It just might surprise you! I see 5-6 leaves...Keep us posted. I am in the same boat you're in. I'll post some photos this weekend as that great transplant event takes place!
Kristi

Alana, If it were my bulb and the leaves looked as good as yours appear to, (no yellowing or signs that it wants to rest) I would continue to let it grow and decide for itself what it's timetable will be for blooming. It might just decide to bloom without a rest after several more months of growing leaves....

My very first seedling was about that size and it did bloom, nothing special but it bloomed! I think I've told this story before but about 3 years ago I had an orange sovereign bloom in the summer so I thought I'd try my luck and ended up with more seeds than I knew what to do with. A year and a half later they all came down with stagonospora curtisi ( I didn't know any better than to keep them wet all the time) and I had my husband get rid of all of them as they all had canker like sores all over the bulbs. I rescued 3 of them from the trash can and dipped them in a 3% bleach solution (leaves and all) and they all appeared to be burned but I potted them up in individual plastic coffee cups and stuck them on an sunless window sill for the fall and winter...giving them a little water about once a month. Low and behold this spring one of them came to life and sent up a scape...couldn't believe my eyes...the canker sores had all dried up also. The other two are have been planted out side directly in the ground and are still there. Lots of leaves but no flowers. I guess I got a little off course from your question but, the bulb was about the same size as yours as you can see in the pictures. I wonder if anyone else has had luck using bleach with red blotch? It really did work for me...of course now I know better than to keep these bulbs sopping wet. Anyway, your cross of Red Lion x Blossom Peacock sounds delightful, can't wait to see the flowers!! And just like yours, mine had all these little bulblets which I left on, I guess they want to be klisters....must come from way back in their genes, not all my seedling do that, only a few....

Donna
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Kristi, yup - 6 leaves. I am anxious to see if it would surprise me!

Donna, now that you mention it, I remember that story about your seedlings. And btw, I found that the tip on the chamomile tea spray was pretty good. I had some seedlings that had that red mold (didn't know what it was) from being too wet and too dense in their container - no air flow. I repotted them and sprayed them with the chamomile tea and it was amazing! In a week or so, new big fat green leaves from pretty white bulbs. Did you say that you planted your seedlings outside and left them there? Over winter? I'm thinking it's a bit cold for that. I thought I sent you some RLxBP seedlings of mine. If I didn't I should have. I have way too many.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm gonna give it a try.

Alana

Hi Alana, I haven't tried the chamomile tea yet, I bought some and all I've done so far is to make a cup for myself! No, you didn't send any seedlings, you probably offered some though... and I do have quite a few Clown x Toronto (again, not very original) seedling planted outside close to the house and I was going to leave them in the ground for the winter under a pile of mulch, but now I'm afraid I won't have the heart to leave them out as they are doing so well. I'll probably pull them up and store them for the winter and put them back in the ground next year in hopes of some blooms.I've learned one thing this year, not to plant every single seed from a cross, 10 to 15 at the most unless it's a Papilio cross!

Donna

Donna, I'll send you some of my seedlings. I've got some Exotic Star x Pink Floyd ones from this year. But I'll also send some of my original Red Lion x Blossom Peacock ones from last year. They're my first attempt at germinating seeds and Red Lion was the only non-double I had. Denver Ryan calls the Blossom Peacock "weed genes" as it grows really fast. Sorry I hadn't sent you any prior - not sure what I was thinking. You can test leaving them outside.

I hear you about not having the heart to leave out bulbs. They seem to do so well directly in the ground, then when fall comes you don't want to risk losing a nice bulb. That's the way it's been with my Breck's "hardy" bulbs... I'm too chicken to see if they're really hardy because they's so sweet.

I decided I'm not going to stress about this virus thing. It's not going to make me stop growing stuff and enjoying it. I'll do what I can to protect my bulbs of course, but I grow hippis as a hobby to relax from other stress, rather than add to it ;-) Just my view, for what it's worth.

