Good Luck with your new method of growing,Ryan.I hope they grow bold and beautimus for you.I hope everybody else does well with there AussHipps too.
Peace,Mark

Ryan, your semi-hydroponic method seems pretty interesting. Can you keep them in smaller pots that way? Do they not get all rootbound like they do in regular potting soil? It seems that whatever size planter I put my bulbs in they manage to fill it all up with roots. If s/h keeps down the amount of roots but still gives them what they need to grow & bloom then it sounds perfect! Thanks for the info. Alana

Alana--

This is a brand new experiment for me regarding the hippi bulbs. I have successfully grown phal orchids using this method but they are quite different from our bulbs! Although, some say papilio is a natural epiphyte (not sure if I got that right)-- but it means its a plant that has roots that seek airy, loose material where there is moisture, rather than seeking the solidity and very organic nature of the earth. So in theory my Party Pooper, which is a pap. cross might do well with this.

As for the pot size-- yes, this is a concern. However, I have noticed that in most of my hippi pots, it is only the outer parts of the pot that are full of roots. In most cases, the center of the pot's soil is devoid of roots!

So it is my hope that 1) The bulbs will appreciate this method and 2) they will fill the pot but not jsut the sides.

Nothing is keeping these bulbs in their pots besides gravity and it is foreseeable that they may even push themselves right out!

Ryan

It wouldn't be impossible to up the size of containers you're using, though, Ryan... if the roots become a massive problem, that is.

You may end up having to stake some of them as they grow either tall scapes or long leaves... but that's easily enough accomplished... both orchid and other plant type places would have a few different types of plant stakes that could be used.

In my environment, that soil and mulch combination would most certainly lead to root rot! It would just hold way too much moisture for way too long. Though, I suppose if grown outdoors, the sun and breezes would help disperse some of the moisture.

Ryan, I'm going to give your method a try with one of my Aussie bulbs. There are a few varieties that I purchased two of, that I will grow one s/h and grow the other the usual way. I'll post pics along the way, so we can all compare the two methods and see which bulb does better.

Jodi--

Since I moved over to mostly, if not 100%, hydroton, I've not had any rot at all! Thank goodness. You'd think in my dessert environment I would be able to have the pots dry out fast enough before the threat of rot-- but no such luck!

Since moving to hydro, well, i'm just amazed!

Mine are all potted up. All but 3 anyway. I got to thinking that these bulbs just got done with their summer growing and might be hoping for a bit of a rest. So I'm going to give the three a coolish dry rest in the garage and wait 6 weeks or so to pot them up and see if they'd like to bloom. It just a hunch but I think I might have blooms in Sept - Oct. Thoughts? Alana

I got my bulbs today and I was so excited to see a couple bulblets on one of them. I think one of them has enough of a root plate to seperate. What a gift, 2 and a half bulbs for the price of one!

Tonight I noticed two of my aussie hippies are slightly starting to move leaves out...I am excited!!

I'll take pics this weekend before I go to Raleigh!

Kim

Mine are just sitting in their pots. Haven't checked to see if there is any root formation. Weather is fairly cool so they may be waiting for some warmth. I am thinking it might be nearly the end of summer before I see much growth. Guess there is no reason for them to get in a hurry since they just finished a summer's growth. I've had bulbs boughten in the fall not grow for many months. It will be interesting to see what they do. I hope others tell us what is happening to their bulbs and when they see good growth and/or blooms. I'm thinking fall before blooms at this time.

It is winter in Australia and these bulbs are currently on their winter rest schedule. These bulbs did not go through the 6-8 weeks of cold storage that most hippie bulbs from commercial growers have gone through. It is this cold storage that pushes up the scapes inside the hippie bulbs. Hopefully, when they wake up, they'd put out some scapes. If not, don't be disappointed. Let them grow and adapt to the growing seasons here in the Northern Hemisphere. They should bloom by next season.

Hi All, from "freaking hot" Spring, TX. The digital thermometer from the car shop said 103 yesterday...it lies. Only felt like 98!!

So, the rat of a post man put my bulb box in the oven, otherwise known as the community mailbox, in spite of a note on my box that said please place boxes by my door as I am expecting live plants. The good news is that it was only 95 degrees in the inside of the box, so warm, but not over 115. The bulbs were very clean...I striped off the outer skin (any red blotches scare me), dusted the basal plates with rooting hormone and planted them all in my superdelux blend. They are in the kitchen where the will get some light but cool temps (didn't want to shock them with the H*LL outside!).

