Sprekelia formosissima

[Paul T]

David,

If your bulb isn't even offsetting yet, I too would hazard that it is not large enough to flower.  If you've had it two years and it was mature, then it should have produced offsets by now (they do so very freely here).  I don't think that food is necessarily the key to this one.... the best clumps I've ever had for flowering were those that were the most neglected, once particular year I am thinking of it got no water at all in summer except rainfall, and it was beside a fence in full sun, so it wouldn't have got that much rain anyway, and hadn't been fed in any way in a number of years.  LOTS of summer heat though.

[pehe]

David,

I am from Denmark, but I don't think the climate is so different from UK.
Last spring I bought some Sprekelia formosissima. I placed them in the greenhouse and feed them with a little potassium sulphate. The first summer they flowered well with 2 flowers from each bulb.
As I didn't had any experience with these bulbs I consulted one of Else Als' books (she is a famous Danish bulb specialist) She wrote the bulbs should have a dry winter rest. If temperature is too low during winter the consequence will be little or no flowering the following summer. I followed that advice and from October to about April I kept them dry indoor at about 10 - 15 degrees. I started watering in late April and in the end of May I placed the pot outside. In June all of the bulbs flowered, but only one flower per bulb. Apparently they like to be outside. The foliage is short and very healthy and the bulbs have increased in size and there is several offsets.

This spring I bought a few more and placed them in a pot at my office. They flowered nice, and now they had gone to dormancy in contrast to the ones outside which have shown no signs of dormancy until now.

Poul

[David Nicholson]

Alessandro, the bulb I picured was indeed an offset from one or other of the original two bulbs I bought in November 2007, so perhaps it is yet too small to flower but the original bulbs have not flowered either.

Paul, apart from the offset mentioned above neither of the two more mature bulbs have produced another offset.

Poul, perhaps you have hit the nail on the head and my bulbs have been too cold during their dormant period. Last winter here was one of the coldest on record. This year I shall keep them indoors rather than in the greenhouse.

Thanks all for your help.

[Maggi Young]

David, I am lead to believe that both warmth and light are important during the rest period.... so on a warm windowsill rather than under the spare bed!

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Maggi, if I can get away with it the spare bedroom window sill should do a treat.

[Alessandro.marinello]

David
Also my Sprekelia, has not turned out to be the maximum in blooming, has had less two degrees in greenhouse, however you heal, an other bulb that turns out to be a problem (Chlidanthus fragrans) in flower the first then null year and?

[Paul T]

David et al,

Mine are grown outside unprotected..... they get a lot colder than 2 degrees, believe me!!  -6'C this winter, and we've been very mild this year.

[Brian Ellis]

I come back to the same old thing Paul... but are your winters wet and cold like ours?

[Paul T]

They used to be wetter.  We don't get the sheer volume of rain I think you guys do, but we did used to get rain or drizzle for days on end.  The last few years the winter days have been beautiful.... cold frosty nights and clear sunny days.  The last couple of winters we really haven't had extended bad rainy weather, which is of course one of the reasons why our dam levels are so poor.    But I don't think we ever got that cold set in constant wet like I think you guys get.  But if you're growing in pots that shouldn't be as much of any issue I would imagine, particularly if you keep them cold but cover them from rain, like I imagine you would do with quite a few of the plants you grow?

[David Nicholson]

I grow my Sprekelias in the greenhouse because of the wet. On the last published figures the annual rainfall for my area is 945mm. Today has been fairly typical. Most of southern England, and perhaps as far as the southern parts of northern England, has had a warm and reasonably sunny day. Here the sky has been grey with a drizzle on and off all day and the temperature has struggled to get to 16C.

I shall try Maggi's idea of over wintering them in the house and if they refuse to flower next year the compost bin will threaten
 

[Hans J]

David ,

A nice plantfriend of me gave me following suggestion :
Move the Sprekelia in winter in the house - than let the bulb dry without any potting soil !!!
If they are in pots so they have to long a wet soil - the best is to do the bulbs in a net (the air can better circulate ) - than in february or march the bulbs fresh potting and bring it in the greenhouse .

I have like you the same problems with flowering this bulbs and I will also try this method in this fall -it sounds for me logical

Good luck
Hans

[David Nicholson]

That is well worth a try Hans, thank you.