BAD BAD BAD Jodi!! How could you tempt me like this...oh it breaks my heart that these beautiful flowers should have a home!!

Why oh why do you guys keep tempting me. I am so weak!! Someone get me a dishrag to sop up my tears.

Cindee... You don't have to give in... :o) Just give up. There is no need for resistance... Whatever I order in multiples, you can have one till supplies last. :o)

Here, Cindee... let me shove these Kleenex through the monitor for you... LOL!

We all seem to be terribly afflicted with CHAD! If we lived closer to one another, we could just buy a giant greenhouse and go into business!

If it weren't for the cold weather here, I'd be ordering like crazy! It's a real pity that the season for these bulbs is so short! I think they should be made available all year 'round! Wouldn't that be fabulous?!

They are... :o) If you want, you can buy bulbs from Australia in June-July... :o) You just have to buy 100, but that's not a problem, is it?

'Twilight Melody'
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Pink is a predominant colour in Australian hippeastrums.

ty

There do seem to be quite a few pinks, Thys... but they are pretty!

Yes, Soultan, a hundred bulbs presents a bit of a problem... I wouldn't be able to afford them, and I would have nowhere to put them!

Although... at some point in time, I probably will have a hundred... what will I do with them all?!

Thys what a gentle pink! Very pretty. I love the contrasting striking lime green and white with the pale pink. How do you do the all black background with your photos? Very eye catching! I really like the effect of the stem just disappearing into the black.

I like the photography, too... it really brings out the whole flower, and makes the details easier to view...

As I see though, the Australian varieties do not keep their characteristics very well. The pictures that you show do not resemble (just closely) the pictures on Neale and Debbie Mead, not to mention the pictures on Maguires' site. So it seems like they are not as careful with keeping clean varieties as other hybridizers.

Soultan, you are such a discriminating collector. You have a keen eye as I have said before. For me, I just appreciate the beauty of each individual, not caring if they waver from precise dimensions, color or character.

Jodi
Thanks for the link to Meads, now in addition to striped panther I must have, Krakatoa and Great Show!!!!!
Soultan, would they help in your 100 order? Depending on cost I could do 2 or 3 of each.
Chaz

Chaz,
Look them up on the growers' site. They are cheaper there. I will order from there once I have 100 bulbs on my list. If you can keep it in your head till I get enough people together, then you are welcome to join the list. You have to add $3 to the price you see on the site of maguires for these bulbs, then you can decide which ones you can still fit into your budget. :o)
Then when I am ready to place the order, everyone will start paying me like I am selling something. :o)
So go on maguires' web site and try to make up your mind of all the varieties you'd like to get from them. :o) It will be a hard choice. They have more than 156 varieties up there.

Jodi although that Krakatoa is stunning, it's Harbor Lights that curls my toes.

Thys Twilight Melody keeps calling me back to take another look too.

Well... since I know this will most likely be a future order... count me in... I am not sure which ones I'd want yet, but there's plenty of time to decide... and to save up the funds!

Cindee... there are several there that I really like... it's a tough choice!

Chaz... aren't those awesome! I like those varieties, too!

This is one I like the most, included and described also in Veronica Reads book. From fiery light red to dark velvet red to purple, the color spectrum ranges in the upper part, white with a bright red picotee border and a detail-design with little dots like strings of small purple-red pearls the lower part, the little dots even on Stigma and Anthers, and a dark green star in the center.
O, I think it's better I show the picture:

'Jennifer Jean'
{{gwi:434182}}

ty

Oh Thys, that is lovely. Look at all the freckles on it's lower petals. That is certainly a head turner! The back side of the flower is just as remarkable as the front. Nice shape and curl.

Soultan, I think you are maybe reading too much into the pics and colors.....remember, different cameras, different white levels, different lighting and different post-pic handling.....all of these things can have a dramatic effect not only on color, but also and maybe more importantly perceived color as you know from film. For example, with the black background (which I love, but some people hate) any color will appear more vibrant to the human eye as the contrast is strengthened relative to having an out of focus background like on the original web sites you talked about. I am sure that they keep their lines just as clean as anyone else and they are all clonal.....I do not believe you can grow any hybrid from seed and call it the same plant even if it is selfed. Whether it is from the petri dish or more standard propagation techniques they are all going to be the same. I think you could order and not worry about that at all :o) Dan

Dan, well put and a very interesting point! I think Thys technique totally enhances the colors in his flowers. They are so much more pronounced with a black background.

Interesting thought:
"I do not believe you can grow any hybrid from seed and call it the same plant even if it is selfed. " I agree, once something has been altered, whether by self or other pollen, it does become a different breed. Look at people. Children may have similar characteristics to their parents, but the are definitely different. Oh my, you are taxing my brain here! LOL

Ty!

Please tell us more about these beauties! It's a shame that they are not available to everyone, but since they are not, we enjoy yours!

So, Please keep sharing...

Thanks!

I sort of like the black backgrounds, as they do bring out the details more than if a lighter background were used...

