Donna, so sorry to hear, hopefully Komoriya takes care of you when you reorder.

Anyone in the UK or Europe ordered from komoriya?

Mine has been stuck in UK customs for 4 days. I take it, plant material is opened for thorough checking despite there being a phyto certificate? It's either that or they are going to ask for evidence of the order value as I got them to put a lower value on it for customs tax purposes.

On the plus side it is being sent via EMS.

Well, Frank (fishing dentist) is from Germany and he has posted some pictures of some of his Komoriya bulbs from past years as well as current purchases. Search some of his threads and you might learn something. He hasn't posted lately, probably busy with his new little daughter..

I must say I guess I'm lucky that none of my Komoriya boxes have been opened and they arrive 2 days after I get the notice that it's been shipped.

I told myself that I'd better redeem my credit for my rotted bulb before it got lost in the shuffle next spring so that was my excuse to try a few more...

So I caved in again and just purchased a few more bulbs and they promised me a substitute (of my choice) That's just fine with me!

Donna

Get a twisted dragon for the substitute!

I actually made a second order already and i've not even received my first. Nowhere near done yet either. I'm going to need to get me a greenhouse at this rate.

Hope my bulbs don't rot in customs. u_u

AuntJemima,

I gave them about 6 bulbs to choose from knowing full well that most all of them weren't going to be availible but I thought I'd try anyway. Dragon Twist was on my list.
When my order arrives and if they didn't forget to add my replacement bulb (anything is possible) I'll reveal what I got. I don't want to jinx it!

Donna

Replacement bulb for Donna: Red Lion. XD

now thats funny I don't care who you are

HeHe, No...hopefully not Red Lion, they did tell me what it was going to be and it was one that was on my list and the next day they had listed some for sale so I'm pretty confident I'll get it (if someone doesn't forget as I'm sure that Hiroko doesn't actually fill the boxes)..and I got my notice this morning that the package had been mailed so... probably Monday since today is already Friday...so, we'll all have to wait! ;-)

Donna

Yes those bulbs made it to USA. The last picture is how they looked like here in my home, straight out of the box.
Almost all of them performed and bloomed for me...except for Petit Kaguya Hime that never woke up and just dried itself to death! Sorry about this info Donna and hope yours perform and bloom beautifully some day.

Rio Negro...Didn't have much luck with this one also and other similar varieties (except Exotic Star). It must be one of their ancestor genes that is quite finicky and don't like my growing conditions.

Winter Butterfly...Now this looks very similar to your Pap/Exotic Star cross Donna. I honestly think your seedling looks prettier.

Now most of their varieties are described as...
"4 flowers at a scape" even if the pictures show only 2 flowers??? Hmmmmm....

This post was edited by mariava7 on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 13:41

Maria,

Yes.. I was just studying that one and I think they might have taken the picture before it had a chance to gain it's real shape. And yes I was thinking the same thing that it looks similar to PapExStasy. But I don't see any indication that they do any hybridizing with Exotic Star do you?

And, I'm always a little sceptical about the 4 flowers to a scape too when the picture shows only 2 even though I've bought a few with a picture that shows 2 flowers.. I guess at this point I'd be satisfied with 2 flowers on just about any of them!

My Petit Kaguyahime is hanging in there, the smallest one I have to date. But it's still firm and has one root about 1/8 of an inch long!! I fear I will be a very old lady before some of these bloom!!;-)

Donna

And one more thought..Do any of you think that this new way of selling these bulbs in what they will do in the future or will they go back to the auctions? I like this way much better!!

This post was edited by dondeldux on Fri, Jul 26, 13 at 15:54

Donna,

I agree, I like this way much better, except I'm buying more this way lol
-J

@Maria

How did you get them to the US? Did you have a phyto certificate? But that is awesome you didn't have to leave them behind.

