Believe it or not, I was just looking at their website and I too saw the Bordeaux Rascal and was wondering if it could possibly be the same one everyone was drooling over!! I can see it does have the smokey scapes. The picture on the Royal Color's website is small, so it was difficult to see if in fact it is as lovely as Kristi's pictures..and Frank,I believe one would have to order directly from the Royal Colors website..and now we may have the weather to concern ourselves with..I do think Ole Man Winter is finally going to make his presence noticed!
Kristi will know the answer to this.....!!

Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: Royal Colors

Donna

Do you think that these bulbs are ready for shipping now, at this time of year, or do you think these are previews of what's to come? I would think that they could be ordered now...and if that's the case, do I need an import permit to get these bulbs? I really don't want to get involved with the permit nonsense. I detest dealing with any Gov't. agencies, in any way, shape, or, form. Are there no retailers in the US that handles RC bulbs? I would also worry that these bulbs will be frozen in transit. : (

Thanks for the reply. Happy New Year. "Naranja" is still blooming at The Home.

Frank

Frank...you don't have to do anything special to order from Royal Colors...just place your online order. You don't need any permits; all their bulbs come appropriately packaged with statements of phytocertification, etc.

I am not sure...I think the foliage was darker on the other "black" mini from Keukenhof...but I have my feelers out. Remember (as we all know), the appearance of blooms, etc varies under different growing conditions.

The new owner never did reply to me. Hmmm...guess some people don't care about setting up good customer relations!

I should get a response from Paul soon enough. He is typically very prompt. However, even if it's not the same and you really like this one....there's no reason not to buy it!

Do you think you see your "Orange Rascal" in the assortment??

After a quick Google search prior to posting...I'm a little doubtful that these are one in the same as someone has posted a photo of Bordeaux Rascal from April 2011....looks much too red to me!

K

Here is a link that might be useful: Bordeaux Rascal from someone's Flickr album

Yes, I see what you mean about the picture being too red but, notice the intense blue in the background and also whatever that contraption is behind the plant to the right it has a bluish cast also..looks like the picture was photo-shopped to me..what do you think..the colors including the white are a bit intense to me....??

Now, after looking at your photos again, I seriously doubt that is the same flower..hers does not have the obviously smokey scapes that are very apparent in all of your photos...pooor Frank, sure hope he doesn't have a heart attack before this issue is resolved..;-)

I agree with Donna's last post, I don't agree that girl has Bordeaux Rascal, it just doesn't look like the picture from Visions.

Visions is pretty good about photographing the plants as they are, may Hippeastrum are always really close to the Visions pictures.

This plant is semi-trumpet shaped, it's incredibly dark, the scapes are dark and it's small like Kristi's pic.. I'm not sure it's the same thing but it's really pretty!

Kristi, Donna, Josh:

Thanks for the ordering information. I had no idea that you could order directly from RC.

For a minute, I thought "Orange Rascal" might be part of the assortment, but I'm not sure. I never seen "OR" except in photos, but the assortment photo sure looks like it.

I looked at the picture in the link. Nice flower. Any ideas as to what it might be if it's not the "BR"?

Thanks for the help.

Frank

After reading your posts, I went to Royal Colors and checked out the Bordeaux Rascal Amaryllis. On the left of their web site, I clicked on Dutch Sonatini. Right under this link it's stated, "Hardy and multiplying Amaryllis." How is "hardy and multiplying Amaryllis" different than others? Just wondering?

After I posted the above questions, I found another posting on this forum about Amaryllis Sonatini that answered my questions.

I emailed Royal Colors after I posted the above. The Amaryllis Sonatini bulbs would be good to try. The following is the response I've already received back from Royal Colors:

"Thank you for your email. We can ship this to the USA. Unfortunately is it not possible to ship before January 15th. Shipping for the Netherlands to the USA takes about 10-15 business days."

