Re: Watsonia & Agapanthus
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Watsonia & Agapanthus
- From: C* M* <C*@newcastle.ac.uk>
- Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 02:26:15 -0600 (MDT)
On Sun, 5 Oct 1997, Marte Halleck wrote:
> Okay, these are not iris -- & only one's a member of the Iris family,
> the other in the Lily clan, but I have a problem & you people are
> elected to (I hope) help.
>
> A friend gave me these thinking I had a greenhouse (I don't.) She lives
> in San Diego, doesn't quite comprehend what a Zone 4 climate is really
> like as she suggested I pot these up "for the patio" & then just "bring
> them indoors when it gets cold." It's already too cold here outdoors for
> these S. Africans! I did pot the Agapanthus as it's in leaf, now I have
> to find a cool (50F) & sunny (3-4 hrs per day min.) spot for it in my
> crowded house -- at least that's what the books say. I shudder to think
> how tall this might get provided it doesn't croak immediately.
>
The Agapanthus will do OK in a pot provided that you can keep it cool
enough during it's stay indoors. Try and keep it around 10-15oC in the
unheated back bedroom or maybe a porch if you havn't got a greenhouse.
> The Watsonia corms (4, all large) are dry & dormant but NOW is the
time
> they're supposed to be planted out in mild climates to grow over the
> fall-winter & flower in late winter-early spring, again according to
> the references I can find. My question is: does anyone know if I can
> tuck these corms away in peat or vermiculite until spring the way one
> does Gladiolus bulbs? If so, should the storage medium be kept damp or
> dry? Approx. what temp? Or had I better be getting these planted in a
> big pot of soil & put in a sunny window -- if I can find one somewhere?
Sounds like the best idea is the sunny window in the pot and keeping them
just moist but cool, like the Agapanthus. I get away with them on a
raised bed covered with a cloche in winter but then I'm in Zone 7/8. They
still flower well.
>
Christopher Morris
Hexham Northumberland, UK
Drizzle and Wind, just the weather for moving house!
>
