I hope the link below will help... the Bulb Society has a nice listing of species bulbs with photos...

Here is a link that might be useful: Bulb Society - Hippeastrum Species List

What a wonderful list! I want them all, all you hear me!!! How beautiful they would be growing wild in some grassy field. "Consider the lilies of the Field" with great visual input!

I drool every time I look at those pictures! Most would be hard to get, I'm sure, unless a private source is known... I'm not sure I'm ready for some of the more fragile ones! They are nice, though!

Good Luck...
It has been my experience that, with the exception of papilio, the species tend to be somewhat more difficult to grow. That is, if you are lucky enough to obtain them through conections, or willing to pay the price for, species.
This is not to disuade you ! I would very much like to see species more readily available, and the knowledge of how to grow them successfully.

Hi Jeremy,
I agree with the others,species are wicked difficult to find and often pricy.
As for growing them,that is mainly a matter of finding the correct cultural information which is often as difficult as finding the bulbs themselves.Some want a summer dormancy like H. calyptratum, others want a dry winter rest.I think most of them can be grown without too much fuss once the "tricks of the trade" are known.
BTW, you have your email blocked, I can't reply to you directly. Lora

Thanks for the list jodik;

And Lora, thanks for letting me know about my email being blocked - I was beginning to wonder why I was informed whenever there was a reply to my posts. However, I have no idea on how to 'unblock' it. Please email me on 203504064@ukzn.ac.za

Thanks

Jeremy

Every once in a while, different types of hippeastrum are offered on eBay, but I have no idea whether they are species or what they are, actually...

Either way, most of the species are very beautiful... rather small and fragile looking... but also very interesting. It would be nice to see more of them in cultivation...

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a species collection? I have Papillio and Hippeastrum parodii 'Germa.' I have ordered H.reticulatrum striatifolium from Glasshouse Works and can't wait for it to arrive.

Try googling the species you're intested in. Often a source will pop up. That's how I found these sites:

http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/amaryl/fotoamaryl4.html
http://www.hippeastrums.co.uk/1.html

Here is a link that might be useful: species source

Most are not as easy to grow as indicated....some require a dormancy, some do not.....H. calyptratum is one that in Brasil atleast is a total evergreen and when it has no leaves that is because it is dead!! The easy ones are blossfeldiae and striatum.....these two anyone can bloom in their house. I sent seed of about 6 species to India and they easily got them into TC so hopefully those species will drop to under $10 each once they start exporting them back into the U.S. H. reticulatum is not easy unless you have a GH and high humidity in my experience :o) Dan

Bluebonsai101,
In central Indiana death is not a requirement for leaflesness in H.calyptratum.

{{gwi:382229}}

And oddly enough, the bulbs continue to gain girth even in a leafless state.

I think I need to clarify the concept of dormancy in species hippis. I in no way advise treating any species in the same way as the common hybrids. Each needs it's own particular set of growing conditions and has certain challenges that it simply can't overcome. For example, H. parodii 'Germa' Mentioned earlier. If you check out the IBS site you will find that this little yellow delight from Argentina & Boliva grows in a very hot area with seasonal rainfall and a long dry period. Many people report that it is difficult to grow & prone to rot. I say it's not difficult if people will just quit overwatering.

As for blossfeldiae and striatum, they most likely are the easiest to grow but a tiny bit tricky to flower. They do need a "dormancy", a period of cool & dry to pop those scapes. No unpotting or refridgeration or other cruel things are needed. And as there are natural rises & falls in temps thru the year they will bloom more than once :)
They are also mighty cold hearty! My pots were left out this Fall while I was in hospital and they took a hard frost, down to 25F. They of course dropped their leaves, were found by my sons & brought in to the greenhouse. There was no rot, just a rest & then blooms in December.

So no, I don't think the species are so difficult to grow _as long as you invest the time to learn the proper growing conditions_. Lora

Lora, They are gaining size in semi-dormancy because as you know they are epiphytic and the bulb is green and therefore photosynthesis is still taking place....just like a Haemanthus. Blossfeldiae and stritaum are not difficult to flower....just obey their semi-dormancy as you allude to in your post....they rarely lose their leaves, but stop growing.....again, like certain South African Amaryllids. I think if you have a GH many would be easier, but most of the really good growers would not say they are easy and they know how to grow them.

I personally wish all hybrids were outlawed and everyone worked on species....they are far more beautiful plants than any hybrid I have ever seen. As I said, I sent many seed to India where they are in TC so I hope that I have done my part to make them more accessible in the future :o) Dan

Outlaw hybrids? Hmmmm, I do think that the interest in species are directly tied to the hybrids. Certainly, the species faces are still visible in their modern cousins.

