Rosepedal, Don't you just love living in a "temperate" climate? Seasonal swings better than 100 degrees- Temperate. Right. LOL. My GH is so well insulated and so much air moves with the big ceiling fans, I can usually keep it below 80 even on the hottest days and the 60% aluminet shade cloth certainly helps, but last August, when the temps hit near 100, I was getting a bit nervous and thought about the old fashoned whitewash I can't use on my polycarb, when I remembered what I'd seen once in so. Italy: white cloths being used for shade over kitchen gardens. So I went scrounging at the local thrift shop and came home with a half dozen king sized, white flat sheets that I sewed together to make a single piece large enough to cover my 12 x 16; roof and down the sides a bit, particularly on the end facing SW. I installed grommets on the edges and used thin bungees to hold it down, but left it pretty loose, so the the roof vents could open under it. It helped a lot and the temp. dropped several degrees. Then, eager to cool it down more, I sprayed it with cold water it and that really made a difference, although the sheeting dried pretty quickly. I left that lightweight sheeting up for several weeks, wetting it several times a day in the hottest part of the afternoon until the worst of blistering heat spell passed and am glad to report that none of my fish in any of the tanks in the GH were par-boiled. Anyway, it was a pretty cheap solution. I think I spent less than $10.00 on all those sheets. Sort of a pity on several of them though- 800 count cotton percale deserves better than to be tossed over a GH, but it worked.

As long the bulbs got at least 12 weeks of rest, they should bloom just fine. It sounds like you did everything right... up until you mentioned what type of soil you're using! ;-) It's not incorrect, if that's what works for you, and you know how to water properly using it, that's great. For me, it's way too fine and silty, and it tends to collapse fairly fast and suffocate root systems. It's not aerated enough, and it holds way too much moisture for too long a period of time for my use. I have switched to a more inorganic, bonsai-like approach to growing container plants. I've learned exactly HOW soils and water and roots behave within a container, and WHY certain mediums work better than others. To learn more, do a little reading over at the Container Gardening Forum. Exceedingly educational, to say the least! Back to the bulbs at hand... I usually don't fertilize my bulbs until AFTER they bloom... and I use an all purpose diluted liquid fertilizer at about 1/3 or less strength every time I water. I also add micro-nutrients. I water when the soil around the actual root area feels fairly dry. I don't have a south facing window with good light, but I've found that an east facing window will net very close to the same results. West should be fine, as well. It's the amount of light and good care your bulbs receive following their bloom cycle that's most important... so, if you're taking them outdoors after the danger of frost is past in spring, and caring for them well until autumn, you should see nice blooms after they get their rest... which is usually about a 12 week nap. I grow my bulbs as houseplants... I allow them to grow and rest on their own schedule. They usually bloom in early spring, and they rest in autumn. I watch them for signs indicating I need to hold back on watering while they rest, or renew normal watering as they begin active growth. If Hippeastrum bulbs teach us anything, it's to have patience... and to be observant.

Hi TP First off welcome to the forum! There are so many good people here, I know you will enjoy it and learn many things. Let me suggest the search feature of this forum. You can type in what you want to learn and all posts with answers will come up for you to read. I learned so much this way, but do not ever feel like you cant ask a question here, people may be busy but someone will always answer. Ok I am not an expert, just the opposite, I am a newbie also, but I have learned so much here I am assuming when you say cuttings, they are without roots? Let me explain a little of what others have taught me here. With a new cutting ( no visible roots ) you need to remove all leaves and inflos (flower stems with flowers) Your cutting is without roots and the leaves and inflos will take so much energy from the cutting rooting it will be slow if at all. Also if the cutting was sent with the leaves and inflo intact I am assuming it is a new cutting. The bottom needs to callous over before you plant it. I leave mine out for at least 10 days to dry and callous over, that is where your roots will come from. Now after it has calloused over, I soak in a solution of superthrive which you can find at home depot and water while I am getting my pot and soil ready. I know some people soak for a few hours as well. To pot your cutting I suggest using a clear container. I use empty water bottles, that way you can see roots without moving it around to look. roots are delicate when they first start so do not mess with it. Bottom heat is very good for the rooting process. I use a seed heating mat. You can find those on ebay or some hydroponic stores carry them. I have the same greenhouse as you. I dont know about your humidity but I do think 90 degrees will most likely sunburn your cuttings. I learned this the hardway and lost a lani that way. To root my cuttings I pot them in waterbottles (holes in the bottom) water them in once till water runs out the wholes and leave it alone. Also I use a rooting hormone to help speed it up. Once you have soaked it, put some rooting hormone on a paper towel and roll the cutting around on the paper towel and make sure you get the bottom of the cutting covered as well. pot it maybe 3 inches or so in the soil or whatever potting medium your useing. put it on a heat mat and leave it be. No water, the cutting has water stored inside and doesnt need it to root. If you keep watering it, you are more apt to rot it. When you see about 6 or so leaves about 5 to 6 inches long you know it has started the rooting process. I spray the tips of mine when I have a couple of leaves, just do not let water run down the stem. Good luck and I hope I have helped a little. We learn from each other and I am hoping someone else with more experience will come and answer more. Just have patience, thats the key to rooting. Jackie