This is my thoughts, in Missouri, it's getting kind of iffy if they can get here without freezing. This would put it an the end of January before they would be received.

While Royal Color's packaging is excellent, I'm not aware that they add additional insulation when shipping to freezing areas.

I lost too many bulbs last year from a US Seller who shipped in January, and I got 12 big frozen bulbs! They tried to make it up to me, but many of the hybrids had sold out for the season.

K

PS...here's another EU seller of Bordeaux Rascal. Chances are they DO NOT ship to the US, but they have another photo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fleenen page

After seeing these nice flowers, I was starting to think about placing an order. I honestly thought these bulbs would be shipped out months from now, in the spring. The weather will only get colder in the coming weeks, and I doubt that the bulbs will make it here without freezing. I hate Hippeastrum sherbet...so, I probably will not place an order. Too bad....I thought the flower color and size might be nice to try out.

Frank

I live in zone 5 and the only time I have gotten a frozen bulb is if I leave it outside after it has been delivered.

After you put the flowers in the Royal Colors online cart, the site gives you shipping options. The options it gave me were:

Select a shipping option:
January 15th
end January
end February
end March
end April
end May

I'm going to wait until it warms up and order some.

You can order it now and they'll ship it in a warmer month. I would not wait, they'll be gone very soon, I promise! They sold out very fast last year.

Well, I ordered as soon as I saw this! I am also getting the orange ones. Now that they can get them here so much faster, I am not so worried. As far as I have heard our really cold weather is not due until Feb this year, so if they can get it here by then it should be oK. I Am SO EXCITED to get my hands on these!

Did anyone get to purchase any of the Amaryllis Dutch Sonatini bulbs? Any input on how they are growing and if you like them. The Royal Colors web site states "These hardy and multiplying Amaryllis..." If they multiply maybe quicker than other Amaryllis, does it still take the 3 to 5 years before the new offshoots bloom?

The Netherlands average high temperature in April is 55 and their average low is 38.
In Missouri, the average high temperature in April is 66 and our average low is 43.

The Netherlands average high temperature in May is 63 and their average low is 45.
In Missouri, the average high temperature in May is 75 and our average low is 52.
(These temperatures are from weather.com.)

In April, it could get down to that freezing mark, however at the end of May it could be getting into the 80s. Any input on which might be the better month to have an order from Royal Colors shipped? Thanks.

Most of the packages are not left in any areas that aren't climate controlled. Packages in planes, postal offices and trucks are all heated and cooled and the only time they really experience weather is when they're left on the porch. I called and talked to the USPS last year because of plants I was too receive. They even have the humidity controlled he said!

Tell Royal Colors to have them shipped to your post office and they'll hold them until you can pick them up?

lizalily, let us know when your bulbs arrive. They should be interesting to grow. (I am going to be over cautious and order some but have them mailed after it warms up.)

Thanks Josh, for suggesting to not wait until warm weather to order. This will be my last Amaryllis purchase for this season.

This is probably a dumb question, when receiving Amaryllis bulbs in April or May, have they been kept in cool storage where they will still bloom after I get them? (If they've already bloomed for the season by April or May, I may follow lizalily and order now.)

Just placed a small order for some Bordeaux Rascal. I had no idea that a delivery date option was offered until I read some of the above postings. They will arrive in April-'12. It would have been nice if Royal Colors would have mentioned in their e-mails that a delivery date option was available for shipping.

Anyway, the order is in.

Good luck with the bulbs. Keep us posted. Happy growing for 2012....it's all over on Dec. 21st anyway, so why worry. : )

Frank

This is in regards to the Amaryllis Dutch Sonatini bulbs.
I sent Royal Colors another email asking if these would still bloom in April or May, and also how long it took the new offshoots to bloom.

This is what they answered back:

The bulbs will still bloom when you get them in April/May. The new grown offsets will bloom within 1 or 2 year.