Interesting observations, Cindee and Dan... it reminds me of seeing puppy ads that state: "Parents on Premises"... this means nothing beyond the fact that the sire and dam live at that location... put another way, just because I appear Caucasian and both my parents appear Caucasian doesn't mean all four of my grandparents are Caucasian... I could be of mixed blood, but you wouldn't know that just seeing my parents... so it is with plants... the only carbon copy is a clone, whether it's grown in a petri dish or divided from the mother bulb, itself... seeds are offspring, and even if bred to self, basic genetics tells us that they could have slightly different characteristics.

Jodi, take a look at maguires' site, and whatever you feel you'd like to get, list to me... :o) Every time you think your funding has increased, you can add to the list... You can order any full number of bulbs... You can order one, or two, or three, or whatever. Just don't order 1,5 or something like that. :o)
So I am very interested in what you'd like. You can start your list, even with one single choice...
If you do so, my list will have 13 bulbs accounted for out of a 100. That is good... :o)
The price is the one seen on the site + $3/bulb

Here is a link that might be useful: Maguire's

Oh Geeze, Soultan, you shouldn't throw that eye candy at a girl 1/2 awake at 4:30 in the morning!! For some reason I woke up this morning after Dennis left for work and gave me my back rub before leaving! I was dreaming of snow and toboganning with Christiana! LOL I haven't been on a toboggan in over 30 years! Anyway, awake I am and looking at all the beautiful blooms on Maguires. Now who could not love a flower named "INDECISIVE "?? And Virgin bride?? Please STOP ME!

Cindee... You have so much time before I order... You can make up your selection if you want to get a few bulbs... I must tell you, I love Indecisive. Pure white with pink petal tips... Looks really yummy. Have you ever seen a pink like Elaine Grace before on this part of the Earth? I don't think so...
I am so Indecisive what to order, but I put the first 10 names in alphabetic order on my order list now... Maybe I will order in every year, thus, can order slowly everything. :o) I am bad: I give in to my OCD... But you really made me think now about Indecisive.
So if you feel like you'd like to join to the order to be placed NEXT SUMMER, feel free to play along. :o)
Did you really expect me to stop you? :o)

Soultan,
I am so glad to read that you are going ahead with the order and offering these bulbs to everybody else on the forum. I wish there were someone in Aust willing to do the same.

There is one bulb that I can recommend is Pink Missy, she has the most amazing freckles. I regret not taking photos of it but this was before I found this forum.

Have fun shopping!

Dizzy, I will go ahead with the order if I can find place for all the 100 bulbs. I can only place the order next summer, so there is time... And by that time, you might be able to take some pictures of your Pink Missy too.

I just got the word that the weather today is lovely, so I'm off to try to get in the last few bulbs for spring color... I know, it's the end of November already! Psyche ordered way too many bulbs this year, and I'm the one who has to plant them all!!

So... I won't get a good chance to scope out Maguire's list until later tonight, but I have it bookmarked! I can't wait to look closer at their offerings!

Good... I am looking at their offering often... You know how it is. You want the most what you cannot get... But maybe.

Yes, Soultan, I agree that my pictures represent only my flowers and they differ sometimes much from the pictures in catalogues.
Furthermore I confess to be only a beginner in photograph. Sometimes my camera cannot show the real colors, specially deep red, pink and lavender. Than: different light or brightness changes the colours so much - an they are changing by nature to: fresh-opened they are quite different from the three-day-old blossoms.
I'm doing my best, ....
An other problem: when I looked my photos on an other computer - in office e.g. - I was sometimes ashamed of my pictures I thought to be quite nice on my computer at home. What to do? I am open for critics and for learning!

Here an other pink beauty. However I think that this blossom is turned 120° (the right part should be the lower part). But it will stay the only blossom for this year.

'Moville'
{{gwi:434183}}

Dear Soultan, I am very interested to get bulbs from Maguires to. May I join in with you?
Thank you
ty

Gaaaa Gaaaa Gaaaaroooooo!!!!

Somebody....please help me!!! I cant take my poor besieged eyes off this screen!

The first thing that strikes me about these is the wavy petal edges. Exquisite! The second thing is that centralized color distribution pattern that I am currently obsessed with. The third is that, as far as I can tell from the pics, all these have incredibly thick petal substance! Wow!

I would definately like to get in on an order of these If one is arranged. Please, keep me posted!

Thys,
I love your photos.
Like Jodik I have started up a wish list but my wish list is mainly based on what I can get here in Australia and your pics are a real help, I find it really hard to see detail in the photos on maguires website.

I'm with you, Dizzy... Maguire's pictures leave a lot to be desired... it would be nice if you could click on them and have a page open with a larger picture so you could see detail... but when you click on them, all you get is a new page with the thumbnail on it... no help at all.

I'm sure I would find more of them really attractive if the photography was better...

Thys... your photos are very nicely done! They show a lot of detail!

whew...finally had time to read all that!

Thys; thank you so much for sharing all these! delicious!

