Dan -- thanks for always taking the time to share your rare and exotic collectings. I thoroughly enjoy all your pictures and always anticipate something unique and interesting whenever you post. Please keep us posted on how it does.

Glad you liked them!! I always ask if others want to go in on these rarities, but rarely get takers outside of my usual circle....either too odd or lack of interest or whatever, but I enjoy importing!!

Here is a pic of another Amaryllid....this time from Brasil. I got it 2 years ago as seed and it has flowered for the first time. A nice rain lily called Zephyranthes brachyandrus as far as I can tell. Hope you like them :o) Dan
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Dan, you have an exceedingly interesting collection of bulbs and plants! I love seeing what new things are growing for you!

The Zephyranthes is beautiful! And the other plants from South Africa are really different! I like them!

Thanks for sharing!

Dan -- the Zephyranthes brachyandrus looks beautiful. I love the plum throat and how petals are are soft pink and then darken at the tips. My Zephyranthes citrina that I acquired from someone in Puerto Rico bloomed a couple days ago for the first time but I wasn't able to capture any photographs.

I know you collect a lot of rare and exotic plants so I was wondering if you might be able to help this person out or lead him to reputable source? His name is Ton and he was looking for seeds of Hippeastrum fragantissimum, Hippeastrum brasilianum and Hippeastrum solandriflorum. Do you know of a possible source for the above? If so, if you could reply to his post or post here (I can forward it to him) I'm sure he would appreciate it ever so much as I know he's been looking for a source for those Hippeastrum species for a couple of years now. Thanks for sharing your photos! =)

Here is a link that might be useful: Searching for seeds

The great thing about Zephs is that they are mostly self-fertile so you can produce as many as you want in a huge hurry.....I'll have to see if I get seed off of my newest one, but I took pollen from a pure yellow....not citrina, but can not remember which one, and tried to cross it.

Most of the species Ton is lookihng for are quite rare as you know so that is why he can not find them....I have Brasilianum (assuming it is still alive out back....haven't checked on it this summer), but no where near flowering size as this one can take 10 years to get there!!!!

For the relatively common species you can get seed from Mauro in Brasil....this is a common source that I'm sure Ton knows about and it is where I got some of my species Hipps and some nice Zeph seed.....not the latest one, but several others.....give him a try....cheap, easy and a nice guy :o) Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos. I sent you a private email via this website inquiring as to where you were able to acquire your marvellous Gethyllis setosa, but since I haven't heard back from you, I fear you might not have received it.

Aloha

Jacob

I am about to plant some Zephyranthes seed indoors. I was lucky enough to acquire seed for a few colors that I don't already have... yellow, white, and a different pink. It's my understanding that they're quite easy to grow from seed... as easy as Hippeastrums. It should be a fun project!

Hi Jacob, To be honest, I sometimes come home from work and have 50-100 list-serve e-mails and just "select All/Delete" because I do not have time to worry about things gardening wise.....likely what happened.....sorry about that. Anyway, this was from Penroc and a large one like this cost $85 wholesale (need a $1K order to get wholesale pricing). Charles can be very slow to get back to people so you will need to keep at him for a few months perhaps and then he can send lists when they are available....the list changes continuously and he sends a very small list to several at a time so you may lose the bulb you wanted.

Jodi, Yep, put the seed in any decent dirt and keep them wet and you will have little babies germinating very fast......takes about 2 years to flower for many of them....many are self-fertile so you can produce thousands in no time if you want to :o) Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for getting back to me regarding the Gethyllis source. This year I placed and received three large orders from Penroc, but it was all via Simply Indigenous Nursery and I didn't have direct contact with Charles. This year was my first time buying seeds and bulbs from Penroc and was under the impression that Charles doesn't deal directly with customers. I didn't see Gethyllis setosa on their bulb or seed list this spring, so perhaps I need to contact Charles himself? Would you mind sending me his email address?

I am super-keen on Gethyllis :)

my email is jacobknecht at hotmail dot com

Thanks again!

Jacob

Hi Jacob, You are the third person this year to think they are the same company....nope, not the same and the lists are totally distinct. SI deal with mostly fairly "common" stuff or small plants of species, whereas Penroc deals with rare species or truly massive specimens of some things. For example I got some common Ammocharis coranica from Penroc, but they were 8" diameter bulbs!!

Charles at Penroc can just be very slow to get back....it took me 8 months of communication before I finally got a list of plants that I could order off of....he will not send a list in general....you tell him what you want and he will let you know the exact bulbs he has....you do not buy a Gethyllis...you buy Gethyllis #1 that is 3 cm by 5 cm for a given price...each and every bulb he sells is priced individually....for the serious collector which you sound like, not for the average Joe that wants a new plant.

I'll e-mail directly when I get a chance later today :o) Dan

Hi Dan! A friend of mine will be sending me seeds of SA plants including Ixia Viridiflora. I search the web for info about growing this seed and could not find any. There are info on planting the corms and general cultural requirements. I fell in love with it after I saw the pics of it's turquoise flowers. Do you have any experience or info on how to plant the seeds? I am so scared I might make a "boo-boo"...lol! I read too that it is an endangered specie. I surely don't want to contribute to it's being extinct!

here's a link for those who want to know/see what Ixia Viridiflora looks like. It's beautiful!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ixia Viridiflora

It's definitely a very beautiful flower... the color is highly unusual! The stems appear to be very thin and delicate... I couldn't even guess how to grow it from seed... I hope you find the proper information and have luck with the seeds, Maria!