2006 Plant Delights Nursery September Newsletter

Greetings from Plant Delights as we open for our FINAL open house weekend of the year. The first fall open weekend greeted us with near perfect weather… a welcome change from some years in the past. We’ve got the same great weather booked for our final open weekend of the year which starts today, Friday September 15. When the weather finally cooled after the summer heat, the garden has been ablaze with some amazing plants. click for open house information

This is one of the best flowering years we have seen for lycoris (surprise lilies). If you haven’t grown these amaryllis relatives, you haven’t enjoyed the surprise when they burst out of the ground in late summer/early fall with stalks of flower that range from red to orange and from white to yellow. The foliage doesn’t emerge until after the flowers have finished and remains evergreen through the winter and spring. The key to growing and flowering lycoris is to not let the soil stay excessively dry for long periods and to be sure the foliage gets plenty of light while its growing. Lycoris grow fine in deciduous shade, but we have had the best luck in bright sun plantings. All of our plants are shipped growing in pots and not as dry bulbs, which when stored too long can inhibit flowering. click here for our catalog listing of Lycoris

Closely related to lycoris are zephyranthes and habranthus… both know as rain lilies. These easy-to-grow bulbs can remain dry for weeks, then within 2-3 days after a rain, they burst forth with their colorful flowers. The flower colors range form pink to orange and from yellow to white. We have assembled quite an outstanding assortment including many newly introduced hybrids from Master Breeder Fadjar Marta of Indonesia. click here for habranthus click here for zephranthes

The final amaryllid that I must mention is Rhodophiala bifida. R. bifida is the easiest and most reliable of the rhodophiala clan to grow. Hailing from near Buenos Aires, Argentina, R. bifida emerges in late August to mid-September with 1′ tall stalks of blood red flower. In effect, this is a dwarf hippeastrum. Just like the lycoris, the foliage emerges after the flowers. R. bifida typically is available only in blood red, but we are pleased to also have the carmine pink form available in limited quantities. click here for Rhodophiala

There’s plenty more, but I hope you take time to roam through the pages of our on-line catalog. In addition to cool plants, there’s no telling what you will find.

If you still haven’t signed up for the JCRA 30th Anniversary Symposium, time is drawing to a close. This superb lineup of speakers has rarely been topped. Don’t be one of those that who you had attended after the event.

For those who entered our Top 25 Contest, be sure to check out how your favorite plants are selling. The only change in the top 10 is Tiarella ‘Pink Skyrocket’ which zoomed from #12 to #7. Liriope ‘Peedee Ingot’ rose from #14 to #11, while Dicliptera suberecta moved from #20 to #14… that always happens when hummingbird season arrives. Aloe polyphylla makes the biggest jump from #29 all the way to #15. Only a few more months remain before we announce the winner of our Top 25 contest… we hope your picks are measuring up. If not, you’d better get your gardening friends busy!

Please direct all replies and questions to office@plantdelights.com

Thanks and enjoy

-tony

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