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BKB2!

	your Hippeastrum headquarters...........

BKB2!

Once again, for the 2009/2010 Emaryllis season, we delve into the Box Kit scene. This year a new format: the kits at the top of the page are the most recently added. If you've been here before, less scrollng down! 'Pasadena' kicks off the season at the bottom of BKB2...

Is the Box Kit dead?



Emaryllis has to keep up with the times. As much fun as box kits are, the movement in horticulture seems to be towards instant gratification. When a co-worker presented Emaryllis this growing amaryllis, it was met with surprise, gratitude, and a certain degree of reckoning. Though no variety name appears on the packaging, a red amaryllis image is as clear as possible. 'Grand Cru?' 'Ferrari,' perhaps? With a scape getting ready to pop open, there is no way the wholesaler would send out anything but a red amaryllis right? Read on.

No way was Emaryllis gonna dig up that bulb, so the guestimate for size comes in around 25-26cm. A plain green 6" standard gowers pot with good drainage, but no saucer. Not the prettiest presentation, and the leaves are choppped to fit withing the shipping sleeve. Simple growing instructions that wisely note that Hippeastrum are native to tropical America...a hint at keeping them from cold draughts. Flowers are just days away!!!

You seasoned growers probably aren't surprised: not red. A clear, medium orange. Attractive and large, but nowhere near the image on the sleeve. Imagine seeing these blooming in the retail shop with 'miscolored' flowers. An invitation for bargain hunters to ask for a discount?

Sure, Emaryllis digs the large, loose, and vibrant orange-ness of this un-named flower. BUT, if this is the market's idea of improvement....long live the box kit!

Lady Luck saves Lady Jane



Of three kits bought from the same mail order company, this was initially the most concerning. The box looks fine, the price (at $10.50) good and the bulb size fine. No sticker on the box to identify the variety, but the picture looksw like 'Lady Jane,' and that is the variety purchased.

The box itself had the usual brief growing instructions, and some ventilation built in. Those openings are there to prevent excess moisture build-up which can be harmful to bulbs in storage.

Uh, oh. Of the three kits purchased from the company, all three were packaged differently in terms of where the bulb was in relation to the soil, pot, and pot retainer. In this case the bulb was in the bottom of the pot, the soil bag was over it, and the pot reatiner was on top of the soil. This sealed the bulb in plastic, causing high humidity, condensation, and soft rot on the outer bulb scales. Not pretty. A call is placed to the supplier. The comapny (John Scheepers) returned my call shortly thereafter, offering advice and the option of replacement. I sought the advice, and they correctly instructed me to remove the soft rot, and air-dry the bulb a couple of days before planting. Since the damage was mostly superficial, replacement was not sought, and the company representative said she would have kits checked for this imroper packaging. The bulb should rest on a cushion of soil media, open to air circulation.

After 2 days, the clean and dry bulb is ready. It still measures a very healthy 31cm after 2 layers of scales are removed; the roots are not so great. The pot has excellent drainage and a bag of sphagnum peat media is provided. The pot retainer is discarded.

The media was a bit lacking, barely enough. Given the variability of each kit, we can assume that the kits are assembled here in the US at the company's Connecticut headquarters. Now our main concern will be the wait to see if the bulb was correctly labeled.

Bingo! We have a winner...'Lady Jane' herself. And a new double gets added to the main library as well. All in all, this one turned out alright. Two short scapes (recall those poor roots) with three and four flowers per.

Red? Yes. Sensational? Maybe.



This season, Emaryllis stepped up to the plate and bought two 'upscale' kits. This was the second most expensive at $20. You know what that means...high expectations. The stylish box prominantly features an ornate painted metal container via cutaway. This kit is obviously aimed at the HGTV follower who will surely feature it during a cozy gourmet dinner party with their tony friends. If you have ever been inside the Biltmore estate, you know that in truth a rather gaudy presentation is probably in the works!

A bit of boasting about the quality of the bulb selected, and some and bold type confidently assures us that we are getting a named selection. Jac Mense's 'Red Sensation' seemed to disappear from production a couple of years ago, but the nice folks at Biltmore care enough to seek it out for us anyway. How very nice of them!

You don't want to go through all of the trouble to offer a quality box kit without protecting the bulb from bruising in shipment. A sturdy corrugated carboard insert sees to that. A good citizen, Emaryllis sees that it is properly recylced.

This is what we are talking about; look at those excellent roots! The box proclaims bulbs to be 34-36cm circumference, and even measured at barely 34cm it is quite impressive. Peat mix with plenty of perlite for water drainage is provided. But where is that water supposed to drain too? Both the metal cachepot and clear liner have no drainage holes at all. Hmmm, think Emaryllis, think!

