Thanks Hans. My hippeastrums are stored in my unheated garage.

Well mine didn't do a thing this year other than grow leaves. Like a moron, I re-potted them just as I brought them up from their cool winter rest and probably messed with their flowering cycle. The good thing is that the bulbs have grown nice and fat, so hopefully next year they'll flower.

Mine are just now growing leaves Fred. Hopefully you'll have double scapes next year.

Oh I hope so :-))))) I'm gonna feed them till they're sick to their stomachs!!!!!!!!

Yes feed them well. I think this is the reason why my hippies are blooming so well this spring. They must have really liked "that fertilizer" Lol. I have more 2016 bulbs to bloom. Here's a pic of Lollipop in bloom now. This one did not perform for me last year.

Yes and I think I may feed them my version of "that fertilizer" too :-)))))) I'm sending you lots of love and wonderful thoughts for your wonderful new addition to come :-))))

Yellow Rascal 3 bulbs in a pot from 2016 wakes up and gives me 6 scapes total! I'm loving these Dutch Sonatinis!!!

And I thought 8 bulbs of Radiance were too many for me....Not! This one is blooming now with 3 scapes/ 20 flowers total. What a beautiful giver!!!

Hi Maria,

Congratulations :-))) They are absolutely beautiful and I can see how you'd say you don't have enough of them, they really are quite special :-)))

Fred

P.S. Any news on the new addition????

They are really beautiful, Maria! I must order Radiance next season! I'm just not happy with the growing of this seasons Sonatinis! Most of them do nothing after they flowered and #1657 (Cheeky) does not even bloom for me...

But I guess André is still testing some of the varieties. Have you ever tried to grow them in the garden?

The second scape on my Sunshine was normal whereas the first scape had 7or8 flowers that were stunted and shriveled, this one had a tall scape and 6 normal flowers!!

Mine are just starting to bloom. #1669 is nice. One #1820 is set to bloom in the next day or so, but looks like it's going to be too dark to be true. Most others are showing buds. I killed 2 grasshoppers and some army caterpillars that are eating my Hippeastrum leaves in the greenhouse.

Which one is # 1669?

I found it....

Kristi, could you please post a picture of #1669?

Your Sunshine is beautiful, Donna!

Thank you Anja! I am pleased that she seemed to come out of her slump but I noticed that Maria's pictures had more red in the throat. Your pictures in particular show a heavily pigmented ruby throat. Mine was a bit skimpy but I'm still happy.

Here's my #1669. The sheath was pretty stiff so blooms are looking at the sky!

It looks like a mini Amore. Very nice!

Donna, maybe your sunshine will show more of her ruby throat next year! Mine had all this beautiful but is not really growing leaves now... Hopefully I will see her flowers again next year!

I nicknamed my 1669 as "Cutie Pie". Lol. My stunted Sunshine bulbs are also pushing a second scape Donna. I was placing plastic tags on my bulbs yesterday and only now realized that the Cheeky that bloomed for me was supposed to be a Sunshine. Another mislabel to report to Andre.

Maria and All,

My first scape of Cheeky gave very colorful, pretty flowers. The second two scapes gave paler flowers like yours above.

All in all, I was pleased with this order. For me, just the one mislabel that we all got, the 1820 vs 1810 and neither # 120 or #105 gave viable blooms but I did get to see them last year. Radiance was a lovely bonus too!! I forgot about that Double Orange that was a mislabel, I'll forgive them for that too, it was lovely...

Has your Dark Wizard bloomed yet, I love mine even though I can't get a picture that even remotely resembles the correct color. The leaves are green and the scape is green with a dusky lower half, definitely not Carramba though which I hope we can all get next time around. Next time I'd definitely like a # 1669 too.

Is this the second or third scape for your Sunshines, I only got two so far but the bulb is still hard....

Yes Donna one of my Dark Wizard is in full bloom now. This is the second scapes on my 3 other Sunshine bulbs as the first ones were stunted. My other Cheeky (5 bulbs) are just now sending out scapes. Strange that 1 bulb of the same variety would perform so different from others of the same variety also.

I tried the pollen of #1807 on every flower I had but only Emmanuelle accepted it. From the just nine strange small but fat seeds I got only six germinated. And at least two of them look variegated although the stripe is not very clear... :-)))

Anja

My Cheeky finally flowered! I actually like it more than I thought I would. Flowers look friendly and the red is quite intense :-)

I was out of town for almost 2 weeks and came home to this. All Cheeky bulbs bloomed true.

Well, I just read this entire thread over again, quite a fun time wasn't it!!!

Yes it was, Donna! I will start a new thread in a few weeks. Got a bulb labeled #1820 again - we'll see if it really exists...

Well Anja, As there was no order over here this year for Sonatinis, we will have to enjoy any and all pictures from you folks in Europe who were lucky enough to order. I can't wait to see what you get for # 1820 this time even though I was happy enough with the substitute last year, I know some folks weren't.

I have found that last years Sonatinis are doing better for me than the previous year's even though I haven't yet seen anything pushing up a bud. For some strange reason, I seem to have misplaced my # 163, that gorgeous cybister like double and although I've looked several times I can't locate it!! I don't think it perished, and I do have a few bulbs with missing labels, that's the best that I can hope for!

