The weather here was quite warm. Our string of continuous 90-degree or higher days reached 23, a new record for Indianapolis. For most of July, we had only about a half inch of rain until the last week. On about the 29th, we had a couple of rains that totalled 1 inch. Then this week, we had another inch. Our drought is broken, and our heat wave is broken. Yesterday's high here in Westfield was about 75°F and today's was only around 80°F. Virtually Heaven!

Late summer is Lycoris season here. They can show up any time from early August to mid-September, depending on the weather. The ones sending up stalks right now are in the beds that received some supplemental irrigation this summer. The beds that got no extra water are showing not a single Lycoris stalk so far. This is telling us something.

Lycoris sanguinea var. kiusiana

Lycoris sprengeri

The Lycoris sprengeri are now hitting full bloom here. They show up a little after the first group, which includes chinensis, longituba, and sanguinea. Now sprengeri and some of the hybrids are shining. The last to bloom for me here will be caldwellii.

Lycoris sprengeri #703.A

This sprengeri is one of my best clones, number 703.A. The blue highlights are especially nice this year, it seems.

Lycoris [longituba x rosea]

This is the most beautiful pink Lycoris I've ever seen! This came from China by way of Jim Waddick in 2001.

Lycoris [longituba x rosea] #1317

Lycoris [longituba x rosea] seems to be perfectly hardy here, but it has barely increased at all in the ten years I've been growing it.

Lycoris Hybrid ex sprengeri

This hybrid showed up among a batch of Lycoris sprengeri received from China by way of Jim Waddick in 1999. It is clearly unique, but I assume it has sprengeri in its ancestry somewhere. It blooms at the same time that typical sprengeri do, and the flower is about the same size as that of sprengeri, or perhaps a bit smaller.

Lycoris Hybrid, Presumably from Sprengeri

I put one of the bulbs into twin-scaling, and it propagates just as readily as does sprengeri. As a result, I have a nice little batch of this one sitting in the nursery. It's lab number is V-35, but I'm thinking of calling it something like Lycoris "Stars and Stripes."

Haemanthus namaquensis

My bulb of Haemanthus namaquensis is in bloom. Since this started blooming, it is the first of the winter-rainfall group to bloom here. The inflorescence is generally reminiscent of coccineus, especially in color.

Haemanthus namaquensis #935.A

Haemanthus namaquensis is found from southern Namibia to Karkams in Namaqualand in South Africa on the escarpment between 300 and 900 meters (1000 to 3000 ft.) above sea level. The leaves, usually 2, are thick, upright, and have wavy margins. They are quite unique among Haemanthus and very attractive. However, I have not found this to be the easiest species to grow. Bulbs have not tolerated transplanting very well.

Hymenocallis occidentalis

Hymenocallis occidentalis is the only species in this genus that is native to Indiana. It occurs in the southwestern-most corner of the State, on the Ohio and Wabash rivers. The species ranges from the Gulf Coast States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia northwards through Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky into the southermost part of Illinois and the tip of Indiana. It is hardy here in Central Indiana, when you transplant it into this area. The plants shown below came to Indiana from Arkansas with a young woman about a centruy ago. Her grandson gave these to me.

Hymenocallis occidentalis #1141

This species is often confused with Hymenocallis liriosme, which is confined more to Texas and Louisiana. The flowers of the two species are virtually indistinguishable (at least to my eye), but the foliage of occidentalis is glaucous, a light gray-green, and has often disappeared by late summer. The foliage of liriosme is a bright, glossy green and persists longer. The flowers on occidentalis normally appear late in the season, which is right now in Indiana. The flowers of liriosme are seen in spring or early summer, long before occidentalis blooms. The habitat of occidentalis is meadows, woods, wooded hillsides, and floodplain woods on the edge away from the riverbanks. It is often found in light shade. Liriosme is a bog and swamp plant. It often grows in roadside ditches, and likes full sun.

Lycoris caldwellii

Lycoris caldwellii should be written "x-caldwellii" because it seems to be a natural hybrid. It is one of the later blooming species, and is just now coming into flower here in Central Indiana. It is a spring-foliage type, and seems perfectly hardy here. It does not however appear to increase at all rapidly. This small clump has been in the ground here for 10 years and is still just the original 3 bulbs.

Lycoris caldwellii #1102

The picture does not show the light primrose-yellow color of the petals correctly. Perhaps this is because the plant is growing in fairly heavy shade and the light was dim.

Hymenocallis from Nayarit

About ten years ago, someone gave me a very small bulb labeled simply "Hymenocallis from Nayarit." The only species I knew of that was specifically from Nayarit in Mexico was H. nayaritiana. I lost my bulb of nayaritiana many years ago, so I have nothing to compare this one to except a few vague memories. I remember it as being really tiny. In any event, I've been growing this little bulb faithfully every summer since then. Now it has finally started to bloom. This one looks larger than I remember that original nayaritiana as being, but it does seem to match: Leaves are petiolate to subpetiolate, i.e., the middle of the leaf is significantly wider than the base; and the flowers have a curved tepal tube (floral tube).

Hymenocallis cf. nayaritiana #1399
Staminal cup is distorted in this flower

I would like to get a bulb of Hymenocallis nayaritiana with known provenance to compare to this one (my #1399). I'm still not comfortable that this one is really nayaritiana. The flower is 12 cm across (petals tip to tip), the flower tube is about 55 mm and indeed slightly curved, and the peduncle is 18 cm tall. The leaves are about 23 cm long and (as standing) 20 mm wide, broadly U-shaped in cross-section, and glaucous light green in color.

Searching for Rare Haemanthus

I have accumulated a nice collection of Haemanthus species over the years, but none of the really rare species and subspecies seem to have come my way. One that I am still missing is not even supposed to be all that rare: Haemanthus sanguineus. This one comes from a fairly limited area in the Western Cape Province (South Africa). It has broad, almost dinner-plate shaped leaves, and a red scape. The trouble is, it is rather hard to grow from seeds.