Re: Naked Ladies! (Amaryllis belladonna)

"Seán A. O'Hara" wrote:
> 
> At 04:37 AM 8/9/01 -0700, Richard Starkeson wrote:
> >These have naturalized all over northern California.  (They don't seem to have
> >spread a lot, but spread out gradually from where they had originally benn
> >planted)  I have noticed that when left on their own, they sometimes form
> >large
> >clumps of bulbs, all above the ground surface.  Is this their natural
> >manner of
> >growth in their native climate?
> 
> Richard -
> 
> Yes, these bulbs do neet to be planted with their neck exposed.  They are
> often planted on sloping soil to provide the excellent drainage they prefer
> and erosion can gradually expose even more bulb, which doesn't seem to
> bother them either.
> 
> The only photo I've ever seen of Amaryllis belladonna growing in South
> Africa was an immense flat plain that was covered with the bulbs in full
> flower, and the soil was apparently flooded from a recent
> rain!!  Interesting shot with the flowers reflecting in the water!  I was
> told that this was the start of the raining season and that the plant can
> tolerate this flooding during this period, but the are was bone dry in summer.

THi sounds like a typical African Vlei. They occur in a lot of South and
East Africa and can best be described as seasonal swamps (or in few
cases lakes) which as you say become dry ground again once the rains are
over. Many of the plants and even some frogs and fish are geared to the
limited seasonal activity and pass the rainless seasons entombed in
dried mud. This also occurs in Australia.
> 
> If you'd like to transplant the bulbs to a new location, they should be
> lifted while in flower (they are still dormant) or they may not bloom for
> some time. 

I have read this lifting in flower also applies to Galanthus.

Moira 
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time
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