Been wondering the same thing.

Still listening up here in snowy NH. Lots of African violets blooming, but still waiting on amaryllis.

I also bought this Farrari at Walmart grocery, but very disappointed it has mosaic virus. I'm keeping it across the room from my other ones. Too bad it must go in the trash after these beautiful blooms.

Hi Harold,

It looks like it may be scarring due to (mechanical) damage or exposure to temperature change during storage. Do the leaves look splotchy or streaked? If they are, then there's a good possibility they're virused. I had to throw away some of mine that had become virused and it was a total bummer because I had them for a few years and they were starting to grow a bunch of offsets.

Thanks Fred. It grew the scape without any leaves. I have grown several of them for years with varying luck. I put the bulbs in a paper bag and store them in the basement fridge for the summer. But this is a new purchase in December. I had never heard of this virus until reading of it here a few months ago. I suppose I will keep this bulb afterall.

Well, Fred.....it's raining and blowing and no sign of letting up here in Sydney! After some shockingly hot days we now have monsoon-like conditions. Plants are being whipped about and branches breaking off trees, but at least we have water - which is something to be grateful for as we have had restricted watering for months now with the use of watering cans only, and many casualties seen throughout the district with dead and dying trees and shrubs due to the lack of garden watering over this hot summer!

The only movement in my garden of late is a Johnsonii toughening it out and throwing up a very belated scape.....I only hope it survives this downpour!

Thought I was cured of the that syndrome that has people accumulating bulbs each season. Stayed away from buying any bulbs at the start of the season since I have way too many and need to downsize. Thus, haven't had much to post lately. But sales have occurred and I got Alfresco on sale at Amazon then couldn't pass up a sale at Walmart for 3 cents each! So, now I have 8 more bulbs this season.

Julie,

Thank God you have rain and I'm so sorry for the devastation you've had to endure. Hopefully this life giving rain will help things get back to normal and spark a beautiful green wave of rebirth :-))) Please send a picture of your x johnsonii, I would love to see it. Many years ago I started a batch of x johnsonii seeds and this year, one of the bulbs has finally reached "critical mass" and has sent up a spike. When It blooms, I'll post a picture.

Brian,

I'm sorry to say that once infected by CHAD...there's no cure :-))) I keep telling myself "NO MORE PLANTS" so what do I do? I buy more plants and seeds...sigh. What can I say, we're gluttons for punishment and we would have it no other way :-)))

Got my nose in seed catalogs. Also 4-5 inches of new snow this morning and no end yet in sight.

Popmama, that is so beautiful. It looks almost like Pink Flush to me. Fred, I'm itching to post, but my hippies aren't doing much yet. I put them into dormancy in November, took them out first week of January, so it's going to be another while yet. Next year I'm going to see if I can put at least some into dormancy earlier, so I would have blooms this difficult time of the year, between the holidays and spring warm-up.

I have no blooms to show at the moment, but I do have one of these strange 'fountain' hippies from my seed grown plants with the leaves growing in an odd circular fashion. I have seen an old post with a similar plant, but I never found the outcome from when that plant bloomed. Does anyone have a similar occurrence in their collection? And what was the final outcome? Did the plant go on to bloom normally....or should I toss this one now and be done with it? The off-sets look to be following the same odd growing pattern as the parent bulb, so it seems to be a genetic problem.

How very cool looking. Maybe it's trying to be a crinum???

I have no idea what it's up to, Fred, but it takes up more space growing in this circular fashion. I noticed another seedling from the same cross growing somewhat similar to this one, but not nearly as pronounced. With the size it is now, it should flower for me next October, so I suppose I will find out then if it flowers normally or not.

Fred, my Hippis are late this season too! We have a very warm winter this year, maybe its because of that. The first and only one blooming right now is H. striatum. I did not take a picture yet that I could post... My cat is sick and needs much more time and care than the plants

at that moment. But I have some buds coming and I promise I'll take pictures and post them when they flower.

My only new bulb - Wild 'Amazone - was very nice and it is developing a seedpod. Must be a self, so if you want to grow more plants just tell me...

Anja

Hi Anja,

I'm so sorry your poor little kitty is sick and I completely understand, I would be doing the same thing. Kisses and hugs to your kitty.

Oh Julie, you have to wait and see the flower!! You grew it this long, don't give up yet:)

Anja, so sorry to hear about your cat :( Its so hard to see them not feeling well.

Jody, your are right, I should keep this out of interest to at least see what happens. I'll update when it flowers....whether good or bad!

Anja, that is unfortunate news about your pussy-cat. My animals are my world, so I know how distressing it can be when one is ill. I hope all turns out well for you both.

Thanks to everybody for the good wishes! I told him and he seemed to be happy to hear:-)

Julie, I actually like your fountain hippi very much! I have a bulb of H. yungacense that is growing a bit like yours. Do you know the parents?

Anja, it was a self-seed of Maguire's 'Milady's Magic', and one other from the same batch is a little similar, but not nearly as noticeable. These are the only ones that are doing this odd circular growing. All my other seedlings are normal.

Lovely to see this 'Johnsonii' in bloom at this time of the season here in Sydney. Nothing else has given an off-season bloom, so I very much enjoyed this one lone scape brightening up the garden.

Julie, that is striking!! Well if you had only one to bloom this time of year, that's not a bad one :)

Do you grow them in the ground, Julie? They are really lovely!

Thanks, Jody. I agree, it is a nice bloom to have out - and one of my favourites!

Anja, nearly all of my hippies are grown in pots undercover. I found they did very well in the garden, but were always knocked about terribly when we had extended periods of rain with red blotch breaking out badly every single time. So I moved them all under the cover of some very simple frames with greenhouse film. Once the water was off them, I had no more problems with red blotch. I water normally with the hose, but as long as they are not kept wet for days on end as they would be out in the garden, I have had no further problems.

I have a few terracotta pots full of bulbs out in the back garden that are exposed to normal rainfall, and they seem to do reasonably well, but I still need to clean them up periodically to clear away any infected leaves and occasionally I spray for fungal infections. The terracotta pots do seem to help keep the bulbs healthier compared to the plastic ones. But for sure, I couldn't keep the amount of plants that I have if they were not undercover.

Julie

Plastic sheeting and conduit. Well done.

Thanks, OldDutch. This simple combination works very well for here in my temperate climate. The only problem is far too many plants, and still not enough space to fit them all in! This is the eternal problem!

Very nice Julie! I can't agree more...the more space, the more plants we find to fill it !!!

Julie and Jody,

Sigh....it's even worse in a colder climate with absolutely no more inside space :-(((( It looks like I'm gonna have to make new friends quickly to share stuff. I already share lots of stuff with various online plant societies and folks on this wonderful list but since I have some mental spacial issues, the moment I give one thing away I buy ten. I need help.

Up here in Minnesota, outside is definitely season limited. My house is also shaded so windows, which are old and sorta drafty anyway, sorta hafta yield to light gardens. I have been able to find space for 6 flats but that has to do for everything over winter. Time to start plants for the first to go in the outside garden.

A first for me: one of my standard hippeastrums is showing a pup, a real little one, but the first I have ever had on a standard sized hippe. That bulb has not yet rebloomed, although it has taken on quite some girth from when I rescued it. Once it warms up enough, I am going to put my three standards out in the garden. Maybe the Sonatinis will go out, too. They seem to be doing alright in the light garden.

Old Dutch,

Ah, the things we northern gardeners do for the love of plants?