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Sunday 10 October 2010

Bold and Red;

In 1989 I received 2 Hippeastrum bulbs. One produced red, the other red and white flowers. The red one had more cup shaped, roundish petals the other more pointy star
like petals.
All my Hippeastrums are grown from seed collected from the flowers in my garden.. Over the years they have hybridized and have come up in different patterns, colours and shapes. Also in very soft pink and all white with a few red stripes.
















Hippeastrum is a genus of about 90 species and 600+ hybrids and cultivars of bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean. Some species are grown for their large showy flowers. These plants are popularly but erroneously known as Amaryllis, a monotypic African genus in the same family.

If you are interested in growing Hippeastrums click here

Believe it or not:

Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.
E. B. White




20 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness you do have a wonderful collection. I've never been much of a fan of Hippies and I've never tried growing them, but your photos have changed my mind. I really love the hybrid with the maroon and white stripes ... true Queensland colours! Now if I can just find another spot for yet another potted plant!!!

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  2. Wow! These hybrids all came from the same two plants?!! That is really cool. They are so beautiful. And to think, all these years, I've been snapping off the spent blooms so that mine would not produce seeds and draw energy from the bulb. Hmmm.... I think whoever taught me that taught me wrong.

    To me, Hippeastrums are the quintessential spring bulbs for Florida gardens. Speaking of which, how wonderful that you are enjoying them in your garden right now...here in October. Happy Spring!

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  3. Thank you Bernie for your visit. Every spring I look so much forward to see these bold and beautiful flowers. This plant is self sufficient. Never watered, never fertilized, but they are all growing in the garden not in pots. As long as you allow the leaves to die down naturally to feed the bulb it does not need any other care. I collect the seed or I also let it seed anywhere and collect the small seedlings which spring up near the mother bulb.

    Floridagirl thank you for your comment. I always let them seed as it is part of the pleasure to see what sort of flowers emerge. Sometimes you get a really special one! I have never experienced a weakening of the bulbs. They flower abundantly every year more. Could you show some of your Hippeastrums or have I missed them on one of your posts? Please let me know.

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  4. Titania, did you take photo with these gorgeous blooms? They are super wonderful!!! I love every one of them. Their flowers look fantastic in any combination of red and white you have here. I have been reading about bulbs recently. Bulbs are fascinating. About fertiliser, so many views... some will say it's not necessary to apply fertiliser but some will say yes... oh I really hope my bulbs in my garden will give me revelation on how to really grow them well... yours are so admirable!

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  5. Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for your comment and enthusiasm in planting wonderful species. It depends on many things using fertilizer. Plants in pots always need a boost as their soil is restricted and also may leak out with watering.

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  6. All from seed thats terrific. So many different kinds. i must get some.

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  7. Your hippy lilies have a lot of blooms and they are really gorgeous! I am trying to grow a simple one but it has not flowered yet. The first time it flowered was from the nursery.

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  8. Hi again, Titania! My amaryllis are not so impressive right now, though their foliage is looking lovely again now that peak lubber season is coming to a halt. I have posted a bit on them in the past...hmmm...about six months ago, in our spring. If you want to see them, you can go to my site, and in the little search box in my sidebar, type hippeastrum, amaryllis, red lion, lady jane, or aphrodite. I have a couple more cultivars, whose names I can't recall right now. Hopefully, I will add more varieties this winter. There are usually many for sale around Christmas here.

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  9. Hello Titania! These are pure beauties, what wonderful flowers! I like their shape, their shades, and the white pattern inside. Nice images too.
    Have a good week :-)

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  10. How exciting that you have your very own amaryllis from seeds! I'm lucky to keep one alive for a year to see it rebloom. :)

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  11. What magnificent flowers and wonderful photos of them.

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  12. Oh, how wonderful to see all these varieties coming from seeds! My friend gave some seeds this year, I hope in a few years I can have a nice collection as yours! So pretty!

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  13. They are all very beautiful and that's so interesting the way they hybridized.

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  14. thank you for the comments, very much appreciated.

    Ami, just keep collecting the seed and sowing and you will end up with many different patterns within these gorgeous flowers.

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  15. i love amaryllis (which may be a slightly fawlty name, but the one i/we use here:), but for the hyacinth the ultimate swedish christmas flower. i never knew they came in so many colours/patterns before i visited the botanical gardens here in stockholm a few years ago. ah the gourgeousness! like your splendid collection. such richness!

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  16. Titania, what other to say but I am impressed with this wonderful collection of various colors and patterns in your own garden. I enjoyed these photos over and over again and still not get enough of the flowers’ beauty

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  17. Beim ersten Anblick dieser tollen Blüten dachte ich sofort an Amaryllis, die jetzt ja bald wieder in den Läden zu kaufen sind (ein typisches Weihnachtsgeschenk für viele Leute!). Aber nun bin ich eines Besseren belehrt worden. Du hast ja eine fantastische Sammlung. Jede Einzelne ist speziell in ihrer Farbgebung und Zeichnung und wunderschön. Da hat sich die Mühe (wenn man dieses Wort bei Gärtner überhaupt gebrauchen darf) der Aussaat ja wirklch seeeehr gelohnt.
    Es liebs Grüessli
    Barbara

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  18. I am so envious, these plants seem to flower only once in their lifetime for me.....

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  19. What a wonderful collection of Hippeastrums you have...and all from 2 plants! I've just taken my 6 potted plants to the cellar for their rest period and am looking forward to seeing some beautiful blooms during the winter when we are starved for flowers :)

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