Blood Lily

Scadoxus multiflorus.
The first of a potential five.

That's a beauty, one I haven't tried yet!

You have 5? How do you overwinter yours?

Theres 5 in that pot: I think 1 went south, then there's the bloomer, and 3 waiting to come on. The ones awaited are starting to stir. The flowers are followed by leafage. To overwinter,
I put them in the basement, usually repot come spring.

Very beautifyl!

So, jmorth, you store them "dry" - out of pot?

I have a bunch of them in pots and none so far have surfaced. I keep thinking, not enough water, too much water. So I pulled one and its nice and firm, but no roots, looks just like when I put them in over a month ago. So there is hope?
Rebecca

They are summer dormant in their naural habitat. As it's late to be planted you may find it won't do anything until next year. It prefers to go dry in the summer, so be careful about watering now.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/haemancoc.htm


Is this the same bulb? Assuming it was Haemanthus, says Scadoxus!


This message was edited Aug 2, 2006 12:20 AM

Blood lily is Haemanthus, but Scadoxus is now separated from it. Same growing conditions

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/scadoxkath.htm

I store the pot with bulbs in it in the basement overwinter. When spring arrives I usually leave them in same pot but replace the top couple of inches of soil. They usually are good for only a couple of seasons.

Thanks, jmorth. Wallaby 1, you say "they are summer dormant". Summer where? Do you mean July/August?

Summer in South Africa but that would be for Haemanthus, I can't really say when they should be dormant where you are but summer is summer wherever you are, albeit in different months. The bulb goes dormant because it grows in winter rainfall areas that have dry summers, and that is it's way of conserving the bulb. When the autumn rains come it would start into regrowth. There are many bulbs that do this, Arisaema for one, they start to regrow roots in autumn, make foliage in spring and flower late spring to early summer and then die back for the summer.

It states on the Plantzafrica site about Scadoxus

"Flowering is in late summer to early autumn (December-March)."

This couild be in summer rainfall areas. If a bulb has been brought directly from South Africa for sale, and many are grown there for the foreign market, it will also have to alter it's body-clock. They also do grow in many different locations.

There are subspecies, one called 'katharinae' it states

"Scadoxus multiflorus ssp katharinae is an evergreen, summer growing perennial that requires semi-shade and will flourish even in heavy shade. It may be deciduous and go dormant in winter in colder climates. It is frost sensitive and is not recommended for outdoor cultivation in areas colder than USDA Zone 10, i.e. with a minimum temperature of -1 to 4ºC."

If you think of Hippeastrum, when growing them from a dormant bulb if you give too much water they can rot before they make roots. It is a good idea to keep well drained and moist rather than wet, with plenty of humous, this paragraph may help

"Scadoxus rootstocks are planted just below the ground and are best left undisturbed in the same position for many years. The soil must be well-drained, rich and light, with plenty of leaf-mould or well-rotted compost. The plants benefit greatly from regular liquid feeding. Scadoxus multiflorus ssp katharinae likes plentiful water when in active growth, but dislikes water-logged soils. In winter rainfall areas, it has no trouble surviving the wet winters, provided it is in a well-drained position."

Thanks so much... I do grow Hippeastrum. I get what you're saying about moist/not soggy well-drained, rich soil... I will have to disturb it's roots as I have it in a mixed container... I'll see how it does...