Isn't that an interesting one. I haven't seen all these different varieties available here. Not even in the catalogues that I get. Hmmmmm

Sierra

Hi Sierra,
What catalogs are you getting? (not the right ones!) :) I'll get some more photos up shortly. Lora

I just love this one.

Hi Lora_z5
Can you expound a little on the right catalogs to get?

Here's another I'd never seen before. I didn't know the flowers had such think leaves. Do you know if these were bred to look this way or were they sports?

Knipofia, thank you.
gardencolors,these came from Easy to grow bulbs. They dont have a print catalog,just on line store.Royal Colors is good. Check the Garden Watchdog before you order online,it can save a lot of grief & money.
Sierra,it may be more difficult for you to find them,are you in Canada? I bet somebody on the Canadian garden forums could help you find a source....
MrBrownthumb, these are Cybisters. I'm not sure if they are straight species or primary hybrids. I will self pollinate one flower on each and try to determine quite what they are. Lora

Ummmmmmmmm....what is a Cybister Lora? Lol...if Arif's got Hans as his teacher, Lora is mine!

Hi Maria,
Cybisters are a species of Hippeastrum native to Bolivia. They are much smaller than the Dutch hybrids and produce more flower scapes. They are evergreen and should be kept at temps above 50F year round.When they are happy,I understand they may bloom more than once a year Lora

I liked Ruby Meyer when it bloomed for me, though I have to admit, that someone commented on it: "Does it think it is an Amaryllis?" It was so small and so "insignificant," that nobody was really excited about it. Ruby Meyer, if I understand it right is a cybister variety bred by Fred Meyer and registered in 1999.

I am that some one.
I like them big and charming.

Hehe... You have not visited my house when it was in bloom. Nice to see you again ARIF! But I believe you that you like them big and charming too. Me too. Though I like all that looks good. Right now my Exotica is blooming with small flowers, so I am quite disappointed in it. But I account it to the fact that it has been held in the fridge for too long... But for next year, it will not have the same excuse.

Helloooo ARIF! We missed you here. How are you and your amaryllises doing? What season are you in right now in Pakistan?

My Ruby Meyer, newly purchased one for me last season, just brought up a few small blooms. It did not impress me as much as La Paz did, performance wise. It is slowly leafing out now. It is quite finicky in my growing conditions. I just can't get what it likes. It has travelled all over my house, in and outside, north, south, east and west...lol!

I love La Paz as well, so that is why I am kind of disappointed in Ruby Meyer. But I will see this year how it performs, since I will not force it, just transfer it from outside to a pot inside when the weather turns colder. Maybe it really needs to remain evergreen. Though as I look at the bulb outside, it is also the weakest performing when it comes to leaves. It is not leafing up well. It has like two and one on the bulblet that is attached to it. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I know it is Ruby Meyer because it has bloomed for me, but it is kind of a princess.
But as I read your entry, Maria, it seems like you have similar problems with it as I do... Let's keep each other posted about it... Maybe we can figure out why it is so finicky.

Arif,
How about your wonderful mongrels? Any new discoveries. You always have so many pictures. I was missing that and your comments as well. I hope everyting is well with you.

I just transfered Ruby Meyer to a place outside where it is getting morning till noon sun. It used to receive full sun and seem to not like it. I also checked its roots...not a lot. It is still potted in 4"clay pot with coco peat/perlite/vermiculite mix. It is watered with fertilized water everytime it needs it. I might try something that my Papilio and La Paz loves, organic fertilizer. I'll update you on this.

Speaking of organic fertilizer, does anyone use fish emulsion? I just got some and used it on all my houseplants when I watered last. I've heard really good things about it. Just wondered if anyone else was using it...

Maria,

Mine is out in the flower bed. It can have as much space for its roots as much it wants. The automatic sprinkler (soaker) waters the whole bed for 5 minutes every night. It gets morning till noon light at my place as well, and when every other bulbs are thriving, this is just quite sad. Will see how it does during blooming season. I will not force it go dormant if it does not do it by itself. Maybe it will like to be potted inside, root bound. Have no idea yet. I have to try and risk.

I have always used Fish emulsion in my gardening life. It is very good specially with seedlings when you need a little boost of nitrogen that will be safe for their tender roots. Other source of Nitrogen like Urea can cause root burn to plants potted in soilless mix. Ammoniacal Nitrogen is quite safe too.

I want to try spraying a layer of soilless mix on top of the flower bed, lay the seeds on it and start the incubation. By the time their roots reach the soil, they should be safe. I think for final solution, they are better off in real soil.

Apparently, the Mandevilla vine loves the fish emulsion... it seems to have grown another 6 inches since I watered it! I am concerned, though, because one of its lower leaves is turning black at the edges... hmmmm.

Minerva is pot bound, and she is looking great in her greenery. Being pot bound seems to have prompted her to send up offsets. I really should check her root system to see if she is too pot bound.

What type of garden soil do you have where you live, soultan? Ours has a lot of clay and requires amending with compost and other goodies.

I created raised flower beds for myself, ordered pot soil and mixed it with sand before I poured it to the beds. The guys were using construction concrete mixer to mix the soil for me. I think it was a good decision. I only use a drip water system on the beds and only for about 5 minutes per night. The soil is always slightly moist just at about root level, and dried out by the end of the day on the top. Good for the bulbs. They look happy as hell. :o) I just know I will have to lift them when Autumn comes because we usually get buckets of water from the rain that time of the year. You know the infamous Fall in California. But it is fine with me. I want to lift them anyway, to force them inside.

Raised beds are great, and for several reasons. I put in a nice set of 4 large raised squares in a fenced area for a vegetable garden just this past spring. They are about 6'x6' square, about 14" deep, and they have screen on the bottoms so no tunneling animals can dig under them. I filled them with a mixture of composted horse manure, homemade compost, bagged garden and top soil, bales of peat moss, sand, and several large bags of potting soil. I laid them out about 3' apart, in a square pattern and put wood chip mulch in between as paths.

They are very easy to work in. I can just reach the center of them from any side, and I keep a sprinkler in the middle. This year, I grew okra, green peppers, pea pods, green beans, zucchini, acorn squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and basil. I have other herbs mixed in the perennial borders. I just needed a place to plant the extra basil seedlings. LOL! I grew most of it from seed, all except the tomatoes.

Next spring I want to add 2 more squares. It worked out so well that next year I plan on putting in other vegetables, as well as what I planted this year. I'd like to grow carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions, garlic, maybe peas and other types of beans. There's nothing like the taste of fresh, homegrown veggies!

Drip irrigation sounds like a good idea. Right now, I just use soaker hoses in the perennial beds, and a sprinkler for the raised beds. Maybe I'll save one of the raised beds for my amaryllis bulbs! I would have to dig them in the fall, but I could do that... It IS fenced in, after all. Hmmm...

Drip irrigation - soaker hoases. Same for me. These are soaker hoases made from recycled auto tires... They just drip to the surface of the bed, but will not sprinkle all over, filling the neck of your bulbs with unnecessary water...

Oh, ok... I misunderstood... Due to the fact that a lot of plants need to be watered from the bottom, I use soaker hoses all over the gardens. I lay them out in spring, and I roll them back up after I do fall clean up. It's a pain in the rump, but it seems to work best. I can leave them run for longer periods of time and get a good soaking. And if I accidentally forget to turn off the water, there's no major flooding!

You see, this was the idea for me... I put the soaker system on a timer though, so it soaks the bed during the night. 5 minutes per day completely enough for the bulbs, even in this heat.