My Herc was a jerk, and failed to bloom.
He'd better get to it, and hurry up soon!

I got mine 2 years ago. It didn't bloom the first year, or the second. The bulb's nice and healthy.

I did check my Blooming Bulb bulbs tonight, and thankfully I only paid $2. One's already soft. It's healthy and white under the brown layers, but I'm not feeling good about this.

K

PS...Novel word count tonight....16411. Goal this weekend, 23,000!

The "true" Hercules is a robust and strong plant.
{{gwi:390013}}

With huge flowers. Quite impressive color too!
{{gwi:390011}}

Hmm - sounds like I've got the Hercules impostor. Thanks Maria for the pics of the real guy. Kristi, love the poem! Alana

Great poem, Kristi! I can see where your head is at... deep into writing! :-) You go! Can't wait to find out more about your novel... I'm an avid reader!

I'd say Hercules impostor... Maria is quite a stickler for proper labeling, and it's a big help for us! The photos I've seen show Hercules with a very deep pink bloom color, so I think what you have is not Hercules.

However, a nice red is always welcome in the garden, and it's a nice red!

Maria,
Yours looks so PINK!! I guess I thought they were more red/orange. Cool...I love pink! Hercules is such a strong name for a sissy pink BEAUTY!
;-)
Kristi

Hi all, just chiming in here. My Herc looks like Maria's huge blooms and a gorgeous pink colour. One of my favorite blooms. They also last quite a while if the weather is cool.

Now I HAVE to get one...Thanks for enabling!
K

It's going to be worth it Kristi!

Hihihi.... Kristi, LOL, LOL.....

Now that you're talking about Hercules... I'm trying it for the first time. I've bought four (what can i do? I looove pink!). First i bought one and then i saw another website where they offered discount by three bulbs. So you know what happenned.... LOL.

I've read reviews about Hercules being a very strong, robust hybrid with HUGE flowers. Exactly as Maria says. The person who wrote the review i'm talking about, was wondering why they gave this "macho" name to a PINK-blooming hippeastrum. The only reason he could imagine was its huge flowers and robust appearance.

I think your Hercules is another hybrid, but which one then? I have a Hercules in the bud and the other three came today with the mail.

Maria, thanks for the info and the pics, now i'm even more curious and anxious to see the big, gorgeous pink flowers.

Thanks everyone! Mystery solved... I'd always wondered why this puny little bulb was called Hercules. I'll add it to the NOID collection now that I know it's an imposter, and add 'Hercules from a reliable source' to my want list. Alana

I have to concur Alana...it looks like your Hercules is an imposter. I don't have this beauty, but they have it at the arboretum where I shot these photos:
{{gwi:436809}}From Hippi's and friends at the Arboretum
{{gwi:436810}}From Hippi's and friends at the Arboretum
{{gwi:436811}}From Hippi's and friends at the Arboretum

These photos don't even do it justice. I have to have this one for myself!

-Frank

OK...I had to go back and look at photos and bulb records because I couldn't believe my Hercules hadn't bloomed. Turned out it was one of the first bulbs I ordered (OH SO LONG AGO!!) and it had bloomed...and it's NOT PINK!!

But, I looked at the photo on the paperwork from BulbsDirect, and it should have been...so it's a mislabel and I didn't catch it! Here's what it looked like a couple of years ago.
WHA!
K

{{gwi:390008}}

That's Pink Diamond in the background...

Kristi, yours looks kinda like mine - and not at all like everyone else's. Did you happen to get yours from Wayside 2 years ago?

Frank, those are great pictures! (I didn't realize that they had such a nice display at the Aboretum. Gotta go this year.) And you're right - I've got a fake Hercules! I'm envisioning one of those T-shirts with the foam muscles.

Alana

Many years ago, I had a dog named Hercules... you would think he'd have been a large breed dog, right? Nope... he was a little Staffy Bull Terrier... all 20 pounds of him! But he sure thought he was big! Right up until the day a cat that was bigger chased him around the outside of our apartment building, and he came running to Mom (me) for protection! Funniest thing I ever saw! He was a great little companion... and for him, the name fit!

