Amaryllis Overload

Yesterday I decided that with temperatures staying relatively high, that the chance of frost happening again is very unlikely. I dragged over the flower boxes of amaryllis that I grew from seeds. Then, for some reason, I decided that it'd be best to separate all the amaryllis.

The four flower boxes that contained amaryllis that I started as seed in 2010 were very tricky. Even when I washed out the dirt, the roots were still clinging to each other. A lot of gentle wriggling and I got them all separated.

The seeds I started in 2011 were all very easy to take apart. Just tons of tiny little bulbs.

With the bulbs separated, I started planting them.

Then at some point came the horror when I realized I could not fit all the bulbs in the bed. I had to start putting them back in the flower boxes and I am still left with many tons of little bulbs that haven't had a chance to be planted in dirt yet.

I really did expect to have all the room necessary to plant the seed-grown amaryllis. What I should've done was take them apart one box at a time so that I knew when to quit. My back, neck, and legs are killing me from spending hours on planting them all. I have to find out if I have any extra dirt sitting around so that I can get the rest of the tiny bulbs in the flower boxes. I'm sure they're happy to have the extra room, even if they were disturbed.

Not Candy Floss Amaryllis

My Candy Floss finally bloomed a few days ago but the more I stared at the image on the website that I bought the bulb from, the more I was convinced that this isn't Candy Floss. The Candy Floss displayed on the site also had white stamen/anthers while mine were pink. So I posted a thread in the Amaryllis forum to see what other members thought.

The two pictures below are outside in evening sun:

The one picture below is inside under white light and flash:

Members pretty much confirmed that I do not have Candy Floss. One member posted a picture of his Candy Floss. Then there were suggestions such as, "Could it be Summertime? Could it be Milady?" Then the thread petered out with no solid guess on what the flower could be. I did contact the site that I ordered the bulb from but did not hear back from them. I'll probably give it a week before contacting them again.

Bearded Iris seedlings

I have to admit that I'm surprised at how many Bearded Iris seeds germinated. Last year I went to look up information on when to sow the seeds and it was pretty much agreed that the methods of winter stratification or soaking the seeds in water for weeks were the way to go. There was talk about how some of the seeds are so tough that their purpose is to take up to ten years before they burst free from the shell. Something about how they're protected in case something happens to the early birds that came up. It looks like just about every seed germinated.

Purple Mom/Black Dad

Black Mom/Purple Dad

Close-up of iris seedlings - Black Mom/Purple Dad

And for personal records, I was given a couple more plants.

Dutch Iris Miss Saigon and Garden Amaryllis Red & White

After doing a search for Dutch Iris, it appears that they're less-liked because they tend to dwindle in number instead of proliferating? The "Garden Amaryllis Red & White" looks like Minerva.

Green Dragon Amaryllis - self pollinated.

Wow. I thought I posted pictures of the Green Dragon Amaryllis when it bloomed. Guess not...

Below taken January 24th 2012:

Below five taken January 31, 2012 in different shades/sun:

Three other flower buds behind the one that opened.

Below taken February 5, 2012. One bud was aborted so only three blooms came out to play.

Sad looking Green Dragon

Below taken today:

I decided to self-pollinate the Green Dragon Amaryllis to see if it'd take. I have no idea if it worked or not. The pods don't seem to be swelling. The biggest pod in the middle belonged to the first bloom that came out.

Hopefully once spring comes, I can get this little guy in the ground and it can thrive. I'm afraid I'm not cut out for growing amaryllis in small pots.

USDA Unveils New Plant Hardiness Zone Map

USDA Unveils New Plant Hardiness Zone Map / January 25, 2012 / News from the USDA Agricultural Research Service

Thought I'd pass this link on to others. An updated plant hardiness zone map. I gave my zipcode a whirl and was surprised to see that the border of 7b and 8a is no longer 'next door' but is now way up state.

Iris seedling

I love how my iris seedling is starting to look like an iris. It seems 'big' in this picture but it is incredibly tiny in the pot. Quick to miss when looking around. hehe.

As it is right now, I've spotted three iris seedlings in this "Black Mom/Purple Dad" pot. The "Purple Mom/Black Dad" pot has nothing so far.

Dragon Arum now?

Wow... I was surprised to see these two poking out of the ground. Dragon Arums. Already?

What also surprises me is that these two used to be by the mailbox before I relocated them to the amaryllis bed. After I relocated them, they 'vanished' and I assumed they just rotted away.

The dragon arum in the other bed (the one I take pictures of with the big flowers) haven't come up yet. Those two suffered a mishap last year where they bloomed and immediately both plants just died down to the ground. I wonder if those bulbs are still around or not. Time will tell. I have a love/hate relationship with the dragon arum but always pleasantly surprised to see them make an appearance (even if it's always way so early in the year while frosts are still coming).

Amaryllis bulbs - Green Dragon and Candy Floss

My order finally came in!

I bought Green Dragon Amaryllis in honor of 2012 being 'Year of the Dragon'. Candy Floss was tossed in because two bulbs are always better than one, right? And I definitely want more color added to the collection so that cross-pollinating becomes many more times the fun.

Gotta dig up two pots and get them planted... Now I need to look up information on how to store the pollen so that I can use it on the reds when they bloom this spring.

Follow the sun...

I'm not one of those lucky people that have a big south-facing window with shelves to help plants gets sun during the winter months so I keep relocating the amaryllis to a chair and slowly push it across the kitchen floor to follow the sun. Someone else appreciates it as well.

Amaryllis and Gypsy

Of course, have to keep a close eye on them both to make sure she isn't nibbling on the plant or ready to stretch out and send the pot tumbling over. Amazingly she hasn't thus far. Once the temperature starts reaching to a point where it doesn't feel like I need a jacket, I set the pot outside on the back porch for full sun. Then it comes inside to go on a high shelf before the sun goes down.

Looks like after tonight, there'll be a handful of days where the lows will be in the twenties. That's something at least!

Cleaning up backyard - Iris Seedling

It appears the cutting company is done removing the pine trees from the woods that butt up against the backyard. For us, the focus is now on the side of the backyard and the mess that was caused by Hurricane Irene when she toppled the pine trees back in August.

With the weather cooling down and while the wisteria vines have lost their leaves, the clean-up of the backyard has finally started. For a couple days now, it's been a lot of cutting and tugging at the vines. As for the pine trees that were laying on the fence, a couple of them were removed with the chainsaw until the chain broke.

 Slowly getting it loaded up. Once the chainsaw is fixed, the rest of the fallen pine trees will be cut off the fence. I don't know about the mess on the other side of the fence seeing as that isn't our property but some of those pine trees are leaning over into the backyard. I don't know how long they'll have before they give up from the weight of the wisteria on top.

Right now the top priority is to just clear everything off the fence and straighten it back up for the dogs. It'll be nice to see the edges of the yard again.


So much for winter-sowing. Looks like at least one Iris seedling has germinated and started coming up...

Iris Seedling

Both Iris pots will be moved into the greenhouse to protect them from the freezing temperatures that are coming (assuming winter gets here) in case more seeds have germinated.