South African Bulbs 2015

[fermi de Sousa]

Good to have you back, Rogan!
cheers
fermi

[Rogan]

Thanks, Fermi, I had a traumatic move (aren't all moves traumatic?) to the Western Cape but, I have finally settled down and, with time on my hands, to enjoy the forum once more 

[Rogan]

Spring is all about us, and this weird combination was quite eye-catching: Lachenalia orchioides and Babiana patula.

[Darren]

Oh, Maggi, I'm home at last - I just love it here! The wind is something else though - blows constantly from different directions 

Another Moraea, M. tricolor, flowering non-stop this spring - I think, the prettiest of all (?)

That is lovely Rogan.  This and M papillionacea have been a source of great frustration for me. Seed from suppliers in SA rarely germinates (or immediately damps off) and seed from exchanges invariably turns out to be M. vegeta.

[johnw]

Good to have you back Rogan.  I think of you at least 3 times a weeks when I water my pots of Cyrtanthus contractus from your seed!

My that is a a stout stem on the Lachenalia.

john

[Rogan]

Wow! That is a nice outcome, John - I'm pleased you had such success! Ditto for my pot of Nerine sarniensis, they are extremely happy to be back in the Western cape and have perked up immeasurably, judging by the bulging pot of bulbs! 

[fermi de Sousa]

Here are a few South African bulbs a bit further from home than Rogan's 
Hesperantha bachmannii - delightful, but the scent's a bit strange and it has a tendency to seed itself around!
A stray lachenalia in the rock garden...maybe Lachenalia pallida?
Gladiolus gracilis
cheers
fermi

[Rogan]

Gladiolus gracilis is certainly one of my favorite glads, with an amazing scent too. I encountered a small group of them growing in an abandoned wheat field recently - most of the flowers displayed unusual colours ranging from greyish-pink to bright blue.

This one (G. tristis?) I spotted nodding beside our dam yesterday, in the early morning light.

[Darren]

Could the latter be a pale G. liliaceous, Rogan? This species is also night-scented and moth pollinated and flowers a bit earlier than G. tristis.

Have a look later in the day and see if the colour changes. That said - it doesn't look quite right for liliaceous - the segments are often wavy-edged which isn't present in your specimen. The back of the lower flower suggests the colour is there in a speckled pattern, which would be right for liliaceous.

Either way it is a lovely gladdy.

[Rogan]

That's the thing about moving to a new area, everything is unknown and exciting! Now that I've got Darren firing on all cylinders - I encountered only one plant of this particular Eriospermum species - any suggestions for a name?

[Darren]

I wish!  Eriospermum are a complete mystery to me!

[fermi de Sousa]

Spring is all about us, and this weird combination was quite eye-catching: Lachenalia orchioides and Babiana patula.

Rogan,
I only have Lachenalia orchioides v glaucina here and it only came into flower this week,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Lachenalia contaminata in the rock garden
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Good clump, fermi - is that all from vegetative  increase or is it seeding too?

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Maggi,
I think it's mostly vegetative but it does set seed so some are probably seedlings.

My favourite Pelargonium is the evening scented Pelargonium triste which flowers in spring if we don't get a late frost! It is geophytic so I presume it could be shown here,
cheers
fermi