So....hopefully we'll see some growth in a couple of months. Meanwhile, all the outside bulbs are doing fantastic. I treated all bulbs with Bayer's 2-in-1 (or was it 3-in-1) systemic....narcicuss flies found another place to mess around! It's not that hard to treat every 3 months, and worth the peace of mind! And the bulbs thrive outside to prepare for tons of blooms next winter/spring. Hopefully by October I'll have a greenhouse (or something similar) in place.

I've rambled...at work today for our open house. I'm not the social butterfly I used to be and it's so hot in the sun. I'll grab a plate and socialize then!

Everyone have a great weekend!
Kristi

That's one thing to look out for, the inner scale rots and the neck rots that if left untreated will go down to the bulb's core.

I've been very negligent in getting all of my bulbs potted up...(I got about half way before I just ran out of spare time) however that doesn't seem to be stopping them. I noticed this morning that 'Andrea Maguire' has the tip of a scape poking up. She's definitely going to have to be potted up this weekend!! Two other bulbs that have been potted have the tips of new leaves poking up as well.

Kristi, glad to hear you got your bulbs. Sucks that the mailman didn't leave them up at your door. But hopefully no damage was done.

Phx Ryan

I haven't thought of pealing off the outter layer of my bulbs-- perhaps I should. I did a thorough inspection for soft spots but never pealed any layers. I think they are fine though I'll likely get that done to have peace of mind.

None of my bulbs show any signs of waking up. However, I have discovered I'm rather skilled at the art of phalaenopsis growing! My phals are helping me through the non-blooming season of my hippis.

Ryan

A couple of the bulbs had the "freaky" layer, where it's almost like an outer layer growing between 2 white/green layers. When I peel down a layer, there a bit of outer skin...doesn't seem like rot, but it's just a thin dry brown skin on the inside. WHAT IS THAT?!
:-) bulbs are happy...can't wait to see some green!
Kristi

We can't even figure out what our own weather is doing...I think of the poor hippis from Australia trying to figure it out! We had a week of what for us was sudden and hot weather then a retreat into cool, humid grey weather. I have my Aussies all potted in clay pots and outside, gave them one good soak when planting them then am just letting them sit in the coolness and aclimatize. Hopefully by July we will see blue skies and the little darlings will have grown good new roots during this resting time. At least they are staying dry! Watered them again after I got home from my cruise and it seems like they should be happy but without leaves it is hard to know just by looking at them.

These varieties have started showing growth for me: Christine, Pencilled Peppi, Winter Carnival, Milady's Magic, & Andrea Maguire.

Brendan's flower is showing signs of leaf growth for me... all the others are still snoozing away.

Ryan

Um, RMR, don't kill me, but Boysenberry Swirl is poking the tip of a scape out...... I noticed it this morning....

Only reason I can think of why the bulbs are waking up faster for me, is my weather. They are on an enclosed patio that is not climate controlled, so its nice and warm. Plus the grow lights are only a few inches above the bulbs. I did soak every bulb in fish emulsion fertilizer and SuperThrive, as well, before planting.

I'm not going to kill you. WHy should I? Its great your boysenberry swirl is going to bloom, despite my insane jealousy of it all. :o) No worries...

So where yah gonna be tonight? LOL I kid.

Thats awesome. You will, of course, keep me notified of your bulbs condition?

LOL, that's a threat I take seriously! Given that you have access to an airplane and can be here before I'm home from work! LOL

Maybe you should take the heating mat from the phals and put it under the hippi pots. Might keep the soil warmer and trigger more growth for you. I know you mentioned your nights were still pretty cool.

Well its 2220 Mountain time and I'm sitting here with a boysenberry swirl bulb.... but it isn't Phoenix Ryan's... I couldn't do it... I can't separate a man and his blooming bulbs. LOL

But don't for one second think I won't fly down there and open a can of whoop-@ss if you fail to show photos-- and lots of them, when boysenberry blooms. I do have access to a plane and I'm not afraid to use it. If nothing else, I'll redesign all the approaches into Sky Harbor to buzz your house.

Rocky Mountain High Ryan

LOL, you're too late. I'm already in the flight path of Sky Harbor, AND Falcon Field..... (different altitudes).

If you'd like, I can set up a live webcam for you to watch it grow.... ;-)

(changing minimum altitudes over ryan's house) I'll show you! LOL The FAA will definitely be calling me about that one.

A webcam would be great-- let me know when its up.

