Ismene festalis, beautiful skin: care, hibernation, bring to bloom

Originally from South America, Ismene is a bulbous flower with an unusual appearance. From June/July to August, several flower stalks, each with two to five flowers, sprout from a single bulb. The delicate, very narrow, outwardly curling and slightly ruffled petals are particularly impressive. Exactly these flowers make this easy-care plant an eye-catcher in the garden, on the balcony and terrace.

location claims

Also known as beauty skin or Peruvian lily, Ismene festalis loves warm, sheltered, sunny to full sun locations, preferably with afternoon sun. The fleshy leaves in particular could react sensitively to the blazing midday sun. Outdoors, a place in front of a warm house wall is ideal. The location for indoor plants should be free from drafts and cold winds and at least semi-sunny. A place near a south-facing window is ideal here. If necessary, briefly shade against the blazing midday sun. In darker rooms, additional light sources, e.g. B. recommended in the form of daylight lamps.

The Ismene does not need special soil. It does well in any good garden soil that is loose, well drained, moderately fertile and not too wet. High-quality potting soil or a sand-clay mixture is suitable for pot planting. Excess water should be able to drain off easily at all times and waterlogging should be avoided at all costs.

Plant

The best time to plant Ismene festalis is in spring, from mid-May. As soon as the outside temperature no longer falls below 15 degrees, you can plant.

• Bring potted plants indoors from March
• After the ice saints go outside
• To protect against voles, insert wire mesh before planting
• Plant the onions eight to four inches deep in the soil
• Planting depth depends on bulb size
• The neck of the onion should be about halfway out of the ground
• Keep planting distances of 15 to 20 cm
• Calculate about 16 onions per square meter
• Water the onions after planting

When planting in tubs, make sure you have adequate drainage. In the right location and with appropriate care, the first flowers appear about four to five weeks after planting.

Care

This clump-forming summer bloomer fascinates with impressive flowers and growth heights between 50 and 80 cm. First appear the strap-shaped, shiny dark green leaves and in summer the graceful flowers, which grow in clusters on the 40-60 cm long flower stalks. Beautiful skins come into their own just as well as in group plantings or in combination with other flowering plants. Even if they are classified as easy to care for, they do not do without care.

Pour

A little tact is required when it comes to water requirements. The soil should be neither too wet nor too dry, although a temporarily dry substrate is better tolerated than too much moisture. During growth, from April/May to September/October, the soil should be slightly moist. Water regularly as soon as the first shoots appear. Later, when the inflorescences form, the watering amounts are increased a little. The soil can dry out on the surface, but should not dry out. If there is a drought during flowering, the Ismene sheds its flower buds. In autumn, you gradually reduce the watering until the beautiful skin pulls in the leaves.

Fertilize

Six weeks after planting at the earliest, a commercial liquid fertilizer or flower fertilizer should be applied weekly. Container plants that have just been repotted usually do not need any additional fertilizer this year. This is because the potting soil is pre-fertilized so that the plants are well supplied with nutrients for a certain period of time. Later, in spring, you can fertilize with a long-term fertilizer in the form of granules or sticks, or monthly from April to August with a liquid fertilizer.

hibernate

Ismene festalis is not hardy in this country and needs a resting phase of three to six months. Overwintering outdoors is not recommended, even in mild climates.

• Reduce watering in autumn
• Bring in the onions in the bucket before the first frost
• Dig up bulbs in the bed after the plant has withered
• Cut off wilted leaves and stems and remove the onion from the soil
• Leave the brood or daughter onions attached to the mother onion
• After digging up the onions, let them dry
• Then carefully remove loose soil
• Leave stubborn bits of earth on the bulb to avoid damaging the roots
• Root damage can affect flowering next year
• Store loose onions lying in excelsior, newspaper or wood litter
• Hibernation dark, cool, dry, draught-free but still well ventilated
• Ideally at temperatures between 8 and 10 degrees

In April, the bulbs can be repotted in fresh substrate and placed a little warmer, at 16-18 degrees. Shorten the roots slightly when repotting. The pots can be planted outside again and specimens in the bed from mid-May at the earliest. From now on, a little more will be poured again.

multiply

Through bulbs

Propagation is mainly via brood or daughter bulbs, which usually form several times on the mother bulb. The bulbs should have reached a certain size before separating them. The roots of the Ismene don't like disturbances of any kind. That's why you should only divide the onions if it's absolutely necessary.