So, lets make species the only hippis available, only reticulatum striatifolium vs Mrs. Garfield. So, only people with greenhouses,high humidity or are "really good growers" will succeed. I can think of no better way to destroy interest and thus harm the preservation of many that are teetering on the edge of extinction.

And if you dare cast your eyes on the vile hybrids...

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The hybrids on the right pay for the heat for the species on the left. You aren't the only one trying to keep them going. Lora

Dan, thank you for your contribution to making species more readily available for future growers. =) Are you in contact with the growers in India? And if so, do you know when abouts the tissue-cultured (TC) plants will be available? I've read on several posts your enthusiasm and passion for species plants and have thoroughly enjoyed all your photos. =) I recently acquired a H. parodii 'Germa' bulb a little over a month ago and it is pushing up a scape at the moment and I'm wickedly excited to see my first specimen in action.

Lori - Your greenhouse is spectacular and I can't wait to see your hybrids bloom in the coming weeks, months, and years. Welcome back. =)

Oopsie, Lora*

Excuse my typo! =)

I think a lot of people become interested in growing species because they began with hybrids, which sparked the interest to know and gain more! At least, that's how I became interested in the species! I think hybrids definitely have their place, and I do love the different sizes, colors and shapes available, and the ease with which they are brought to bloom and seed. Growing the different hybrids successfully has certainly given me the incentive, and the basic knowledge, to try growing some of the more readily available species.

And yes, thank you, Dan... for playing a part in making species more available to the novice grower, like me! Now that I have several years under my belt of growing a couple of hybrids, and have recently expanded my collection to include many, I am looking more closely at the species for their simple beauty. While the manmade hybrids are beautiful in their own right, some perhaps a bit garish, there's nothing that quite compares to Nature's creations...

I, also, recently acquired a couple of Pardonii Germa bulbs, and am happy to report that one is pushing up two scapes! I am extremely excited to see it in bloom! I am also thrilled with my new Papilio Butterfly, which has three blooms on its scape! Yes, three! I have a younger bulb of Papilio, but just couldn't wait to see the blooms in person, so I bought a mature bulb from RC. I'm very pleased with it's performance and beauty!

Thank you, Lora, for the culture tips on the Germa! I'm happy to know I'm treating them properly, bottom watering and keeping them a bit more on the dry side. I also have them on a heat mat, which they seem to like, as evidenced by the growth of scapes! I concur that most plants aren't difficult to grow as long as the necessary research is done to find proper cultural information, and that culture is followed, emulating a plants natural habitat to the best of ones ability. Most plants can adapt a bit, I've found.

You have a lovely greenhouse, by the way... I admit to being envious! We should have ours up and operational by this summer, and I am so looking forward to filling the space, however small it may be in comparison to yours! We have the HF 12'x10' awaiting construction.

At some point, I'd like to acquire bulbs of H. striatum and a few others... and I can already see that a time will come where I will pare down my hybrid collection to only include those that I feel are spectacular and have a place in the breeding program I am working on.

Hi Paxfleur,
S'okay :)
Thank you, photos should be up today of Pink Floyd X Emerald & my fith generation of pinks is starting to pop!
Lora

Lora, you're GH is wonderful, but it makes my point about them being difficult for the average plant nerd like myself and others on this forum......they are not easy!!

I think you missed my point above though....if we all grew species and learned how to grow them well that would not contribute to their extinction....it would contribute to their preservation in the wild as they would not be collected because they would be available at a reasonable price rather than $30-100 or more apiece.

Of course, it was the interest in species that were difficult that led to the interest in hybrids many, many years ago, not the other way around.

I think that most people find Mrs. Garfield just as tough as the species that it was bred with....3 years ago when I started importing and selling Mrs. G it was almost impossible to find even though it is a hybrid created in the UK in the 1880s....now it is easy to find as the mass growers in India and Thailand have brought them back into the market....very easy to tell the difference between the species and the hybrid as well....just look at the bright white vs yellowish stripe down the middle of the leaf.

I will admit that I did cross one of my species (vittatum) with two of my hybrids that a friend in Aus. sent me 2 summers ago to have some fun......no clue what those mutts will look like when they bloom, but since the Aussies seem popular I thought I'd play geneticist for once.

As I always say, the great thing about plants is we all like different things :o) Dan

I meant in today's world, hybrids are most likely to spark interest in species... hybrids are everywhere in fall, and I think many people nowadays begin by purchasing a common variety, then graduate to collecting the more uncommon hybrids, and then are compelled to try growing species... if they are successful with acquired bulb number one and are gardeners, that is! :-)

Species came first, of course, and then came the hybridization... but today, for me anyway, it was a Minerva that began the whole addiction!

I would dearly love it if some of the species were more readily found, and at manageable prices... I find most species to be extremely beautiful, just by their simplicity!