BTW-- regarding bottom heat... I have found that while bottom heat works well in some situations, it doesn't do much for larger pots and porous/light growing media. The bottom heat works wonders for s/h but have not found it useful for my amaryllis pots.

Our cool nights will always be ... it is the high desert here, after all. But I will just have patience with these bulbs. I have loads of things blooming right now anyway so they can sit there quietly if they want. I would like them to grow an extensive root system, though! I hate watching a bulb waste while its growing leaves and flowers but no roots...freaks me out!!

Ryan

Anyone have any updates? mine remain asleep, mold/fungus/rot free...but still very much asleep.

RockyMountain Ryan

Of my 11, three I stashed in the garage for a cool rest (though there is no "cool" these days), and the other eight I have in pots on the deck. For the ones in pots, one has leaf growth (Bronze Pride), 6 only have root growth (based on the 'tipping test'), and one is just sitting there - looking green and healthy, but just sitting there. The one that's just sitting there is the only one in more sun and I wonder if that has something to do with the lack of root growth. I've moved it into a more shady spot to see if that'll encourage something to happen. Alana

One of mine got a red spot which got bigger so I treated it , but the bad news is I knocked off its only one little root. I am so mad at myself for messing with it. All four are just sitting doing nothing. Actually it has been a terrible day it rained HARD and flooded my seedlings that were enjoying the morning sun it took 30 minutes with a turkey baster to get the water out of all of them. And I had treated almost all the bulbs because i am new and everything makes me nervous and we have had so much rain and it looked as though they were getting spots and now they all just got backsplash again under the eaves. Now the seedlings are back under lights drying out i hope and i will ahve to keep my fingers crossed on all the bulbs outside. I think I need to relax..................

My seven are just resting. I suppose for them it is either winter or the dry season and they are waiting for spring to come and awaken them. I'm expecting most of them to wait a few months and then send up leaves or blooms, or most likely, both. Haven't checked for roots, but they are staying nice and solid. I am keeping them out of the rain and just give a little water when the pot gets pretty dry. This is interesting to see what they do. They are getting nearly a half day of sun.

I also think I finally found the hippeastrum of Haiti. They are not blooming now but there are a lot of leaves and they sure look like what I was expecting. I will wait till they die down now that I know exactly where to find them. They are clustered with lots of healthy leaves. I am told they have bloomed in several colors so it will be exciting to see what I will get. They are growing in the ends of long cement planters under a grape arbor and look very healthy. It will be easy to find them once they go dormant. I don't think they bloomed this year--probably too clustered. All I remember from the past was that they were small pinkish orange. Some may have been imported from elsewhere for these are on a compound that has often housed people from other countries off and on for about 80 years, at least that I know of.

Vic

Another update from me--

Russian Halo and Party Pooper both have scapes poking out-- russian halo also has a little leaf pushing now too-- none have roots yet, though.

This has been a terrible growing season so far-- I hope things pick up. Of course, all of my bulbs and other plants are still recovering from the shock of the hail. Boo hail!

Ryan, Mountain version

Hi All!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to post the good news!!!!

4 of the five Aussie bulbs have roots going into the soil. No other growth but hey-- roots are very important!

Ryan

A handful of mine have started putting out leaves. And Andrea Maguire is the only one to send up a scape. However, she's not a fully formed bloom. I'll reserve judgement until next season, after she's fully established.

{{gwi:410102}}

Phoenix Ryan

How exciting - the first bloom of the Aussie group. Way to go Ryan! I'm looking forward to lots more bloom pictures as they all start to push up scapes. Alana

Its all a lie... Ryan just pasted some construction paper together and is calling it a maguire's bulb. He used coolaid to make the red coloring.

;oD

Ryan

Darn you, RMR! There you go telling all my secrets again! And it wasn't construction paper, it was tissue paper! LOL

Sadly the bloom never fully opened, there's a second bud on the scape that will probably open today or tomorrow. Hopefully it will open all the way. Either way, they are still small blooms, at max 3-4 inches wide. The pattern on the petals is quite lovely, so I imagine next year when its fully established the blooms will be quite spectacular.

Phoenix Ryan

Well, 4 out of 5 have leaves sprouting on mine. The largest one has leaves at least 8 inches. No scapes tho...expect that next year.

