Hippeastrum bukasovii - A Peruvian Gem

Hippeastrum bukasovii is an incredible species found in San Juan, Peru at elevations of 600-800m in a very organic mix including lots of leaf litter as the plants are found in a deciduous forest.  I grow mine in a mixture of orchid bark, perlite, pumice and humus with each containing equal parts.  I prefer to grow many of the species from the Andes in a very porous mix to discourage rot which is quite a problem with Hippeastrum or other geophytic plants.

Hippeastrum bukasovii

Peru is home to some extraordinary bulbous species from Amaryllidaceae such as Pyrolirion, Hippeastrum, Ismene, Eucharis, Stenomesson and a few others.  Pyrolirion is an endangered genera which are similar in appearance to Habranthus or Zephyranthes but with spoon shaped stigmas, they're quite attractive but very rare in cultivation, hopefully I can share more knowledge about them in the future as the information available is quite scarce.



Hippeastrum bukasovii has the characteristic green star that many Peruvian species share, I think it adds to their beauty and gives them a very exotic look.  The flowers don't open very wide and sadly it is self-sterile like most Hippeastrum species which means you need two different clones to create seed.  Luckily there is more than one clone in cultivation making reproduction via seed possible.  This bulb once considered extremely rare in cultivation has increased considering the recent travels to Peru, it's quite a lovely plant and I'm glad there are more with the opportunity to grow it!