Not much is happening with my amaryllis bulbs... Minerva is still in full greenery, which is rather pretty, and Apple Blossom appears to be settling in after a re-potting. It only lost one leaf, and I think it's putting out roots again. I'm allowing it to dry out completely before giving it more water. Hopefully, I have saved it from certain death...

Red Velvet mandevilla, however, has put on more than 6 inches of growth since I potted it up! It hasn't lost any more leaves, and is trying to wrap itself around the hardware for the window blinds! So far, I'm impressed. I'll be even more impressed when it flowers!

Ryan...You are very lucky with your Minerva. It must like you and your caring. I have 3 Minervas and they are not doing well. I might replace them this season. Yes Dancing Queen is a giver!

Jodic...Don't get disappointed with your amaryllises if they are just leafing out now. These leaves would be your guarantee for blooms next season. The more leaves, the more blooms.
I went ahead and ordered 20 plants of Mandevilla Red Velvet from Glasshouseworks. They are one of the valid growers/distributors of it (info from the website of the hybridizer). They said that the available plants would be at least a foot long. I just cannot risk getting mislabeled plants for my mom for this would break her heart. She is very happy now and awaiting for the shipment to come in. She has just 3 weeks to stay here in US and off she goes back home to the Philippines with her beloved plant purchases. She is allowed 2 check-in baggages with 70 lbs. max each. Believe me, these would be full of plants.

I'm not disappointed in the least, Maria! All that greenery lets me know I'm doing something right! And if it's got this many leaves now, it should really have a lot of blooms this coming February! Actually, it looks really nice all leafed out.

I got a package this morning with my order of 3 little baby Staghorn ferns! I can't wait to get them mounted on the cool boards my husband made for me! Got the moss soaking right now.

I should be getting another package very soon containing my newest bulb; it's a Papillio Butterfly Amaryllis!!

A friend of ours used to travel to AZ every year to visit his Mom... he would take extra empty suitcases with, and bring them back loaded with giant Aloe Vera cuttings from her garden, among other nice plant cuttings! So, good luck to your Mom and her bags full of beautiful plants!! I hope they make it home all in one piece, nice and healthy!

Lora and Dizzy...La Paz just decided to abort that scape. It just dried up. Why? I don't know. Maybe because of too hot weather. Sorry...

La Plaz did quite well for me during the winter months in my patio. I had three scapes and many seeds.

Pink Floyd had a scape with two more coming, but the latter shriveled before totally emerging. I tried to figure out what I did wrong, and the only thing that I can think of is that I was keeping my bulbs TOO dry this past winter. I will not do that again.

We are having 99-100 degree F. temps and even the bulbs in the greenhouse (which is hotter) are doing quite fine as long as I give them LOTS of water.

I accidentally left my fog/mister system running in one area of the greenhouse during a dry and hot spell for a couple of days, and I could not believe how much healthier the leaves looked on those as opposed to the ones that I had not manually watered for a few days.

My advice, at this point, is keep the soil moist while the temps are hot and they seem to love you for that...

Don't drown them, but give them plenty of moisture and do not let them dry out while they are growing (scapes or leaves).

Have FUN!

Thanks anyway Maria, it's the thought that counts. Your La Paz is the best that I have seen. I haven't seen any of the cybisters in person but I'm sure they are all beautiful.
I'm hoping the hippeastrums here in Australia will be waking up soon. I'm looking forward to seeing some blooms soon.

Di

I agree with Di... your La Paz is gorgeous, Maria!! The colors are so vivid!

You also take photographs extremely well... I wish my digital camera would take such nice closeups! The last pictures I took were kind of fuzzy around the edges and I couldn't get a nice clear shot of my subject. It's a Polaroid camera, a rather nice one, too. I should probably read the book that came with it and figure out the proper settings! LOL!!

So, how are your Mom's mandevilla babies doing? Have you received them yet?

