Handsome plants and blooms there Sal.Good to see you posting! My Boy is in Cat Nirvana there.ID=Interior Decorator. The Exotic Star I had grew tall fast and blooms were pale and shortlived.I thought it was sloppy leaved too. I was not impressed.But I see others ES and they're fantastik! Looks like they dilute out from poor breeding? Who knows.I dont. Thanks for sharing your pix.
Peace from across the River,Mark

Salpal,

the color or your ES looks consistent. Your photos have been taken with a light source (window) placed behind the flowers, which makes the former appear "washed out" in photos.

The shape of the flowers is excellent (closer to a Papilio); not too narrow, and very convoluted. That's a very good specimen.

I have a 5 yo ES specimen (which I named "Claudia") that normally produces more than one scape (typically 4), each one of them carrying 2 or 3, and sometimes four flowers. My background is not in genetics, and don't know what controls the number of flowers per scape; however, I presume that the genetic lineage of ES (H. Pardinum & H. Papilio, to the best of my knowledge) allows multiple genetic expressions.

If your ES is fertile (mine is), self-pollinate the flowers on the four-flower-scape; if successful, the new generation of ES will have a higher probability to show more than 2 flowers per scape, which is a desirable trait.

Sally,

This is what call SPECTACULAR!

I am drooling all over them ... my keyboard is soaked! Help me!

Thanks for sharing the photos.

Hatta

Very, very pretty Salpal!!! I love the multiple bulbs and lots of blooms. Magnifico!!! Oh please do try for seeds from them.

Mark- Your ES was probably just really tired and will make an awesome comeback next season for sure!

eckonc- Hope Claudia is doing well. I really enjoyed her photos! Was she able to produce any seeds?

Thank you for sharing them with us salpal!!!

-Frank

Hi Salpal,

Wow -- seven scapes of Exotic Star in one pot.

Simply spectacular!!!

WHOO HOO That is pretty...I just got a bulb for it..Thanks for sharing your pics..Nice kitty cat too

Stunning, Sally, simply stunning! What a show!

Mine is only the one scape with two blossoms, but even that is enough... looking at your grouping, I'm amazed! I think yours might be lighter due to camera and lighting, though I'm not certain.

Funny you should post your kitty... yesterday, I had to go to the unused garage to retrieve some gardening supplies, and Harry the barn cat tried to jump through the doorway... I had to grab him so he didn't get locked in, and somehow, I got cat hair in my eye! I spent most of the day with a huge red, itchy, swollen eye! Just a kitty coincidence!

Thank you for sharing!

The more I look at ES the more I think I need ES. LOL
Your ES are so beautiful!!! I think I am in trouble with these bulbs.
Jan

Wow Sally, that's a beautiful potfull of blooms. Very impressive. That ones going on my wish list for next year :-) Alana

And the addiction begins for Jan and Alana! LOL! First, you buy a couple because they're pretty... and then, you begin seeing all the wonderful varieties available... and very soon, you can't help yourselves... you order and order, and plant and plant, and the rewards of blooms just keep coming! And one day, you realize you're deep into a bulb addiction!

The good news? Bulbs are not so bad to be addicted to...

The bad news? Amaryllids Anonymous doesn't yet exist!

Welcome to the world of bulb addiction, you guys! :-)

Jodi, don't worry, I will provide plenty of enabling for Jan, here! lol

Sally, I have never seen so many Exotic Star blooms all at one time. Simply WONDERFUL! Makes me want to add a couple more bulbs to the large pot mine is in. Thanks for sharing their photos with us. And I love the big orange cat.

My first Exotic flower scape(2blooms) are fading but the 2nd scape is talling up and should be blooming soon.

Gorgeous blooms! And a cute accountant you got there. Even his cat naps are billable hours, I'm sure! ;-)

I am loving exotic star, I have to put it on my want list along with Papilio.
Shawn

Thanks for the compliments all. I think ES is a great hippie, one of my most favorites.

I think it's true the flowers look lighter when in front of the window. Also this ES has recieved no supplemental light since coming up from the basement(beyond what comes in the window). I think Cindee gets to give hers outdoor light(stronger) and I'm not sure whether Jodi grows hers under the plant lights, but that prob would affect color.

I hope your eye recovered Jodi, I'm so thankful to have sweet kitties living with me. (my boyfriend discovered he's allergic, so no kitties in bedroom or TV room.)

I pollinated this ES with Santos, Papilio, Night Star and itself. I hope I get some pods!

Yes, it's a slippery slope for sure. Going from kit bulb to needing a whole new version of "AA" ;-) And the mail just brought me a bunch of wonderful seeds from Cindee today! Can't wait to slide down further. Alana

At least I'm not alone in my illness! It's nice to know that plenty of others are infected with CHAD! Cindee, keep 'em hooked! LOL!

There is a 12 step program... but it brings you closer to having more than 12 bulbs, so I don't think it would work for reversing the effects of CHAD!

Sally's photos make me want to buy 2 more of every bulb I have, so I can get that full bouquet effect with blooms! Trouble is... they don't always bloom at the same time!

That slope must be slipperier than I thought... I didn't even see it, and here I am at the bottom! LOL! It's a good disease to have... I'm happy! :-)

Sally just, WOW!!!! Definitely one of my FAVORITES. Congratulations, what a show you have there!!!
Maria E.

sal, just wanted to thank you for posting these photos last yr. Thanks to a GW alert about a sale at a recommended vendor, , i ordered 5 of these. But before I did, I wanted to see what GWers had to say about the variety. So your thread was the clincher for me! btw, is that an aby? here are our 2 boys, Remy and Apu:
{{gwi:396658}}From APU AND REMY

best,
mindy

Mindy, You'll love your Exotic Stars...I bought one last year as a mislabeled Misty, what a great mislabel(!) it gave me 3 scapes with 4 flowers each, couldn't believe my eyes. Do be careful though, as they tend to drool nectar and with 5 bulbs, you could have a mess if you plant them all together just make sure you put something under them... Enjoy your ESs
{{gwi:372839}}
Donna

Mindy,

I'm VERY smitten with "Exotic Star", it has such beautiful flowers, I myself ordered six of them for a group potting as they're so beautiful :)

Donna,

Mine only had two blooms per scape, I do notice they're VERY vigourous!

I noticed that too, Donna, they are a bit messy - and also extremely phototrophic, so you need to keep turning them otherwise the scapes will practically grow out horizontal to the window. Those two traits are a bit annoying, but the blooms certainly outweigh that and make them more than worthwhile! Alana