Bill I don't know where you read about it being difficult to breed for a white hippie but maybe the difficulty came from trying to get a large tetraploid shape flower. Most white species hippeasrum appear to be slender trumpets. I'm just speculating. Ashley/AJ

I think a lot of people become interested in growing species because they began with hybrids, which sparked the interest to know and gain more! At least, that's how I became interested in the species! I think hybrids definitely have their place, and I do love the different sizes, colors and shapes available, and the ease with which they are brought to bloom and seed. Growing the different hybrids successfully has certainly given me the incentive, and the basic knowledge, to try growing some of the more readily available species. And yes, thank you, Dan... for playing a part in making species more available to the novice grower, like me! Now that I have several years under my belt of growing a couple of hybrids, and have recently expanded my collection to include many, I am looking more closely at the species for their simple beauty. While the manmade hybrids are beautiful in their own right, some perhaps a bit garish, there's nothing that quite compares to Nature's creations... I, also, recently acquired a couple of Pardonii Germa bulbs, and am happy to report that one is pushing up two scapes! I am extremely excited to see it in bloom! I am also thrilled with my new Papilio Butterfly, which has three blooms on its scape! Yes, three! I have a younger bulb of Papilio, but just couldn't wait to see the blooms in person, so I bought a mature bulb from RC. I'm very pleased with it's performance and beauty! Thank you, Lora, for the culture tips on the Germa! I'm happy to know I'm treating them properly, bottom watering and keeping them a bit more on the dry side. I also have them on a heat mat, which they seem to like, as evidenced by the growth of scapes! I concur that most plants aren't difficult to grow as long as the necessary research is done to find proper cultural information, and that culture is followed, emulating a plants natural habitat to the best of ones ability. Most plants can adapt a bit, I've found. You have a lovely greenhouse, by the way... I admit to being envious! We should have ours up and operational by this summer, and I am so looking forward to filling the space, however small it may be in comparison to yours! We have the HF 12'x10' awaiting construction. At some point, I'd like to acquire bulbs of H. striatum and a few others... and I can already see that a time will come where I will pare down my hybrid collection to only include those that I feel are spectacular and have a place in the breeding program I am working on.

There is a paper by Meerow on "New trends in amaryllis breeding". If that paper doesn't help you, it at least provides possible links to what dept to contact at FL State where research in this field is ongoing. I'd bet someone in their dept of horticulture or botany could help you. K

Hi Josh, Just goofing around so happened to check in and see this.....I have a ton of these blooming in my basement right now as well as striatum x blossfeldiae so if you have more that are going to bloom and want pollen I can send you some. I do not bother to cross mine for more progeny anymore as I have given away so many seed that I must have saturated the market for this little lady I would think. It is a pretty and very reliable bloomer isn't it :o) Dan