Zephyranthes, Habranthus, Rhodophiala, etc. 2012

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi, under which name you got these Rhodophialas? Do you remember?

Hi Alberto,
this clump of Rhodophiala bifida was brought form a commercial source more than 10 years ago; it seems to be self-sterile.


cheers
fermi

[Ezeiza]

Was it Dirkus? Or Dash? They look very much like the one we call "granatiflora", possibly a different species than bifida.

[jshields]

Was it Dirkus? Or Dash? They look very much like the one we call "granatiflora", possibly a different species than bifida.

How does one distinguish granatiflora from bifida?

Jim

[arillady]

Fermi what a great colour - I have not seen these before.

[fermi de Sousa]

Was it Dirkus? Or Dash? They look very much like the one we call "granatiflora", possibly a different species than bifida.

No, it was a larger commercial operation - possibly Hancocks who are daffodil specialists but carry a variety of other bulbs - but it was a looooong time ago when I was still living in Melbourne and they never flowered there. In fact they took ages to build up to flowering size here, only starting to flower a few years ago when I split the clump.
I think they are self-sterile as I got seed the first year when I used pollen from a Sprekelia but none the last season when I "selfed" them. I now have some from Paul in Canberra but they yet turn out to be the same clone! In which case I'll have to wait till the ones I grew from seed from Santo to get to flowering size!
Pat,
I'll try to remember to send you some when they are dormant.
cheers
fermi

[Ezeiza]

The color is intriguing as the Texan "Oxblood Lily" is a deep blood color and it is the most widespread form of bifida, certainly not the color of Fermi's.

Jim, "granatiflora" is larger, about twice as large in all its parts than normal bifida and the tepals are broader, more blunt tipped, not tapering as in bifida in all its forms. It still has to be seen if this is a tetraploid. Everything is so slow in South America as we must mostly check species by species which one is true and which is an hoax. For this you have to go to the locality and see it in the flesh.

[jshields]

The color is intriguing as the Texan "Oxblood Lily" is a deep blood color and it is the most widespread form of bifida, certainly not the color of Fermi's.

Jim, "granatiflora" is larger, about twice as large in all its parts than normal bifida and the tepals are broader, more blunt tipped, not tapering as in bifida in all its forms. It still has to be seen if this is a tetraploid. Everything is so slow in South America as we must mostly check species by species which one is true and which is an hoax. For this you have to go to the locality and see it in the flesh.

Alberto, thanks!  I have to large pots full of seedlings of "granatiflora" but they have not bloomed yet.  I have both triploid bifida from Texas and the diploid bifida in pots, both of which usually bloom.  Eventually I should be able to make a comparison here with granatiflora.

Jim

[Ezeiza]

Jim. you will be surpised at the extreme vigor of "granatiflora". Having large bulbs and foliage I imagine they would reach flowering size in a tub or large bucket, never in normal pots. This year they have  flowered in a number of forms all of which I have marked for the BX.

[David Nicholson]

I have a few Zephyranthes species which I have grown from seed sown 2008/2009 as follows:-
Z drummondii; Z chlorosolum; Z macrosiphon and Z smallii

I treat them as summer growers and keep them dry over late autumn/winter under the bench in the greenhouse protected by a couple of layers of fleece. Yesterday I had some compost left from another re-potting job and decided to re-pot a few of them and found them still in fairly good leaf although they haven't had any water since late September. I can't say I have noticed this before, are they nearly evergreen?

[jshields]

Jim. you will be surpised at the extreme vigor of "granatiflora". Having large bulbs and foliage I imagine they would reach flowering size in a tub or large bucket, never in normal pots. This year they have  flowered in a number of forms all of which I have marked for the BX.

Thanks, Alberto.  My bifida bloom in 2-gal. pots (ca. 22 cm X 22 cm).  My granatiflora (the seeds came from you -- thanks for that as well!) have been in the same size pots, 2-gallon, so I will have to move them when they go dormant.

Jim

[santo2010]

Would like to share a pic, probably R. Granatiflora. The strange thing was that the bulbs, were not very big, they were elongated and not deep buried.
They look very similar to yours Fermi.

[fermi de Sousa]

Would like to share a pic, probably R. Granatiflora. The strange thing was that the bulbs, were not very big, they were elongated and not deep buried.
They look very similar to yours Fermi.

Hi Santo,
yours have a "cleaner" look to them whereas mine have a yellower base -so does Paul's and no seed set so his is probably the same clone! Does yours set seed?

We've had more rain and so more "rain-lilies"
What I got as Zephyranthes smallii but is probably Cooperia drummondii


The ubiquitous Z. candida

And the first flower on one that came from Hristo in Bulgaria as "ex Bangkok yellow" - looks like a pale version of "Ajax"


cheers
fermi

[Paul T]

Interesting discussion on Rhodophiala.  I have the same Red as Fermi posted, so you now have duplicates Fermi.  Never more than 2 flowers per stem, unlike the others I grow.  Also sterile, whereas the others set seed easily.  I have red, and pink forms of what were received as bifida, having up to 8 flowers per stem.  I also have granatiflora flowering this year for the first time, gut given the description above, I am doubting it.  They have spidery flowers, more elongated than the others I have, although the 3 stems have some variability amongst the seedlings.  Lovely dark red petals though.  I haven't checked the photos yet to see how they came out.  I doubt they'll have got the colour right unfortunately.

[David Nicholson]

I have a few Zephyranthes species which I have grown from seed sown 2008/2009 as follows:-
Z drummondii; Z chlorosolum; Z macrosiphon and Z smallii

I treat them as summer growers and keep them dry over late autumn/winter under the bench in the greenhouse protected by a couple of layers of fleece. Yesterday I had some compost left from another re-potting job and decided to re-pot a few of them and found them still in fairly good leaf although they haven't had any water since late September. I can't say I have noticed this before, are they nearly evergreen?

Any one put me right please?

[jshields]

The Zephyranthes and Habranthus I have grown spend the winter in the greenhouse, getting water when it occurs to me.  They look much healthier after a winter with some watering than after a winter without watering.  Bloom comes in summer, when they get more sunshine and natural rainfall augmented by occasional watering.  There does not appear to be any sort of trick to it.

My main problem with this group of amaryllids is that I tend to neglect them in favor of the bigger more spectacular things, and then they do not do as well in summer.

Jim