You know that I am OCD. I rarely start something, but when I do, I am 1000% for it. I decided to get all amaryllis varieties I can get, so I do so within the limits and rules I set up for myself. I don't know how long it will last though. I know myself that I will eventually give up. I don't know when. It will probably happen when something happens to me collection (something devastating) out of my control. Then I will probably just give my flowers away... So far so good. The bulbs were mishandled this year and they underachieved hence, so I am not upset about it. I will see what happens now that my bulbs grew so huge oustide and how will they produce this coming blooming season... I hope, they will not disappoint me.

The ones in the garden should do great, I would think. They've had all summer to gather energy... and it seems that planting things directly in the ground and letting Mother Nature help care for them is the best way... the results should be spectacular!

Jodic if there are any bulbs that you really love I would recommend you buy them when you can. I have read that many bulbs are not offered year after year. I would hate for you to miss out.
There are only a few places that offer hippeastrum bulbs here in Australia and of course there Maguire's, i try to buy what i can when i can because I don't want to miss out. I cancelled my order from Maguire's this year because I will be travelling over summer and can't be here to look after them. But I hope to visit the farm while I'm in Queensland and buy some then.

Soultan you will not be disappointed, as much as I love having them inside, they look so much better growing in a garden bed. And if you have that many bulbs flowering at the same time, they will just look great!

I am buying what I can afford, Dizzy... I wish I could buy more! I'm saving my pennies, though... and my husband has generously offered a chunk of his dog food sales money so I can place another order from either John Scheepers, or Royal Colors. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to order from both!

We make our own brand of natural dog food, and we have a few customers that order religiously... my husband developed our recipe(s) after researching what is on the market commercially. We're working on a whole line-up of natural products.

Most commercial brands are full of chemicals, preservatives and useless fillers. The sad reality of the industry is that we are poisoning our pets, and they are only living half as long as they potentially could, all in the name of money!

We're slowly building the business, and it's coming along nicely... and since my husband knows I'm a Hippi junkie, he lets me buy a few bulbs when it's affordable!

I can understand where your coming from. Like I said there are not many places where I can order bulbs from, so I only order once a year with the odd purchase from ebay or the nurseries here and there.

I've heard the same thing about commercial dog food. I buy kangaroo mince from the pet supply store and cook that up for them. I add some vegies and pasta or rice. They love it!

Jodi,

Contact me when you have enough dollars to order from Royal Colors. I am placing my order soon, so I can put your bulb in there. This way you will not have to wait till you accumulate enough money to place an order and reach their minimum $52 purchase. I will definitely reach that limit, so if you have ONE bulb that you want to put in or TWO, that is absolutely not a problem with me, and then I will be able to include that bulb in your big package as well when I send out. Just consider and think of it. My offer always stands as long as I am considering placing the order and haven't placed yet. I think I will place three orders in three months, so you can have a bulb of your choice every month if you wish so. Whatever fits your purse and wishes.

Thank you, Soultan... I may be able to order enough to cover the 52 dollars, but in case I can't, I may take you up on your offer! That would work out good!

Dizzy - Aren't there any places to order from that are close the bigger cities? I have no idea where you are located in relation to Sydney, for instance... I'm sorry to say, I'm not very familiar with Australia and where the major cities are... What I'm trying to say is... there must be more than a few places that import and distribute bulbs from Holland and South Africa! Australia is a pretty big continent!

Also... do you notice a difference in your dog when you feed all natural? Such as nice coat, no bad breath, clear eyes, better muscle tone, more active, less stool and better stool... We've been feeding Emma our meal bars for about a year now, and at age 9 she is like a little kid! She's got a beautiful, shiny coat... normal breath, small hard stool, she's really active and happy... Huge difference! And she just had a litter of pups not long ago, and you'd never know to look at her now... We're raising Maia on the meal bars, too, and I find that she is very calm and well adjusted, although active as a puppy would be, perfect stool, good growth rate, etc... Feeding all natural has distinct advantages!

Okay. It seems like that locally, they went to the bore-mode, so they are not really bringing out new varieties, so the net remains. Be prepared jodik, when you have enough money for a bulb, hit me up. I will place my orders on the net soon.