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They're probably just trying to shift extra stock. Even at these prices they are significantly higher than what they charge domestically so they are already making a nice profit. Can't wait to see how much they want buy it now price for dragon twist. :(

Jody,

Have any of the bulbs that you have bought with the Buy Now method arrived for you? I'm almost afraid to ask what condition they were in as I now have two small orders winging their way to me right now!! You're right, you find yourself buying more this way, too easy and no more wee hours of the morning auctions that I aways missed!! ;-(

Aunt Jemima, I too was wondering if they were making room for new varieties for season. Perhaps the Japanese market is saturated with some of these varieties and we Americans and European are only too eager to help get rid of their excess.

I just bought another Calypt Parodii as I saw a thumbnail on Ebay for one of the sellers who had bloomed it and I recognized it and even at that tiny size it looks like a real beauty with 4 flowers so... I figured I needed another!! Even though my first hasn't bloomed it was a large bulb and is doing well...It depends on the condition of these bulbs as to whether I continue to buy a few more...

As for Dragon Twist or Dragon, I can't imagine they would offer those on a Buy Now method, but, miracles can happen..Those will go for big bucks!!

Donna

Donna,

Bought aulicum and calyptratum and another mini. The aulicum and clayptratum are huge and in great shape - although there are no leaves or roots. The alicum has a lot of offsets. They are supposed to be in summer dormancy (according to Komoriya). I am trying something different with these. Besides the bleach and peroxide (separate) baths, I'm giving them two weeks to cure (not planting right away). I will let you know how this works. Read an opinion on Planet Botanical Hippeastrum (see below) that made me rethink how to handle these bulbs - if I really wanted them :)

As for the other bulbs, I withheld water until I saw strong leaf growth and they are established and growing well (overall, lost one, performed cuttage on another) but the first bulb has six nicely grown leaves and the others are starting to get over their long sulking LOL
-J

Here is a link that might be useful: Planet Botanical Hippeastrum - Aulicum

Hi Everyone,

Well, I just received my box of bulbs with the 4 that I ordered and my replacement (one of my choice) and they also threw in a second replacement (Oborozuki) for free!! How can you beat that for good will?!

All bulbs look great, I might even say they are the best yet and 3 of them have sizable offsets and a 4th with a pimple offset. Two of them need a basal plate trimming but that's no problem. They are all of a good size with the Salmon Taenia ( one of my choice of replacement) being the largest.

Now I have one more box of 4 coming and hopefully that will do me for a while! ;-) so all the apprehension about buying these bulbs in the middle of summer seems unfounded as they do look great! So... any of you guys sitting on the fence....;-)??

Donna

Looks like there are in great shape. This was through the "BUY IT NOW" option on Ebay, right?
K

Yes, the Buy-Now option...I like it much better than the auctions..a stated price so everyone pays the same....will be interesting to see if they adhere to this method or go back to the auctions next year.

Donna... You are a carrier of viral CHAD!!
Hehe. Hope your next box is just as nice!
K

Nice bulbs in the previous picture! I was a little worried to receive a rotted bulb after reading this thread, but the bulbs I received came in just 4 days!!! They look absolutely healthy (3 koakachans) .

Wait till you guys see my bulbs... will post tomorrow with pics.

How do you cure them Donna?

Also when you bleach bath them. Do you put even the neck under?

If i have semi peeled some layers, can i immerse it past the peel line.. ie water will get inbetween the layers. How long do i dry it for after?

Yes i need to play nurse to more bulbs. u_u

Hi Aunt Jemima

It wasn't me that cured their bulbs, it was jstropic-Jody who posted a few posts above my pictures.

The only thing I do is peel if necessary but it usually isn't necessary as some of the bulbs in my last batch had been pealed by them. I did trim the basal plates on two of them and they are just drying on the table and I had to trim several basal plates on a previous order with no negative ramifications.The others I put on top of damp soil in a community pot and keeping them dry (a bit of water as the top of the soil dries out and wait, not so patiently, for them to start to root. Sometimes this takes weeks and weeks. I still have 3 bulbs from my very first order several months ago that haven't rooted yet.

When I see a few roots, then they actually get potted up in their own pot!

I can't say that these bulbs are growing like gangbusters for me like some others but I'm trying!

