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Achimenes dormancy, growing them under lights.

On Tue, 10 Jun 1997, Ruth Zavitz wrote:

> In a previous post I said I never force dormancy bu there is an exception.
> 
> Achimenes are normally a summer flowering plant but I like my indoor plants
> to flower in winter.  Achimenes rhizomes need a four month dormancy period
> so I force some into dormancy by withholding water in July so they resprout
> and come into bloom under fluorescent lights in the winter.  This doesn't
> seem to hurt them in any way although some varieties perform better under
> artifcial light than others.


Dear Ruth Zavitz and others,
	
	I found this posting interesting, and I think that I will try this
with a few of my achimenes this year.  There is an article in a back issue
of GSN about this topic.  A grower wrote in detail about how he forced his
achimenes into dormancy, and had flowers on them when most people's were
dormant.  Ruth Zavitz actually covered all of the crucial points in her letter.

	I was interested in what she wrote about some types of achimenes
doing better than others under lights.  I am in only my second season of
growing achimenes, and would be interested in reading a short list,
perhaps with comments about achimenes (and the related rhizomatous genera
and intergenerics) in terms of which do best under lights vs in
windowsills.  Those are my two growing areas, and I am growing over 20
achimenes and eucadonias and xAchimenantha.  Have most of mine in
windowsills, with a few under lights.  

	I can tell you that I just grew and bloomed A. erecta underlights.
 Oops, I forgot, my light stand is in a south-facing window, so that isn't
a very controlled test.  Oh well, I hope to fire up a fourth fluorescent
light (as soon as I stabilize my light stand by securing it to the wall so
that putting plants on the highest, fourth, shelf doesn't bring the whole
thing toppling down on me), and to grow more of my achimenes under lights.
This will be so that they get more hours of good light per day; here in SF
our summer brings many foggy days, which can make windowsill growing
slightly frustrating.

	Anyway, I look foward to reading about which achimenes did well
for people under lights, and whether there are any which they would warn
against growing under lights.

Cordially,

Keith Dabney
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