Hi Jodik,
I'm in Melbourne, south of Sydney. We have a few large Hippeastrum farms that do mail order, they sell mainly their own crosses. Then their are the commercial bulb suppliers who sell a limited selection of hippeastrums as well as other bulbs. Then there's Kmart who sell the same types of bulbs every year.
I haven't been able to find a place that import bulbs yet.

About the dogs... They have always been fed all natural so it's hard to tell. But they are very active and healthy. All our visiters comment on how shiny their coats are. We have a 11year old Staffy and he is as vibrant as ever. The only signs of aging is that he has gone gray around his snout, and he is not as willing to get out of bed in the mornings.

Dizzy - You could try adding a low dose of Glucosamine Chondroitin to the Staffy's daily regimen... we use it for older dogs, and it really seems to help with the arthritis and stiff joints. We use the tabs sold by Optimum Nutrition, but we also have used Osteo-Biflex with good results. Even a generic brand would help. Unfortunately, there's no help for the gray snout! LOL!

Will do, Soultan... I'm just not sure when I'll be able to order, so go ahead without me if you want to place your orders quickly. I'm thinking I might actually just order straight from John Scheepers... their prices are good, and the shipping charges are reasonable enough. Royal Colors is another thing altogether... if I can order the required amount for free shipping, I might just do that. If I can't order enough, I will try to have you include me when you order... I'm just not sure what's going on right yet! :-)

My first order will be placed with amaryllis.com, so no hurry.
If someone jumps on me saying that he wants a bulb from Royal Colors, then I might place that order as well. I am not particularly in a hurry. I still have a lot of bulbs to pot. And even more now that I shopped around a little.

Ok, Soultan, will do... So, what did you find on your shopping adventure? Any interesting varieties or other bulbs?

Mostly the old varieties. I have e-mailed the list to you. The only new thing I could lay my hands on was White Nymph. I was running after this variety for a while. None of my purchased bulbs that were supposed to be White Nymph turned out to be white, so I am trying it again.

How is it that such a large amount of bulbs are mislabeled? How does that happen?

I really don't know. White Nymphs and Aphrodites I ordered last year turned all out to be Nymphs, which I have alread had, and I am not particularly fond of. I guess I just don't really consider red lines on white petal too pretty. :o)

Okay. Here is the Mont Blanc I just couldn't resist. The other bulb is Milady next to it just as comparison.

{{gwi:428585}}

And I thought, that the 22cm Milady that I got from Wayside was a mistake. I guess not...

It is not the Milady that is small. It is the Mont Blanc that is huge!

Look at this photo! Here is Mont Blanc in my hand. (I just couldn't make a good photo holding the bulb in my other hand, sorry.) It IS heavy. Almost as big as the Jumbo sent by Royal Colors.

{{gwi:428586}}

I have never seen loose bulbs like those, with the tag right on it, for sale anywhere! If they're not in bags, kits or boxes, they don't exist out this way! The only bulbs I have ever seen loose are bulk Daffodils and a few others, sold for naturalizing...

Gosh! That's a huge bulb!

LOL...Sorry about that Soultan. I was just kinda disappointed with my Milady when I got it. That Mont Blanc sure is huge. Can you imagine how big of a plant that was, leaf and root wise? By the way...no babies?

Maria,

Don't be disappointed with the small Hadeco bulbs. They are indeed small, but they should shoot up two scapes. I don't remember a Hadeco Bulb that has not done that to me... They are small and seem not even ready to flower, but they are... Don't worry.
No babies on Mont Blanc. Interesting. I lifted the largest bulb from the box and made it mine. I just couldn't resist.
The Jumbo Bulbs that I got from Royal Colors were a little larger, so I am used to seeing Jumbo Mother Bulbs. That is why I want to order Carmen Jumbo from them soon. I love Jumbos.

jodik,

Most of the bulbs I can buy here in my area are like this. They sit in a box with label on and you just lift whichever you want from it. I prefer this because I can inspect the bulb from every angle. Most of the bagged bulbs are not easy to turn and check.

How big are those Jumbo bulbs Soultan?