Frank, thanks for sharing your email from Royal Colors. They should give you a little commission for your sales help to them. Lizalily ordered some; I'm going to order some--hopefully today. We wouldn't have known these flowers existed if you wouldn't have posted it here. (Even ordering a little, they are kind of expensive.) I like the red ones but also want some of the other colors. I haven't decided what to order yet.

I haven't ordered yet, so I don't know if you have to pay with a credit card or if PayPal is an option. Anyway, I am not sure what the pay options are, but you may see a small extra charge on your credit card bill. I order craft stuff from the UK and Canada, using both PayPal and the credit card. When I do this I see a small charge on my credit card bill. It's like 16 to 25 cents or a small amount like that.

The use WorldPay and I've never had a problem using it before, it's just like using paypal. The only thing is some banks wont authorize international buying and you may need to contact them so they can authorize the purchase.

Summer.... and, other forum members:

I was happy to give the Hipp. Forum this information. I posted within seconds after reading the e-mail from RC because I knew a lot of Hipp. growers were waiting for bulbs for the beautiful, near-black shown in a different thread. I didn't have time to do any research, so I just posted the information. I ordered some "Bordeaux Rascals" even though the are NOT the near-blacks...I love very dark reds, and the small size is really appealing.

Anyway, I'll take the chance. That's the fun. How bad can they be?

Good luck with the RC bulbs, and thanks Kristi for the updated information about the near-blacks.

Frank

The Bordeaux Rascals should look nice in a pot. I ordered two (10 bulbs) of the Sonantini Mix. I'm going to keep one pot of them and give one pot of them to my father.

These sonatinis are INCREDIBLY small, the one labeled 'Lollypop' last year measured 3 inches across and I could fit 3 of them in a 4 inch clay pot and they had plenty of room! Each bloomed with atleast one scape.

does anyone have samba or popov that they could self or do a cross of both of them as we cant get either of these in australia i would love someone to be able to send me some seeds of these if it is possible thank u in advance regards and happy growing danny

Danny, I have both Samba and Popov, unfortunately they both bloomed for me several months ago. Next season, (which shouldn't be too far way) I'd be glad to do some selfs and crosses with them both for you....

In the past I've used Samba for self and possibly put something else on it and the seeds were extremely vigirous. I don't believe I've tried setting seeds with Povov.

Remind me in about 6 or 7 months...

Donna

OK so i just read through all or this again and now im dieing to know, how did they do. its now the end of june so they must of arived and set leaves and possibly even bloomed. How did they look, did you get what you wanted, was there problems with shipping, did they bloom and if they did, where are the pics.

Devonfawn,

Sometimes people (Danny did it this time) post an unrelated question on the end of a different thread and most people don't even see it. I happened to see Danny's question that was totally unrelated to what the thread was about, and so I answered. The point is that the some of the people who posted on the thread about the near black mini hippies haven't posted in a month of Sundays..so you may not get an answer to your question... you can keep checking though if you want..you never know...

Posting an unrelated question on the end of an unrelated topic is NOT a cardinal sin.. but, to resurrect a thread that has been buried for some time is asking for nobody to see your question..

The moral of this story is don't be afraid to start a new topic for a question otherwise most people won't get the gist of what it's about and never see the question and hence, no answer.
For some reason folks seem afraid to post new threads..most of us are guilty of this from time to time, myself included... (not to pick on you Danny of course) ;-)

Hope someone answers your question...I'd be interested to know too.....

Donna

Danny's question probably didn't get the attention it deserved either, although Donna answered. I'm sure others could have helped as well.

When it doubt, just email the person off their page and ask directly!

Speaking of which...it's the end of June...ordering season should be starting soon!!
K

I'm rehashing/reviving this thread trying to find out when RC actually starts accepting orders for shipment to the US. I'm particularly interested in the sonantini hybrids, and wondering if these are prohibitively expensive? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
--Rick

Rick...just keep checking www.Royalcolors.com
They should post this season's offerings soon! Many of us are waiting!

Kristi