Cyrtanthus 2009

[Hans J]

here is now the translation from Dominique :

Culture Notes: Cyrtanthus is among Amaryllidaceae the most difficult to cultivate, of bad conditions of culture leading to the decay of the bulb...
ZR = perhaps 7 for C. ochroleucus,otherwise from 8 or 9 according to the species. 10 for elatus C..

Evergreen : brachysciphus, elatus, epiphyticus, herrei, montanus, obliquus, obrienii, ochroleucus, staadensis.

Evergeen or summer grower : eucallus, mackenii, sanguineus.

Summer Grower : breviflorus, clavatus, contractus, falcatus, galpinii, guthrieae, huttonii, loddigesianus, smithiae, speciosus, spiralis, suaveolens, tuckii.

Winter grower : C. fergusoniae, C. guthrieae.

Thank you Dominique !

[Alberto]

C. montanus needs a nearly complete sandy soil! and sparingly watered as spiralis and smithiae.

Alberto

[David Nicholson]

Hans, thanks for geting the translation, and thanks also to Dominique for providing it. You have been very quiet of late Dominique!

Hans are you going to change your cultivation of C. mackenii now?

This thread is now a valuable resource.

[Hans J]

David ,

I think it is possibly to grow C.mackenii in both ways .....

my problem is that that my Cyrtanthus in my cold greenhouse ( with a minimum of 5° ) - I think now they should have a litte warmer in winter -so it's would possibly to give them a litte water .

I hate it to water any of my plants in winter in my greenhouse - this is not well for the most other ! ....and the humidity is to high ( special for cacti )

the best would be a place in winter with 10 ° and light .....I have to look !

[Alberto]

Hans, C. mackenii is a facultative evergreen bulb, so if the weather is cold you have not to water it. This doesn't compromise the blooming season! Mine are at cold too and every spring they flower and flower.

Alberto
 

[Hans J]

Alberto ,

mine are different -they are decidous in winter - the leaves are dry and they emerge new in spring...

[Alberto]

Hans, it is exactly what I wrote.

Alberto

[David Nicholson]

I had to look up 'facultative'. It means capable of functioning under varying environmental conditions. So what Alberto is saying is that if you dry it off it will be OK, but if you have the conditions to keep watering it will be OK too.

[Renate Brinkers]

Hi at all,

I also keep them dry in winter, with lowest temperature +1,5 °C. They get new leafes and flowers in spring but they seem to be not so easy as C.brachyscyphus which flowers really every year at the same time, without doing anything special.

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

I have searched a bit and here are the informations to ZR :

"ZR = perhaps 7 for C. ochroleucus,otherwise from 8 or 9 according to the species. 10 for elatus C.."

Please look here :
http://nature.jardin.free.fr/zone.html

[Paul T]

For me, most of my Cyrtanthus get some form of frost, although the majority are not out in the open and so don't get the full -8'C.  The one exception to this is Cyrtanthus elatus (the common vallotta lily) which I have growing out in the garden in one place where it would get the full cold.  Bulbs are only just below the surface.  They flower every year, multiplying slowly etc (they do multiply much more quickly in pots and more protected, but interestingly the only one that flowers is the ones out in the garden).  They do die off over winter.

My Cyrtanthus mackenii are against a north or south facing wall (I have them in both places) where they would get cold and would definitely get below freezing, but not heavily.  Here, they are evergreen.  C. brachyscyphus is on the south wall and is thriving, flowering every year.  Not that long back someone posted a pic of C. montanus or falcatus flowering (I can't remember for sure which, but I think it was falcatus) after coming out of it's dormancy.  Mine grow well, but I haven't had flowers on them.  I find for me they are winter dormant, but I think that naturally they are summer dormant?  They are increasing in size, and I try to keep them drier while dormant, but I am obviously not getting it right for flowering unfortunately.  I don't grow spiralis, but after seeing Hans pictures I will have to find it somewhere. 

Any of that info useful to anyone?

[Alberto]

Paul, I posted about C. falcatus. It is winter dormant. No water all winter long, only after they flower I begin to water, every forthnight.
Alberto

[Paul T]

Alberto,

OK, that's good.  Mine are well dormant at the moment and I am trying to remember not to water them when I water things around them.  They grew well this summer (mainly due I think to repotting them so that I could send one to a friend overseas) so maybe I'll be lucky with flowers.  Do you grow yours in full sun or in partial shade.  Mine have been growing in morning sunshine only, not deliberately but just because that is where they ended up with the other Cyrtanthus.  They've grown well but I don't know whether that is ideal for flowering or not.  Cyrtanthus brachyscyphus and mackenii in the same conditions flower for me every year, if that gives any indication as to whether they are the right conditions?

[Hans J]

Sorry to report :

my self polliation of Cyrt. spiralis was not succsessfull 

[Paul T]

It happens, Hans.  There's hopefully always another time.    I never know for sure which species are self fertile and which need a second clone.  Always worth trying though.