Kim
(Florida)

I brought my seedlings and leafless Maguires bulbs inside while I went on vacation and left the sprinkers to water my pots and planters (after learning the hard way not to water leafless bulbs). Look what I found on my return... Strawberry Blend decided to send up a scape. I think they like the air conditioning! Alana
{{gwi:410106}}From GardenWeb pics

Gee, I am glad to hear that other bulbs are still acting dormant! I was afraid I had carried benign neglect too far!
I forgot to try the "tip test" today, but they all look fine, just like when they came out of the package. I think Naomi (My namesake!) might be trying to send up a leaf and there is a glimmer of green deep in then neck of Boysenberry Swirl. I gave them a good root soak today so will check back later. THey have been on a table in the hottest part of my yard...but that has not been that hot so far this summer. A few days in the mid 80's and a lot that in the mid 60's. It has been very dry though. So that is what mine are learning to deal with. Hope they at least appreciate the long days!

Would love everyone's opinion. I'm thinking of removing the scape from Andrea Maguire and taking it in the house to enjoy, for the purpose of reducing the stress to the bulb. It hasn't put down any roots yet. I'm afraid of exhausting the bulb to the point it fails completely. I know we've discussed on the forum in the past about not removing them, lest an entry be provided for bugs and infection.

Most of the other Maguires bulbs appear to have set down some roots, as they are all firmly gripping the soil. Just seems to be Andrea Maguire that hasn't, as all her energy is going to the scape. I would appreciate your thoughts!

My initial reaction to such situations is to take away whatever is sapping the energy of the plant away if it is unable to replace that energy via roots etc.

Kind of like my air layer I've written to you about. The tree has loads of roots but those roots haven't had to support a tree canopy yet-- so the canopy gets reduced.

I would say your fine to cut the scape. You're attentive enough to your bulbs that you would know if a pest is threatening the bulb. With your dessert heat, I imagine if the flower is removed, the plant will have ample warmth and redirected energy to grow its roots.

but...thats my opinion and I'm sure others can better advise you.

Consequently, I had this same situation with my Ragtime bulb. She's still struggling to bounce back fully from a dramatic flower display minus roots.

Ryan

Ryan, I cut my flowers off and put them in an arrangement quite a bit with no ill effects. What's left of the scape dries up just like the whole scape would and I really think the bulb doesn't even know it's missing. Only it doesn't produce viable seed pods (not that I've experienced, anyway). For what it's worth, I would say just find youself a nice vase and let me know if you need any asparagus fern. Good luck with it. Alana

Ok, I figured as much, snipping the scape is the lesser of two evils, I just needed some reassurance. I know some sources believe that the bulb draws unused nutrients back down from the scape after blooming if not producing seeds. But I think not drawing the nutrients out of the bulb in the first place would be preferable.

Yes I've heard of this theory and though I don't subscribe to it (I leave the scape on so as to follow the natural process, not to bring unused nutrients back into the bulb), it never hurts to leave the scape on (in the case of a healthy, rooted bulb) but in this case, the bulb will quickly adapt. I'm surprised it hasn't rooted, actually. Though it is really hot in Phoenix I would imagine the roots wouldn't have to suffer as much. Then again, a pot sitting outside all day is likely going to raise to that hot temp anyway.

This article is for bonsai... but it applies to ALL plants as far as I know

Ryan

Just a quick update, my Andrea Maguire and Amy Maguire bulbs are pushing up one scape each ... YAAY!

The other three, namely Party Pooper, Surprise and Lavender Blue bulbs are still sleeping, but the 'tipping test' showed that there were some roots growing ...

Hatta

If I am worried about a bulb, I cut off the scape early. If it has good roots or is a large healthy bulb I would let it bloom. If good bulb but no roots and I wanted to see the bloom, I would let it partly bloom and then cut the scape and put it in water to enjoy. I cut a lot of scapes and haven't seen any problem from that.

Thanks everyone. I trimmed it after the first flower had faded, and the next two were ready to open. I actually noticed the next two flowers perked up quickly once placed in water, so hopefully the scape has not depleted the bulb beyond recovery.

Phoenix Ryan

My Andrea Maguire is in blooom :-)

I just love the cherry red veins and dots, and the thick also cherry red picottee. It has pollens too, LOL!

{{gwi:410110}}

More photos to come later :-)

Wow - that's great Hatta. Nice work. (Can't wait for mine!) Alana

Wow Hatta-- nice bloom!!!! Be sure to get all angles... I mean, you have to find a star's "good side." Very nice indeed!

My Russian Halo bulb has a 5 inch scape. The bud is shorter than most hippis I've grown but it is growing in girth pretty fast.

Others showing tips are still Party Pooper and Boysenberry. The others seem content to do nothing at the moment.

Ryan

Great job, Hatta!

My Russian Halo is showing the tip of a scape now as well.

Phx Ryan