Whenever you have a new bulb I would never immerse it completely in water or anything else let alone bleach!! I am very timid with these bulbs and it's hard to even cut the overgrown basal plates...Water down the neck of a bulb with no leaves or roots would be bad enough, just imagine what bleech would do!! I will say in the past I have dipped a few bulbs with red blotch in a very weak bleach solution and it worked but that was a last ditch effort to save a few of them.

Istropic left a link on her post explaining her methods but I couldn't get into it without signing into facebook which I only do when my life depends on it!

I have one more order of 4 bulbs that hasn't been shipped yet and hopefully that will do it for me..I don't see more than a couple now that I really need, but of course they may come up with some totally new varieties next year!!

I can't wait to see your pictures of your bulb, and be sure you include the labels, curiosity is my middle name... ;-)

Donna

What are you going to do with those trimmed basal plate scraps? I had to trim 2 of mine (posted previously), but threw the scraps away.
K

I threw them away like I threw the others away...advice from here on this forum. ;-)

Some comments were

1. that the long trip from Japan causes bruising on the bulbs and prompt deep planting ends with rot.
   2) One commented that the Dutch, when amaryllis get older ..., remove all the roots every few years , but it has to be done after flowering, then 2 weeks to cure, then plant with bottom heat, when roots are chopped off at wrong time it will sulk.

So, I decided to give them a 2 week cure (with no shrinking of the bulb) to see if this helped (couldn't hurt right lol). Additionally, when red showed up they immediately got a bleach bath (below the neck) and so far they are rooting - coincidence? - who knows but that is what I will do until that doesn't work :)
-J

Jody,

Well whatever works! I don't know that I'd dare dip these bulbs in a bleach solution as I assume they were dipped in insecticides before they could leave the country. I remember when my Maguire bulbs would arrive I could actually smell the chemicals they'd been dipped in but nothing detected on these bulbs by my overly sensitive sniffer. All of mine but 3 from previous orders are slowly (snail's pace) sending out roots. The 3 that haven't rooted (all different sizes) don't have any red spots..maybe a bit more of a healthy green but they are sulking still. No punkiness in any of them other than the one that rotted and my two replacements more that make up for that one!

Thanks for relaying what your link had to offer!

Donna

Donna,

Its great that we share this information - more tools in our hippeastrum toolbox. It is frustrating to watch one of these plants fail to thrive and even worse when they start to decline and we don't know how to stop it. So sharing all the different methods we use might offer us the alternative that finally works.
On the brighter side, the cuttage seems to be working (4 weeks and counting). I think I am beginning to see one or two greenish white bulbs beginning to appear - or wishful thinking :) Tried to get a picture but the condensation made it impossible to see. Hopefully, this will be successful.
-J

Jody,
Did you do twin scale cuttage or just cut the bulb in 1/4s or 1/8s?
K

Ok here is my purchase. Any input would be appreciated. I've not even dared to plant them yet.

And sorry Donna, got your post mixed up with Jstropic!

Jstropic: Can i ask what curing involves? Just letting them dry? I've left mine by the window sill to dry. Not bleached/disinfectant bathed them yet...

I apologise for shaky pics but i was trying to take the pics at the same time as peeling and trying to not dirty the camera.

Case 1 - Eliane:

When i look inside the neck i can see that there is the remains of a scape that is drying inside. The leaves were cut and when i look in the centre they are shrivelling up all the way into the center and i see no new leaves that will sprout up... is the lack of life in the centre fatal?

This was actually one of my fave bulbs. What should i do with this? When i squeeze it, it feels like it is not as firm as the day i received it and is losing moisture, shrivelling...

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Case 2 - Calyptrum

This had a dark spot so i peeled. And what did i find after i peeled one layer off? Roots growing upwards towards the neck and a couple of bulblets forming. There was some red blotch so i peeled more and there was more roots. The tips of the roots have red tips, not sure if bruised or blotch.

The roots curve upwards and i think they'll snap like a beansprout if i try to pull them downwards.

I'm thinking a bleach bath and then just plant it since those roots are kinda alive-ish...

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Case 3 - Aulicum

This was covered in red blotch, had a hold in the basal plate, had 4 offshoots and a soft spot. I peeled several layers as each layer revealed another layer covered in blotch. Also there was a couple more offshoots inside too.

