Lycoris 2019

[fermi de Sousa]

Lycoris radiata (at least that's what it's called here - someone has suggested it's a hybrid).These are growing in some shade and have been watered recently
cheers
fermi

[Gail]

Very lovely Fermi. I've just bought some bulbs so I can try again here. But really want to go to Japan to see the massed flowerings;
https://jw-webmagazine.com/kinchakuda-higanbana-fields-enjoy-fiery-red-flowers-near-tokyo-265050ef9759

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Gail,
Good luck with yours but I doubt anyone would ever get the look of those fields in Japan 
Here's another one, Lycoris incarnata pics taken 2 days apart
cheers
fermi

[jshields]

I went all the way back to the creek yesterday, where some Lycoris are growing under a Black Walnut tree. I haven't seen those Lycoris bloom in years -- it's about 250 meters from our house-- so this clump of Lycoris (chinensis x longituba) blooming there was a surprise to me when I finally saw it.

The newly-opened flowers are a pale yellow color, but that fades to almost pure white as the flower ages. The buds have a pink color before they open.

     


     


I got these bulbs from Jim Waddick in 2002.  He got them from his friends at the Shanghai Botanical Garden in China.  They started out as just three bulbs.

Jim

[Gail]

Any idea what triggered the flowering Jim? Have you had a particularly hot summer?

[Rick R.]

I too, have a welcome surprise: Lycoris chinensis flowers from a bulb received from Jim Waddick, eleven years ago.  These are its maiden flowers here, an unexpected marvel in solid zone 4.  I still have one or two living bulbs from the three or four I received.  As one might expect, they seem to limp along and just survive from year to year..... until this year!

[jshields]

Any idea what triggered the flowering Jim? Have you had a particularly hot summer?

I am not sure if or how much they have bloomed in the past 17 years since I got 3 lone bulbs of this from Jim Waddick. What I would guess, if they are blooming more than in the past, is that they got a lot of hot weather early this summer, and then loads of rain.  What strikes me is that they have multiplied over the 17 years they have been in that spot.   They are just outside the county's sewer easement, which runs along the creek, so they and their walnut tree have survived several major sewer reconstructions.

Jim