I always love the added bonus of a sweet fragrance I have to admit. Very nice pic Josh :o) Dan

Well Josh,
Another beauty,.. seems like you're on a roll...and such beautiful pictures..and fragrance you say? I'll keep my eyes out for one of these, and where did you buy this one?

Donna

Donna,

I actually bought this one through a retailer on Ebay (hirts), I've had a pretty good experience with them, they sent me a bulb with rot, which you really couldn't tell, it was in the basal plate, it looked as if it were NBF damage. Anyway, they immediately sent me a replacement that was twice as large as the advertised size!

I've got MANY many more to post in the upcoming days :)

Josh,

Please keep posting pictures of your lovely new flowers. I for one love seeing every last picture!

AJ

{{gwi:446129}}

This is my sweet Lilian, but i think Yours is more beautiful.
I like more the red structure on Yours.
Best regards
Frank

Sounds like another possibility for my list :) Had my husband take a look at the picture so he could describe it. Sounds pretty, too. Thanks for letting us know it's fragrant, Josh!
Michelle

I love Sweet Lillian too! Though I must say I think she's a tease... just try pollinating her! That pod will look good for a long while and just when you're getting really excited about having some viable seeds it turns that awful avocado green and starts to fall over. I was successful in only one SL cross - Limona x SL as a pollen donor as well. I assume it's a diploid - correct? Any idea as to background?
{{gwi:446130}}From Spring 2010

Alana

Everyone has such nice pics of Sweet Lillian- I like this one a lot BUT have had probs- my first looked diseased the second year so I (yikes)ditched her. I aquired another last year and she has yet to produce roots. I found another this fall, yes I do like Sweet Lillian- my question- have others had difficulty growing this cultivar? A tease indeed. Michelle, are you blind?
Sally

I've had no luck pollinating her, "Exotic Star" may have taken her pollen tho, it hasn't rejected it yet and it's starting to swell! I tried her pollen on everything too, nothing :(

Sally, I got mine from American Meadows last year and had no trouble growing it. It had 3 scapes per bulb as well. I'll have to see how it does this spring after being in my care for a year - I guess that's the true test.

Josh, did you try a cross with Lemon Star? Maybe that would work.

Alana

Alana, I wasn't familiar with American Meadows. Glad to know of a place to get Sweet Lillian. Don't know if I'll be able to get her this year, though, unless I catch a really good sale, so I'll keep it in mind for next year :)
Sally, yes, I am blind. Hence, I appreciate the pic descriptions and like to know which amaryllis/hippeastrums are fragrant.
Michelle

Michelle,

"Sweet Lillian", "Pink Floyd", "Blossom Peacock", "Jewel" and "Misty" are all fragrant, I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of :(

"Sweet Lilian" is a smaller flower shaped like a pink star with a white stripe down each petal, mine have had about 5 flowers per scape and they have a light, sweet, delicious smell!

Michelle, have you always been blind? I think it's quite wonderful that you enjoy growing Hippeastrum, they've really helped me through many problems along with my spouse and my puppies ;) I will make sure that you're the first person I'll tell when I find a fragrant hippie :)

Michelle, I agree with Josh on the one's with some smell (altho I don't remember SL having fragrance) Jewel not only has nice light smell but has these kind of waxy thick white petals if you're into texture. I adore Jewel.

Michelle, I caught a late season sale from American Meadows and that's how I purchased Sweet Lillian. If I hear they're having a sale I'll post a heads up on the forum. Also you could subscribe to their email newsletter and get info about their sales.

Alana

Here is a link to American Meadows "Sweet Lillian", it says it's on sale now but 14.48 to me isn't much of a sale???

http://www.americanmeadows.com/flower-bulbs/amaryllis-flower-bulbs/sweet-lilian-amaryllis-bulb

Though I didn't notice the fragrance, mine was a repeat bloomer last summer.

{{gwi:446131}}

You've gotta stick your nose into the flower to smell it, I never smelled it just walking past, I make it a habit to smell each flower in hopes they have fragrance, most don't sadly :(

Josh, agree, ~ $15 isn't much of a sale. Mine were less than half of that - 3 for $20. The yahoo co-op had them for $7 each which is a really good price as well.