It seems like I planted my Chianti out too early. It finished blooming with the second scape. No seed pods to keep, so I waited a few days, and when I didn't see a third scape, I planted it out. Now it is bringing the third scape outside. So this is my second bulb blooming for me outside. Though one can say it is a cheat. I could have waited a few days for the third scape to appear, but I am not a psychic, so I didn't know it was hiding away in there, so I count it as a half-summer-rebloom. I hope, this time the flowers will look healthy, big, and Chianti-like.

Dizzy...I have been thinking about you lately. I'm thinking about sending you a "Teddy Bear" by November. It should be ready by then.

Jodic...Thanks! I am using a Sony Pink camera that my daughter gave me as a gift for Christmas, Mother's day and birthday...lol! I don't even know how to use the other features. Too much technology for my old brain to grasp. I just point and shoot!!! Oh...I do know how to turn the "Macro" button on and off. That's it...lol!

Soultan...When are you going to take and post pics again? I LOVE your pics!

I will definitely take some pictures of the aforementioned Chianti, since scanning through web sites and my own picture collection, I just discovered that it is not Chianti, but Celica. So when it blooms outside probably within a week, I will have to take some pictures and send them to mzbulb.com for a replacement Chianti bulb or a refund. I mean, Celica is a very interesting, nice brownish double bloom, but it is definitely not Chianti that I bought.
I usually post pictures when there is a topic regarding one of my flowers that I took pictures of. I don't really like to start topics, and it takes too much time to resize the pictures and put them on my web site for hosting. Being so incredibly busy, I don't even know why I am doing it. Probably because of pride or vanity. :o) Whatever it is, I will put some more pictures up on my site, then post the pictures here. Just please bear with me. I am over the move, but I am still not over my company and my future commitment to two movie projects and a major studio... I just don't know which hand to bite... Whatever I pay less attention to is going to backfire sooner or later...
So I will take some pictures of Celica, then, if Honeymoon gives me beautiful flowers, I will probably take some pics of that, and almost immediately after that, or who knows, maybe before Honeymoon, Clown should bloom for me as well. So if I can steal some time away, I will take some pictures. I enjoy doing them. I just don't enjoy setting up the lights, and then putting them away again, when I am not shooting anymore. I cannot leave equipment out even in my room. When there are shoots in the house, these kind of things find new owners pretty quick and easy. I think, I will only have a semi-permanent setup when my room on top of the garage will be done probably this Fall/Winter.
You don't know how frustrated I am for missing all those great opportunities to take pictures of the perfect, beautiful flowers I have had continuously now. What a lazy bump I am...
Now back to work.

Soultan...I would suggest that you get a camera like mine. Just point and shoot! It doesn't need to be pink...lol! That way, when one of your flowers bloom, and you don't have the time to set up your lights, take a pic of it. It doesn't have to be a perfect picture. You know deep inside you that it's a perfect flower anyway, right? At least you won't miss the moment or chance. I try to upload most of my pics in my photobucket when I have the time. Some of them are still stored in my camera's memory. At least I know somewhere, I got a pic of that bloom. It brings so much joy in me when I go through my photobucket and run it as a slideshow. Seeing my flowers' pics brings in very good memories. Sony moments for me...

Soultan... we don't care if the photos aren't perfect or taken with professional equipment! We just like to see the flowers! I'm sure no one here would mind if you took pictures with a disposable camera!

I searched and searched last night for the pictures I took of my Minerva and Apple Blossom last year... but I can't find them anywhere! I think maybe they were taken off the computer and put on a disk somewhere... I must ask my husband if he knows where they are. I'd love to post them and share them with everyone!

I am in movie production and post production. I only have professional equipment. I don't mind it. I have a mild OCD, as you know and I hate when things are not perfect. People take advantage of this quality of mine, so a lot of times, I am the target of difficult jobs, because they know I can take care of them and I can't rest till it is as perfect as it can be. So I'd rather not take pictures than take bad ones that I wouldn't want to keep for myself.
I hate to take pictures and I hate 100 times more when someone takes pictures of me. I am known for breaking camera equipment, because the person was not willing to understand that I don't like being photographed and he did not stop after I asked him a few times. He wanted me to pay for the camera for him after that, but I simply told him that he had the chance to save it. If it's worth a camera for you to take pictures of me, go ahead. :o) It is so good that I am not a celebrity.

