Hi J L

Isn't CHAD a wonderful thing? I's so easy to go completely off the deep end especially all those goodies right in front of you :-)))) I've said it before and I'll say it forever, I'm like a kid in a candy shop with money to spend :-)))

Good Luck,

Fred

Thanks Fred. I’m not completely sure what CHAD is but I am assuming the last two letters of the acronym are “addiction”? Lol.

i had also ordered a bulb from someone on Etsy as well as some seeds so those should be coming soon too - maybe she’s on this forum as well. Hers is a mystery bulb and seeds so I’m looking forward to those! Will be a couple of years before I know (if I’m lucky) about the seeds!

i just hope I can keep all these bulbs alive. I don’t have the best track record with plants but the last year I have been researching a lot about how to take care of them and this past summer was the first time I had a successful vegetable garden. Hoping the same research and care works for the amaryllis too! I love plants but have what I can a brown thumb .....

J L You made some great choice from ETGBs and they are quite prompt with their shipping so you will have your bulbs soon, My last order from them included a La Paz which had the scape out several inches and they were very careful to protect the scape with extra shredded paper. You don't usually find that kind of service from the workers from the storerooms who pack and send your bulbs.

I ordered an Exotica also and it has sent up two of the fattest buds I almost have ever seen making me think that for a second year in a row trying for an Exotica might have landed me a Terra Cotta Star, we shall see...

Those of us in Massachusetts put their bulbs in pots out for the summer and they love it, I'm sure yours will too!

Donna

J L,

CHAD is Compulsive Hippeastrum Aquisition Disorder :)

That makes sense Everado. Lol yes I’ve definitely got that disorder!

Donna yes I am planning to put them out for the summer - just need to remember to bring them back in on time! Your flower bud looks amazing - so healthy! Looking forward to the pics from when it flowers....

JL, I wish you lots of fun with your new addiction! Maybe you "brown thumb" will help you to take care for them as Hippeastrum bulbs don't seem to like too much care, especially not too much water :-)))

Donna, I actually remember Exotica having extremely short and fat buds but mine were not colored. Maybe yours just got more light. I cross my fingers that you really have Exotica there! Mine finally decided to send out roots and leaves after doing nothing the whole summer :-)

Donna, this is great that you have a blooming Papilio! I cross my fingers for all your coming pollinations :-) I hope you still have some Green & Saturn pollen...

Anja

Thanks Anja, and I do have some Green & Saturn left although I haven't had any success yet; maybe she's waiting for papilio!!?? I've got a few cybisters blooming; La Paz, beautifully pink this time, and Jungle Star as well as this new papilio that was supposed to be Bogota, but I'm not complaining!! My main objective will be to put Green & Saturn on one papilio flower and I haven't decided on the other yet.

On my last Terra Mystica flower I put some Thai Thai (never had success with this pollen either) and I dabbed it for 3 days and then I just put some Jungle Star on the same flower (2 dabs) on a whim and the next day, it withered. (??!!) Probably was just time for the flower to die but I can hope for a few days that perhaps the Jungle Star took on Terra Mystica??

Has your aulicum shown any signs that it liked your papilio pollen?????

Donna :-))))

That's good that you got a worthwhile mislabel Donna! Hope that doesn't happen to me I really just want to get what I ordered since this is my first time!

Anja- right now I am obsessing over the 4 bulbs I got so far from the nursery, I need to stop trying to watch them grow lol.

J L I perfectly understand you! They seem to take forever, especially at the beginning of the season...

Donna, it is too early to be sure but I'm not very hopeful with that aulicum. Flowers have withered and the pods are there but they don't seem to grow. I'll keep you posted.

Anja

My order arrived from ETGB today! The bulbs were outside the whole day - my husband told me he heard the boxes being dropped off in the morning after I had already left for work and not realizing that they were plants, he just let them be! Hopefully there was no lasting damage. The bulbs all seem healthy and happy! Can’t wait for something to bloom!

the ones I got from the nursery grew stalks but tben seem to have stagnated - haven’t done anything yet!

Oh Anja, don't give up hope!! I can't remember whether mine took a long time to grow or not!! I put Green & Saturn on both papilio flowers so if the cross takes, I will have plenty of seeds to go around. Not a special cross as aulicum and papilio would be but if it takes it should be good enough!!

I'm looking at all the possibilities for Jungle Star and have decided just to try a couple and if they don't take then I do have a second scape on the way. I've got to control myself this season as I am really inundated with seedlings from past years, some of them are quite large and cybister and papilio crosses. I just have to get them to bloom!! I also don't want to stress out my new bulb as unless they offer this again next year, this might be my only bulb of this clone. I will definitely try one with Madame Butterfly and some old Santos pollen. Listen to me, I actually almost believe myself Ha!

I do have another Jungle Star from a Dear Friend that has yet to bloom and expecting it to be slightly different in appearance. It's doing well but still a few years away from flowering.

I thought I had another one but it turned out to be a Sumatra cross or maybe even a full fledged Sumatra, I couldn't really tell from the first flowering.

J L

Your bulbs from WFF look great!! We all look forward to seeing them all bloom! Luckily the weather hasn't been all that cold and as long as the boxes don't sit out in a cold truck during the evening we should be good to order for another few weeks! I'm just waiting for a Bogota to arrive from WFF; I struck out with ETBG so I thought I might as well give them a try. If I get another papilio then I'll live with it!!

Donna

Donna, did you get your Bogata finally? And what are your Exotica buds doing? Will there be a second scape on your new Papilio? I could send you some Aulicum pollen... I won't get any x papilio seeds from my aulicum...

Anja

Hi Anja,

I did get my Bogota just the other day from White Flower Farm and it was a huge bulb with a cybister shape so I am hopeful!!

But as for my "Exotica" from ETGB, well I think I have another mislabel and this time I don't even think it's Terra Cotta Star!! Here it is so far and it's turning dark pink or red even and I wouldn't be all that surprised if it turned out to be a double!!!

Any guesses??

I'm so sorry that your aulicum didn't take, I really am but maybe something else will come along that you can use it on. You can store your pollen in the fridge and if I detect another bud on this papilio or one of my others I'll let you know and we can share!!

I pollenated both of my papilio (new bulb) flowers with Green & Saturn, thinking that was as close to aulicum as I could get and I dabbed twice a day for 3 days and the flowers still didn't wilt so on a last ditch effort I put some Madame Butterfly on one of the flowers. Now both have wilted but it may just have been time so I am in that waiting stage not quite sure if something took or not!! I'll let you know!!

JL, I'll be interested to see what you get for your Exotica too!!!

Donna

Donna, do you already know what you get instead of Exotica? I don't like mislables but I do like the tension when an unknown flower is opening...

Anja,

Well for lack of really knowing, I'm going to call this just Red Lion. There are a million reds and the only one they (ETGB) sold was Benfica and having had a few Benficas along the way, in person, this isn't one.

This picture is not at all indicative of the true color, it is a true deep velvety red, no orange and no purple and no brown even though that's not how it looks in the picture but I can't get anywhere near capturing it. It is actually very lovely in person and my husband keeps saying Wow!! Four flowers on the first scape, with a second not far behind and a third just emerging and it's loaded with leaves! I am going to try to do HoustonPat's cross of papilio with Red Lion and try to create something close to his "Dragon's Blood" which I'm sure most of you remember.

No Exotica for me this year....

Well Donna, I actually never had a true red so I can't help you to name this one. I don't know why I don't buy reds, maybe because they are less special? But I really like your flower and of course I cross fingers for pollination with your surprise Papilio :-)

Anja