Saturday, June 4, 2011

Scadoxus bloom

I have this scadoxus bulb for about 3 years now. The year before last it bloomed beautifully but last year it didn't due to my neglect. However, it continued to grow and multiply so much that it cracked the plastic pot it was in. I had to change the pot and divide its bulblets to share with friends. I just keep the mother bulb.


At the beginning of this week, I spotted a scape on the bulb.

Yesterday, the scape opened to reveal many healthy looking buds inside.


And finally, this morning, the "fireworks" exploded! 

Scadoxus is said to be a tropical bulb; it blooms on a yearly cycle and requires a dormancy period to do so. If grown in a hot country, like Vietnam, it will continue to grow throughout the year without going into dormancy and sometime bloom at its will when the rain season starts.
In my experience, when I disturb its roots, like up-rooting and re-planting, it will surely bloom for me provided that it hasn't bloomed previous to being disturbed. A blogger friend in Malaysia, James Missier, once tried to force scadoxus. Unfortunately, the process didn't work for him. Guess scadoxus doesn't like to be put into a refrigerator!

3 comments:

africanaussie said...

what an unusual flower. I have never seen it before, we must not have it in Australia. Funny hw it is when we try to force things - nature sometimes puts its foot down doesnt it?

Stephanie said...

Ha Xuan, I love your new blog/skin! It's so pretty :-D The pic of your garden that's in the banner is marvellous. I have not grown this fascinating 'firecracker' bulb Scadoxus yet. It's still in my check/wishlist ;-) Congrats on getting the bult to bloom!

Hà Xuân said...

Africanaussie: I'm so happpy to see you again :-) Thanks for visiting.

Stephanie: wish I could send you one of my bulbs :-)

I believe Scadoxus is quite easy to grow in our tropical climate, Steph. It can stand quite harsh neglect, though, provided you have good draining soil for it.