Soultan; I would definately love to join the order list on some of these, if you don't mind! You are most generous to present such an opportunity to us all.

Thys, I LOVE your pictures. They are much much better than the ones on maguires site. You try to put feeling into your pictures and they show. Your pictures could be in greeting cards, and to tell you the truth, you are making me yellow of envy. What a beautiful bunch of flowers... I NEED to order from Maguires. It is not a question...

And please join my list... I am happy to accomodate anyone's order, as long as it is legitimate... Feel free to e-mail me any time. You are in the US, right? soultan-@freemail.hu
The little group is getting together. I am more and more confident that I will be able to place this order later...

It will be weird, albeit refreshing, to get bulbs in warm weather!! Kind of a mid-season boost to beat the indoor gardening blues, as it were...

You can keep them in the cold for a few months if you don't want to force them right away, and you can start planting in September for instance. That is a month earlier than the official Amaryllis season here... This way your flowers would bloom in reasonably cooler weather, lasting longer... But I am not sure if I could wait that much after receiving my bulbs.
But Maguires' say that they just lift the bulbs and ship them. So I guess, if you want to force them, you'd need to induce dormancy on them for the 6-8 weeks regular. Right, australian friends? Do you have any experience about this?

I rather thought that all growers put their bulbs through a dormancy in the large coolers... Maguire's doesn't pre-chill their bulbs before shipment? That's different...

So, we'd have to induce dormancy and chill the bulbs ourselves... not a bad thing... just something I'm not used to, and have never heard of having to do...

Pre-chilled tulips and daffodils are sold by a few companies for southern customers, but the cost is higher than for those bulbs not chilled... I don't suppose Maguire's will discount for that reason... although, they should... their customers will either have to chill the bulbs, put them through a dormancy to force them... or wait while the bulb grows and blooms at its natural time... either way, it will be a while before flowers can be enjoyed...

They informed me that they lift the bulbs upon order, so they are definitely not pre-chilled. I don't know what the weather conditions are in their area, so I don't know how the bulbs would react to getting to the warm Northern hemisphere all of the sudden. Maybe they don't even need to go through the dormancy because they are sitting there for a few months in 30F temperature or something. I really don't know. I will probably pre-chill my bulbs when they arrive, to make sure they bloom when I plant them.

Hmmm... I do have space in the fridge, but I need to check the temperature to make sure it can be kept constant and high enough so the bulbs wouldn't suffer...

If it is summer here, it's winter there... we'll have to find out what the winters are like at Maguire's farm... and what temperature they'll be harvested in...

My actual favorite is "Guyra" (first pic) - splendid symmmetry of the flower segments and a seemingly unnatural, deep pink which appears to be painted onto the segments (their edges are almost white). What must the breeder have been feeling when he saw its first flowers open... Affecting moments...

Soultan,
The climate in Queensland ( that's where Maguire's is) is tropical. So I don't think the bulbs are rested and would be grown all year round. I think the only reason they prefer to post in winter (here) is that the bulbs growth has slowed down and that would be the best time to lift them.

Yes. They are not blooming during winter, so it is easier to lift them, clean them, and ship them. The hippies are blooming there right now.

Sir Hans - I don't know what that breeder was feeling when he first saw his babies open, but I do know that every time a bloom opens for me, I am awed by it... Mother Nature performs such wonderful miracles, and when I think about the miracle of a bloom opening and its abject beauty, it makes me feel kind of small and insignificant...

Soultan - it's kind of strange to think that opposite seasons are happening... Aussie flowers are blooming outdoors, and ours are resting... mine are just roots and bulbs and corms under a layer of frosted earth...

I agree with Hans-Werner!

Ty's picture of Guyra is mesmerizing!

Ty, I would love to see more photos of this one.

Thank you! Please keep sharing...

In an other thread here I showed yet a double Australian treasure, a double picotee:

'Florence May Maguire'
{{gwi:434184}}

Instead of a christmas-card to you all
I send you an other picture of this one:
white snow as background for a white flower
and against the light - a difficult picture,
and although ...

Merry Christmas

{{gwi:434185}}

Yours
ty

It's positively lovely! The more Australian varieties I see, the more my appreciation for them grows... there are some beauties to be had Down Under!!

Merry Christmas to all!!

And a special Thanks and Merry Christmas to Ty!

Hey. So it is you are who is posting those pictures on landspro, right?

Hey, Soultan, I plead guilty, yes. I am trying hard not to show the same fotos on different forums, so most times they are only similar, but not the same pictures - but of the same flowers of course.
Thanks and my best wishes to Elizabeth.

I lifted some of them and posted them here earlier. They are remarkably nice photos. Don't feel bad about posting your pictures here too. This is a picture-nut forum. We love pictures, and we repost pictures several times when there is a point.

Some pictures deserve to be looked at more than once! The flowers are so beautiful that we don't even notice it was posted elsewhere before! All of the Aussie photos are lovely, and they show off the blooms to great advantage!