So... I promise, I will take some pictures soon. Definitely. I need it for myself too. I want to document my flowers. I want to have the most wide-stretched picture gallery of amarylli that I can create. I just need to win the lottery for it, so I could just take pictures all day long... Or does anyone know a publisher who'd be interested in releasing another Amaryllis picture book?

I'm sure that somewhere, someone probably would publish a book filled with amaryllis photos. I would think it would be especially salable if it included growing information for each cultivar, too! Each bulb's particular likes, dislikes, habits, how it reacts to different environments, etc...

My husband is the same way, soultan... I don't think more than a couple of pictures of him even exist. He hates to be photographed. I don't photograph well, so I'm not thrilled to be in pictures, but it doesn't bother me that much. I just wish I knew before the pictures were going to be taken so I had the opportunity to fix my hair or whatever! LOL! It seems that every picture of me is always when I look my worst!

Yeah. I know vanity too well. :o) And to think that I was a fashion model when I was younger, I don't even understand what people liked about my looks. I was also performing on stage, and people liked me there too. So I guess, I am just extremely insecure...

Wow... you've done a lot in your life... I never could have modeled. I'm too short and too plain. My daughter, however, could be a model. She has her father's height and build, feminine though, and she's quite beautiful! I may be prejudiced as she IS my daughter, and all mothers think their children are the most handsome! :-)

I've always thought that as long as YOU like yourself, it doesn't matter what others think. I like me. I may not be super model gorgeous, but I think I'm a nice and intelligent person. Personally, I believe it's what people are like INSIDE that matters the most.

Then I am in trouble. As I said, I have a lot of personal issues. I have to rely on people encouraging me and telling me that I am good without me asking for it. So I have to put down things on the table to earn this. It is kind of a catch 22 situation. I need to be recognized, but when someone tells it to me in my face, I become extremely embarrassed and just try to talk about something else... It seems like, it is enough for me if I can feel that the person genuinely thinks that I am good at what I am doing and that's all. I don't need him to keep on talking about it.

Well... I must embarrass you then, because I think you're a pretty nice person, judging by what I've read so far. I think all the people with whom I've had conversations on this forum so far are nice people. It's a good group here.

I can't say anything about your work because I don't know what type of film works you've been involved with. Would I have seen anything you've worked on? Feature films? Animation? Or? I watch a lot of movies and television, we have satellite tv with quite a few channels. When I can get my husband to hand the remote to me instead of putting on some type of Mixed Martial Arts fights or Boxing, I prefer to watch full length movies...

You said you're rather a perfectionist, so I would imagine your work to be top shelf. When it comes to doing a job, I was always taught that a job worth doing is worth doing well. I tend to be rather uptight when it comes to work, any type of work. I like to do things properly and well so they don't have to be redone. I take pride in what I do. I wouldn't want to be embarrassed to put my name on anything I did. Quality before quantity, that sort of thing...

Thanks for the nice comments. This panel seems to be filled with nice people. It is a really good place go reach invaluable information to succeed in propagating or just simply keeping amarillys.
I have worked on several films and projects, but this is not the place to advertise anyting I've done. I have a lot more on my plate than I have done so far, so I am kind of scared where to get that extra time, energy, and will from.
Right now I am also the owner of a post production house that really holds me back, and what I'd love to get rid of eventually, so I could concentrate on the creative aspects of movie making and entertainment in general.
I might disappear for a few weeks, months this coming Fall. It seems like that one of the movies I am a staff writer in will get the chance to be shot in Canada, Vancouver, so I will be out of commission during that time. Though it is just a big if now... You know how it goes with movies.
So in the mean time I will just simply chat here about amaryllis.

