This doesn't look like the pictures of Bolero I found on the internet. Those appear to be a solid rosy pink without a green throat. Whatever this is, I like it just as much and will look again for Bolero.

I'm waiting on Bolero to open too, the buds are almost there. I thought it would open this weekend but guess just too cloudy.
Tally HO!

It's beautiful, no matter what name it goes by! I like the streaking on the petals! Thanks for sharing!

Today i have visited walmart. I have seen somany bolero opens. But they look like light pink color. I don't think bolero is light pink color, like amaryllis susan. Glimor is also very pretty.

sonador- I had to pick the best of the best...most were rotting or the scapes looked like they had rotted off. It was very sad. My bulb has one scape about to open (YAY!) and another coming up from the bottom. It felt a little mushy on the surface, but firm overall.
{{gwi:437726}}From H. 'Bolero'

This this was super saturated and planted in really heavy soil. To make matters worse, they have this moss around the top to hold the moisture... {{gwi:437727}}From H. 'Bolero'

I took mine out of the pot to get the mushy taken care of. Most of the roots were rotten, so of course they were removed. {{gwi:437728}}From H. 'Bolero'

I scraped all the mush off and treated the bulb with some Captan to prevent any further rot. It was not too bad, but would have been if not treated soon. {{gwi:437729}}From H. 'Bolero'

Now I will let it rest and dry the roots for a couple of days in this pot resting in sea shells. I will then re-pot it in a free draining mix. {{gwi:437730}}From H. 'Bolero'

I just wish I could do this to every one of their bulbs...they will just end up being thrown away. Hope this helps others have the courage to take their bulb out of the pot and inspect and treat them.

Wonder what the blooms will look like? I can't wait to see!

-Frank

The sad truth is... it's become a disposable industry. This is what most of us find when we un-pot the already potted bulbs from the big box stores. What a shame. Look at those poor roots!

The good thing is, Frank unearthed this bulb in time to save it. A little drying time, some new porous medium, and a better watering technique will make this Bolero a permanent part of Frank's collection!

Good save, Frank! Can't wait to see photos of the blooms!

Hi Beverly and Everyone.

Bev, this sure looks more like my Candy Floss (which is one of my FAVORITES)
{{gwi:388110}}From Amaryllis

More than my Bolero, which is a more solid coral/pink, with less veining and more curled petals...what do you think?
Bolero (not the best photo)
{{gwi:374222}}

Cindeea, I agree with you. In some of my internet searches, this was one I thought might be a possibility. Actually, I am really glad it was mislabeled, because I love this bloom. Now Piquant that came from Lowes and Apple Blossom from Home Depot are next in line to bloom. Maybe I could get lucky again!

They all are so pretty!
Very nice photo's everyone!
Susan

Hi Frank, If your efforts to save Bolero fail, it's not due to a lack of effort!! I think your method warrants applause. My bulb is proving quite feisty...It has 3 scapes and is trying to open blooms on the third. Maybe it knew I was doing my best to prolong it's life...so the reward is a bouquet for my Thanksgiving table???LOL
Nice photo documentary by the way....good for any newb hippie grower to clip and save. Like me.

My Wal-Mart has the usual Apple Blossom, Minerva, and Red Lion.

At my Wal-Mart, the usual three were in boxed kits. This was one like Frank (in a previous post)got. It was already potted up in a mass of peat and topped with moss. Here is another picture of the same flower. I am really happy with it.
{{gwi:437733}}
I am looking forward to another mislabeled one.

My local Walmart's potted Hippies are all pathetically blooming with some bent flowers opening up right under the shelves. :-(

The "supposed to be Boleros" were looking to be like Pink Impressions.

Maria, I went into WalMart a few days ago and saw the same thing. These poor things were all twisted and deformed and still trying to bloom. I just hope they get a new shipment in with another good selection since most of them were gone. I will just have to try for another pink one. They are soooo pretty. I should have bought one of the Orange Sovereign before they were gone. I know, I'm getting carried away but they are so beautiful!!

That is so pretty Beverly! Mine is starting to peek open and it really does resemble the 'Candyfloss' Cindee showed from what I can tell. If it is, I will be most happy with the mixup! I have been wanting to replace my Candyfloss that didn't make it...

Maria- at the store I went to, these poor things had scapes that looked like they were coming up from the side of some of the pots...after gently pulling on them, I discovered they had either rotted off or been knocked/pulled off and were just stuck down in the side of the pot to look like they were still going to bloom. I feel sorry for the person that buys them thinking they are about to bloom, when sadly that scape will just wither and then make the person think they can't grow Hippies or dislike hippies because "it just died"...arghhhh! Can we stage an intervention???

