Good morning I bought an Indica Qusqualis. She comes in a pot but she has no sign of being alive. It's the end of April in the Iberian Peninsula. It's normal? When will it develop leaves and flowers? Thank you very much Best regards, Maria Petronilho

Oleg, I have maybe three bulbs of H. psittacinum and they're pretty slow growing and they're very susceptible to rot and bug attacks, I've not had the easiest time with them but I have started to care for them more and have had an easier time! I think partially the reason H. papilio and H. cybister are so common in cultivation now is considering Fred Meyers, he crossed the best clones of each species to create a more tough and tumble plant. As well, these two species are among the easier to grow along with H. striatum, H. aulicum and H. puniceum which are also fairly common. Many Hippeastrum species I don't think could withstand cultivation in the casual growers hand UNLESS you live in an area with favorable conditions. You must study many of the species individually to know exactly what conditions are best considering they're found in a multitude of places including swamps AND deserts. I know many seasoned growers of Hippeastrum still have a very tough time with many species and many flower very seldom if at all. H. papilio is from a mild forest which is easily imitated by indoor conditions, it can be grown epiphytically, lithophytically or the usual pot of soil so it can handle a large range mediums. It grows in brightly lit places to shady areas so lighting usually isn't much of an issue. H. papilio can be maintained as an evergreen plant which gives a huge advantage against rotting too and it's resistant to many pests and diseases where as most other species are not! If you were to try growing Hippeastrum pardinum with the same idea of H. papilio you would more than likely fail, it needs a incredibly dry rest period during opposing months; any water during the dormancy will result in rotting and quite quickly! It doesn't always flower well *some sources only see flowers every ten years or so* and is usually a winter growing species, it relies on a lower amount of sunlight and ultimately much less water, put this in the hands of a typical "amaryllis" grower and they're set up for failure! This isn't to say that it's impossible to grow many of these species successfully because it isn't but you must educate yourself. While the hybrids and some species (h. papilio) are very forgiving, most others are not. I think it would be spectacular to see these grown in larger quantities but sadly I don't foresee that as most aren't willing to invest the time and energy they take. :( It's also a big misconception that ALL Hippeastrum need light water in fear of rotting, H. breviflorum, H. harrisonii, some forms of H. vittatum and H. angustifolium can be found in bogs, swamps and other wet areas, many are completely submerged throughout their growing seasons and only slightly dryer during dormancy, these species could create a more resistant plant in future breeding as well, I think these are quite beneficial as parents to new hybrids but their ease of growing is nil to none. Josh

Also two forms of Andropogon gerardii(Big Bluestem) selected from wild in MN, and a 10 ft Vernonia sp. My iris form is a cute little iris with blue-violet flowers. 1 foot high. Looking for seed/plants with origins of MN, WI, ND,SD,IA. Or more southerly natives with origins from their most northerly native reaches. Like paw paw or sassafras from MI or northern IL. Or just temp me.

I don't have any answers, but keep us informed on how it goes. This is the same shrub that my Aunt in WV had blooming last month when we were up there and it had a wonderful fragrance. I asked her what it was and she called it a red bud bush but I looked it up and found the real name for it. (Maybe that's a local name for it up there?)