[pbs] Albuca shawii
Joe Shaw
jshaw at opuntiads.com
Tue May 29 23:14:41 EDT 2007
Hi Gang,
Two or three years ago I wrote about this bulb. It seems so easy and
reliable. Then, as things always happen, I lost track of the pot and put my
attention to other matters. I found the pot this week when the plant put up
amazingly pretty flowers. It seems I had shuffled it off to the no-water
section with the cacti in containers. A. shawii has not increased, and I
wonder if this is due to neglect or just the way it is.
I surmize it has been in a gallon container, in full hot sun, and full rain
and drought, with limited fertilzer. Additionally, the gallon container is
only half full of soil (where does potting mix go when it runs off).
I tried growing some Albuca species from seed and killed them all when I
tried to make them into outdoor plants. Probably it was just putting them
out too early for their first summer. Even many cacti and agave seedlings
will shrivel and die if I don't give them shade and some water during their
first summer outdoors.
Back to A. shawii; it is a survivor and this year it has wonderful scapes
with lots of flowers. How should I repot it for another 2 or 3 years of
neglect? Does it like humus, or sand, or deep soils, etc?
Cordially,
Joe
Conroe TX
Crinum scabrum is blooming again, and C. x herbertii, and Claude Davis.
Rain lilies are doing their thing; something that might be Z. flavissima is
blooming for the first time this year--wonderful egg yolk-yellow flowers.
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