Hippeastrum Bloom Event - X Hippeastrelia

This is a first blooming for me, and I have to say I'm impressed (I know, I always say that, I guess I'm easily pleased). Look at it, though....

X Hippeastrelia is a hybrid between a Hippeastrum (nobody knows which one it was) and a small, less well known bulb called Sprekelia formosissima or Jacobean lily. This lovely hybrid is unusual in that it manages to carry the best traits of both its parents, without any of the negatives. The colour is wonderful and deep with a velvety texture to the flowers, and they are longer lasting than Sprekelia. Two flowers to a stem, rather than one from Sprekelia, a good size compared to the size of the bulb. Here's a gratuitous side view of the bloom.

The blooms are absolutely dripping with nectar, have to be careful where I put it.

Seems an easy grower, the hardest part of its culture is finding them in the first place, my plant came from eBay. It is reputed to multiply fast (much like the Klister varieties which will be discussed in a full length post I'm working on) but this has only produced one offset so far. It is potted in my standard houseplant potting mix and grown temporarily under lights. Mostly I try to grow Hippeastrum under natural light, but when the plants put up flower scapes during winter they tend to stretch to the light, no matter how much I turn them, and get unnecessarily tall.

I have had this plant of over a year, so I'm not sure what the bloom trigger here is but it didn't flower immediately on planting like a lot of Hippeastrum do. I did read about Sprekelia that it takes time for it to settle down after disturbance, so maybe this trait has been passed along to the hybrid.

In other news,  a package of new bulbs from Royal Colors arrived today that I'd ordered back in November. I ordered six varieties (Hercules, Daphne, Picotee, Bogota, Gervase and Double Delight), two of which (Hercules and Double delight) are jumbo sized bulbs.  Pictured below is Hercules, with my mostly obscured hand for scale.

Once again, I'm impressed with the quality of the bulbs, and can't wait to get them into bloom, though it will be in the new year, as I have the last lot coming up to bloom at the moment.

Hippeastrum Bloom Event - Limona

I don't usually go for the green or yellow Hippeastrum as I find the colours quite wishy-washy, but I have to admit they are growing on me. I particularly like the Pinkish flush this one has. One of the smaller flowered hybrids, it is nicely proportioned as the stem is not too tall. Bought around Christmas 2014, this one has come back into bloom with one scape bearing four blooms, which are opening sequentially.

Hippeastrum bloom event - Intermezzo

Here I present Hippeastrum 'Intermezzo'. I really like this hybrid, even though I'm not usually a fan of what I call 'wishy washy' colours. Other people may call them 'pastel' shades. However, there are points in its favour. Sadly my photography skills are somewhat to be desired but then this isn't about photography, is it? Had I taken a better photo, you would see that this is a very nice trumpet variety. Trumpet varieties are rather thin on the ground so I get them whenever I see them. They have wonderful stately elegant blooms that remind me even more strongly of lilies than most Hippeastrum do. The blooms are long and flared out at the end rather than opening quite flat. when I got this variety, I wasn't aware it was a trumpet variety (the vendor's photography obviously too fantastic, either!). I was also expecting a darker flower, I'm not sure why. The main point in this variety's favour is that it is scented. Any grower of garden centre bought Hippeastrum will tell you that they tend not to be scented, or very lightly at best. While I can't call this highly fragrant, it is very pleasant to smell (even if you do have to stick your nose in it to smell it properly). Seems a good grower and reliable bloomer, too. Enjoy!

Hippeastrum bloom event - Red Garden

Hippeastrum 'Red Garden' is a lovely miniature Hippeastrum that produces clumps of smallish, sort of daffodil sized bulbs in what is known as a 'klister'. Two or three flower spikes might be produced per bulb, resulting in quite an impressive show. Only one flower scape on this occasion, though. I have several colours in this 'garden' series (yellow, striped and white). I divided up the clumps to get them planted and rooted so its nice to see blooms. Expect lots of Hippeastrum pictures in future!