Let me introduce myself ...

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

My goodness, Capucine has eyes which match the pots... or is it the other way around? 

Well... let's try with, say, a green pot and see what happens...

[Bulbophilos]

Hello everybody!

My name is Marcondes de Resende. I live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in a tropical climate temperated by altitude (1100m high): Annual average temp: 21ºC. Warmest average temp: 22.9ºC (January). Coolest average temp: 16ºC (July) . Our summers are wet and the winters are quite dry.

There are two main vegetations in my area: above 1000m we find the rocky fields, wherein is possibel to find many geophytes, orchids, bromeliads, cacti, carnivorous plants, grasses and also many schrubs like Tibouchina spp. Below the rocky fields there are a semi-deciduous dry forrest that include species like Tabebuia vellosoi (Ipê-amarelo) , Tabebuia impetiginosa (Ipê-roxo) , Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian rosewood ) and Hymenaea courbaril (Brazilian Cherry).

My main interest is bulbous plants. I grow Hippeastrum, Habranthus, Zephyranthes, Griffinia, Worsleya, Crinum, Clivia, Gladiolus, Aristea, Brunsvigia, Ammocharis, Lilium and many others.

Although living in a tropical climate, I would love to grow mediterranean bulbs like Narcissus, Tulipa, Iris, Hyacinthus, Muscari, etc. The main difficulty is the lack of cold of our warm winters. I am already trying some species and think that I could have success with them.

I found SRGC Forum while looking for information about mediterranean bulbs and I was impressed with the knowledge and the skill of the forumists here. Since them I was a guest in the Forum but now I decided to become a member.

Cheers to you all!

[Ragged Robin]

Welcome Marcondes, your introduction is very informative and you come from a wonderful part of the world, I hope to see some of the plants you are growing soon 

[Paddy Tobin]

Hello Marcondes,

You are very welcome to the forum. It is a special delight to have someone from far away join the forum as it will mean we will see some very interesting plants which do not grow in our part of the world.

It is funny that you wish to grow the bulbs which we would regard as common in our gardens and we would love to be able to grow those you have in your garden. Gardeners are a funny lot.

Looking forward to seeing many contributions from you on the forum.

Best wishes, Paddy

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Welcome Marcondes ! 
I think you are the first Brasilian forum member !
I'm sure you will gave a great time here and look forward to see what you grow !!

[ranunculus]

Greetings Marcondes,
We wish you a long and fruitful association with this wonderful forum.

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hello Marcondes,
That's great to have a Brazilian forumist. A warm welcome to this extraordinary forum and we are longing to seeing pics of the plants you grow . I think ( quite ) everything seems  possible for a plant lover. Only the growing conditions are to be adapted to the plants one wishes to cultivate. And the more difficult they are the more rewarding if you succeed!
Kind regards
Jean-Patrick

[fermi de Sousa]

Welcome Marcondes,
nice to have another bulb lover on the Forum.
You'll find some tips on trying to grow Mediterranean bulbs on these pages; in the Tropics it'll depend on the depth of your pockets maybe you'll need to follow Oron's lead and get a refigerated unit!
cheers
fermi

[Bulbophilos]

Thanks everybody for such a kind reception! I hope to post pictures of my plants soon.

Robin - I decided to make an informative presentation because I guess most of the forumist do not know well the natural enviroment we have here in Minas Gerais.

Paddy - We agree that gardening would be less exciting if we do not had such challenges.

Luc and Cliff - I am learning a lot in this forum! It will be unpossible to give more to this forum then I am receiving.

Jean-Patrick - I have to say that is a great pleasure to talk with friends from so far places, including your wonderfull France.

Fermi - In fact, I will need to provide artificial chilling to that bulbs. However, I would like also to find those rare species that could bloom whithout chilling, like Narcissus papyraceus. Maybe I could find them. (Note that there are some species tulips growing almost at sea level in some places: Tulipa sharonensis in Israel, Tulipa australis in Malta, Tulipa praecox and T. clusiana in Chios, Tulipa cretica and T. goulimyi in Crete.) Most of the many decades of efforts to grow Mediterranean bulbs looked to find hardy species and varieties. My effort goes to the opposite direction: I am looking for bulbs that would have low-chilling requirements. I think Australian gardeners have somethings to say about this. (I noted your 'Sousa': Do you speak Portuguese?)

[cohan]

bemvindo marcondes
i think your main approach to find lower altitude examples from the mediterranean bulbs is the best idea good luck in your search..

i know some of brasil's flora, especially cacti since this is my area of greatest experience, also there are some amazing xerophytic orchids and bromeliads; i have some seeds of cacti and dyckia from around sorocaba in sao paulo state that i have to plant; but my favourites are the small ones like some Discocactus..(of course i am growing these indoors here..)..

[Maggi Young]

A very warm welcome to you, Marcondes!
 I do not know whether I am most excited about a  gardening member from Brasil or a forum member from Minas Gerais region..... one of the best of the world's gem mining areas!!  

 We do have a few members who speak Portuguese, but you are our first Brasilian gardener !

[Lesley Cox]

 (I noted your 'Sousa': Do you speak Portuguese?)

I'm sure he does and he has his own brass band too.

[Paddy Tobin]

Yoooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooo Lesley.

Lesley 1 Rest of the World 0


Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you Paddy. I didn't realize it was that good! Actually, I'm not a brass band fan, even if it were Fermi's.

[Onion]

Thanks everybody for such a kind reception! I hope to post pictures of my plants soon.

Marcondes,

the area you life is Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil. But then you wright 1100 m Köppen Cwb. The spelling of Köppen looks like a German spelling ?! Is that right?