Yes, everyone here is very forthcoming with helpful information and suggestions about amaryllis growing. I especially like it when pictures of new blooms are posted!

I don't think I could do what you do, except maybe the writing part. I rather enjoy writing. We used to publish an American Bulldog quarterly magazine. I did most of the research, article and story writing, the magazine layout, right down to mailing them out to our subscribers. It was a small, but very informative magazine, about 50 pages an issue. We were building a decent subscriber base, and then we had a fire... we lost pretty much everything, and the magazine went defunct. I've thought about bringing it back, publishing it again, but it's so much work, and I was a lot younger and healthier when it was in circulation.

I was just curious as to what type of entertainment you worked on. I wouldn't ask you to name names. That wouldn't be fair. :-)

Canada has beautiful scenery, and I hear that a lot of movie personnel like to work there. Even though it's so far north, there are a lot of areas where fabulous gardens exist. I've seen several lovely Canadian gardens showcased on home and garden programs. I'd love to take a garden tour there.

You must have a very hectic schedule when you're in production. Time is money, but it's like that with most businesses, I suspect. I'm pretty lucky right now... my schedule is as I make it. As long as I care for the dogs and kennel every day and get the necessary yard/garden work done, my time is my own. I get to "stop and smell the roses"!

I have puppies and plants needing my attention, so I'm off to do my thing!

I see that much vanity right now. The perfect face, the perfect outfit, the perfect scent... My second daughter was a TV commercial model in the Philippines before she had to migrate here in US. She had a hard time leaving that behind. She loved doing that. She is young and pretty, just 18 now, and enjoys the glitz and glamor connected in that trade. It took a while before she could understand what I was telling that physical beauty fades and it is the kind of person who you are inside that makes someone beautiful. She is a good daughter though, now in college studying Radiography. A lot of women/mothers get "irked" when other people would say how beautiful their daughters are. They feel insecure or old I guess. I don't. I feel proud of my own "hybrid"...lol!

Soultan...Your amaryllises will miss you in your trip to Canada. Mine did when I went away for my 10 day vacation.

My "hybrids" are my step-children, and I couldn't be MORE proud of them! I come from an adopted family of 4 children, and my Mom always told me that we weren't created under her heart, we were created IN it! That's how I feel about my kids. When someone compliments my children, I feel proud... and I know that I did something right!

Maria, my middle son is in his second year of college studying Pharmacology and Law. He just had his "White Coat" ceremony last weekend. Talk about being proud! He is going to school and working for Walgreens Pharmacy. My youngest, my daughter, is looking into going to school to be a Pharmacy Tech. The medical fields need people, and the pay and benefits are really good. Your daughter chose a good profession!

Now, if I could only get one of my kids interested in gardening... LOL!

I am doing music videos, movie productions, and if my plans come true, a cable series soon. It is too graphic and rough for tv, so I have to go on cable, but cable is a much selective media, so only a few series can make it there. I am not investing in it unless I know I can succeed.

My amarylli will miss me at the end of September. It seems like that I am travelling to Europe for a week, if my papers arrive in time. Of course, I have already purchased the tickets and even tickets for The Phantom of the Opera and for Beauty and the Beast... I wouldn't like to lose those theatre tickets... I don't really know why I am going, but I am going. I don't really wish to go home, so I am not really looking forward to this trip.

The Canadian deal is not ready yet. It might even be cancelled soon. That is what I predict. Fortunately, I opted out of this picture last june. I am not an investor, and I don't own any part of it anymore. The only thing is that I am doing for them is to rewrite the script for them. I wanted to do it rigth from the beginning, but they refused to let me... That was one of the reasons I left the project. But this year, they needed an emergency revision, and I revised 52 pages for them in one night, and since then, they consider me part of the project. I am willing to go with it. Why not help them if it can make the movie better?
But as I said, the movie has lost a lot of investors lately, so I am not sure if it will ever happen. I am just on board if it does.

