Isophysis tasmanica

[daveyp1970]

I have some  Isophysis tasmanica seed on there way to me,from what i gather its an alpine plant but could somebody give me any further info as to compost ect.

[Maggi Young]

Oooh, that's interesting, Davey... a Tasmanian Irid that wants to look like an Erythronium!

I'd guess a fairly sandy mix.... but that's pure guess work!

[Tim Ingram]

This I haven't grown though I saw it in the wild growing with Blandfordia punicea. All I have been told is that it is very difficult, though this may partly be because so few people have ever tried to grow it! It does look just like an Erythronium. I don't know if Brian Halliwell or Tony Hall at Kew have grown it? A number of other Tasmanian endemics went through their magic fingers in the past. If you do get germination I would think seedlings would be slow to develop and need a poor acid, sandy compost with plenty of moisture. The West Coast of Scotland would be ideal!!

[daveyp1970]

Tim and Maggie thank you for the advice,Maggie if they germinate i'll will send a plant to you.Tim a house move so i can grow this beauty..hm...well i would but my missus would hate me.
Given that Tasmanian endemics are hard to get going,is this the reason why they are so few to grow in the UK,it's a shame but a challenge I'm really looking forward to.
Tim what temps would be ok,can they take a lot of frost?

[Tim Ingram]

I think where I saw Isophysis on the Western Arthurs it would get plenty of rain but little snow, so probably similar to the fells in the Lake District, or in the West Coast of Scotland where the climate is moderated by the Gulf Stream. It would be such a treasure to grow I would keep plants in an alpine house and plant others out in the coolest, lightest spot available.

[rob krejzl]

Joy Bishop is another person who's tried this in the past, though I don't know how well they've done for her.

When I've tried it, during our long local drought, it has died very slowly for me but I get next to no frost most winters.

Our local nursery grows Isophysis in a gritty, peaty mix. The nursery, just outside Hobart, gets fairly frequent frosts over winter with occasional snow flurries. When our botanic garden, down by the river and pretty well frost free, had them in it's display of Tasmanian plants they died. On the west coast (cooler, wetter, than Hobart) they grow down to sea level.

One of our local seed companies sells Isophysis, so it should be possible to buy some. The seed is almost certainly wild-collected and although it's foil-packed, germination percentages may be low because of this.