I've got a feeling i need to peel more but i don't want to have to peel down to the leaves like i did before in my last surgery orgy as those bulbs (not komo) are not doing so well. The ones i did not peel rotted and i ultimately had to peel them.

Should i dry it for 2 weeks before planting or plant it straight away and sit it just on the soil, on account of the offshoots?

Would putting them in the fridge for a month be a good idea. Then take out and plant it to kind of let it know it is time to wake up via temperature difference...

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The package took 2-3 days to get to the UK but due to customs inspection it took 10 days before it got to me.

The EMS combined shipping they charged was actually accurate. They charged $20 or $25 for shipping and $7 for each additional. I checked the package weight and costs and for Europe that is accurate. For US the cost would be a bit cheaper. So i guess the shipping charge would not have included a phyto certificate.

Did anyone actually receive a certificate? I never received one, guess that went to customs.

Aunt Jemima, I just got out of bed and saw your pictures!! I have lots to say but have to get the day started first...I'll be back with loads of comments after studying your pictures again and again. One thing though, do not dip any of these in bleach, no matter now weak the solution..for now anyway..please...!.

Donna

AuntJemima,

With Elaine Make sure you document any problems you think you might have with clearer pictures just incase you have to send them to Japan. Make sure the proper label is visible with your bulbs also.

If Elaine is punky or softer than the others that is not a good sign. As for more peeling you might wait a week or so to see if all those small red spots dry up and turn brown on their own which they probaby will.

Calyptratum doesn't look too bad and those aren't roots reaching for the air, they are offsets..so don't fool with them or you're right they will snap off! Keep your eye on any red near the basal plate and scoop it out when possible. All in all this one looks pretty good...

Aulicum with a hole in the basal plate? How deep does it go and if you scour out around the hole does the tissue look OK? Lots of offsets covering a good deal of the basal plate..I don't know what to say about that, but if the basal plate is firm and no mushiness or rot it should be OK. I have an aulicum coming in my next order which has yet to be shipped so I'll post mine when it comes so you can compare.

I am growing 5 seeds of aulicum from someone on this forum and they are doing really well but I'm pretty sure there are several varieties of aulicum so I just though I'd try this one assuming it might be different than what I am growing. My seedlings will probaby bloom before this bulb!

Now the following is just my personal advice and what I would do. Nothing is written in stone, we all have our own ways of doing things but just listen to ALL advice and then make your own decisions

I personally wouldn't put these in the fridge. I would and usually do with my Komoriya and other bulbs just sit them on a table and let them "cure" in the air (out of the sun of course) for a week or so. It will help the bulbs to dry a bit more. Then with these bulbs I've been putting them in a community pot just sitting on the surface of the lightly moisten soil which I add to a bit of water each week. It won't hurt to let them sit on dry soil for a few days and this way you can keep checking every week or so and eventually when they start to send out roots (hopefully) you can pot them up individually. It could take weeks or months. I still have 3 bulbs from previous orders that are just reluctant to root but are still green and firm.

Honestly, I think my bulbs from this Buy-Now option looked much better than yours. Now I'm sure this is due to the fact that yours spent 10 days in customs in who know what temperatures! My bulbs arrive in 2 to 3 days from Japan and not one of my 3 or 4 boxes has been opened to date. There is always a phyto-certificate packed inside. I'm sure the customs delay played a part in how your bulbs look, too much moisture and heat with no air flow...

Keep us posted and good luck. It's probably best that you only got 3 bulbs due to your Customs situation.

Here are 4 from my latest order discussing their situation in their community pot. The other two have had their basal plate trimmed and are just laying on the table until I feel they are throughy dried. I didn't use any captan as the plates were pure white and healthy looking, they will air dry.

There are more than several other people on this forum who have purchased these bulbs and hopefully they will give their opinions also...