Actually I expect # 1820 to be something like Komoriya's Autumn Pink Lady and perhaps it won't even be as nice, or, maybe it will be even better with many flowers!!!

Donna

I sure will post pictures of everything I got although it is less than last season. I don't know who else ordered (except Joey) but many varieties were already sold out when I ordered.

I wasn't too happy with the growth of my Sonatinis last year but I have a bud on Sunshine and on #1623 (which was my favourite last season). The two #1807 were the only bulbs which kept their leaves but there is no sign of a bud yet. #163 is still sleeping...

Anja

How does one know how much Peters 17-3-17 to use to make a gallon of fertilizer if one doesn't have an automatic line feeder? Does anyone know? And if they do, could they be so good as to please share it. I am so anxious to try it. Never mind, I think I figured it out -- 1 tps / gallon. Also, I figured out that our NYC water is relatively low in alkalinity. I am so tired of losing my amaryllis (amaryllidae?)

To bring this to a happy end:

Ladys and Gentlemen, I proudly present the real #1820:

Flowers are small, rather trumpet shaped with a nice dark pink picotee and lovely spots. It was certainly worth the long wait :-)

She's lovely Anja and I'm sure another year, she will be even more vibrant! I know certain people who love freckles will want this one for sure!! I can't wait to see her leaves too!

Very beautiful Anja I love her spots! My hippis drop leaves just before sending up a scape. They seem to stay evergreen until they are ready to bloom. When they are dropping leaves they seem to prefer to be dry. I seem to spend time each day pulling off old leaves. I also repot at this time. Some end up with no leaves at all - and then they start to send up scapes and the show begins! This is their life in my climate :)))

Wow! Anja! It's beautiful! So gentle and seems even transparent! Thank you for sharing this beauty with us!

FAB Photos Guys!!!
I'd LOVE a #163 {Does it Have a Name Yet?} and a Double Green.....

Anja , I love this picotee :-)

Jody , when I ordered mines in december , Andre told me that they needed 12 weeks of dormancy .

Last year I only got #163 , and I didn't forced it into dormancy this winter , I don't see any scapes now.

I have two scapes on my #163 from last year, flowers will open next week. I'm curious to see how they look like this season...

Oh, that was one of my favorites!! I lost the label on mine and I think it is still around here somewhere but until it blooms again, I don't know. We had about a dozen chipmunks last year playing around in my plants that were on the deck and about 6 or more labels went missing so I'll have to wait until they bloom to back them in!!

I have an unlabeled one now that I think is a Sonatini from the 2016 order sending up a long thin scape but it could be anything but at least I'll be able to re-label one of them!!

No. 163 is one that I would definitely buy a couple more of!! Can't wait to see yours!!

Thanks Beatrice, I wonder if they require chill hours or if putting them in a dry dark place would work. I think this fall, if they survive, I will refrigerate some and see if that works.

Did anyone get Lucky Strike?

I don't know Jody , I would say they need frost , but your question makes me doubt .... it's true that Brazilian species like papilio or aulicum have just a period of drought that causes dormancy ...

I'm sure that they don't need frost, I have them in my flat all the time, but I think they need a cool rest. All my Sonatini bulbs except the two #1807 lost their leaves in fall. Some started to grow two month ago, some a little later. I kept them at 15°C more or less and did not water when they had no leaves.

Anja

Where do you buy Sonatini Bullbs?

Last year I've purchased a few from http://www.sonatini.com/

This is where I got mine from and I think all the other people here too. You can ask for the specials when you contact them.

Anja

Yes, we all got them from the same place. Now and then, at the end of their season, Royal Colors will offer a few but not this year.

Went back to the website and found that to be treated as a perennial they should be lifted in the fall, dry cured at room temperature for two weeks and then rested for 10 weeks at 5C/41F to 12C/53F.

Interestingly the double 1799 has increased the bulb size and is getting ready to flower its third scape so maybe this one doesn't need that treatment. Sweet Sixteen is getting ready to flower but the bulb is much smaller. I'm thinking that the others might need a cool rest.

Hello everyone,

Does anyone here grow the true Red Rascal today? If so, how small is it? It is supposed to be the smallest red hybrid, even smaller than Vesuvius

Thanks for bringing this thread back up. I just discovered the Sonatinis last fall, and nothing has given me so much gardening pleasure in a long time. From Brent and Becky's I got Fire Dancer, Lemon Sorbet, and Ballerina (all South African). They came out of the shipping box and went right into bloom. I gave one out which I will not get back I guess, but all the rest bloomed and then leafed out and are still going just fine under my LED lights. All the bulbs came a little smaller than a tennis ball and all that I have left have added a little girth; so...

Hello Dutch (sorry, I do not know your name),

Yes, they are my favorite group of hybrids in the Hippeastrum universe, because they are just small and so cute.

I do love Fire Dancer from Hadeco, crossed it with the true H. papilio (as a seed parent), so I am really looking forward to the result. The seedlings are vigorous.

For me, Andre has created one of the most beautiful Sonatini # hybrids.

Ballerina.

I like Lemon Sorbet, too. From their whites, I like Baby Doll – exquisite flower shape I would say.
Fire Dancer is one of my favorite reds.

Hello everyone, does anyone recognize this beauty? It has a light scent, was supposed to be Orange Rascal

I don't know what it is... but it's a cutie!