So I am almost sure that my flowers will not have to miss me...
If I ever go to Canada though in the winter, I will make sure to dig out my bulbs just before I leave... I am afraid of another subzero temperature here during the winter... I don't want to lose them.

But all this is just planning. We are planning this movie for two years, and the producers are planning it for the fifth one now... With time, you slowly become insensitive to it... If it happens, good, go for it, if it does not, then that's not a tragedy anymore.

Jodic...Yes I feel I am guiding my two older daughters in the right way. My eldest is in the medical feild too, a Nursing student. Seeing them doing so good in school and planning their future makes me realize that I did the right decision in migrating here in US to be able to give them better choices in life. My two little ones, a 6 and a 9 year old are my little gardeners.

soultan - It can take forever to get most large projects off the ground, but I can only imagine the coordination it takes to make a good movie come together, from beginning to end. That would be too much stress for me!

Maria - I wish my oldest son were a little more career oriented, but he is content to be in a blue-collar job, renting a small home in an average neighborhood, driving a small car... and his wife seems content to stay home and raise the children. They are expecting their second child right now.

We raised them on an average to below average income, and I had hoped that they all would want more for themselves than just average. Two out of three isn't bad, I know, but I wanted better for them than we had. As a parent, you can only guide them so far; they have to make it the rest of the way by themselves, as adults. As long as they are all happy with their choices, that's what really matters.

You're lucky to have two little garden helpers! None of my kids has any interest in that kind of thing. I think it skips a generation in my family! :-)

As long as the next generation will want to help you, you are fine. They are growing up faster than you can blink.

Seems like only yesterday my three children were little, and here I am a Grandma already! And my Grandbabies are growing SO fast!

My Grandma was a great gardener. She had beautiful perennial beds... My Mom could kill any plant in record time, although she did try. She was too busy to put much effort into plants... I love plants and gardening, but now my daughter doesn't even have one houseplant! I'm hoping one of my Granddaughters will catch "gardening fever"! LOL!

In my case, it didn't skip any. But then we lived in a totally different place. Gardening in the Philippines, which is as tropical as you can get, is so much easier. It is almost a part of our lives. Well during those days anyway.
Growing your own fruit trees and vegetables is a must in the very limited family budget. Besides this, planting flowering plants like hibiscus, bouganvilleas, crape myrtles would be a cheap way to decorate the house/garden instead of structures.
I remember well picking out different colored and shaped leaves from my grandmother's croton collection when I was a little girl. Me and my playmates would pretend that they were fish that we are selling in the market. We would get hibiscus leaves and flowers, pound them till they become "gooooeey", mix a little water and detergent soap and blow bubbles out of it.
Guava leaves would be boiled and the tea would be used in rinsing wounds. Tea from ginger roots are drank for sore throat. Sliced tomatoes for burn relief. Rubbing virgin coconut oil to relieve practically every aching part of your body and the best hair conditioner you can get...lol!
Ahhhhhhh...Good old SIMPLE days....
There, no plant sleeps. Somehow, they have a purpose or connection with our lives. Isn't that what NATURE is supposed to be anyway?

Simple can be a good thing. I'm a big fan of natural or old fashioned remedies. For instance, I never buy any of the chemical antacid tablets or liquid or pills; for heartburn or upset stomach, I always mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a little lukewarm water and drink it. Instant relief! It also makes an excellent toothpaste or a mild abrasive cleaner for jewelry or glass shower doors. It's also a must for neutralizing battery acid burns or burns from products like drain cleaners. I still use Vicks Vaporub for chest congestion and colds; vigorously rub the chest and ribcage, wrap with an oven-warmed towel, and go to bed. In the morning, the congestion is mostly broken up and can be coughed out. I kept my daughter from having her tonsils removed by using Vicks every time she got sick or had bronchitis. Ice or very cold water for burn relief, to stop the burning action. Ice also helps stem blood flow from cuts. And Superglue for patching cuts. I've glued my kids' cuts together more times than I care to remember! Those aren't necessarily plant remedies, but you get the idea. Old fashioned and simple still works best!

