I donated the original bulb to them during my freshman or sophmore year and it has done outstandingly well!

I love this species and I hope you all do as well!! Enjoy!

Cheers,

Riz

I notice that the bulb is almost completely out of the soil. I'm new to hippeastrum and thought the bulb should be at least 1/2 in the potting mix?

Just out of curiosity, do you remember where you originally purchased your papilio from?

CF

I estimate H.papilio to be the best of all Hippeastrum species.
Not only a priori but in the sense that it is a rewarding target for hybridization projects.
Until now I have obtained encouraging results when I used it for breeding, and actually I like to judge my
PapDonAmb #4 to be the best result of my first cross breeding experiments - with its saturated blood red color and strange shape:

Wow!

That PapDonAmb #4 of yours is incredible!!!

Wildcat

The papilio from the UW Greenhouse is planted so just the basal plate sits on top of the soil medium. I've always been told to pot up this species in this way to help discourage rot. With the basal plate near the surface, it can dry out quicker after watering.

The original bulb was purchased through Brent and Becky's Bulbs or Wayside Gardens, I can't remember for sure.

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos and I'd like to thank our friend from Germany for posting another lovely clone of papilio and his lovely hybrid. The breeding being done with this species has produced some amazing results!!

Cheers,

Riz

I would NOT count on flowers shortly after planting; and some bulbs need more than one season.

I am now experimenting on the significance of the pot dimension (the soil quantity) and I try to explore the potential benefit of bigger pots.

I replanted three of my 30+ bulbs, with their 1 to 3 attached-untouched offsets - into cubic 11 Liter pots....with square soucoupes notabene....for watering from below.

H.papilio is apt to produce enormous quantities of roots - rapidly! Therefore I HAVE chosen this amaryllis in order to reveal the advantages of a veritably "oversized " pot *ggg* And furthermore these roots are more stable than those of the most tetraploid Hippeastrum hybrids.

On the other hand - in the light of this observation - it seems funny but it is at it is and it is relevant:
This Hippeastrum has a considerably MINOR water consumption as compared to these big blooming tetraploids!
H.papilio roots are rather likely to rot - I know what I say. So take care...

Hans-Werner

PapDonAmb#1

ARIF

Plant_Guy

BTW, outstanding flower, that one, let me know if you feel like getting rid of any :)

Well that means that I have caught you -
tell me the worst
Did you really never read about my crossbreeding experiment with H.Papilio, Donau and Ambiance in the Bulb Forum Gallery?!
Now, catch up for that:
'Papilio' x ('Donau' x 'Ambiance')

Hans-Werner

Now, short and clearcut sense of a long opening speech:
By convention this mother ummm.. plant is the first which is named in a crossing formula!

Plant_Guy

I wish you all the best for your firm!
For my part I indeed believe too, and that has a priori little to do with my yet actually existing hybrids:
The progress in hippeastrum breeding has for decades gone into a false direction, as the accent has been put on superficial perfectness (in bloom size, coloring, firmness and symmetry) and not on interesting proportions hors du commun.

I like uncommon proportions, and I have the vision that the most spectacular proportion is what would strongly accent the already inherent feature of hippeastrum flowers: The principal zygomorphism,
Working out and intensifying that feature would lead to a flower similar to orchids, and the core of my vision is that this is generated by broad upper left and right segments and far narrower lower segments which are furthermore directed downwards.
Only H.papilio offers the great opportunity to realize that and therefore I am focusing my efforts increasingly on this extraorinary species Amaryllis and my (just primary) progeny thereof.

The secound day.Dont ask about the stamens.
ARIF

I hope that you pollinate(d) all flowers in due time.
In this direction you will be far more likely to be successfull than using pollen of it on your mongrals !

Huns-Vairnair

I read elsewhere that generally H.papilio does efficiently produce seeds after self pollination.
However, the evergreen clone sold in Europe does NOT.
I was not very amused to find that out.
I hope that your H. papilio is derived from one other clone which is self fertile.
Please examine that on the next flowers or on the first flowers of your 2nd bulb.
However... after repeated view on your H.papilio photo I am not so very optimistic - I presume that it IS from that "European clone" but... do not care for what I told you now *ggg* and try selfing at least ONCE. But, IF seeds develop, then inspect them carefully while they are still fresh - in order to discriminate if they are viable or only "chaff"...

Hans-Werner

ARIF

BEST wishes
Hans-Werner

.. and of course I did try it again.
As this year my papillio was the first to bloom, I only could get Hipp. Pamela as a cut-flower from the florist.
One flower I selved, and the 3 others ( oh yes, two stems ) I pollinated with Pamela. They became nice pods:
But alas only chaff.

Jaap

As far as I can see is crossbreeding H.papilio with these "old" hard-core-bargain big blooming hybrids simply impossible.
It was for example my major amaryllogene wish dream to perform the cross between H.papilio and Appleblossom. I have given that up now.
H.papilio x LemonLime will work
The results displayed in this great website from Taiwan was veritably convincing;
WUF
BUT: Using inferior green amaryllis like Yellow Pioneer and Yellow Goddess will work to, but yield far inferior results.

And I would try to supply pollen from DONAU (Danube) when H.papilio is close to bloom.
However, I do not have the slightest intuition what makes these both mentioned 4ploid knight star lilies so particular that their pollen is working effectively on H.papilio.

However, IF you receive a mountain of chaff - DO NOT discard it before you dids not investigate seed-for-seed, thoroughly, for any may-be-viable embryo...

Hans-Werner