I do not get disappointed with the small size of the Hadeco bulbs if they were Sonatas or Sonatinis. Milady is a Symphony, I was expecting a bigger bulb than a 22cm one.

The Royal Colors Jumbos are 44+. I will still have to measure this Mount Blanc.

Don't forget that Hadeco varieties tend to have smaller bulbs NO matter what. They are chosen that way. Smaller bulbs, shorter, more compact scapes, quicker bloom. Don't compare the Hadeco Symphonies to the normal Holland varieties... Those are large bulbs, but the Hadeco ones are surprisingly small, even if they bring large flowers. And I am not kidding. One of the largest double from Hadeco is Ragtime. No wonder it tends to tip over. There is almost no bulb under it, yet the flower is enormous.

Soultan...I am just comparing Milady's bulb size with the former Hadeco Symphony bulbs that I got last year from JS that were 28-31cm bulbs. The Sonatas were 24-26cm and Sonatinis from 16-20cm. 22cm is way below the average Symphony bulb size.

Yes Ragtime is a 'majestic' plant. Mine has it's huge leaves flopping down now, preparing for the rest. Not a pretty sight.

Minerva's leaves are beginning to flop, too... not very attractive, but a necessary and regular part of autumn on my window sill!

I see Maria,

My Milady is smaller this year as well. Small as Ragtime's bulbs are usually. I don't really remember seeing or getting really large bulbs from Hadeco cultivars before either. I ordered all of them from John Scheepers, and they were all about the same size. Milady is slightly smaller than last year, but as I said, I expect it to perform just as well as a larger bulb, since they are "guaranteed" to grow two scapes. I hope I am right.

I surely hope so Soultan. I will be happy even if it just gives me one scape as long as it blooms true to it's name so I can properly tag it. I don't want a small bulb stressing out too much. Fattening it up is no problem. One thing I noticed with Hadeco bulbs, they can easily recover and become vigorous plants.

My last year fake Milady grew huge outside. Though I have to admit, I can only touch it sticking my fingers down next to it in the ground, but it surely feels much bigger than when I bought it. Nice... Even though it is not true to name and even Mr. Barnhoorn didn't know what it was... Another mutt. That is why I tried another bulb this year.

From everything I've read about Hadeco, they have an absolutely huge and very modern operation going... they are very scientific in their quest for new and better flower development... I'm not a bit surprised that their bulbs do so well if given the proper care.

And I'm sure that with an operation of that size, some bulbs are bound to be shipped out with the wrong tags... it's inevitable. So far, I don't have anything that isn't tagged properly, but if I do come across a bulb that doesn't bloom true to name, I don't think I'll be horribly disappointed; every single Hippeastrum I've seen is beautiful... it's such an amazing plant that there will never be a truly ugly one, in my humble opinion...

My fake Milady was not particularly beautiful. But it was not shipped out with the wrong tag either. It is not any of their varieties. It is a mutt that just happened to be in the crop somewhere, growing to something not resembling any of their hybrids. That is what Mr. Barnhoorn said. He called it a Sport. A genetic defect.

Oh... that happens, too! Genetics are beyond human control...

Yes. But what is the chance that I get a mutt when I intend to buy a purebred? At least, I have something I can give away if someone would want one bulb from me. Right now, when someone asks for a bulb, I go to the store and buy one for him or her... Now I have the bulbs that are mutts that I can just give as gifts. :o) I remember having two mutts so far, and having a lot of Nymphs.
I had once a business partner over to our place, and he looked at the blooming amaryllis, and he plainly asked me how much I wanted for the flowers. :o) They wanted to buy them right at the spot... :o) From my home. :o) It it was a Nymph or a mutt, I would have given it to him, but I am not giving away hybrids that I hardly can lay my hands on... :o) That is why I value my collection so much, because I have varieties that most of the people in my area don't.

The more bulbs produced, the higher the chance you get a mutt tagged as a hybrid. The more hands that touch a bulb from harvest to shipping, the higher the chance you get a mutt tagged as a hybrid... All in all, I'd guess the numbers of mis-marked mutts is very low compared to what is produced and sold. Nobody is perfect, and nothing works properly 100 percent of the time... that's just the law of averages... so, somebody somewhere must get a mutt tagged as a hybrid.

