Eucomis

I know someone here has to have experience with pineapple lily. I just have a quick question about them. I have 3 different varieties of them and it seems only 1 has came up so far (planted them in middle march). Do the different cultivars varry in sprout time? or is something going wrong. They were inside at about 65-70 degress for about 1 1/2 months and they have been outside ever since. I checked the other bulbs to make sure they wernt rotted and they seemed fine, granted they worked themselves up to the top of the soil. Any responce will be appreciated. oh and any tips on overwintering would help too.

thanks
-Eli

Hi,
I grow Eucomis bicolor outside, it is totally hardy here just north of New York City. It is also the last plant in my garden to show, its not up yet and probably wont be until early June, or later if spring turns cool. Eucomis sprouts when conditions are very warm and settled, I'd say just give your plants more time to show. I've seen them wait until late June in years with cool wet springs.
Eucomis will come up faster if kept warm inside in pots.
As for overwintering, nearly all species can be kept iinside dry in pots or dug up for the winter. Some are winter hardy, check out Seneca Hills Nurserys website for info on which ones do best in cold climates (she gets reliable snow cover there in upstate New York, we don't but have much milder winters).
Good luck!

thanks for the info, its good to know since i baught them from a reputable grower. If they arent showing up untill june do you get a good bloom out of them?

Yes they do bloom, once they do start coming up they grow fast.

figures i took that picture on the 9th and now today i go look and all of them are coming up and the two largest plants are shooting out little plants along side of them. 9 in all so far from 5 bulbs. 6 coming from the two large ones.

I've had Eucomis bicolor for 15 years. From one bulb I now have 6. I start mine indoors in late March then put it outside in mid-June. It is growing as a pot plant. It flowers in late July-early August then once the frost has killed the foliage, I bring the pot into the basement and stop watering until next March. I then repot and start all over again. Even indoors, mine are just starting to break the surface so they can be slow to start but grow quite rapidly once they get going.

I adore eucomis, have pink and have white. Last year I bought some and had a couple from trades, they grew fine, but as of this writing they haven't come back.

Then I bought some from eflowergarden, bulbs were HUGE and right now they are massive green plants, no buds yet.

planted inground, part shade, with about 1-2 hours of afternoon sun.

took this pic today. flags are marking bulbs planted last year. so far, no eucomis action at these locations.