-Frank

You can influence on the conditions of the stock by not buying any wares that show such signs. Of course like you said not all people see these signs but to all of you here: Just don't buy this crap! If you bought a rotten bulb, return it! There is no excuse for such a poor quality and you shouldn't try to coddle up worse bulbs because you feel sorry for them.
That's the only solution I can think of ...

Hahaha...told ya guys we have a "Sir Hans" to be in here!

Just kidding betonklotz. Actually, I say that as a very good compliment to you. You have the right "attitude" with regards to Hippies. By the way, my other German friend is Frank. Please send my regards to them.

Walmart...I didn't buy any of the other colors. Just 2 more Gilmars with 3 scapes each. The Gilmars were slower in putting out their scapes so I found decent ones after all those poking and pressing.

Guys, just an FYI, most all the WalMart potted bulbs, pathetically bent, rotted and dying as they were in the kits you show here, were all mismarked in our store here. There was not a bolero among those marked as such! Still, I love Candy Floss and May have to get another this year.I really do not see much on Bolero anymore. It was one of my first bulbs. I am hoping it blooms for me this season.

Hi mariava,
Thanks, we Germans tend to be a little too direct sometimes. Where Americans try to be polite and diplomatic, we're often a bit to straight forward (often described as a frigid mentality). I know Hans-Werner can be like that too (no disregard here!) ;)

When I'm in stores here at this time I often find myself looking way too long at the potted bulbs in the garden section. I can keep myself from buying those because I know it's like playing lotto to wish that I'd get an exceptional variety. And with my limited space I'm thinking about not buying any crosses and breed Hippeastrum anymore.
I just found Hippeastrum breviflorum on brazilplants.com wow, I guess I need that one next! Not that I didn't like the plants shown here, I do think that Candy Floss is one of the best pink ones, really lovely! But I'll preserve my space for more challenging species. ;)

Wal-Mart anything in flowers from the garden dept. (as well as any big box store)
All of the garden dept flowers are very subject to some form of abuse from poorly trained staff over barring managment and customer accedents
Good deals on pricing? Maybe, as frank shows it best on what you will commonly have to be ready to do. Concidering the added cost of there time and equipment only there pride makes it worth it.

Thanks for the demo pics frank

Both of the bolero I bought have bloomed a beautiful pink, one a little darker than the other. When they finish blooming I'll pull them out and repot them in the garden. I pulled off the moss covering them and let them dry out a bit. So far so good. Our Walmart sold out, the Texas City Walmart never got these and the Walmart on up the road had them in full bloom, not a red one in the bunch.
Luckily I like pink flowers & they'll go into the pink bed, planted so my neighbor could look out her bedroom window at pink flowers, her favorite color.
Tally HO!

Our Walmart just marked these stocks down...$2.50 each. They all look like garbage now with broken leaves and scapes. Some are still showing some decent scapes though. But I had enough Gilmars that I need.

WARNING: These Walmart stocks are CHEAP but some are showing signs of mites infestation with twisted leaves and scapes and or jagged leaf edges. Make sure that you DO NOT grow them with your healthy hippies UNTIL you are sure that your Walmart hippie is clean or is treated for mites.

Virus infected??? MAYBE!!! So further quarantine is needed till it has grown leaves and gone through the "testing".

Charles (Barnhoorn of Hadeco) himself has told me that he has seen fields (not greenhouse grown)of virus infected hippies in other countries. He said that the growers didn't care about cleaning their stocks as it is an expensive process and they would just rather sell their bulbs cheap. And most of these hippies are really sold at a very cheap price for potted bulb sales/bulb kits. That is why they encourage the "Buy and throw away" mentality. These bulbs should have been killed/burnt right there in those fields. I just cannot believe how lax USDA is about these virus/mites infested hippie bulbs that come into USA by the containers!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Good Luck and happy hippie blooming to all!

Maria, thank you for your observations. I have already pulled mine out of the peat and repotted in a free-draining mix. There was little damage to the bulb and only a few plump white roots. If I had left it until the end of the season, I would not have been able to save it. There were no red splotches on roots, bulb or leaves; neither were there any "bugs" that I could see. I will consider myself lucky this time and be VERY careful with any future purchases. Beverly

That's the right way to do it Beverly! Just like how our dear Frank "illustrated" above. Now I am not saying that all of them are sick. I am just warning everybody of what I saw with my own eyes today. I buy some of these cheap bulbs too and get some "treasures" out of them. Like Gilmar which is not offered anymore by the bulb companies. This was my only chance to acquire more bulbs of it and am very happy of this chance and actually bought 3 Gilmars!!! One is actually blooming now with it's "blood red" and white flowers. They are very faaaarrrrr away from the healthy hippies though and will stay there till spring when I will bring them out to be tested for possible virus. One just have to give extra extra precaution about them.