I don't have a large collection, and all of my bulbs are fairly common... but I don't think I could part with any right now! Not until I begin growing my own seedlings!

I mostly buy one bulb per variety right now, so whatever I have is a tight collection... That is what this garden professional that mapped our garden for the Scenic Commission liked about it. A lot of bulbs, but very few that are duplicated. Most of them are one and only, so keeping them up is (not a challenge, but) has some significance.

Maybe that's it! They're all jealous of your wonderful collection!

The only duplicates I have are Minerva and Apple Blossom... I bought them for breeding purposes, and because I thought I might lose my original Apple Blossom. I'm not so sure I want to breed my original Minerva... she's doing so well, and I don't really want to change anything with regards to her care. I don't know what pollinating her might do to her size, or what other possible effects it might have... so I have a spare ready to go for breeding.

Hehe. They are not jealous. They did not know what amarylli was... Ignorant, stupid people.
They want everyone to dismantle their houses and just leave the Mulholland Drive area. Maybe they want to drive people away from whole Los Angeles, then give California back to Mexico, because it was their territory before. Or just simply go even further and declare the area aborigin land and force everyone out who is not native American...
Their reasoning is stupid.

They have too much money and too much free time. These are the people who couldn't survive if they were placed in one of their nature preserves without every modern convenience at their disposal... I'd be willing to bet that they don't play by the rules when it comes to themselves... If you checked deep enough, you'd probably find out that at least one of them has had home construction done without being made to jump through the same hoops you are... or, they are in violation of their own regulations right now, but the rules don't apply to them.

I have decided not to pollinate my original Minerva. I have decided to keep her under the same care she gets now. Breeding being relatively the same regardless of species, making her to set seed would take away from her energy stores, just as having a litter takes a certain toll on a brood b*tch. I will use my duplicate, Minerva II, as the breeder.

I did not pollinate any of my bulbs the first year I started to buy up bulbs. I simply let them flower and deadheaded them as they wilted... Then I decided to let them seed. Why not? Then I came up with the idea of the give-away, so now letting them seed has a purpose and meaning, and they don't flower "pointlessly."

I think that's a really good idea... and when I have trays of seedlings coming along, I am going to look for a school or some place that can benefit from a donation of seedlings to grow or experiment with... it's a nice gesture, and the seedlings become useful, and get homes!

I will choose a certain number of seedlings from each batch to keep and grow to flowering, the rest will be donated. I'm not sure how many I'll keep yet... I have to choose a "magic" number. Our magic number for puppies in a litter is 8... perhaps 8 will be my magic number of seedlings... I must think on it.

I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

Soultan...I can send you more when you're ready... both seeds and seedlings.

I'm curious... What does everyone do with their extra seeds, or especially with their extra seedlings? If germination rates are fairly good and you end up with a lot of babies, what do you do with them? Besides giving them away to friends... :-)

Jodi, I mostly give mine away. I only have so much room and time.

Soultan, I can't believe you are still planning on saving a plant for ME! I promise you it will be very special to me.

Cindeea...We have to go to CA and pick our own amaryllis from Soultan's garden of his own hybrids.

Jodic... As I look at my seeds and seedlings, I always ask those questions to myself and then ask them "What am I gonna do with you guys?" I wish they'd tell me...really!!!For now, I am just enjoying them.

I know when I will start planting my seeds finally, I will be successful and I will be doing it continuously one tray after another. Plant them out in a few months and let them grow outside where all the other bulbs seem to fatten up so nicely. I just need the KICK start.

Yes Cindeea, I don't forget my promises. If I do, please remind me. :o)

Soultan-****KICK************

Get those seeds planted and start enjoyig them, buddy! C'mon, what's holding you back? You got all those seeds, they need to be planted. Get your ass in gear, man! Or Maria and I will show up on your doorstep!!! lol

Maria, wouldn't that be a show stopper, for sure? hee hee

You are welcome. We can use some extra hands for digging the hole for the swimming pool. :o)
What a welcome that would be. :o)

Hiya Cindee! Yup...let's go!!!

Then when you finished digging the hole, you can start framing the second story.