In America it's known as the Olympus SP-550 UZ - price $500 (US):- - 4.68 84.24mm (28  504mm equivalent in 35mm photography) - Dual Image Stabilization eliminates blur (so you can photograph even when panicing) - The world's most powerful ultra zoom (at present) - 7.1 megapixel (so your UFO pix will make the FULL front page) - high-speed sequential shooting (get those shots of everybody running from the UFO) - shoot in low light without a flash (UFOs usually appear at night) And further propaganda:- - FULL MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROL - ISO 5000 - "The SP-550 UZ offers the highest ISO sensitivity of any ultra zoom for superior low-light and fast-action photography" - With a burst rate of up to 15fps, you can freeze moments in time to get the shot you want. - macro (as close as 1cm) - wow!! gotta have one. -30 Shooting Modes including Movie with sound (HEAR the panicked screams) -Maximum Aperture f2.8  f4.5 - Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec.  15 sec., Bulb -ISO Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200*, 5000* (*approx. 3MP) - now you can photograph the famous "black cat in a coal mine". - Adjustment Resolutions 3,072 x 2,304, RAW / SHQ / HQ 3,072 x 2,048, 3:2 / SHQ / HQ 2,560 x 1,920, SQ1 High, Normal 2,304 x 1,728, SQ1 High, Normal 2,048 x 1,536, SQ1 High, Normal 1,600 x 1,200, SQ2 High, Normal 1,280 x 960, SQ2 High, Normal 1,024 x 768, SQ2 High, Normal 640 x 480, SQ2 High, Normal - 30 Shooting Modes: Auto, Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Modes, GUIDE, Scene Presets (Portrait, Landscape, Landscape & Portrait, Night Scene, Night & Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide1, Underwater Wide2, Underwater Macro), Movie - Panorama Modes Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with OLYMPUS Master Software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture Card - Sequential Shooting Hi-Speed2: 15 frames per second for 20 frames (1.2MP) Hi-Speed1: 7 frames per second for 15 frames (3MP) Normal Speed: 1.2 frames per second for 7 frames (7MP) - Bracket: Exposure bracketing up to 5 frames - Interval Shooting - Shooting Assist Functions - Histogram, Frame Assist - Noise Reduction - Set automatically at shutter speeds of 0.5 second or longer - Flash Working Range Wide: 14.8 ft. (4.5m), Tele: 9.2 ft. (2.8m) at ISO 200 Wide: 42.3 ft. (12.9m), Tele: 26.2 ft. (8.0m) at ISO 1600 - Date/Time Calendar Automatically recorded with each image (up to 2099) (after 2099 it goes into "Millenium melt-down" - remember that contrived scare-?) - Removable Media Card xD-Picture Card (16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB or 2GB) - Operating Environment Operation: 32°  104°F (0°  40°C), (Oh bother - that means no more desert trips, then); - 30%  90% humidity - So, why wouldn't you want one? Now I can get rid of my 35mm (Canon) and medium format film cameras, and give my back a rest - and even though the Panasonic (with Leica lens) has served me well, it's showing it's age.