Donna

Donna

Hi Aunt Jemima,
I agree with Donna and would let these sit and 'cure' for a week or more and remember that they started their dormant season (according to Kormoriya info) in July so I'm planning to wait until I see growth before watering. They are in high humidity. I planted the calyptratum in an orchid mix in a hanging basket and I am watching. So far it is holding its own - not growing or shrinking. The aulicum is sitting in a very airy mix in a pot not doing anything either. Me I'm just waiting - trying not to look at them lol

Here's some bits and pieces of info I've been collecting from the internet - (bonjour :) -
. H. Calyptratum should be kept in a semi-shaded area with high humidity.
Looking (and growing) like a green orchid, H. calyptratum is quite the curiosity. From the Organ Mts. of s. Brazil where it grows with its bulb exposed on mossy, rocky, or coarse substrates...if you have luck growing orchids or bromeliads at home, this might make a nice compliment to your collection. The leafy plant puts out scapes bearing pairs of green flowers with very long filaments and a strongly trifid stigma. The flowers are scented lightly of electrical fire, and are quite firm and waxy to stand the rigors of bat pollination! Exotic all the way, and an easy greenhouse subject.

Re Aulicum:
This Brazilian native is unusual in that it blooms late in the summer after briefly going dormant in July-August. Most other species are late winter and early spring flowering.

The flowers are very handsome and imposing being a rich almost shiny, crimson with large, long petals and an emerald green throat. They are borne, usually in fours, on stems 30-45cm tall. This is a very rewarding plant and you could not fail to be struck by its size and colouring!

This one has a brief Summer dormancy during which the old top growth will become flaccid before being replaced by new growth. The old leaves will eventually die away in late summer. At this time a brief, dry rest can be given in the pot but there is no need to force dormancy on the plants which are virtually evergreen.

Wish I had more to share with you but I am just learning too and again thankful for the generosity of gardenweb members isharing their experiences.
-J

Kristi,

I cut the bulb into approximately 12 slices and sat them in pre moistened sphagnum moss in a plastic bag. Except for changing color the first day (white to pink) they cuttings have stayed the same (firm and upright). Trying not to look at them too :)
-J

Jodi, ,

Did you receive replacements for your rotted bulb and the other that you had to perform cuttage on? I hope so...

Donna

Donna,

No, I didn't write them as I was annoyed at their response to my first email and now too much time has passed. I am glad that they did the right thing with you and if I should receive rotted bulbs from them again , I wouldn't hesitate to write them. Thanks for being the point man on this :)
So now, I'm hoping I get lots of bulbs from the cuttage to make up for the lost bulbs - that would be nice.
-J

Thanks for the responses. :)

With Eliane i just looked again and it does look like it had 2 scapes in it despite the tiny size.

Donna: Yeah i'll probably leave the peeling for now although i suspect Aulicum needs more peeling as i can see through the current layer that there is more red and i suspect that if i peel till there is no more red i'll end up with just the basal plate, a few leafs in the centre and any offsets i do not break off. The hole.. i've not had the courage to check yet...

I think the bulb itself is gonna be screwed and i'll just have to rely on the offsets. I had figured aulicum would be the most robust for some reason.

I think i'll take your tip with the community pot. I've got dutch hybrids which have not rooted after a couple months whilst others rooted very quickly and i see the roots grow a few cm in a day in the clear pot. All of them have bloomed however and the ones without roots keep shrivelling as they use up their energy.

I actually got a few more bulbs but they were fine. :)

I actually have some bulbs that have been sitting in their boxes since may as my friend hasn't bothered to forward them to me... i think those are likely compost by now. lol

Are those long things really offsets on caly? O_O

One has a really long neck, i wonder if we leave those on, can they end up growing like a worsleya? I kinda like that growth pattern.

Jstropic:

If these bulbs go dormant in July-August then they will miss out on the little sunlight they get here. They will wake up in winter and be like wth... going back to sleep. XD

Thank you for posting that info though. I'll get the orchid mix out of caly. :)

Did you cut the bulb into wedges or sliced it but left it intact at the basal plate (chipping?).

Aunt Jemima,

Don't cut the long neck on your calyptratum it's probably just the natural shape of it. (I don't have one) as several species have long necks papilios included.
As for the hole, carefully stick a baked potato skewer or something like that to see how deep it is; if it just goes in a 1/4 of an inch then it's probably OK but do check it to insure that it is not rot ;-(

I manage to grow lots of my bulbs with leaves through the winter in a large North facing windows that just get a bit of sun at the very of the day and they do OK during the winter.