Here's one using plants: tea bags help clot blood. It's the tannin in the tea leaves. You can use them instead of gauze when you get a tooth pulled, and they will help the blood coagulate fast.

I didn't grow up in a tropical area, but even as a child I loved the fresh new growth of spring buds and leaves, that fresh earthy smell that means Mother Nature is waking up after a long winter's sleep. I still love spring the best, and the smell of spring and summer rain. And the fresh smell of homemade compost or the garden when just dug up for planting.

When we were kids, we used young hickory leaves as pretend money, and many other types of flowers or leaves or twigs went into our imaginative play. We would "sew" the leaves together with long grasses to make pretend books or other things. Or braided grasses as rope... we'd pound berries to use as ink, or use the milky sap from dandelions or milkweed as invisible ink. We had great imaginations! Kids don't have that these days... they're too wrapped up in technology and television, video games and cell phones and computers. It's a shame.

I didn't know that tomatoes helped burns... we've used ice or cold water to stop the burning, then aloe vera leaf juices to relieve the pain... Supposedly, willow bark is a mild aspirin-like pain reliever.

Yes... old fashioned and natural is still the best.

We as people, as urban people, really remove ourselves from nature. I don't mind it when it comes to urban space. I hate the idea that I live right next to a wildlife reserve in the middle of the city and coyotes roam along here all the time and I have to be afraid if they catch my dog or not. I mean decide what is city and what is outside territory, then let the wild animals live outside of the city and keep the city for people. I know, a lot of people don't agree with me, but it is no wonder that mountain lions kill some hikers in the middle of the city when the park they can live in small and most of their pray disappear, so they have to find alternate solution for feeding.
I am not saying that kill the natural habitat and fauna in a city area, but when city officials prohibit us planting palms because they are not native to Southern California, we just laugh at them. As soon as they give us the certificate of occupancy, of course that palms will go up. And I mean it: how dare they say that they can juxtapose their own ideas on us... We live in a city for God's sake. I understand if they don't let people plant palms in a forest hammock area, but don't tell me that highways, Ralph's, Mercedes Dealerships, LA Workouts are native around here as well. So what is the problem with palms?

Joining the crowd of summer rebloomers is Exotic Star...

{{gwi:417791}}

As always, very lovely with it's maroon striped blooms. It's petals now are a lot thicker than when it first bloomed for me last winter. It's a pity that it is said to be seed infertile. I will still try to pollinate it though and have saved the pollens for future use.

{{gwi:417792}}

Although this Exotic Star started slow for me, this spring/summer it has grown so beautifully. It arrived as a 30cm bulb and now has grown to a 36cm bulb with 3 babies potted in an 8" clay pot.

{{gwi:417794}}

Just awesome, Maria! What else can be said?!

That is one healthy bulb and a huge one.. If the leaf count can determine future blooms, you should have four scapes this winter.

I know.... It currently has 15 leaves and still growing. Unfortunately, it only produces 2 flowers per scape. Just like one of it's parents...Papilio. I did some studying of what I pollens I will use on these 2 flowers. Decision: Grandeur and Papilio "Improved". Wish me luck!!!

Hopefully, it will set viable seed, and you will have more beauties! Good Luck!

Maria, That is one beautiful plant!! Bulb and flower are gorgeous. I love your pictures of your blooms but I also love to see the bulbs.

Soultan, Tell me more about leaf count determining future blooms.

I'm off to count leaves!!

Hi Dizzy!!! Good Morning? Good Afternoon? or Good Evening in Australia? Do you see that tiny baby in the first pic? It can fly to Australia if you want it. Let's just give it a little bit more time to grow with mommy.

I'll go ahead and answer your question. Soultan will be here anytime soon also. Usually, 4 mature leaves on one side can give you a scape on that side. That is why it's so important to make your amaryllis grow nice healthy leaves. The "after flower care" is a must to ensure flowering next season.

