SPEC: I. japonica
- Subject: SPEC: I. japonica
- From: H*
- Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 14:27:48 -0800
We have another 3" of snow and temps in the minuses this morning but we also
have the first real signs of spring.
In addition to 3 very cold, very pathetic looking robins who arrived a few
days ago, my housebound pot of I. japonica is sending up bloom stalks. The 2
tiny fans I started with a
few years ago have spread to completely fill a 16" pot. I've counted 10
stems and if the show is anything like last spring's bloom, it's just
getting started.
I fell in love with the photos of the delicate blooms but was put off by all
the stories I'd heard about how fussy these are supposed to be. These were a
gift (thanks again, Dennis!). The first year I fed them, watered them, never
let them dry out and almost killed them. The second year I decided that if
the fool things (2 skinny fans) were determined to die, I wasn't going to
knock myself out pampering them. They went on the same "schedule" as the
schlumbergera (Nearly ignored after blooming then flooded and probably
overfed when I noticed them gasping for water a few months later.)
Oddly, except for losing a leaf or two on the outside of some of the fans
and the tips of the leaves turning brown, the plants have gone wild. As a
rule, they'll bloom twice a year. The first bloom is sometime in
February-March for just over a month. They bloom again between July and
August for about a month but I'm not certain this second bloom isn't a
response to the larger pot they get each spring when they're moved to the
shaded greenhouse.
I'll post photos to the photo list when the buds open. It looks like it's
gonna be quite a show.
Christy Hensler
Newport, WA
zone 4b
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