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geoff9

Hippeastrums mandoni and parodii

geoff9
12 years ago

These, the whining amaryllis group, hate cold. Mandoni hates too much water any time, so now that I've had some succes with both I thought I'd pass it on. I water the H. mandoni like a dry-oriented Gasteria or Haworthia, that is, small amounts of water often rather than deep drinks with hard, dry periods. The H. parodii doesn't worry about water, but they both hate cold. This was rightly solved last winter by putting both on underneath heat. Having earlier damaged the root system of a mandoni, and having brought it through the winter with a vigorous root system just found in replanting, and now that finally the H. parodii is growing where it tried to grow in April when we had a cold snap, and then sat until very late June, I thought good news worth passing on. I don't think any of this is new, but perhaps the watering regime is.

Comments (12)

  • bluebonsai101
    12 years ago

    Good to know....I put most of my plants from more tropical areas on heat mats during the winter to keep the roots really toasty. Also, I find that some of my Amazonian plants really seem to like being in the bathroom in front of a window as the humidity is sooooo much higher during the winter compared to the rest of the house.

    I may get a few less commmon species soon so am looking in to how others are growing them. Any more info on pottinng mix, sun, etc is appreciated :o) Dan

  • mariava7
    12 years ago

    H.mandonii

    {{gwi:419165}}

    I handled this "Big Boy" a few years back. It is now happily growing and blooming in a botanical garden somewhere. No further infos about it can be released unfortunately.

    Good luck with your H.mandonii bulbs.

  • geoff9
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    In my experience bulbs are heavy feeders. Whether you try to grow using organisms and a rich mix or whether you try to grow with a rich mix and plant food, organic or not, soil can be about the same. It should feature lots of digestible organic matter and lots of air, also a gentle texture. Amaryllis roots like the best of everything. My mix starts with a light potting mix, which should be fragrant of compost, not just peat. I add washed fine gravel or sand, some perlite, and a bit of charcoal. When wet it stays where a root pushes it, holds the root system in place but is easily removable in transplanting, and because I keep bulbs in clay remains highly oxygen-rich and sweet. Sun issues here are easy. All the plants want as much as they can get behind a big window in NYC. The question is more who will tolerate the subordinate position by being higher than the more one next to the window and more efficient in photosynthesizing. Cold tolerance by roots takes precedence over sun needs here. I'll know more about species preference by this summer's results. My hybrids, though, seem noticeably variable is growing efficiency. Will the species vary as well? I wonder.

  • bluebonsai101
    12 years ago

    Maria, what is the big secret? Just curious.

    Geoff, best of luck with your wonderful plants. The one that I would really like to have bloom is my H. psittacinum. I've had it now for maybe 6-7 years and it is very large from seed, but I never really took all that good of care of it until the last 2 years when it finally got baked in full sun outside all summer and I did not force it to go dormant for the winter.....I decided to let the plant grow if it wanted to and it seems like it has rewarded me. It is planted in approx 80% grit so water is not an issue :o) Dan

  • mariava7
    12 years ago

    Ohhhhh just to prevent some things happening again Dan.
    I'll email you.

  • mariava7
    12 years ago

    Never mind Dan. I decided to keep it a big secret.

  • joshy46013
    12 years ago

    Maria,

    With your breeding plants I can't believe you passed up on the potential in H. mandonii?!?

  • ajsblu_eyes
    12 years ago

    I'm going to chime in because I'm so excited, my mandonii is throwing up a scape! I can't wait to see it bloom but it has managed to adjust to the Arizona heat well enough but I have to say I water my mandonii maybe twice a week here and now in the triple digit weather of the desert. I've pulled the plant under my patio for some complete shade now that it is really scorching hot.

    Prior to the triple digit weather I had it under a 50% shade cloth in the high 80's to 90's and it was thriving. Again I watered it once to twice a week. The plant is in a fast draining soil mix. I use a weak water diluted fertilizer with each watering. Those are my gardening notes. :)

    AJ

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    12 years ago

    Congratulations AJ! I guess I got what I paid for, I shouldn't have been so cheap, should have bought one of the larger bulbs like you did! Can't wait to see your flower..and I sure hope you can get your hands on some fresh papilio pollen..

    My Lavender Blue seed pods seem to be aborting..got to about the size of small grapes and then the pedicils started to shrivel..

    Donna

  • houstonpat
    12 years ago

    Hey AJ, per Donna's comment, not sure why you might want fresh papilio pollen, but I usually have H. paps in bloom off and on through the summer if ya want some.

  • mariava7
    12 years ago

    Joshy...I have learned to let go off plants that do not like my growing conditions. They are better off somewhere to survive and flourish before I kill them.

    Remember you emailed me about this H. nelsonii that I have?
    I tried growing it for 1 year and it did not do good.
    It is now doing well in South Africa.

    To keep or not to keep???

    {{gwi:419167}}

  • ajsblu_eyes
    12 years ago

    Donna this bulb is one I got about a year ago and is reblooming for me I loved the bulb so much I bought another younger mandonii bulb that is not yet ready to bloom. I also thought I needed pollen from a different mandonii bloom to produce seeds but was informed that I could self the bloom and obtain seeds. Sorry to hear about the aborted seed pods on Lavender Blue it does happen.

    Thank you Pat for the offer but I have some papilio pollen from May of this year. :)

    Keep your fingers crossed that any pollination I attempt takes. Last year I attempted to self both blooms with no luck. If I do get seeds from a mandonii x Papilio I'll keep you both in mind.

    The rest of my family has not a clue as to why I'm giddy when I talk about the upcoming bloom, so I'm glad you all understand my excitement.

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