A couple of years ago I bought some Lachenalia bulbs at the end of the season. They were for the hybrid 'Rupert' - a mauve-blue.
The bulbs had shrunk to about the size of a (US) dime but put up leaves after planting and finished the season at an improved size, in a pot.
Last summer was wet, mostly, and fairly moderate for temperatures apart from a burst in mid-November when we got to the high 20s (C). 'Rupert' did not arrive above ground.
This year Rupert has plump bulbs (about an inch in diameter) with a few fine/almost glassy roots and no leaves at all. I repotted to put the bulbs so their tops were just below the surface. I've also parked them on the mantelpiece, watered sparingly, to provide a touch of warmth. I enquire regularly and the three bulbs give me that pallid stare and hunch down.
I know some Lachenalias can sit in dormancy for a year or several but, being a gardener, I'd like to persuade them to make it above ground for next spring.
So, I thought about putting them in the hot water cupboard and a note in the diary to get them out in good time for late summer and the rain. Or, into the cactus patch under the carport to truly 'bake' over whatever summer comes. (We have very even temperatures and rainfall, usually - across the year. Long spells of heat/dry have not been common.)
Mild, uniform heat and serious dry for a few months? Or heat spikes with a touch of moisture when I water the cacti? Which would be more likely to persuade those seasonal snoozers to try leafing up again?
wanda
vetivert8Original Author
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