Alana

I agree about not stressing, but unfortunately, that's what I do best.......I'd love a couple of seedlings, and I mean a couple, not more than 2/3 of each...Let me know and maybe I have something I can send you, I have a whole bunch of crosses, I could list them if you'd like.....thanks... I also have some Clown x Toronto from last year, they're pretty big, and they are growing in the ground. I could spare a few of those, they grew really well in the ground this summer, and I also have 2 more of my Orange Sovereign Cross that I just pulled up, (again, I was going to leave them in the ground, easy to say when it's nice and hot, but one soon forgets how cold it can get, and it's only Oct!)but I;pm sure you don't want one of those.......and they are completely cured of the red blotch....next time that happens, I won't panic, just get out the old bottle of bleach.....I've got a whole tray of selfed Exoticas and they are very vigorous, not to mention way too may Apple Blossom X Lady Jane, several Fairy Tale crosses and Pasadena crosses both with Lemon Star, and others. Oh, Pink Diamond x both Fairy Tale and Mega Star, the only one that took with Mega Star, they are still small but look viable...So, let me know if you're interested in any of these....

I guess I did list most of them......

Donna

Ha - you are too funny. Fairy Tale crosses sound nice ;-) I'll send you an email to arrange. I have to get out the Cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels out of my seedlings - they keep digging them up for me and replacing them with hickory nuts. Drives me crazy in the summer when I get all these mini Hickory trees in my pots and planters.

Alana

Alana, send me up a few hickory nuts too, I wonder if they'll grow up here? Several years ago we went to Virginia and in one of the rest areas in New Jersey there was this gorgeous tree (I forget what it was) with hundred of acorn type nuts all over the ground. Everybody was watching this crazy lady picking up acorns, even my husband walked away... Well I brought back several dozen of them put them in the refrigerator for a few weeks and then planted them and that winter we had a few mice in the house (didn't have Toby then) and every morning we'd get up and some of the planted nuts were missing... just empty pots...the mice were eating them...I finally got about 8/10 to grow into little sprouts and gave all away but 2.....everyone else's lived and mine died...Not that we need anymore trees, someone this spring gave us a Katsura seedling and it's growing like crazy and now I don't know what to do with it. Well, so much for rambling about nonsense....Just remembered, Saw Tooth Oak.......

Donna

What's the earliest anyone has bloomed Hippeastrum seedlings?

Josh actually posted this as a separate thread. Don't want to lose any of the responses...so it would help to keep this as SIZE and the other as TIME. No hijacking...don't want anyone to miss important info!!
:-)
K

Donna, I'll be glad to send you some hickory nuts. They're too abundant in my yard right now and would be glad to get rid of them! I can look around for small seedlings if you'd like, as well.

Josh, I see you started another thread on your question. I think, actually, yours is the correct question... size of bulb is really dependent on genes it seems, and probably doesn't relate to bloom readiness.

Alana

Howdy Alana

You sent me a few seedlings a while back! and all are doing well.. I just wanted to know how your Red Lion x Blossom Peacock seedlings were doing. The one you sent me is fine.. it has some red spots here and there but I doubt anything serious since its only on the top layer of the bulb. it is also growing an offset..

Has yours bloomed yet? Just curious as I cant wait!!!

Hi KB, great to hear from you. For the red spots try misting with chamomile tea. I know it sounds kinda strange, but someone posted that awhile ago and I swear it works great! The red spots are just due to keeping the bulblet too wet. Mine hasn't bloomed yet - I decided to keep it growing over the winter under lights. This winter it's going in the garage for a cold rest though. For some reason this cross likes to spring offsets - maybe that's the Blossom Peacock influence.

I've also planted some of this cross outside in my garden since some of the bulbs I left out last year came back - it's a little borderline here in NC, but I'm sure where you are it's fine outside in the winter.

By this time next year we should know what this cross yields.

Alana

I just added some fertilizer to the pot with the Red Lion x Blossom Peacock. I took out all of the soil and added some new soil to the mix and the bulb has two offsets growing!!!

The red spots don't bother me and they went away already as the outer layer on bulb fell off.

I have a place where i can grow bulbs under 24/7 lights but right now i have all of my plants outdoors because it going to be nice and hot here in La.

The other crosses you sent me are doing well too. The moonlight and orange sovereign are huge as well but the orange sovereign self are somewhat puny but i still have them.

-KB

Yup those Moonlight crosses turned out to be aggressive growers. I've got some others that are puny too but I'll give them a year or two and see what they do. I'm looking forward to seeing pics from you when they bloom!

Alana

I WILL POST PICTURES FOR SURE!!!!!

Stay tuned :D

-KB