Jodi: Do you mind if I ask which bulb you lost and which bulb you performed your cuttage on? I'm still looking at my dessicated Shoke no Amasagi but I think the basal plate is entirely destroyed, but maybe I'll give it a try anyway, I've got nothing to lose at this point..

I think the thing that made it easier is that I had taken pictures of my bulbs when they arrived and the spots of rot were visible on my Shoka no Amasagi and when I enlarged the shot it was quite impressive. I sent the above pictures as well (a total of 4) and maybe that did the trick. The label was visible in the first picture so maybe that convinced them I wasn't trying to put one over on them. Who knows...but since they sent me two replacements if it happens again I guess I'll have to let a second one go...

Donna

Donna,

I bought two beni koyubi one is thriving, the other was red mushy from the beginning. Orange Swallow is the one I did cuttage on and so far it is looking very promising - it looks like the beginning of bulbs are popping through.

Aunt Jemima,
Maybe they go dormant in the summer because the heat and sun stresses them (sounds good right!) Anyway from what I have read calyptratum prefers some shade. So maybe your winter sun will be just right.
-J

Donna

Hope the cuttage goes well.

Well i hope i've found my calling and calyptratum thrives in my weather. :)

Ok, my plum bower has just started to root. I took at look at the rest of the bulbs i hadn't yet potted. Some are drying up in to the centre... Others showed signs of growth so i potted up he latter.

I had a look down the throat of the Aulicum bulb and it has what looks like a flowering scape inside. lol

I wonder if the bulbs are really as small as we receive or if they have just been trimmed that small as i notice most of them have a scape snapped off on the outside of the bulb.

I put them on top of my boiler and i found that helped. I had hybrids i planted before these by months and some just started to root as well. One of them i picked up and there was one really long root and i snapped it off by lifting it. u_u

Aunt Jemima and All,

I'm afraid many of these bulbs will need more TLC than we're used to giving and even at that I'm not so sure... I'm not particularily pleased with some of my leaves that are growing, they are a light shade of green and rubbery and don't want to stand errect; not all but a few of them.

My aulicum on the other hand was huge and almost immediately started sending out roots. It now has a flower stalk up about 1" so I am excited about that!

All of my bulbs except the one above that rotted are hard and feel healthy. About 10 have yet to root but all the others have, but only about half of the rooting ones have sent up leaves. I am keeping them all together down in our furnace room under a grow light once they have started to root and are potted up. It's going to be a long winter babying these bulbs!!

Donna

I guess mine are doing well, at least they not doing bad. They are sleeping soundly.

First like this
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and now like this
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Rimma

To komoriya support group

Glad to see some of us are having some success. :)

Last night i saw someone on Facebook who had received bulbs from komoriya with roots on it. I was jealous. lol

I think it will be a couple years before i see most of them bloom but at this point i'll just be happy with rooting and leaves.

I know Japanese like miniatures and more refined things but i wonder if miniaturizing them like this really helps them. Looks pretty but at the cost of robustness.

On the plus side, they take up very little space. :)

Rimma: How long are you sitting them in water for? I did that with some hybrids for a couple of months and they rotted and fungus gnats infested them. :(

Aunt Jemima, I tried it for a couple of weeks. You see, I thought that if a regular onion grows fast like that, why these bulbs wouldn't. But they seem to have a mind of their own, so I put them on top of soil and left them alone. Probably, I will wait till the end of September and then start worrying :(

Lookin good ladies. Lookin good.

Dear Kristi

What is the giant one in the back?

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The ones i potted up and put on my boiler.. a few woke up and sent up a leaf already. Bottom heat really wakes them up!

AJ, Donna had asked the same thing...it's my pet AMOCHARIS CORANICA!! In a pot that I made in the 9th grade...
K

Houston Pat....I have offsets if you are interested? They'll go into larger pots and will be kept as evergreens this season. Could drop them off in the spring when they are bigger.

Plumeria are thriving, but no blooms...???
K

That's awesome Kristi. And now i think i need that stand for my window sill too. lol