Alana

Yeah, compared to American Meadows's regular price, $14.48 is certainly a better price, but it puts it more comparable to what I paid for other hippies that I've bought this fall (including two ordered for Christmas). And since my available indoor space is about maxed out, especially if I get additional ones as Christmas presents as requested from family, I figure that the price needs to be less than that before I can justify ordering it this year.
Michelle

Josh and Sally, thanks for the tips... I've made note of them! And I definitely appreciate any tips on other fragrant hippies you think of :)
I got Blossom Peacock for my birthday, and am now watching in anticipation as it grows its scape. Has a nice big bud at the top. And it has a couple of leaves growing, too. :)
Jewel is on my wish list for Christmas. So, hopefully...
Was going to put Misty on my Christmas list, too, but ETG didn't have it on their site anymore. Figured they sold out. Or, perhaps many turned out to actually be what they now list as "Mystery Maiden"?
Sally, your description of Jewel's petals sounds interesting. It will be interesting to see how its petals feel compared to those I already have!
I must say, it is fun to discover the many variations between different kinds of hippies, whether it is in texture, shape of leaves/petals/flowers, size, growing habits...not to mention all the different colors! I was born blind, and I cannot see the colors, but I love hearing about them.
Michelle

Boy...is there variation in this hybrid or what? Guess that's what happens unless you have clones!!
:-)
K

Frank...mine is out of focus, but it looks just like yours. I like the more subtle approach of our Lillians. That's what's so great about this "hobby"...if you don't like one, there's another that you will love!
:-)
Kristi

I love the fact that both of yours is so different, have you tried crossing them with other things? I haven't had any luck with mine?!?

How do you think they came to have so much variation?

Gosh, what in the world did I write last night??? Reading it today I don't understand it myself...

What I meant was!!!!!!!

I love the fact that our "Sweet Lillian" are all so different. My "Sweet Lillian" seems to be at least pod sterile, have you guys had any luck breeding yours?

Josh, mine was pod sterile too. The pods looked good for awhile but then all aborted. As I said above, the only cross I got was Limona x SL, and just a few seedlings surviving at that. But I'm hoping to see them bloom one of these days. I love that SL bulb though, it just keeps sending up scapes. I can't wait to get mine out of cold storage come Feb.

Kristi, I agree there is a lot of differences between all the blooms pictured above. Think those are difference in bulbs, or just in how the bloom is produced based on environmental factors?

Alana

My Sweet Lilian is having the 5th stem now. I tried to cross with papilio, exotic star and some other hippies but i'm not succesful.

Sweet Lilian's pollen can be viable if she likes her partner which helps to make up for the fact that she won't set seeds. Several years ago I had a total of 14 flowers on 3 stalks and not a single pollination attempt took. I did however get seeds of Bogota x Sweet Lilian. I am still growing several of these on. Her pollen is picky but it can work.

Donna☺☺

I picked up a Sweet Lillian in January at the local nursery. It put out two scapes that were very close together with four blossoms each opening at the same general time. After blooming it had no leaves so I put it in my dark cool basement room to rest. Several weeks later it sent out two more scapes which were not close together and the bloom display was nicer. Total of four scapes with four blossoms each, total 16 blossoms in groups of 8. The leaves are growing now so will keep the plant under lights until it can go outside this spring.

Mine looks just like Joshy's top photo. I hadn't noted any fragrance and checked again. Result, a nose covered in pollen, but no fragrance.

Since it is a rebloomer should I expect to see more scapes this spring/summer without a rest period?

I haven't been able to perceive any fragrance on any of my hippies.....I love the scent of tuberose though, but I don't like the flowers. I would buy 3 flower stalks and mix them with other flowers in a flower base just for the fragrance. The other day I went to have breakfast with some friends when I noticed the fragrance of tuberous, I was looking around the restaurant to find the flower arrangement with them, but there wasn't any. It came from one of my friends that was wearing a perfume called Do Son. Funny thing I didn't get the perfume all the time, but like in waves just like flowers do. Ok. Enough of girly talk!.

Some of the scented ones are: H. Jewel, H. Sweet Lillian, H. Alfresco, H. Apple Blossom and H. Santiago, just to name a few. There are many others, but I haven't had enough coffee this morning to recall them yet!

Taken when I ran home at lunch....ahhhhh.....sweet!!

Hi Kristi,

Congratulations, she is absolutely gorgeous. I tried a few times to grow this, but no luck getting her to re-bloom. For some reason or other the bulbs rot :-((((

Fred

I agree she is gorgeous but I will just have to enjoy the pics that are posted as I had the same experience as you Fred. - J