Nerine 'Pink Triumph' [Dutch Form]

Nerines are like having a fall blooming Christmas Amaryllis in the garden except these are hardy to zone 7. Where it is colder, these are a snap to grow in pot and as they flower from leafless bulbs in the autumn, you can enjoy the flowers indoors and after blooming, simply cut off the stem and store them in a cool garage until spring when you can bring them out and the leaves begin to grow. The original Nerine 'Pink Triumph' was given an Award of Garden Merit in 1957 by the RHS and is presumed to be a hybrid of Nerine bowdenii and N. undulata with larger flowers than N. bowdenii and later blooming in December. This original plant may be difficult to near impossible to find as virtually all the 'Pink Triumph' in cultivation are from a Dutch source and incorrectly named. This is not necessarily all bad from a garden worthiness standpoint as this may well be a selected form of N. bowdenii since it blooms earlier in the fall thus not as prone to frost damage plus the Dutch usually select for good increasers of which this certainly is one. The upshot is that while this is incorrectly named, it is going to be a better plant for the garden being hardier, more apt to avoid having its flowers frosted and having very good rich pink flowers. Nerines bring a totally unexpected blast of exotica to the fall garden and look particularly good in Mediterranean style plantings.