Hi,
It's now 3.30pm here. I'm finding myself reading this forum instead of doing my work! I would love that little baby when it's ready to leave it's mommy.

I have spent most of the weekend weeding and spreading blood and bone on my garden beds. I still have to turn the soil(very carefully around the bulbs) and re-mulch it.
I noticed that a few of my hippies have kept their leaves over the winter and the others that had lost their leaves are growing new ones.
Spring is finally here!!!

And here we are on the downside of summer with fall nipping at our heels! Soon it will be winter...

How strange it seems to hear someone say that spring is finally here in September! Spring is my very favorite season, although I'm more accustomed to it coming around April or May! Technology is a wonderful thing; here we are talking to fellow gardeners on the other side of the hemisphere!

Happy Spring, Dizzy!

As leaf count goes, it seems like there are several theories...
I read somewhere that if you have 4 leaves, you should not expect any blooms. If you have the fifth leaf, you can expect one scape and every two leaves could mean another scape, up to four. Can someone verify this?

What I said earlier about the leaf count and scape formation is just from what I read. I have NEVER counted and confirmed this. I just make sure they grow healthy beautiful leaves during spring/summer and for sure they will bloom. That never fails on the regular big flowered varieties. I still have to see this on my newly purchased exotics/cybisters/trumpets/klisters. It all depends on the age and health of the bulb and variety too I guess.

Jodik, as much as I love this forum I find it very hard to make the conversions when somebody talks about what should be done at certain months of the year.
But what i love most about this forum is I can look at pictures and read about other peoples blooming Amaryllis when mine are fast asleep.

As i said earlier most of my bulbs have lost their leaves over winter, so i can't count them. But Papilio and an unknown has kept their leaves and they both have 5 leaves. Does this mean that i will at least get one scape off each?

Just the differences in gardening from the north, where I am, to the southern or western states by season has me confused, Dizzy! I couldn't imagine going from a zone 5 gardener to being a zone 9 or 10 gardener... I'd love being more tropical, but I'd be completely lost for a while!

My winters are filled with snow and ice and freezing temps... other gardeners here get to skate through winter with just "lower" temps and rainy season!

Oh dizzy,

I got an e-mail from Maguire's Amaryllis farms... They would send me bulbs of their amarylli. The only problem is that because of the health certificates, shipping, and customs cost, they draw the minimum limit at 100. I don't want to order a hundred bulbs at once... Too bad there's no amaryllis society in the area with full of crazy people like me, who'd order up with me... I found a guy who gets some species and interesting amaryllid seeds and some bulbs from time to time... I will still have to see what kind of prices he can provide for me. He thought I had nice, interesting varieties... If he thinks that my common, easily available hybrids are interesting varieties, maybe he is not a big amaryllis pro... But if he is mainly concentrating on species, then yes, maybe all these fantasy names can be interesting and weird for him.

Hi,
Jodik, I suppose I'm lucky because I don't have snow or freezing temps in Melbourne. I would love to be somewhere tropical too. Everything seems to grow better!! I have a friend who lives in Queensland and her Amaryllis bulbs which were bought at the same time as mine are double the size!! And she has totally neglected them. And I won't even mention her orchids!!!
Oh-well we can't have it all can we?

Soultan I'm so diappionted for you. Sometimes I get so frustrated with Aust. customs but it's only there to protect.
At least you can still order from other places. I can't order from overseas at all :(

Anyway I'll be going to Queensland at the end of the year and will be visiting Maguire's farm. Have a look in the background of some of his pictures!!!

He has some interesting varieties. He has one for instance that is a reverse picotee. Red flower with white picotee on the edges. It is called Surprise.

I bought surprise last season, it had lovely big flowers. I hope it flowers again this year.

You see... How could I get all these bulbs out to me? Would be nice to know...

I know how you feel :(

Yes. YOU do. I am glad that I can get all the others from all over the world though, so I shouldn't cry. Maybe I will once just give into it and order those 100 bulbs... All the varieties, and maybe I sell the surplus on ebay.