Rick, Lorn. Thoughts on this?

You gotta do what you gotta do. If that means some might have to dig and store to make things work, then that's what they need to do. I do think this hybrid likes a constantly moist soil with a low pH that's very highly organic and cool soil temperatures. Above ground should environment should be a cool location with dappled shade away from direct hot sun.

There may be a difference with hardiness between clone runs also. When I heard some people were having difficulty, I ordered 3 bulbs of a recent run and planted them in a mixed garden with lots of sunlight last Spring. They were given average care the same as everything else and I will say this, they struggled. So we'll see how these do next year.

Meanwhile, the early hand clone one I received initially that did so well in the abandoned compost pile has been re-planted back into the abandoned compost pile. Which has now grown to 4 bulbs and 5 bulblets.

I had gotten 3 bulbs from Ramona this fall and planted them in a spot next to me house that essentially gets morning sun. Well draining soil as well.

I was just wondering if anyone on here in the Midwest digs their kushi maya bulbs up for the fall or not. I'm assuming you guys didn't. I do plan on covering them up good with a few inches of straw when it really gets cold. Thought about stealing some leaves people have in their yards or bagged up on the curb waiting for leaf pick up

Nhra_20 said: Thought about stealing some leaves people have in their yards or bagged up on the curb waiting for leaf pick up

My next door neighbors just bring their leaves to me. And now they both use riding lawn mowers with baggers, so I don't need to mulch the leaves up myself anymore. My third next door neighbor uses all of his leaves himself.

My thoughts about the IRLS advice is the same as Lorn's. There is lot more environmental variations that work for or against winter hardiness than just temperature. It is very possible that Kushi Maya needs special handling in warmer Iowa than colder Minnesota. Kushi Maya remains in the ground outside in my gardens. I've always considered a consistently frozen ground through a colder winter to be an advantage. Who knows, when climate change makes my winters like Iowa's, maybe I will have to bring Kushi Maya in for the winter. Heck, it might be January before I spread my leaf mulch over my beds this season. My species impatiens still haven't frozen yet (!), although they are quite a bedraggled mess.

The only thing I have to add to Lorn's excellent cultivation advice is about constant moisture: yes, they want it, but as long as your soil is airy enough to allow deep root growth (think of Lorn's pics of lily root systems), your soil need not look moist on top.

So far Kushi Maya has done well through 2 winters for me. Bigger and more beautiful each year so far. It is in sandy loam soil and full sun in my garden.

Good information to add. I hope more add their growing experience.

Roosterlorn said:OOPS--you're right, an 'unnamed OT'. Thanks for the correction.

Oops too! I also thought it was an oriental parent.

I hope we hear more about the fragrance of these offspring. Anyone heard anything of when they may make it to Australia?

I know Richard Hyde is working with a nursery gets in the U.S. to get stuff over here. I'm assuming he would do the same with Australia

Roosterlorn said: They are sterile triploids (Kushi Maya X Unnamed Oriental Trumpet).

Wait....if they are triploids, I assume Kushi is diploid and the unknown OT is tetra that indicates Kushi is at least partially fertile in its current state?

Or is diploid OT pollen fertile? I though Kushi was sterile, if it isn't in its current state (even if only very mildly fertile) back on my list to purchase it will go.

Anyone have any further info on this? Is Yin and Yangs full parentage known know? Anyone else had seed set on Kushi Maya and if so what did you use as pollen, etc

I am all for throwing various pollens on anything and everything that I am interested in working with. Mixed known tetra pollen is my favorite blend and a whole lot of it. I am not one to accept "sterile for sure"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if there are seedlings derived from Kushi, then it has to be fertile one way or the other. Not saying embryo rescue wasn't used or anything.

I think Yin and Yang are the result of a cross with an "unknown' OT

Possibly.
My hesitation stems from the question of whether Kushi Maya was converted to tetraploid or not, granted the unknown OT seems the more likely tetraploid but lack of confirmation. Which is why I'd be curious if anyone has had seed from Kushi Maya here since many seem to have grown in.

That and lack of Tetra OT pollen access (for now, nals seedlings growing) here....There's a few possibilities but I can try but none appear to be entirely confirmed.

Also checking
https://www.hwhyde.co.uk/catal...
Longiflorum is mentioned so that confuses things a bit also....

Anyways, order some Kushi Maya and various OT (ones that are most likely tetraploid) will see if anything comes out of it later in the year.

I would expect that you need to convert KM to tetra to get fertility and that is what lead to it producing offspring. I don't have any proof of this but it is what I would expect. I have tried pollinating KM with lots of fertile 4N OT's and no pods even attempted to form.

I suspect that too, it's just interesting that yin and yang are triploid and the parent is reportedly a widecross itself so it being fertile at the diploid level is odd too. So either parent being diploid is odd.

My Kushi Maya is just beginning to bloom. Much later than last year, when it bloomed with the majority of my asiatics, just after the martagons. It is in full sun in very sandy soil amended with some good soil. It is very robust and healthy looking. The two original bulbs now number seven blooming stems plus a few that will not bloom this year. They came from Ramona.

Update on Kushi Maya in old compost pile. As described above, this healthy plant was divided and reset with 4 mature bulbs and one small bulb on the side last Fall of 2016. The bulbs never got any attention after that. The weather turned wet and it never got fed. It got a good winter mulch until January when that was blown away, clean as a whistle and then wet again throughout the Spring. So, nothing spectacular to show but the numbers will surprise you.

Six blooming stems emerged, each to almost an identical height of 31 inches level as a bunch. And each stem produced one single full blooming size bud. Stem diameters were narrow, but stiff and self supporting. One stem got what I call a stem browning syndrome, where the stem starts turning brown about a foot above ground and creeps slowly downward. That bud aborted shortly before opening and the plant eventually died back. But based on the consistency of the numbers, I think I can safely predict this group will be about 40 to 44 tall with a bud count of 3 or 4 per stem next year. That is if It gets even normal care.

I hope the potted Kushi Maya I bought this past spring grows and multiplies as well as yours has, Lorn. All of my lilies have suffered days of high 90s to triple digit temps here. Today I am getting the first rain in about two and a half months (minuscule amount though).

I don't like to water my lilies much when it is that hot for fear of the bulbs turning into boiled potatoes.

Well Pard, boiled potatoes or baked potatoes..... it's a quandary, isn't it.
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Another update pertinent to this thread regarding Lankon:
To recap, I bought bulbs of Lankon in fall 2013. They produced normal flowers. Then in 2016, one stem produced these heavily speckled flowers:


Lorn had predicted that it would likely return to normal this year (2017). I had lost the tag I had that designated which bulb it was, but I can still say he is right. All flowers this year are normally patterned.