Re: Rhodophiala bifida

 >On Fri, 13 Dec 1996, Loren Russell wrote:

 >>       The bin label on Rhodophiala bifida says it "naturalizes in
 >> west-coast gardens".  I assume that means California...  What kind of
 >> conditions does it prefer in the garden, and how hardy is it?

 Just a few comments to add to John Grimshaw's - but also a picture!
 R. bifida is one of the hardier Rhodophialas.  With me, it tends to adopt a
 typical mediterranean growth cycle, starting with flowers in September or
 thereabouts, followed by leaves.  These persist until about May or June,
 then start dying back.  However, sometimes they don't all die away
 completely before the next lot start.  Really foul winters can shear off the
 above ground growth, but it always seems to come back by virtue of the
 leaves growing on in spring, similar to the way that Crinum leaves grow.

 I grow it where the ground dries out in summer - no particularly special
 conditions.  It's also good in pots, and responds to feeding by producing
 offsets, rather in the way that daffodils do.  I would recommend this until
 you have sufficient material to experiment with.  If you plant full-sized
 bulbs fairly deeply, this should help give added protection.

 If you are growing in pots, you could try to force it to grow during the
 summer and keep it dry over winter - many of these south American
 amaryllids will respond to this sort of treatment without detriment.  I've
 not tried it myself.

 If you would like to see the flowers of this plant, I have posted a photo on
 my website at:
 http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~ianblack/bifida.jpg
 There's no text or links elsewhere - just the photo.  Still, it may be of
 interest if you have never seen this flower.

 Ian
 *******************************
 Ian Black  ianblack@easynet.co.uk
 Hampshire, UK  - mintemp  -8C
 http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~ianblack/
 *******************************
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