Now for those who do not know Gilmar. Here are pics to show you the "true Gilmar". It has been my "all time favorite" and am trying to save this beauty from possible future extinction. I have a feeling, it won't be long. In 2-3 years time, Gilmar will be gone. Replaced by the genetic "red and white" amaryllis.

Gilmar I in 2007.
{{gwi:436711}}

Gilmar I's performance in succeeding years.
{{gwi:437734}}

Maria, your Hippies are gorgeous. I "lurk" a lot and have seen the pictures you post. You are a serious collector; I have just begun and only have a few of the ordinary ones-Red Lion, Apple Blossom, Minerva and maybe Clown. I also have many planted in the ground, since we don't get extended periods of freezing temperatures. Last year I fell in love with Papilio and bought five of those. But it always pays to be careful and avoid future problems by isolating the new ones.
Beverly

It appears my 'Bolero' is indeed 'Candyfloss'. I am very pleased!
{{gwi:437735}}From H. 'Bolero'
{{gwi:437736}}From H. 'Bolero'
{{gwi:437738}}From H. 'Bolero'

-Frank

Congratulations!! Frank. I am very happy with mine, love the pink. Let's hope for another mislabel. Great pictures too.
Beverly

Walmart Hippie "treasures"!!!

It's beautiful Frank! Congratulations!!! Candy Floss is a keeper that will perform for you for years.

How big is it's flowers?

Nice, Frank! Glad you got what you wanted!

Maria, it's always a pleasure to view your pictures! Your collection is wonderful! Gilmar is awesome!

It seems the southern folks always luck out with mislabels... and get some great surprises! Up here, we get the usual... nothing exciting.

Usually I get what's labeled and no surprises. So while I was looking for red, candy floss is absolutely beautiful and has so many flowers I've had to prop it up. I pulled the bulbs out of all the pots and selected ones with healthy roots before I bought any. I also inspected for any signs of mites or damage. These will all go out in the garden when they are done blooming, then they have to worry about aphids, white fly, snails, slugs, mealy bugs and every other pest that lives here in the south. We don't use any pesticides and it all balances out. The plants have a few holes, the bugs are eaten by bigger bugs and birds and everyone is happy. There are 5 varieties of caterpillars happily munching that I found yesterday. I even found those huge cats on the tomatoes, what are they called? The big green ones that turn into hummingbird moths. They can have that plant, we'll just plant another for us.
Tally HO!

Hello all,
I went to Wal-Mart last night and they had
marked down the 11.00 ams to 5.00 so I start
looking threw the poor drown babies
and pick me a few out. Bolero,Gilbert,ect.
Any way some are labled wrong duh! Howerver
I think I have a Candy floss its so pretty
and maybe Bolero,we'll have to wait and see
what the others are. So here's a few photo's.
Susan
{{gwi:370205}}
{{gwi:437740}}
{{gwi:437741}}

Yesterday, during our flea market day trip, we ended by stopping in at a WalMart in Rantoul... I just wanted to grab a couple of 8" clay pots.

Well... they had NO pots on the shelves, and I was told there would not be any until spring. (Does container gardening stop at a particular time during autumn?)

The bulb offerings at WalMart were deplorable... simply deplorable. They had box kits of the most common 3, plus shelf after shelf of sad, horribly cared for Hippeastrums in various stages of death... all sitting in hideous plastic pots with no drainage and too much gold glitter.

I was appalled. This is what the retail industry has done with the popularity of the poor Hippeastrum. I will never step foot in another WalMart... ever.

Jodik, I relize were you are coming from
but think of it this way, we can rescue
those plants, clean them up re-pot and
next year have a healhty beautiful plant
at a reasonable cost. I am one who is
on a limited income, not by choice but
for health reasons. Not defending Wal-Mart
but I have came out with some real beauties
that I would not be able to afford other
wise.Hope you aren't affended. :)
Susan

Wow, Mariava, you just made me want Gilmar. I must keep a lookout for one now. Yours sure is a beauty. Thank's for showing it. I must have one for sure!

Hey Frank, your babies are doing great and had a nice growth spurt last summer. Maybe in the next year or so, I'll see a nice bloom or 2. Well, hoping to anyway.

The trick is to buy them when they first come in the door. I went through all they had & picked out the biggest, healthiest bulbs. I always feel a bit sad for those bulbs. If they go on clearance I usually buy as many as possible and plant them out in the garden. At least they have some chance out there. The only bulbs I've lost over the years were a couple that I mailordered & paid a fortune for. The clearance $1 bulbs all are doing great.
Tally HO!

