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grant_in_arizona

Hippeastrum striatum blooming in the garden

grant_in_arizona
12 years ago

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your wonderful pics and posts recently, they've been so enjoyable! I really enjoy spending time on this forum, even if I'm just reading along.

In any case, I thought I'd share a pic of the first of many, many blooms coming in on my Hippeastrum striatum plants. I grow these in the ground, or in pots on my patio year round where they get winter sun and summer shade. These are grown from seed from a friend who shared seeds from her family's heirloom plant after we found some ID's for it--they had already passed the plants down through four generations of their family. The foliage is evergreen for me and the plants produce a big flush of blooms in late winter, and then occasional blooms all summer long. I just counted ten emerging bloom scapes this morning and I'm sure more are yet to come. Sure, the blooms are smaller than the big Dutch hybrids, but they're my favorite color, orange, and they appear so generously it more than makes up for their size.

{{gwi:390951}}

The plants make offsets so aggressively the ones in pots often break very thick terracotta pots! Hope you enjoy the quick and casual pics.

Happy Hippeastrums!

Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden so far, March 2012

Comments (18)

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    12 years ago

    Grant, I can't wait to see your whole pot in bloom!! I recently looked at your album for the month of March (each month's album is a treat) and I must say, you are an Absolute Master in the garden! You should have your own TV show showing how gardening can be accomplished so wonderfully in Arizona..especially for us Northerners who think all you can grow out there are cactuses!!

    Thanks for posting and looking forward to seeing your pot full of stratium flowers..

    Donna

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for looking/commenting, Donna, I really appreciate it. This really is a fun Hipp for me to grow, especially knowing that it's a friend's family's heirloom plant. I've shared it with lots of people in person, and even through this forum, plus other online plant trades and donations etc. It definitely wants to take over the world. I like that in a plant, LOL.

    {{gwi:390952}}

    {{gwi:390953}}

    Thanks too for the nice words on my little garden pics. We do have a ton of things in bloom here every single day of the year, which is wonderful for gardeners, and Hipps love it outside in pots or in the ground, which is wonderful for a Hippeastrum fan too. Makes it easier to grow even more than I probably should, LOL.

    Take care and thanks again,
    Grant

    Here is a link that might be useful: My March 2012 garden pics

  • sun_worshiper
    12 years ago

    Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Love the tennis ball for scale.

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks to folks who looked or commented, I appreciate it. I'll post a couple more pics when more buds open up. There are a LOT of bloom scapes coming in. Fun!

    Just as a reminder that I'm in the citrus/cactus belt, I noticed this small Cereus peruvianus cactus seedling in the pot in the pic above, LOL. The parent plants are very tall growing columnar cacti that make delicious bright red "apple cacti" fruit. Happy gardening all!

    {{gwi:390954}}

    Here is a link that might be useful: My March 2012 garden pics

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    12 years ago

    How about that! I guess you'll have to find a new home for the prickly visitor pretty quick!

    Donna

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for commenting, Donna, I appreciate it. I'll grub the little cactus out this weekend and plant him somewhere in the garden.

    In the meantime, I accidentally broke one of the many flower stalks off while working in the garden this weekend. Here it is in a small glass vase in my den. They make surprisingly good cut flowers. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? I broke a stem but now I have a nice little flower to enjoy indoors, along with tons of the main plant outdoors.

    {{gwi:390955}}

    Thanks

    {{gwi:390956}}


    Happy gardening everyone!
    Grant

  • joshy46013
    12 years ago

    Grant,

    Beautiful pictures, can I see a more detailed picture of the flower in the last pic up close? The two pictures of flowers look different to me.

    Josh

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    12 years ago

    That's lovely Grant, how nice that you can enjoy them inside as well as outside.. now don't forget to show us a picture of your outside pot in full bloom.....
    Donna

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the comments! Josh, here's a closer pic of the flowers in the vase. Since they opened indoors instead of outdoors, the colors are not as vibrant as the ones that formed and opened outdoors (pretty common with clivias and other flowers too, which I know you know). The whole pot is all from half a dozen seeds from the same pot, so maybe there's some variation? In any case, here's a closer view plus a few of several blooms in the pot.

    The pot seems to want to do several blooms open and then new ones rather than one big explosion of blooms. I'm not sure I'm disappointed by that, as it means a longer display.

    Happy gardening everyone,
    Grant

    Flower in vase pic above, starting to fade with white creeping in.

    {{gwi:390957}}

    Several blooms open.

    {{gwi:390959}}

  • sun_worshiper
    12 years ago

    Love the picture of the whole plant with several bloom stalks - very nice!

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks! Here's a different angle from this morning, out on my patio, plus one pic with a Kalanchoe beharensis in the background. Such a generous bloomer for sure. Take care all!

    {{gwi:390962}}

    {{gwi:390964}}

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden March 2012

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    12 years ago

    I see Mrs. Garfield down there in the left hand corner..!

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hah! Yes you do! There are two pots of it out on the patio. :)

    {{gwi:390966}}

    {{gwi:390968}}

  • dragonstone
    12 years ago

    Wow... Are those lines able to be passed down if it was cross-pollinated with an amaryllis that doesn't have lines?

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    11 years ago

    Grant I must say you do have the "Magic Touch" with plants..I'm envious!! Just look at your hippie bulbs filling those pots with gorgeous leaves and flowers!! Whodathunk you could do that in Arizona!! And you're sooo neat!!..I am a slob (unfortunately the truth)...

    Donna

  • berkeleysgr8
    11 years ago

    What a great patio! Proof that you don't need to have a lot of land to create a gorgeous garden. I feel whiny that I don't have more land to garden on... but I see that I just need to be more creative about using what I've got! *smile*

  • grant_in_arizona
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks all! Just for fun here's one more pic.

    Okay, just a couple more since it's just such a fun, giving plant:

    {{gwi:390969}}



    Dragonstone, I've tried and tried and tried to get my variegated 'Mrs. Garfield' to set seed, but I've only gotten three seeds and two weak seedlings (couldn't see any variegation on them, though I'm hoping like a lot of clivias and African violets etc it can and would be passed down via the seed parent) which didn't survive very long. I keep trying though.

    Take care and happy gardening all,
    Grant

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pics (so far) from my little garden April 2012

  • dragonstone
    11 years ago

    That makes me want to get one and see what luck I have when it comes to pollinating it... hehe.

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