South African Bulbs 2016

[johnw]

I got a number of Cyrtanthus spp. seed through the exchanges in January and February 2016.  I sowed them under lights at about 16c and the temperature has varied little.   I seem to have thoroughly confused the seedlings and want to get them into the greenhouse under natural light and seasonality but at the same want to maximize growth.  Their behaviour is understandably rather confusing and I just want to confirm they are summer growers and dormant in winter.


Cyrtanthus angustifolia  - all have died down 2 months ago
Cyrtanthus elatus  - as for flowering a hopeless case, no dormant period? but not enough heat here to flower it - same with Vallota when we had it.
Cyrtanthus falcatus - all still in full leaf
Cyrtanthus  mackenii - all still in full leaf
Cyrtanthus mackenii - most have died down but others that died down some time ago are re-emerging
Cyrtanthus obrienii - all have died down 2 months ago

john

[fermi de Sousa]

Hesperantha oligantha from Silverhill Seeds 2013 sown 10-08-2014 and first flower this week
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

The wet winter has not been great for the lachenalias; the foliage on this Lachenalia bolusii has rotted away!
Hopefully the bulbs will still be okay, the flowers seem to be unaffected (others in the shade-house have suffered more,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

A couple from a fortnight ago:
Hesperantha vaginata;
Romulea flava;
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

I like the dramatic color combination of Hesperantha vaginata. It looks like it is on a show bench. How about in the garden? Easily - growable? I like using dramatic colors like that in our garden. I will be home in a few more days - I hope our garden is not too much of a mess back home.    The Meso-American Salvias should be in bloom and more.

[Rogan]

I really enjoy Ferraria species but, don't grow any () - this one I found growing beside the road in the Little Karoo.

[Robert]

Dry as a desert here, some major rivers have dried up and a few one can walk across.

My God what is going on in your part of the world?      Even our rivers have not dried-up during repeated droughts over the years! The San Joaquin River south of the Merced River goes dry, but this is from agricultural over draft.

I hope there is a return to average rainfall soon and that little harm has been done.

[Darren]

I really enjoy Ferraria species but, don't grow any () - this one I found growing beside the road in the Little Karoo.

I was really taken with Ferraria when I visited South Africa in 1999. Yours looks like it might be divaricata.

With the exception of crispa I find Ferraria unbelievably slow from seed - seeds of divaricata sown in 2000 have now produced corms about the size of my thumbnail and are still nowhere near flowering size!

[Michael J Campbell]

Moraea polystachya. Very early this year.

[fermi de Sousa]

Michael,
it's only just finishing here in the Southern Hemisphere
Geissorhiza splendidissima (more likely to be G. foliosa..possibly!) is flowering well in the rock garden but need a bit more sun to shine,
cheers
fermi

[todoplant]

Hello John,
I can't say that I have done anything special for this Gladiolus. I sow all South African winter-growing species in late summer/autumn and leave the seed-pots outside to get rain on them. I store the germinated pots under cover during the summer to keep them dry while the bulbs are dormant.
When growth resumes in autumn the pots are soaked to make sure they have adequate moisture. A lot of these gladiolus are kept in trays of water while they are growing but I didn't do that with this one.
Good luck with yours,
cheers
fermi

Thanks for your information.
I have given me such this fall.
Greetings.

[todoplant]

Resnova megaphylla obtained seed 2016.

[todoplant]

Flowerpot on the left obtained from seeds 2015.

[fermi de Sousa]

Geissorhiza splendidissima (more likely to be G. foliosa...possibly!) is flowering well in the rock garden but need a bit more sun to shine,

More sun today
cheers
fermi

[Claire Cockcroft]

What a color!