I know, taz... I'm on a limited budget, myself... also due to health issues. I'm just torn between rescuing a cheap bulb, and actually enabling corporate greed. It's a tough choice.

I've decided that if I must give my few dollars to a large store, it will be any other store, and not WalMart. I think Sam Walton would roll over in his grave if he could see what his original idea has become.

We have a Meijer's, Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, and a few other large stores to choose from... so I check them all out, and buy from the one with the best deal and nicest bulbs.

Well, you all got me wanting a WalMart rescue bulb, and I had this WalMart $10 gift card I got as a 'thank you' for some volunteer thing I did a few weeks ago, so I went over there last night on the way home from work and picked up a pot of violas (our winter crop here) and something marked "Orange Sovereign". I love the colors in it: apricot, a bit of coral and a gold touch. Not at all like what I've seen Orange Sovereign to be, but still very nice. It was in good shape too, all things considered - except for where I nipped a piece of a petal off when I grabbed the bag handle. Even though I said I was done for this year, I guess there's always room for one more. Alana
{{gwi:437742}}From garden web 2

YOur "Orange Sovereign" looks like what I got labeled as "Nagano" which I think we identified as Rilona on the forum last year. I hope it was Rilona, because I liked it so much I bought 3 Rilona from amaryllisbulbs.com. Those soft peachy petals just seemed to shimmer and change from "sunrise" to peaches and cream desserts! Beautiful from start to finish!

Nice rescue there, Alana!

I was at the grocery store yesterday, and they have a dozen or so boxed Amaryllis kits (like most of the big box stores) and a dozen or so Amaryllis that were growing in pots... or trying to grow. It was depressing. All of the bulbs were completely buried in thick soil that was saturated with water. Many of the bulbs were already dead or dying with rotten flower buds and stalks. A few were trying to bloom with stubby, deformed stalks as the rot claimed them, and one plant managed to produce a beautiful flower, but that won't save it, sadly.

It's just depressing to see this needless waste. None of those bulbs were worth buying for free since they were in serious trouble and who knows what diseases or fungus they would bring with them that would infect healthy bulbs. And who knows who will end up up buying one of these bulbs only to have it die from poor care. What a waste!

I detest all this unnecessary waste of plant life. It's exceedingly depressing to think that this is what our society has come to... the greed of a few at the top, at the expense of all the wasted plant life.

It's also not very good for the beginning gardener... they may buy one of these potted, rotting bulbs... and then think it's their fault that it died. It's sort of off putting for those with a slight interest. They may never try growing bulbs or houseplants afterward...

I think it's an easy way to get started with the hobby... exactly what I did 3 years ago by purchasing a Red Lion from Home Depot. And now look at me - lol!

Lizalily, oh I hope it's Rilona too! I bought one and just potted it up last week. What gorgeous colors! Also, I tried to email you through the forum but wasn't able to, so email me if you want a Ragtime - I seem to find myself with a few extras ;-) Alana

I'm like a lot of you in just getting an identified collection going. Much of what I have was started by seed given to me by an elderly lady several years ago, who had a huge circular bed of them growing in the middle of her yard.
I'm pretty sure they are Red Lion, however they have a little more of an orange tint to them (possibly because they are planted in the ground?).

Sure wished I had picked up the Orange Sovereign, maybe it would have been another mislabel.
Beverly

ALana, yes, I kind of abandoned my aol and use gmail exclusivly now. Just getting way too much junk on AOL.I would love a Ragtime! What do you want in exchange? I am not sure of the labels on much of anything until they bloom but could give you some nice year old seedlings.

I agree... buying a cheap bulb kit is an excellent way to start learning... and pretty soon, you're on your way to ordering the more exclusive named varieties from the better bulb companies!

I just think it's such a shame that so many of the pre-potted bulbs are already rotting by the time people take them home... it can be a disappointment.

But for those just starting out, it's a good opportunity to learn without spending a fortune!

The kits with dormant bulbs in them are probably fine, assuming they haven't been sitting out there too long. Now, if the buyer of the kit doesn't know how to care for the bulb, then he or she will have problems, but a dormant, dry bulb in a kit is a reasonably safe purchase, IMHO.

The problems are the bulbs that are preplanted and already growing. Those are the ones that end up overwatered and rotten - who knows how many folks have been turned off from gardening thanks to nearly doomed plant purchases.

