Trying Smithiantha

I have long developing time to grow Smithiantha in Taipei, Taiwan. Regularly Smithiantha sprouts when the weather gets warm, usually it's April or May ... then it enters the growing season that the plant/foliage develops until the cool monsoon comes in November and the buds start to form. Usually the blooming season will be December to February. So it grows at least 7 months before giving flowers.

June, July and August are the hottest months in Taipei, Taiwan and usually the heat frustrates Smithiantha if the growers are not sensitive to take care of their plants. I also suffered the loss of Smithiantha before due to the damages by stuffy summer. Well ... so it occurs to me that maybe I'd better postpone the timing of growing Smithiantha to get rid of the hottest weather. With this concept, I did store my rhizomes from March (after blossom) to July and early August, then I just potted them.

The young shots are still small but full of energy. Logically I have time to raise them up before the time that the buds form. To sum up, I'm trying a new experience of growing Smithiantha according to local conditions. So far so good !