more.  They start up in April but flowering occurs after the leaves die down so we expect no flowers till November.  Mine could very well be Pink Distinction but in the last few years I have been adding some bowdenii v. wellsii so hopefully we'll get earlier flowering, November is just too late but we've been lucky with freezes.

It would be too daring to plant them here as high as you have Chris.  I know they prefer that but I have seen the necks frozen off ones planted 5-6" deep here!  That makes for one very odd-looking bulb.  Many thanks for the reports.

johnw

[ChrisB]

I'm very lucky John to have free draining sandy soil.  But in 2010 we had some very cold weather that lasted a long time, from the end of October until the following February, with sub zero temps and large accumulations of snow.  That snow must have helped the bulbs that year I think.  Sometimes the bulbs actually grow themselves right out of the ground and I can harvest them. I never feed them.

[Maggi Young]

In a nearby garden today I spotted a large clump of Nerines just coming into flower - the first flowers were opening and the stems were tall- around 70cms - maybe more.

[johnstephen29]

Hi Maggi I have two species of nerine, dowdenii in the garden & undulata in a pot in full sun. They will soon flower, just wish I could get amaryllis belladonna to flower as well.

[jshields]

Nerine filifolia (#1008) in bloom.  Seems later than usual this year.



Jim

[johnstephen29]

Nerine Undulata in flower in a pot next to my greenhouse.

IMG_0121 by johnstephen29, on Flickr

[jshields]

It's nice to see your undulata in bloom.  My undulata are not stirring so far.  A few of my N. bowdenii "Koen's Hardy" and bowdenii wellsii are already sending up buds.  This is early for them. 

My bowdenii wellsii #1975 originated with Dawie Human.  I think they are from the high country in the Drakensberg where the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Lesotho come together.

Jim

[johnw]

Hi Maggi I have two species of nerine, dowdenii in the garden & undulata in a pot in full sun. They will soon flower, just wish I could get amaryllis belladonna to flower as well.

John  - My A. belladonna tooks exactly 20 years to flower................

johnw

[johnstephen29]

Hi Jim I hope you will post some pics when they flower I would love to see them, stick with the undulata, they are well worth the wait.
Hi John I think I might know where I am going wrong with my A. Belladonna, I reckon I have them too deep in the soil, I was at a cyclamen show in Birmingham botanical gardens a week or so ago and I saw some belladonna bulbs, with a lot of the bulb showing above ground. So next year when they die down i'll scrape some of the potting compost away and see if it does the trick.

[Robert]

John,

A. belladonna is almost a weed in our part of California. The tops of the bulbs are always sticking above the ground - but then it doesn't get very cold in the Sacramento Valley of California either, maybe -3 or -4 c most winters. Also, the bulbs need no water during the summer when they are dormant - even with our heat and dry they seem to like the dry rest. Our bloom season (late August) ended some time ago and now there is ripe seed. Good luck with your plants!

[johnralphcarpenter]

Nerine filamentosa discovered hidden in the polytunnel!

[johnw]

The one time the Amaryllis flowered was the year I changed habits and watered them whilst dormant.     Noses up here.

johnw

[johnstephen29]

Hi Robert & john that's definitely where I'm going wrong, the bulbs are way too deep in the compost, there not ripening in the summer.

Anyway back to nerines, here's bowdenii, looking great.


Nerine bowdenii by johnstephen29, on Flickr

[johnralphcarpenter]

A pale pink form of Nerine bowdenii.

[pehe]

A pale form of Nerine bowdenii likes growing in these through

Poul