My own amaryllis (first one in years) is a Red Lion from Lowe's, and it's seems just as happy as the much more expensive ones from J&P or whomever that I had a decade ago. Kits may be cheap, but there's nothing wrong with that if you make sure you get a good bulb.

I think that might have been true in previous years... but with a rise in popularity... of anything, really... the quality takes a dive as quantity sold becomes more important. The market gets flooded with an inferior product as growers rush to cash in on the popularity.

Case in point... the bulb I just recently bought at... what was it? Home Depot, I think... or Menard's... anyway, it has a very suspicious looking hole near the basal plate, looking very much like NBF damage.

And this was a bulb that I took out of the box and checked over carefully! I didn't peel back any layers, of course... that might have seemed a little bit odd to the store clerks standing there watching me!

My point is... be extra careful when buying the inexpensive kit bulbs from larger stores!

Here's another case in point, with another "commodity"... remember when Disney's "Homeward Bound" hit the theaters? Up until that point, the American Bulldog was a relatively unknown rare breed. That one single movie pushed the breed to the height of popularity, and everyone and his brother went out and purchased a male and a female, hoping to make puppies and cash in on that popularity. The results have been a horrid decline in genetic health, longevity, temperament, intelligence, etc...

There's an art and a science to proper breeding. We were originally approached by Disney... they wanted to purchase our dogs. We declined, knowing what would happen. It happened anyway... but I can sleep at night, knowing that we didn't contribute to the ruination of the breed we love. It makes me so angry... and so sad to know that a once rare and majestic breed is now just another casualty of greed.

Dalmations suffered the same fate. Our dogs are all rescues, as are the cats and even the parrot. He was my cousins and she just ignored him until he bit her. For that matter a lot of my plants are rescues too. I've dug plants from construction sites, before the city mowers could get to them, picked them up off the beach, off the street.. the people down the street from us dug up and threw to the curb all these huge bromeliads last year. I filled the back of the truck up & planted them along the alley, they all bloomed a couple of weeks later and have just taken off. The spider lilies were grabbed when the trash truck was 2 houses down from them.

But I've watched the house down the street get sold and the new owners destroy crinums that were over 50 years old, they chopped them down & poured asphalt over the top of them, I was horrified when I saw that. Another house they have just recently chopped down the crinums that have lined the driveway of the house for over 75 years, I missed them chopping them up too or I would have stopped and dug them up. They planted some horrid bushes that are not adapted to our climate and will die this spring.

Hang in there Lucy, just think of the positive. The newbies who will be addicted with that first Red lion bloom and will pursue that with research and great care. Amaryllis are fairly tough, that's why they get the treatment they do. They are easy to propogate, grow to a sellable size fairly quickly, handle mistreatment better than most bulbs or plants, ship well..the perfect plant for a grower. And luckily they are popular so there is an incentive to produce new hybrids, better bulbs-they sell and growers know it.
Tally HO!

That's true, Tally... and once a grower pursues that research, they have the option of purchasing quality bulbs from the more reputable, respectable growers.

It's the same within the dog world... many people who have purchased our pups were actually second time buyers who were looking for a better representation of the breed. They were either disappointed by their first purchase from what amounted to a non-reputable breeder, or they were smart and did their homework prior to purchasing.

It's such a shame... actually locating a well-bred AB or Dalmation is a bigger job than one might think. The number of breeders I'd recommend is incredibly small.

Those poor Crinum! How sad! I couldn't imagine paving over any plant! I'd remove them first, and find a home if I didn't want them! But... I suppose not everyone is a gardener...

I went out running errands yesterday and the Walmart on 646 had the amaryllis all marked to $2.50. Most have new scapes coming up, a couple were blooming. None of the bulbs are rotten, the roots aren't the best. But I have no willpower so bought 8. 2 more Gilmar, a couple of the orange sovereign, 2 apple blossom & 2 no tags, one had the bloom stuck in the pot, it had broken off, and it's a very pretty double pink. So Monday I'll clean them all up and repot them. I was happy it was raining as Somewhere in Time sent me a coupon for 1/2 off ANY amaryllis, and they have at least 25 different ones. The rain and flooding kept me from driving to the Heights. I really can't afford to go to that nursery! It always costs me several hundred dollars and I just can't afford that right now.

Lowe's hasn't any new ones. One of the white was sticking up out of the box blooming, it's not white, but a really pale pink and white double that was beautiful. I took a pic of it if I ever find the cord for my camera to download it. I hope at least one of my white turns out to be the same.
Tally HO!

The bud on my white one from a boxed kit is growing in a pinkish shade... I know it won't be the white I bought, but I wonder if it'll be a double, or a single pale pink? I do like surprises, so it's kind of cool to get something different!