Wanting to see how close the kit could come to the pictures on the box, the bulb is potted in the clear liner after some drainage is provided by a sharp knife to the bottom of said liner. Now potted, watered and placed on a saucer we wait. The bulb was a bit slow (this is preferable to over-sprouted bulbs anytime). By mid January, when color was sorely needed it made its bold statement....

Well, hey! It looks darned close to that photo on the box. What value we have here! Not so fast. While three scapes produced a total of eleven flowers, an indication of great health, it is not 'Red Sensation.' While most cheaper 'Red Lion' kits probably wouldn't have produced so well, the substitution to that variety is a let-down. I know from the many who wrote to this site last year that they were unhappy to find these pricey kits mislabeled. This was not a one time mistake. It seems that some, if not all buyers do care. Next year, it's Biltmore's marketing company that needs to step up to the plate.

An Amigo with a mighty roar?



Early in October 2009, well ahead of the expected arrival of such kits, a routine grocery stop turns into the kickoff of the Emaryllis season! The same company's 'Amigo' kit last year produced a true mystery in copper-salmon ("Salmon Stranger"). This year the photo on the kit has changed. Could it be...they are paying attention to getting things right? The marked price is also discounted $1 to a low $5.99.

Buying so early in the season guaranteed one thing...fresh and healthy roots. Unlike last year the bulb measures 28cm instead of 25cm. The box lists grade 26/28, so all is looking rosy...rosy red this time we hope. Thin, but attractively colored pot with drainage, but no saucer. The familiar coir disc, wrapped in plastic with instructions. Let's see if everything fits snuggly into that pot.

Nice, just the right amount of coir medium to plant the bulb with its 'shoulder' above the soil line, and fill the pot. Watch the water, it can stay wet too long in a cooler house...and fungus gnats are the norm with coir. Numerus bacillus (Bt) remedies are out there if you are so inclined. Surprised? Neither is Emaryllis. Two years in a row, the wrong cultivar. What is striking is that the switch is different each time! What will it be next year? Here we have a decent 'Red Lion' that produced nice foliage, and two scapes with four flowers apiece. But 'Amigo' is a rose colored flower, not scarlet. Performance was not an issue at all, it was in bloom during Christmas week. It was sold quite early, but seeing how quickly they flew off the shelves, not a bad marketing decision. It seems plenty of folks are ready to enjoy the fun of growing amaryllis well before the holidays. Hopefully they won't be turned off by the poor decision to market using dishonest packaging.

What's in a color? White Giant goes Red Medium.



We saw this same brand kit last year at Safeway. This season the white cultivar is not named...just flying under the not-so-official moniker "White Giant." This way any popular and available white clone can be used without disappointing the customer. This didn't really pan out last year with a red that turned out orange. Let's see if they can get it right this time. Using another friend's phone number to get the discount price of only $5.00 has E feelin' groovy. As you can see the other two amaryllis cultivars available this year are 'Red Lion' and 'Minerva.' A sweet co-worker would later give me the 'Minerva' kit as well, so that will be presented soon also. Funny, the box says the first amaryllis were brought from Chile to Europe in the 1820's. The first hybrid (x johnsonii) was actually noted in England by 1799. Oh, Emaryllis, stop being so serious!

Emaryllis loves step 3..."Grow." Like there's nothing to it. You've planted it, watered it, now just grow it. As a professional horticulturist I find it amusing that my vocation could be summed up so easily! Still, part of the charm of amarylli lies in how relatively easy the basics of their cultivation (like many mass marketed bulbs) can be. Honestly, E is not that tender...so no hard feelings. Sniff. Wow, that is one nice set of roots! Like last year, a stylish beaded white pot that simply needs some drainage slits made in the bottom of the pot. Careful with that knife. The bulb is slightly undersized at 25cm, since the carton states 26/28cm. The coir disc is not wrapped, cutting down on a little waste. Kudos.

The coir expands to the right amount, and the bulb seems perfecly sized for the container. The carton had a nice hole in the top, so it was easy to see that these were not sprouted out. Since they were grown in Israel, there is less chance that the bulbs will be overly anxious here in the Northern Hemisphere. So far, so good! It is rare that everything works out perfectly in life, and even more rare in the world of amaryllis bulb buying. Here we have old reliable...'Red Lion.' As is common for that clone, it bore three flowers on the first scape, then four on the next. Really, very nice looking in that white pot...perfect for the holidays. But it was suposed to be white flowered. And giant sized. So, I'm picturing three different huge vats of separate amaryllis varieties being combined into one really huge vat for mixing, and subsequent placement in boxes. Or separate vats of bulbs being placed in randomly mixed cartons. Either way, this is what you get. Is E really mad? Yes and no. The beauty of any healthy amaryllis has a way of taming the savage beast that is Emaryllis.