I'm sorry to see more than one mislabeled Hercules show up... mislabels seem to be the bane of our existence as hippi lovers!

Alana, mine came from Wayside. I think it was part of a special sale they held. Wish I had room for more!

Mine came from the Netherland Bulb Company. I think I bought ~13 bagged bulbs that were all labeled...from the Houston Amaryllis Society. It was a great way to kick off the habit!...but a mislable for sure. I think it was in a brown paper bag, not the packaging from NBS...poly bags with ventilation and glossy color photo.

That sale resulting in lots of mislabels...at least 4...but I was a newbie and most were easy to ID, thanks to this group! NBC sent a package to make up for the mislables last year that was amazing!
K

Found a photo of my Hercules, I think this was a 2008 bloom. The bloom was much more pink than photographed, just brilliant and huge!
{{gwi:390014}}

UNFAIR UNFAIR!!!
(PS Chaz...so cool to see your photos now...I know just exactly where that photo was taken)
K

Thanks Chaz - now I can see why it's called Hercules (except for maybe the pinkish color) and I'm glad I've got a mislabel. It just means there's another great bulb type out there waiting for me sometime, instead of this wimpy thing that won't grow much.

Jodi, I have a terrier too, and I know exactly what you mean. Hercules is a great name - matches their personality.

Alana

Well i do hope my Hercules are not mislabeled. What a stunner! Thank you all for the beautiful pictures. I can't wait for mine to bloom :-)

Jodi, thanks for telling us about your Hercules. What a adorable best friend!

Kristi and Alana, it's not too late to go hunting for a genuine Hercules. Season is just open :-) !

Nice hunting, girlz....

You know what they say...something like real men can pull it off wearing pink. Imagine Hercules in a pink chiton.

And now... the only thing I can do is add Hercules to my wish list! I had been contemplating adding it for a little while now... but all these luscious photos have convinced me! I must have one! :-)

Wow, I'm impressed with the photos. I've looked at Hercules and was not that impressed from the catalog photos. But the ones here are better!

I'm much more likely to buy it now after this thread. But my want list is pretty long at this point. I'm actually grading things on the want list and trying to find a way to get some of them.

Jodi, I understand your pain. I totaled up the things on my wish list the other day and it came out to less than $200. But, of course, if there was a Maguire's order, I would want MORE. Clearly, I need to start a Maguire's want list.

I'm off. I have a coupon from the paper for a cool little store near here -- 30% off any item. Maybe they'll have some boxed hippes in their Xmas stuff.

holantina wrote: "I've read reviews about Hercules being a very strong, robust hybrid with HUGE flowers. Exactly as Maria says. The person who wrote the review i'm talking about, was wondering why they gave this "macho" name to a PINK-blooming hippeastrum. The only reason he could imagine was its huge flowers and robust appearance."

That's what I guessed too. But come on, even {{gwi:436807}} wears pink! ;)

That's perfect!

Hey, i like guys wearing pink, why not? Such a beautiful colour! :-)

Pink is often seen as a "girly colour". But it's time to get rid of those clichés, isn't it?

I think this hybrid deserves the name Hercules. What a stunner, wow....

Carol, here's a whole bunch of Hercules pictures for you!

Alana

Alana...your photos are MIA!
I bought a Hercules bulb at the Houston Amaryllis Society sale a few weeks back and so will wait patiently for it to bloom and will post!
:-)
Kristi

I'm pretty sure the dark bulbs are 'Amigo' does anyone else agree?

Josh, Those darker bulb look like Amigo to me..but since I don't have one it's just a guess from seeing other pictures..

Alana, Thanks for bringing back this thread..always fun to read a blast from the past..

Donna

Marias second photo is most representative of the Bulb I know as Hercules This variety is an excellent parent and gives great genes to its progeny.Many of it's progeny have a beautiful raspberry color. I have crossed it with Picotee,Pasadena and a white single from walmart.I obtained some beautiful blends of three and four colors from Picotee and Hercules.
Del