Re: dividing tuberose (Polianthes)
forwarding . . .
At 09:20 AM 3/25/00 +0100, Lauw de Jager wrote:
>Janet wrote;
> > > >I am no expert on Polianthes, but have found that the more congested the
> > > >bulbs are the better they flower. Maybe the answer is NOT to divide them
> > > >very often. I only do so if asked for a piece by a passer-by.
> >
>Lauw de Jager wrote
> > Your succesful experience with Polianthes tuberosa in pots intriques me
> > and is quite the opposite of what I generally hear. More often they
> > only produce leaves and no flowers after the first year without repotting.
>
>I will also put the question to the bulb forum and I will keep you informed
>Here is a response from the bulb list by Scot Kunst, Michigan:
>
>Lauw and All,
>I flower tuberoses in 8-10 inch clay pots, giving them the sunniest,
>warmest
>spot I have here in zone 5b Michigan and watering them daily and often
>with a
>weak fertilizer solution. In the fall I leave them out till frost
>threatens,
>then I bring them in and often let them keep growing on a windowsill for
>a
>month or so. Then I quit watering them and put them in the basement till
>April or so when I bring them out and start watering them again.
>They've always rebloomed the second year, well enough that it made me
>doubt
>that monocarpic information. Typically the rhizomes I plant don't have
>many
>if any offsets attached. I suppose some of them could get to blooming
>size in
>a year in a pot, but it has surprised me. My office manager, who's a
>casual
>gardener, has had the same success.
>I tried to see if they'd rebloom a third year without repotting, but two
>years ago someone stole a couple of pots of them off our front porch so
>I had
>to start over
>
><< Could the behaviour be linked up with a particular strain of the
>species? >>
>
>Maybe I just have an amazing green thumb! : )
>Let's wait and see what happens this year, the third year for at least
>one of
>the pots. Maybe they just increase their offsets to blooming size
>quickly. I
>really don't give them exceptional treatment.
>
>The same experience as Janet. I will try as well to leave it in a
>container and see what happens over the years.
>Kind regards
>--
>Lauw de Jager
>BULB'ARGENCE, 30300 Fourques, France
>Region: Provence/Camargue Climat: Zone 9a (Mediterranean)
>Tel: 33 466 016 519 Fax: 33 466 011 245
>Web : http://www.bulbargence.com/
>mailto: de Jager@bulbargence.com