Piquant in name, Minerva in shame



Emaryllis is always striving for balance. Along with some upscale kits from reliable vendors, checking out the cheaper kits at discount stores is part fun, part research. I haven't been in a Rose's discount store for years, so on a long drive out of town, a pitstop was in order. They had plastic poinsettias in the front window, so expectations were kept in check. Old fall bulbs were found in one garden supplies aisle, then upon turning to leave, a center aisle table is loaded with hyacinth, paperwhite, and yes...amaryllis kits! Since 'Piquant' was widely substituted last year, let's check it out. First off, that's not a picture of 'Piquant' on the box. More like a heavily edited 'Minerva' image.

Well, this seems pointless...a big square window to show off the cheap plastic pot? The kits have a hole in the top, yielding a slightly alarming sight. The kits are not sealed, so E starts popping tops. Horrors! Every kit was waaayyy sprouted out for late November. A small crowd gathers to see what the heck I'm doing, some join me in the frenzy to find a kit that is decent enough to plunk down $6.00. Some were bought out of pure pity that day.

This is not what one wants to find for a package that is generally sold to folks to give as gifts next month. One scape looks like toast (but the reddish and white petal coloration makes me think it might actually be 'Piquant.' Another scape is undamaged, so off we go to the cash register.

It just gets worse! Opening the package at home I find yet another scape had partially extended and snapped off. Ughhh, that would have made for one impressive performance from the 26cm bulb (sold as 24/26). No saucer, no drainage (until a sharp knife solves that issue) and a disc of coir. Emaryllis is upset.

So here we have it. The coir expands to the correct volume, and the poorly rooted, long-suffering bulb is at last provided light, water and warmth. A couple of weeks later, something to celebrate. No, of course it isn't 'Piquant.' It appears to be 'Minerva,' though it is devoid of some of the messy tepaloids usually seen in that old variety. A nice tall scape, with a great presentation (after removing that withered scape that failed to ever hydrate). The bulb box did state "grown in Brazil" where 'Minerva' is indeed produced. This begs the question though...how important is it to sell bulbs from the Southern Hemisphere if they are going to be ready far too early. Emaryllis contends that a gift box meant for presentation in late December should be barely pushing scapes upon receipt. The bulb (and all of its promise) is the gift, not a squished, etiolated, fully blooming, plant. We now see plenty of forced, budded or blooming plants in sleeves for that specific market. Thousands of these kits are tossed out by stores for this issue, and many more end up in the homes of unhappy recipients. What a shame.

Athene


Well, since the name amaryllis stems from Greek mythology, it's about time one is named after Athens! This time we head to a reputable local nursery under some pretense...knowing all along that box kits are what we want. So goes the addiction! Since I can peep through the top, a bit of pale growth, but no oversprouted scapes are detected, and the kit makes its way to the cashier. Cha-ching.		This time out we get a bulb with pretty good roots, and a bulb measuring 27cm circumference (right between the advertised 26/28cm size). A little foliage is already protruding (kit purchased early November), but the pot is waht catches E's attention. How stylish is that tapered square? Drainage, saucer, real potting media, even some decorative diamond pattern trim on the pot itself. For such a reasonable $8.99 we are getting a kit with real panache!

The perfect amount of media, and the handsome pot is just the right size for the bulb. I hear Carly Simon....An-ti-ci-paaaation...		OK, well it is definitely the right cultivar...no mean feat these days. Only one scape with two flowers is a bit of a let-down performance-wise. Check out the full set of gorgeous foliage, the nicely sized crisp white flowers in that stylin' pot and overall we have a satisfied customer here.

Pasadena, city of Amaryllises


This year we have box kits from the usual retail outlets, plus some bought via mail-order...which is what we have here. Three different kits were purchased for a very reasonable $10.50 from J. Scheepers.		While the other two kits had no such label, just the box photos...this kit inspired confidence with a sticker that spelled out the cultivar name and origin (Holland). Good ventilation, handle built in and average instructions. Curiosly, these same kits turned up in a local nursery...at a lofty $16.99 each. Emaryllis is feelin' good...real good.

While the roots were fair at best, the bulb was a very impressive 32cm circumference, far larger than in the bargain kits found at most retailers. An appropriately sized plastic pot, with drainage holes...and a saucer! An adequate amount of pre-packaged potting mix, which is becoming rare as most move toward coconut based coir media. That snap-on pot topper...leave it off after potting if you hope to see the soil to judge moisture content, much less repot the plant without damaging the foliage that will eventually emerge.		Potted up, watered, and ready for action!

We are off to an auspicious start. Properly identified, and three scapes produced. Big plus: Emaryllis also got to add a new double cultivar to the Photo Librabry. Whoooo hooo!		All-in-all this was a great kit. The generously sized bulb eventually put up a third scape in late January, making for a total of twelve gorgeously deep red and white flowers. That is value.

What? It's red!

Photo Library (Hybrids)