• Be very careful when dividing the onions
• Roots can be easily damaged or torn off
• The best time to share is in the fall after digging
• Divide onions that have overwintered in the pot in the spring when repotting
• Grow the onions in a bright spot in the house or greenhouse from April
• Beautiful cuticle outdoors in mid-May at the earliest
• There should be no risk of night or late frosts

through seeds

Propagation via seeds is much more complex than that via bulbs and is not always successful. In addition, little is known about whether young plants actually develop from this and whether they are capable of reproduction at all. With a little luck, these plants form so-called capsule fruits with large, green, fleshy seeds, provided pollination occurs and ovary are formed.

This is rarely the case with hybrids. The seeds can be sown in growing substrate from April and grown indoors. Should seedlings actually develop, it may make sense to remove them after separating or separating them. Repot in a suitable substrate, to be cultivated permanently in the pot. This also makes transport to the winter quarters easier later on. Of course you can also plant them outside in a sunny spot from mid/end of May.

Diseases

Diseases rarely occur in Ismene festalis. Only with too frequent or intensive watering is there a risk of rot, which is usually fatal for the onion. Onions that have already been damaged by too much moisture can usually no longer be saved. It is all the more important to pay attention to a needs-based water supply and good water drainage.

pests

voles

• The greatest danger for the onions comes from voles and other rodents
• They're only after the onions
• To protect it, it is best to put the onion in the ground together with the pot
• Plastic pots are unsuitable for this
• Natural materials such as unglazed clay are ideal
• Or lay out close-meshed wire mesh before planting
• Wire mesh should not be too large
• Commercially available rabbit wire is very suitable
• For laying, first dig out a correspondingly large trough in the ground
• The depth and width of the pit depends on the number and size of the bulbs

The wire mesh is laid out in the prepared trough so that both the bottom and the walls of the trough are lined with it. Then you cover the grid with some soil, put in the onions and fill up with soil.

aphids

Sometimes aphid infestation can also occur, especially along the stems. To combat the affected plants, they can be sprayed several times with nettle broth until the infestation is no longer evident. The use of natural predators such as ladybugs and lacewings has also proved its worth many times over.

daffodil fly

The daffodil fly, which hollows out the flower bulbs and then lays its eggs there, can also cause problems. If an infestation is detected early, the larvae can be killed by placing the onion in a 42-43 degree water bath for two hours. In order to protect the bulb from being infested again, it should never be planted again in the same spot in the garden or the same substrate. If the old pot of potted plants is to be reused, it must first be thoroughly cleaned and ideally disinfected. As a further preventive measure, dead onions should not be disposed of in the compost.

Bring Ismenen to bloom

The fragrant and shapely flowers of the Ismene are a real eye-catcher. Healthy plants bloom year after year. However, it can happen that plants do not want to flower properly or they lose flowers.

• If flowers fall off, it is usually caused by drought
• It is best to water regularly but not excessively
• Soil should never become waterlogged or dry out
• If there is no flowering or if it is very sparse, a location that is too shady can be the cause
• The plant then uses a lot of energy to create a lot of leaf mass
• Flower formation is neglected
• Therefore always pay attention to a sunny location
• After dividing the bulbs, flowering usually does not occur in the first few years
• It can take two to three years until the first flowering
• Fair skins also don't want to stand too close together
• They should not be oppressed in growth
• Accordingly, make sure that the planting distances are sufficiently large

Partly it can also be due to the fertilization if the blossom is poor. Even if compost is an all-rounder when it comes to fertilization, it is less suitable for these plants. This is because its actual nutritional content is difficult to assess. So it can happen that the plants suffer from a lack of nutrients. Mineral fertilizers, which contribute in particular to increased foliage development and less to flower formation, are also rather unsuitable. Commercial liquid fertilizers are recommended.

Learn more about overwintering plants