Re: Amaryllis belladonna

Pam, et al:

According to Mark Griffiths' "Index of Garden Plants"
(RHS), there are at least 12 separate, named
selections (colors) of the species Amaryllis
belladonna.  Among these 12 is 'Hathor' ("flowers
white").

xAmarygia parkeri is described in this book as "clear
deep pink rose suffused carmine, varying in
self-crosses and back-crosses".  It also lists a
selection of this bigeneric hybrid, 'Alba' (flowers
"pure white, fragrant").

There is also xAmarygia bidwillii, "similar to xA.
parkeri, but flowers shorter and tep. broader".

According to Sima Eliovonson's "Wildflowers of South
Africa" (one of my favorite books), "New vigorous
hybrids, called 'multiflora' hybrids, have been
produced in Australia and others have been cultivated
in California, but there is little or no
experimentation in South Africa.

There is also a bigeneric hybrid between Amaryllis and
Crinum moorei, called xAmarcrinum memoria-corsii,
"shell pink, fragrant".  This one is VERY nice.

There was once a great bulb breeder and seller in
Souther California, whose name, I believe started with
a "G".  Anybody have any input on this?  It's gone
now, unfortunately.

By the way, I just yesterday saw a small colony of
Amaryllis belladonna 'Kimberly' ("flowers deep carmine
pink, center white".  GORGEOUS!

I have seen Amaryllis under many conditions, coastal
to inland, full sun to full shade.  With the exception
of flowers in full shade seeming more deeply colored
(which might be mostly a light refraction issue), the
differences under different conditions is subtle at
best.

Joe Seals,
Santa Maria

--- p.k.peirce@att.net wrote:
> Dear Sean and all,
> 
> In some reading about Amaryllis belladonna, I came 
> across an account of how the flowers are bleached
> out by 
> heat, being almost white inland in CA and deep pink
> near 
> the cooler coast, even to the point of varying in
> color 
> in a single head depending on the temperature when 
> individual flowers opened. Can anyone confirm this?
> I 
> have seen the plant in S.F. and in Sonoma County,
> which 
> was certainly warmer than S.F., and the flowers have
> 
> always been the same pink as far as I can remember.
> 
> A related question, and probably opening a pandora's
> 
> box, is about cultivars of different colors. I am
> not 
> sure there is a definitive answer here. The Royal
> Hort A-
> Z lists several cvs., including the white-
> flowered 'Hathor'. The website of Bulbmania, a
> nursery 
> in Moss Beach, lists 'Hathor' as a cv. of x Amarygia
> (a 
> cross between A.b. and Brunsvigia josephine). 
> (www.bulbmania.com/how2grow00.html) 
> 
> I am trying to determine if there is a definitive
> list 
> of the colors that the species may be, either in the
> 
> wild in South Africa or from intraspecific hybrids,
> and, 
> if so, what they are. 
> 
> There is a long planting of A. belladonna on
> Holloway in 
> S.F., east of Junipero Serra, that is spectacular
> this 
> year. I imagine that the warm late spring was good
> for 
> it.
> 
> Pam P.
> 
> P.S. I am not sure that I am sending this correctly
> to 
> the list, please correct me if I am not. Thanks.
> 
> 


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