[pbs] Timing for bulbs changing hemisphere?
Paul Tyerman
ptyerman at ozemail.com.au
Fri May 11 18:19:41 EDT 2007
Lee,
Thanks for the response. I was afraid that most people were going to
advocate the small window of opportunity presented by just after
dormancy. I was hoping that some might have found other timings
worked as well.
I know plenty of others have experience with this too. But as a
>general rule of thumb, the conversions that have worked the best for
>me are when I get a bulb as soon after it enters dormancy in the
>opposite hemisphere as possible, and then try to grow it as long as
>is feasible in what is left of its normal growing conditions in my
>hemisphere. I have tried to hold dormant bulbs over an extra 6
>months, but very few bulbs seem to like that. They shrivel and
>sometimes disappear before the proper growing season begins in my
>hemisphere, especially if they are very small bulbs, which is often
>the case. Now if I can't get them early enough after dormancy I just
>wait another year.
That is interesting that you've found that. I have heard from others
that the extra dormancy worked better (as John Grimshaw said worked
well for his Galanthus) than trying for a short season. I wonder if
when trying to hold over until the proper season a period in my
summer first may work best and then kept in warmth by the recipient
to make sure that they waited until the "proper" winter to start
their cycle? I am thinking mainly the summer dormant bulbs/corms of
course when I am talking about these time frames.
>Our only saving grace in So. Calif. is that we get May Gray and June
>Gloom which makes our early summers generally much cooler than what
>the U.S. Southern states experience. But many of the summer dormant
>species don't do well there anyway because it is so humid and wet
>during their summers.
Humidity is something we definitely don't have to worry about here in
Canberra in summer. A very rare event (along with rain in most cases
now too! LOL)
Thanks again for the help.
Cheers.
Paul Tyerman
Canberra, Australia - USDA Zone Equivalent approx. 8/9
Growing an eclectic collection of plants from all over the world
including Aroids, Crocus, Cyclamen, Erythroniums, Fritillarias,
Galanthus, Irises, Trilliums (to name but a few) and just about
anything else that doesn't move!!
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